Free Aung San Suu Kyi - Amnesty International
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has spent more than 12 of the last 18 years under detention. "This brave and beautiful woman is the world's only imprisoned Nobel Laureate. According to Burmese law, her detention should expire today, allowing her the freedom that she has sought for so many others", said Desmond Tutu in a statement on behalf of The Elders. Amnesty International has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all prisoners of conscience in Myanmar
Aung San Suu Kyi's party won the general elections in Myanmar in 1990, but instead of taking office as her country's elected Prime Minister, she was kept under house arrest by Military Authorities and remains so today.
According to Amnesty International:
She has most recently been detained since 30 May 2003, after a violent attack on her and other party members during a trip through upper Myanmar. The attack is believed to have been carried out with the involvement of the state and state sponsored civil organizations and still has not been independently investigated.
Aung San Suu Kyi and her entourage were stopped on the road at night between villages near Depeyin in a remote part of Sagaing Division. They were set upon in a violent coordinated attack. Men with sharpened bamboo sticks, iron rods and stones, attacked vehicles, pulling individuals out of cars and beating them repeatedly on the head and body.
NLD Youth members and others attempted to protect the leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi and her deputy U Tin Oo. At least four persons were killed, and scores more seriously injured. Aung San Suu Kyi and her security detail escaped, but they were soon taken into detention and held incommunicado.
After the attack, the authorities stated that Aung San Suu Kyi was being held in protective custody and that measures against the detained leaders would be lifted as the situation normalized. They promised in July 2003 that she would be released "when the time comes" and that they were waiting for a "cool down" and in August 2003 urged "let us not call it detention... We don't have any kind of intention of animosity against Aung San Suu Kyi.
That is why we have not taken any legal action against her and her party".
After being held incommunicado in a military camp, Aung San Suu Kyi was transferred to
her house in September 2003 and held under de facto house arrest. In November 2003,
the authorities handed down a one-year detention order under an administrative detention law that has been regularly extended since.
|
In the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards, Aung San Suu Kyi was given the 'Free Your Mind' award. |
While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states the "no one should be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile", there are more than 1,850 known political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Burma.
In the wake of a tragic cyclone and increasing unrest, Burma's people have never before needed more relief from from their hardships and hope for a better tomorrow.
The words of Desmond Tutu echo Amnesty International's call to action: "Let (this) be a time to celebrate the newfound freedom of this visionary leader who stands up for peace, justice and human dignity - and stands up for the Burmese people who have suffered for too long."
