Long Cut Off, Suu Kyi Embraces a Brave New World

One publication, the leading sports journal First Eleven, used a clever combination of headlines about English Premier League match results to splash news of Suu Kyi's release on its front page.

By playing with the placement and lettering colors of some innocent-looking headlines—“Sunderland Freeze Chelsea,” “United Stunned by Villa” and “Arsenal Advance to Grab Their Hope”—the journal was able to spell out a very different message: “Su Free Unite & Advance to Grab The Hope.”

Despite the regime's efforts to restrict news about Suu Kyi, most news journals couldn't resist the chance to boost their sales by pushing the envelope in their coverage of her release.

“True and Flower journals, which came out on Sunday, and Monday's Weekly Eleven sold very well because they carried Suu Kyi's photo and news. People asked for news about her before they bought it. Some bought journals because they said they wanted to keep them,” said a bookshop owner in Rangoon.

Meanwhile, Burmese in the major cities, such as Rangoon and Mandalay, turned to the Internet and cable television, which carries some international news networks and the exiled Democratic Voice of Burma, to pick up more information about Suu Kyi.

Surprisingly, the online version of The Voice, a journal published by Dr Nay Win Maung—the son of a military officer who recently called on Suu Kyi to endorse the junta’s new Constitution to ensure that the NLD was not “disenfranchised”—seemed to have the freest hand in reporting Suu Kyi’s public speeches and press conference.

But it is clear that Suu Kyi is hoping modern technology will help her to reach out to her fellow citizens more effectively than she ever could through Burma's traditional media. Even before she was released, she said through her lawyer, Nyan Win, that she wanted to sign up for a Twitter account so she can “tweet” and keep in touch with the younger generation.

Thawng Kho Thang, a member of a group of senior ethnic leaders who met with Suu Kyi on Tuesday, said she even suggested that future efforts to discuss the status of Burma's ethnic minorities could be organized around the Internet.

After more than seven years of depending on the radio to keep herself up to date on domestic and world affairs, Suu Kyi is clearly ready for more interactive forms of communication.

Moreover, when she looked out into the crowd on Saturday, she saw not only the latest digital gadgets, but also a lot of young faces.

“I saw our new blood, our new generation, actively participating in the political process actively,” she said in an interview with Radio Free Asia. And she knows that if she wants to keep this audience engaged, she will have to learn how to speak their language.

Rangoon-based correspondents also contribute this article.