The military rulers of Myanmar (Burma) are again isolating prodemocracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace laureate, now 64, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years. On August 11, she was convicted of criminal charges for violating the terms of her previous house arrest. She allegedly allowed an uninvited American to stay at her home. Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years in prison at hard labor, but the head of the military junta reduced the sentence to 18 months house arrest. This measure will effectively prevent Suu Kyi from participating in the country’s first election in two decades, planned for 2010.
It was in 1988 that the military’s brutal repression of popular demonstrations thrust Suu Kyi into the leadership of the Burmese prodemocracy movement. In 1990, her political party won decisively at the polls but was blocked from taking office. Despite being locked up, she remains a powerful political force in her country, which has been under harsh military rule since 1962.
The announcement of Suu Kyi’s sentence was met by demonstrations in cities across the world. Fellow Nobel laureates, including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, urged the UN Security Council to increase sanctions against Myanmar. U.S. president Barack Obama called for her immediate release. While detained in her tightly guarded home, Suu Kyi is preparing to appeal her conviction. Meanwhile, she has been denied a visit by her personal physician, and her lawyer says conditions of her current detention have gotten “worse.”
Related Links
- Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Convicted, Returned to Isolation
This AP article recounts the recent sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi to 18 months of house arrest.
(Source: Associated Press, August 11, 2009) - Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Pages
This Web site is Suu Kyi’s “official” online presence; it contains news, videos of tributes to Suu Kyi, commentary about democracy in Burma, transcripts of speeches and interviews, and links to organizations campaigning for her release.
(Source: dassk.org; accessed August 30, 2009) - Map of Myanmar (Burma)
Map of Myanmar (Burma) from the University of Texas. The country’s capital is Naypyidaw.
(Source: The University of Texas)
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