Peace, development need to be empowerment: Suu Kyi

Peace, development need to be empowerment: Suu Kyi

Extracts from an address by the Nobel Peace Laureate and detained opposition leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, presented on her behalf by Corazon Aquino, former President Philippines, to a meeting of Unesco's World Commission on Culture and Development in Manila last week. Suu Kyi has been an honorary member of the commission since it was founded in 1992, although held incommunicado under house arrest since July 1989 family. In June 1992 the commission issued a public appeal to the Myanmarese military authorities to free Suu Kyi, pointing out that her fundamental freedoms under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by Myanmar in 1948, had been constantly denied.

MANILA: Peace as a goal is an ideal which will not be contested by any government or nation, not even the most belligerent. And the close interdependence of the cultures of peace and development also finds ready acceptance. But it remains uncertain how far governments are prepared to concede that democracy and human rights are indivisible from the culture of peace and therefore essential to sustained development.

There is evidence that culture and development can be made to serve as pretext for resisting calls for democracy and human rights. Moreover, it is widely known that some governments argue that democracy is a western concept alien to indigenous values; it has also been asserted that economic development often conflicts with democratic rights and that the second should give way to the first. In the light of such arguments, culture and development need to be carefully examined and defined that they may not be misused to block the aspirations of peoples.

The view that economic development is essential to peace, human rights, democracy and cultural pluralism, and the view that a culture of peace, democracy and human rights is essential to sustained human development, may seem to differ to only in the matter of approach. But the difference in approach itself implies differences of a more fundamental order.

The value systems of those with access to power and of those far removed from such access cannot be the same. In the matter of power and privilege the difference between the haves and have- nots is not merely quantitative: it has far-reaching psychological and ideological implications.

The alleviation of poverty entails setting in motion processes which can change the perceptions of all those concerned. It is not enough merely to provide the poor with material assistance. They must be sufficiently empowered to change their perception of themselves as helpless and ineffectual in an uncaring world.

The question of empowerment is central to both culture and development. It decides who has the means of imposing on a society the view of what constitutes culture and development. The more totalitarian a system the more power will be concentrated in the hands of the ruling elite and the more culture and development will be used to serve narrow interests. The "national culture" can become a bizarre graft of selected historical incidents and distorted social values intended to justify the policies and actions of those in power.

It is precisely because of the cultural diversity of the world that it is necessary for nations and peoples to agree on those basic values which will act as a unifying factor. The value that democracy and human rights seek to promote can be found in many cultures. Human beings the world over need freedom and security to realize their full potential. However, the desire to dominate and the tendency to adulate the powerful are also common human traits. A nation may choose a system that leaves the protection of the freedom and security of the many dependent on the inclinations of the empowered few; or it may choose institutions and practices that will empower individuals and organizations to protect their own freedom and security. The choice will decide how far a nation will progress along the road to peace and human development.

There will be as many kinds of democracies as there are nations which accept it as a form of government. In each country the democratic system will develop a character that accords with its needs. But the basic requirement of a genuine democracy is that the people should be sufficiently empowered to be able to participate significantly in the governance of their country.

The democratic process provides for political and social change without violence. The democratic tradition of free discussion and debate allows for the settlement of differences without resort to armed conflict. The culture of democracy and human rights promotes diversity and dynamism without disintegration; it is indivisible from the cultures of development peace. It is only by giving firm support to movements that seek to empower the people through democratic means that the United Nations and its agencies will truly be able to promote the cultures of peace and development.

In summary, the true development of human beings involves much more than mere economic growth. At its heart there must be a sense of empowerment and inner fulfillment. This alone will ensure that human and cultural values remain paramount in a world where political leadership is often synonymous with tyranny and the rule of a narrow elite. People's participation in social and political transformation is the central issue of our time. This can only be achieved through the establishment of societies which place human worth above power, and liberation above control.

In this paradigm, development requires democracy, the genuine empowerment of the people. When this is achieved, culture and development will naturally coalesce to create an environment in which all are valued, and every kind of human potential can be realized. The alleviation of poverty involves processes which change the way in which the poor perceive themselves and their world. More material assistance is not enough; the poor must have the sense that they themselves can shape their own future. Most totalitarian regimes fear change, but the longer they put off genuine democratic reform the more likely it is that even their positive contributions will be vitiated: the success of national policies depends on the willing participation of the people.

-- The Nation