Is there no one who can help Suu Kyi and democracy?
For years, Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been in near isolation in Asia, ruled by generals who’ve used terror and murder and jailing of dissidents to keep its opponents at bay, and have kept the leader of the democratic movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, jailed in her house to keep her from fomenting a movement against them. Now, as she undergoes a trial on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing an unrequested American visitor to stay with her for two nights, the world has found itself powerless to help her too.
Entreaties from the European Union and Myanmar’s Asian neighbors have been rejected, as was the voice of US President Barack Obama, who urged Myanmar’s military regime to “immediately and unconditionally” release Aung San Suu Kyi from detention. Obama called the current court case against her a “show trial based on spurious charges.” The trial casts “serious doubt on the Burmese regime’s willingness to be a responsible member of the international community. This is an important opportunity for the government in Burma to demonstrate that it respects its own laws and its own people, is ready to work with the National League for Democracy and other ethnic and opposition groups, and is prepared to move toward reconciliation,” Obama said, but he, like everyone else, was ignored.
Protests in many countries failed to move Myanmar’s generals either and a special court conducting the trial rejected three out of four witnesses presented by defence. “There were 14 witnesses for prosecutors and just one witness for defenders. Think that it is fair,?” one of her defenders said.Nyan Win said after Wednesday’s court session. May 27 marked the sixth anniversary of Suu Kyi’s arrest on May 27, 2003, when she was charged with undermining national security for campaigning in central Myanmar. Myanmar angrily rejected foreign “pressure and interference” over the trial and denied it was a political ploy to keep her locked up for elections in 2010. The ruling junta handed down a stinging rebuttal to Asian and European ministers at a meeting in Cambodia, in its strongest reaction yet to the storm of international outrage over its treatment of the pro-democracy icon. “It is not political, it is not a human rights issue. So we don’t accept pressure and interference from abroad,” Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Myint told counterparts in Phnom Penh. He told the meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and EU ministers that Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest were an “internal legal issue”.
The trial has been widely criticised by the international community and even some of Myanmar’s close allies in ASEAN, who have raised concerns that the frail pro-democracy leader may face five more years of imprisonment, perhaps in Insein jail, which is notorious for harsh treatment of inmates. The final court session was to be held June 1 when prosecutors and the defence were to present their arguments to the two presiding judges. It is not known when the verdict would be handed down, but most political observers predicted Suu Kyi would be found guilty because Myanmar’s military rulers do not want the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient free during the lead-up to a general election scheduled next year.
The American who came to her house uninvited, Mormon activist William Yettaw – who was arrested after he swam away two days later – testified that he had come to Suu Kyi’s house to warn her of an assassination attempt he had dreamed of. Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. If found guilty of the new charge, she faces a minimum of three and a maximum of five years in jail. A retired air force captain was arrested in Yangon for protesting Suu Kyi’s trial. Zaw Nyunt, 53, was detained at Insein market near the prison while carrying a sign saying, Saving Suu is Saving Burma, witnesses said. Myanmar’s leaders insist they are moving toward elections and democratisation, assertions critics have described as a laughably inept cover to keep in power those favored by the rulers, who have used an iron hand to control the population. Few expect the election to bring democracy to Myanmar, a country that has been under military rule since 1962. A constitution pushed though by the junta last year assured that the generals would control the senate, which would be able to overturn any legislation deemed unfavourable to them.
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