Suu Kyi: on Nukes, Reform, & Elections

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi sat down with the Washington Post this week to discuss her hopes for political change in Burma. Now a free citizen, a political star, and a registered candidate for parliamentary elections, Suu Kyi spoke in the same living room where she endured house arrest for 15 years:

• On President Thein Sein: "I believe he sincerely wants reform. But he is not the only one in government. Our present constitution gives the military far too much power."

• On US sanctions: "Engage and lift sanctions when they think the time is right. The US has laid out very clearly what the conditions are for the removal of sanctions."
• On accusations that Burma is building a nuclear weapon with North Korea: "I don’t know that they are developing a nuclear weapon. They certainly have reestablished diplomatic relations with North Korea. That cannot be denied."
• On being president: "I don’t want to be president, but I want to be free to decide whether or not I want to be president of this country."
• On computers: "I learned to work on a computer. ... Fortunately I had two laptops when I was under house arrest — one an Apple and one a different operating system."
• On meeting Hillary Clinton: "She is very nice and very intelligent. I like intelligent people."

Read the full interview here. (More Aung San Suu Kyi stories.)