Suu Kyi urges help for Aids action in Myanmar
Play
Washington - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi asked participants at the International Aids Conference in Washington Wednesday for help in developing community action against the disease in her country.
Speaking via video link, she said "we need to make our people understand widely that this is a problem which we can handle together," and asked the international Aids community "to teach us how we in Burma may develop community responses to HIV/Aids." The South-east Asian country is also known as Burma.
Although there are a few informal groups in Myanmar that work against Aids and the HIV virus that causes it, she said that "responses as a community are as yet almost unknown." Suu Kyi addressed an award ceremony honoring community-based Aids organisations from ten nations including Myanmar.
The Nobel peace laureate linked the fight against HIV/Aids to the struggle for democracy.
"By strengthening the community, we strengthen our chances of achieving democracy and of building up strong democratic institutions," she said.//DPA
