Edition: U.S. / Global

Burmese Opposition Leader Learns of Nobel Peace Prize

Published: November 2, 1991

The Burmese opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest in Myanmar, formerly Burma, has learned that she won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize and is delighted, the awards committee said today.

Francis Sejersted, chairman of the committee here, said a reliable source had confirmed that Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi knows about the award that she won on Oct. 14. He refused to give details, saying he wished to protect the source.

Another Nobel committee official, Geir Lundestad, said the Nobel winner had started a hunger strike to protest the worsening conditions of her house arrest, including the stationing of soldiers in her home in the capital, Yangon, formerly Rangoon.

The Burmese military dictatorship placed her under house arrest in July 1989. Her opposition party won parliamentary elections by a landslide in May 1990, but the Government refused to cede power.