NEW YORK: Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has expressed hope that her country will complete its transition to democracy and become a nation of hope.
“I came today to thank you all and to ask all of you to stay with us until we have completed the journey to democracy, and we get to the point when we too can help others,” she said Saturday in a speech at Queens College in New York.
Her desire, she said, is that “Burma can once again become the country it was way back before the military regime took over, a country of hope.” Burma is the old name for Myanmar.
Speaking to heavy applause, the 67-year-old Nobel peace laureate spoke of change in her country, where a military regime was replaced last year by a civilian government.
“While we are not yet in any way near our goal of a truly democratic society... there has been change, not yet all the changes necessary to make sure we are going to be a genuinely democratic society, but there have been changes.
Now a member of parliament, Suu Kyi is free to travel after spending 15 years under house arrest, and lives in a country with newfound freedom of the press.
“Two years ago, there were just two state papers. And now there are so many journals, new magazines, news journals,” she said.
Suu Kyi, who this week received the top honor the US Congress can bestow on someone — the Congressional Gold Medal — came to New York after visiting Washington as part of an 18-day tour of the United States, her first since being freed from house arrest two years ago.
On Friday, she visited the United Nations and received an award from the Atlantic Council think-tank, as she paid tribute to unknown fighters for democracy in her country.
The award was presented by Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, who said she was “intimidated” by Suu Kyi’s kindness and spirituality.
Other award recipients included former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, ex-UN high commissioner for refugees Sadako Ogata of Japan, and American musician and humanitarian Quincy Jones.
Myanmar was ruled by an iron-fisted junta for decades but, since taking office last year, a reformist government under former general Thein Sein has freed political prisoners and allowed Suu Kyi’s party into electoral politics.
Suu Kyi’s visit coincides with a three-day trip by Thein Sein to the UN, and there have been concerns that she will upstage his visit, despite his work pushing through reforms.
Earlier this week, Suu Kyi also met at the White House with President Barack Obama.
She endorsed the removal of sanctions imposed on Myanmar to punish the junta for its formerly oppressive rule in the Southeast Asian country.
The agenda of Suu Kyi’s unprecedented US tour includes nearly 100 events across the country. The Myanmar democracy leader will head on September 25 to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to meet the sizable Burmese community that has resettled in the Midwestern city.
Her other stops include Louisville, Kentucky as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Suu Kyi: help us complete path to democracy
Suu Kyi: help us complete path to democracy
Two high-speed trains derail in Spain, broadcaster reports seven people killed
- The accident happened near Adamuz, which is near Cordoba
MADRID: Two high-speed trains derailed on Sunday in southern Spain, the rail network operator said, and state-run television channel RTVE said seven people had died, citing police sources.
The accident happened near Adamuz, in Cordoba province. Seven people have been confirmed dead by police, RTVE said, adding that 100 people have been injured, 25 seriously.
Spanish police did not immediately respond to request for comment from Reuters.
“The Iryo 6189 Malaga — (to Madrid) train has derailed from the track at Adamuz, crashing onto the adjacent track. The (Madrid) to Huelva train which was traveling on the adjacent track has also derailed,” said Adif, which runs the rail network, in a social media post.
Adif said the accident happened at 6:40 p.m. (1740 GMT), about ten minutes after the Iryo train left Cordoba heading toward Madrid.
Iryo is a private rail operator, majority-owned by Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. The train involved was a Freccia 1000 train which was traveling between Malaga and Madrid, a spokesperson for Ferrovie dello Stato said.
Iryo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adif has suspended all rail services between Madrid and Andalusia.
Andalusia emergency services said on social media that all rail traffic had been halted and emergency services were on their way, including at least nine ambulances and emergency support vehicles.
CALLS FOR MEDICS
A woman named Carmen posted on X that she had been on board the Iryo to Madrid. “Ten minutes after departing (from Cordoba) the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach 6 behind us. The lights went out.”
Footage posted by another Iryo train passenger, also on X, showed an Iryo staffer in a fluorescent jacket instructing passengers to remain in their seats in the darkened carriages, and those with first aid training to keep watch over fellow passengers.
The staffer told passengers they would be evacuated when it was safe to leave, but at that moment the safest place was on the train. He also urged people to maintain mobile phone batteries to be able to use their torches when they disembarked.
The passenger wrote: “In our carriage we’re well but we don’t know about the other carriages. There’s smoke and they’re calling for a doctor.”
The regional government has activated emergency protocols to mobilize more resources to the accident site. Locals posted on social media that a building would be set up in the village nearest the crash for evacuated passengers to be taken to.
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for RTVE who was on board the Iryo train, shared images showing the nose of the rear carriage of the train lying on its side, with evacuated passengers sitting on the side of the carriage facing upwards.
Jimenez told TVE by phone from beside the stricken trains that passengers had used emergency hammers to smash the windows and climb out, and they had seen two people taken out of the overturned carriages on stretchers.
“There’s a certain uncertainty about when we’ll get to Madrid, where we’ll spend the night, we’ve had no message from the train company yet,” he said. “It’s very cold but here we are.”
