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For those who have lived long under oppression and for those who are still struggling for liberty, the restoration of Lithuania’s independence 21 years ago offers a vision of what can be achiecved through perseverance and courage, opposition leader of Burma/Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi says in her voicemail congratulations message.

“Lithuania’s success as a democratic state is a beacon of hope for peoples who remain deprived of basic democratic rights,” the politician says.

She also stressed the importance of ensuring a parliamentary democracy.

“The idea that a Parliament is a central institution of ​​democracy may be simple, but it is a strong statement of a fundamental political truth. This idea is particularly important to us in Burma at this time, when we need to examine whether the Parliament that has emerged as a result of the 2010 elections can be termed a central institution of ​​democracy,” Aung San Suu Kyi said.

She expressed “great satisfaction” that Lithuania was currently serving as the President of the Community of Democracies and confidence that the work of the Community would contribute towards a correct assessment of the present situation in Burma.

The opposition leader of Burma/Myanmar and former General Secretary of the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The politician spent 15 years under house arrest from 1989 until 2010.

To hear Aung San Suu Kyi’s voicemail congratulations message, please click here.