Wednesday, May 12, 1999 Published at 19:06 GMT 20:06 UK
Suu Kyi's message of defiance
Aung San Suu Kyi says life in Burma is like a battlefield
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has issued a defiant anti-government message in a video-taped interview smuggled out of her country.
The tape is due to be played at a peace conference being held this week in the Netherlands.
In it, she describes the suppression that still grips her country, almost 11 years after a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in which thousands died.
"When we talk about peace, we can not avoid talking about basic human rights, especially in a country like Burma where people are troubled constantly by a lack of human rights and a lack of justice and a lack of peace," she said.
"In our country, there are many races living together, but we have not been able to live together in peace because the situation doesn't exist where we can trust each other."
Locked in stalemate
Ms Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, has been locked in political stalemate with the Burmese Government since it won an overwhelming victory in national elections held in 1990.
Since then, hundreds of NLD supporters and elected MPs have been detained by the authorities and Ms Suu Skyi's movements are constantly monitored by the authorities.
The video is first such statement released by Ms Suu Kyi since the death of her husband, Dr Michael Aris, last month.
Dr Aris, who had been suffering from cancer, was denied a visa to pay a final visit to his wife before his death.
Ms Suu Kyi decided against travelling to the UK to visit him saying she doubted government promises that she would be allowed to return.