Suu Kyi’s Right Hand Man

Tom Parry speaks with U Win Tin, a senior member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who spent 19 years in prison until his release last year. 

Tom Parry: What has kept you going for so long, considering all your years in prison?

Win Tin (Photo: Tom Parry)

Win Tin: Well, my opinion is that when you have to face a military government, you need a little bit of courage, some sort of confrontation, because if you are always timid and afraid and intimidated, they will step on you. Sometimes you have to force yourself to be courageous and outspoken.

Parry: Aren’t you worried about your own security?

Win Tin: People tell me I should keep a low profile because they are very anxious about my security. You can be snatched back to prison at any time, but you can’t help it.

Parry: You have made some difficult decisions in your life. If you could do it again differently, would you?

Win Tin: No, I wouldn’t. You see, formerly I was a journalist and I had no such difficult dilemmas. I could write and meet people and so on. But when I became a politician in 1988, things became very difficult. I was not just joining a political party, I was joining an uprising—a people’s uprising.

I was one of them. I was one of the journalists who joined them—the whole country’s uprising. Then, of course, I was dragged away from political life and sent to prison.

I am now 80 and my health is not very good, but still I don’t mind going back to prison. I don’t want to be intimidated or reverse my way of thinking.

Parry: Over the next 10 years, what would be the best thing that could happen in Burma, and what would be the worst thing?

Win Tin: The best thing that could happen would be if the junta went away and there was some form of democratic change. Of course, that is the best scenario.

The worst is that we just go into the election under the terms of the new constitution, which is more or less a prolongation of military rule. That would be the worst thing because in the next decade there will be no change in the lives of ordinary people. That’s why we are calling for a review of the constitution, at the very least.
 
We are the ones who have the right to draw up a constitution after the 1990 election. They forgot about us and started convening the National Convention. Then they drew up this constitution, which only the military can accept because it prolongs their rule.

Parry: If the elections do happen, how can the NLD make a difference? How can you stop the continuation of tight military control?

Win Tin: If we stand firm—because we’ve got the people’s support—in the end, we’ll get the international community’s support.

Now look at the Aung San Suu Kyi case. They tried to snatch her and send her to prison. And we are making a very loud protest all over the world and also inside the country. Now the military authorities are rethinking it.

I think we should try to convince them that if they go on, it won’t last long. Even after the elections there will be more uprisings. We have to convince them that this is not the way they should behave.

Parry: Do you think there is any scope for compromise?

Win Tin: Yes, that is possible. That is why we are asking for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the start of a dialogue.

Parry: Do you think there is any compromise to be had regarding the constitution?

Win Tin: That is possible, of course, if they agree to the dialogue and if they agree to make some amendments to the constitution. It is possible the NLD could participate in the election. That’s the compromise.

It’s very difficult. Of course, they are determined to make the constitution legal, to ratify the constitution in parliament. They are at the point of ratification.