“This shocking verdict illustrates once more the Burmese junta’s total disregard for its international human rights obligations and shows the real face of the regime. With the main opposition leader and 2,100 political prisoners behind bars, the elections planned by the regime for next year will be nothing but a mockery”, said Aung Htoo, General Secretary of BLC.
In an advocacy note released today, FIDH, BLC and Altsean-Burma demonstrate that the widespread and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law documented by numerous Burmese, regional and international NGOs and UN mechanisms over the past years amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. FIDH, BLC and Altsean-Burma therefore call for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry by the UN Security Council.
“The condemnation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is not an isolated act of repression : it is taking place in a context where crimes against humanity and war crimes have been perpetrated for decades in Eastern Burma together with other grave human rights violations in the rest of the country. The international community must move immediately to stop this inhumanity : the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry by the Security Council is the first step for any process of justice to be initiated”, concluded Souhayr Belhassen, President of FIDH.
“The ongoing atrocities in Burma increase the urgency for a Commission of Inquiry. Even now, men, women and children continue to be subjected to extreme and systematic forms of violence and murder. The world should not allow this to go on”, emphasized Debbie Stothard, Coordinator of Altsean-Burma.
'Tenuous pretext'
"We call on the Burmese authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally along with her doctor and the more than 2,100 political prisoners currently being held," Mrs Clinton said.
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed "grave concern", and called on the Burmese government not to undermine Burma's national reconciliation process, his spokeswoman said.
Ms Su Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a landslide election victory in 1990 only to be denied power by the military, "strongly condemned" the charges, which come two weeks before her latest detention was due to expire.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier said he was "deeply disturbed" by the charges and he accused the Burmese military government of seeking "any pretext, no matter how tenuous" to extend the detention.
The EU special envoy to Burma, Piero Fassino, said there was "no justification" for the detention.
Thailand's prime minister also expressed concern on behalf of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), one of the few groups that allow Burma as a member.
"We would like to see positive steps being taken," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told Reuters, adding that the group was "concerned" by the recent events.
Unwanted intruder lands Suu Kyi in jail
Supporters criticise American who swam uninvited to dissident's lakeside house
Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democracy icon, will go on trial inside the nation's most notorious jail on Monday, accused of breaching the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American who swam uninvited to her lakeside home to stay overnight.
If found guilty she could be sentenced to five years' imprisonment, said Nyan Win, a spokesman for her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
John Yettaw, a 53-year-old American, reportedly swam to her house last December but Ms Suu Kyi persuaded him to leave. When he arrived last week she again urged him to leave but was induced to let him stay two nights on the grounds that he was feeling unwell. He was spotted by police and arrested as he was swimming away on the night of 5 May.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8050545.stm
1 comment:
Though misjustice is indeed nasty, it is very common in a country like Burma where absolute authority (the military junta) exists. It is pretty much likely for a new dictator to rise on the land of Burma if the country continues to be ruled by a small group. If that is the case, democracy can never be achieved in Burma, and Aung San Suu Kyi's hardwork for years can never be paid off. Thus, it is very important to set up authorities to supervise any action by the Burmese government as well as to pressurize them so that innocent political prisoners can be released as soon as possible. I am glad to see that global organizations are taking action to help Aung San though it is clear that there is still a long way to go until democracy is finally achieved in Burma. Lastly, wish this remarkable lady be set free in the near future, so as to set her people free.
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