DAVOS, Switzerland, (Reuters) – Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on world leaders and top executives meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos yesterday to promote democracy and economic growth in her country.
“I would like to appeal to all those present … to promote national reconciliation, genuine democratisation, human development and economic growth in Burma,” the Nobel laureate said in a pre-recorded address to the World Economic Forum.
Earlier on Friday, a special appeals court rejected a move by Suu Kyi, whose 1990 election victory was ignored by the military junta, to have her political party reinstated after it was dissolved for boycotting last year’s election.
Suu Kyi, who was released in November after seven years of detention, said Myanmar’s 55 million people had been left behind as globalisation had proceeded apace and yearned to be part of the world community.
“Despite an abundance of natural resources, Burma’s development has lagged far behind its neighbours,” she said, adding the government spent 40 percent of output on the military compared to just 2 percent on health and education combined.
“As necessary steps towards integration within the global community Burma must achieve national reconciliation, political stability, and economic growth grounded in human resources development,” she said.
Her National League for Democracy (NLD) shunned the election because of what it said were “unfair and unjust” rules that prohibited hundreds of its detained members from running for seats in a parliament due to hold its first session on Monday.
