Aung San Suu Kyi: Oxford 'helped me to cope'

Aung San Suu Kyi told attendees at the University of Oxford's annual Encaenia ceremony this afternoon that her Oxford experience 'helped me to cope with the many challenges I had to face' and that it taught her 'respect for the best in human civilisation'. In a break with tradition, Daw Suu, who is Chairman of the Burmese National League for Democracy and member of the Burmese parliament, was invited to give a speech after receiving her honorary doctorate in civil law at the ceremony, held in the Sheldonian Theatre. You can view a video of her full speech here. She told a packed audience that 'during the most difficult years I was upheld by memories of Oxford; these were my most important inner resources . During the years I was under house arrest my university, the University of Oxford, stood up and spoke up for me'. She said she cherished her time at St Hugh's College where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (1964-1967) and formed 'simple' but 'very precious' memories of spending time with friends. 'These are very precious memories because I had lived a very happy life and this made me understand so much better the young people of Burma who wanted to live a happy life and had never been given the opportunity to lead one.