Junta will never be able to get rid of Suu Kyi: Biographer

New Delhi, Apr 5: Aung San Suu Kyi, elected to parliament in a historic victory, will remain a unifying force for those who desire to see a different Myanmar and a prolonged threat to the junta which will find it very difficult to get rid of the 66-year-old pro-democracy leader, says her Swedish biographer.

"House arrest or not, the only thing one can state with any certainty is that the junta will never be able to get rid of her. She will remain a unifying force for those who desire to see a different Myanmar, and the junta fears her more than anything else," writes Jesper Bengtsson in "Aung San Suu Kyi: A Biography".

"Through her ability to unite the many political and ethnic groups in Myanmar she is, and will remain, the foremost threat against their prolonged monopoly of power. This is the reason they have kept her under house arrest for a decade and a half." Bengtsson says in his book, published by Amaryllis, he tries to portray the true picture of "one of the most interesting political personalities of our time" and provide an insight into her family and background in Asia and Europe, her political values and her time as a politician.

He, however, feels it is not a comprehensive biography of Suu Kyi, as such a project would require for a start her own participation. The Nobel laureate was released from house arrest in November 2010. She was earlier set free for almost two years in 2002-03. "The military gave me seven years of rest, so now I am full of energy to continue my work," she said after her release.

PTI