Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi (June 19, 1945, Rangoon - ) is the leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma and a famous prisoner of conscience. The daughter of Burmese national hero Aung San, Suu Kyi is a pro-democracy activist committed to non-violence and has been called the "Nelson Mandela of Asia". A Buddhist, Suu Kyi won the Sakharov and Rafto Prizes for Freedom of Thought in 1990. In 1991, she also became a Nobelist for her peaceful fight against a dictatorship.
Largely influenced by the example of Mahatma Gandhi, Suu Kyi entered politics to work on behalf of increased Burmese democracy, helping to set up the National League for Democracy on 27 September 1988. For this, she was placed under house arrest on 20 July 1989. The Burmese military junta offered to let her go into exile, but she refused. Various international figures, from George W. Bush to Ban Ki-moon, have called upon the junta leader General Than Shwe to release her, but as of yet, these requests have been ignored by the despotic regime.
