Suu Kyi, who only recently was allowed to leave her Southeast Asian country after two decades of imprisonment, will speak at 9 a.m. in Comstock Hall, UofL School of Music. Her talk is part of a distinguished speaker series offered by UofL’s McConnell Center.
In April, after years of worldwide pressure, the Burmese (also known as Myanmar) government recognized Suu Kyi’s election to the country’s parliament.
In recent months, the United States has restored full relations with Burma and several U.S. officials have visited the country, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. Suu Kyi is coming to UofL at McConnell’s invitation.
Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest in 1989 after publicly speaking out against the shooting of thousands of people in Burma who took part in a nationwide pro-democracy strike. In 1990, the party she led won a landslide election, but a military regime ignored the results.
She is scheduled to receive a Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest civilian honor, in Washington, D.C., Sept. 19 and the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Award Sept. in New York City Sept. 21.
The McConnell Center is inviting people in the Louisville community with ties to Myanmar to attend Suu Kyi’s talk, but also will make a limited number of tickets available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
People who want to request a ticket can do so online at the McConnell Center starting Monday.
