Abstract:

By 1988 decades of military rule had turned one of Asia's potentially richest countries into a decaying ruin. When Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma from exile in 1988 to tend her sick mother, she evolved into the leader of Burma's democratic movement. This program explores Aung San Suu Kyi's rise to prominence: Daughter of Burma's martyred first president, dissident, political prisoner, Nobel Prize winner, and favored democratic candidate. In addition, Burma's independence, volatile political climate, and economic concerns are discussed.