FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Dec. 6,
2010
Contact:
John Estrella 202 530 4900 estrellaj@rfa.org
Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 mahajanr@rfa.org
Radio
Free Asia Launches Weekly Q&A With Aung San Suu Kyi
On-air
forum with freed Nobel laureate exclusive to RFA Burmese service
WASHINGTON,
DC – Listeners of Radio Free Asia’s Burmese service will be able to
engage Aung San Suu Kyi on topics of their choice in a weekly series on Friday
evenings. “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the People” invites RFA’s
audience to submit questions on any topic, which are then answered by the
recently freed Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Burmese opposition party leader.
The question-and-answer series is an exclusive engagement with Radio Free Asia.
“After
almost two decades under house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi remains a beacon of
hope and strength to the world,” said Libby Liu, President of Radio Free
Asia. “But in her homeland, despite the deep admiration of her country
men and women, her voice was stifled. Now, with this program, the Burmese
people have a unique, public forum in which they can speak freely with their
‘Lady’.”
“In
Burma, there is no opinion or perspective expressed on official media apart
from that of the ruling regime,” said Nyein Shwe, service director of RFA
Burmese. “Many Burmese people never in their lifetimes imagined they
would be able to hear Aung San Suu Kyi discuss her views nor ask her their
questions on the radio. For them, it’s a first.”
In
the series’ first installment Suu Kyi answered questions from listeners
on her time under house arrest, global sanctions against Burma, free speech and
human rights, and democracy, among other topics. Since being freed on Nov. 13,
Suu Kyi has been interviewed by outside, non-state-controlled media, but this
series is the first media forum in which she is participating on an ongoing
basis.
To
hear excerpts from the first installment of the series in English online,
please visit http://www.rfa.org/english/women/conversation-aungSanSuuKyi/conversation1-11302010121141.html
# # #
Radio Free Asia is a
private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news,
information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do
not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek
to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the
freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any
media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from
the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Rohit Mahajan
Media Relations Manager
Radio Free Asia
2025 M St. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
Email: mahajanr@rfa.org
Desk: (202) 530-4976
Cell: (202) 489-8021
www.rfa.org