Suu Kyi denies breach
May 26, 2009
Yangoon_Myanmar..
Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi told a prison
court on Tuesday she did not violate her house arrest when she gave
'temporary shelter' to a surprise American visitor earlier this month.
'I didn't,' the Nobel Peace Prize winner replied when a judge at the court
in Yangon's notorious Insein jail asked her whether she had breached the
terms of the restriction order under which she is detained.
Aung San Suu was taking the stand for the first time since Myanmar's
military regime charged her after American army veteran John Yettaw swam
across a lake to reach her house on May 4 and spent two days there.
'I didn't know about it immediately. I was informed about it at 5am. My
assistant told me that a man had arrived,' the 63-year-old told the court.
Aung San Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail if convicted. She has spent
13 of the last 19 years in detention, most of them at her crumbling house on
Yangon's Inya Lake.
Appearing frail and pale but managing an occasional smile, Suu Kyi was
questioned for less than half an hour about Yettaw, who swam uninvited to
her lakeside house.
Her testimony is scheduled to continue on Wednesday.
The charges against Suu Kyi are widely considered a pretext to keep her
detained ahead of elections the military government has planned for next
year. She pleaded innocent on Friday, but a guilty verdict is expected.
Her latest round of house arrest - extended every year since 2003 - was
supposed to end this week, and a top police official said on Tuesday that
the government had considered releasing her on 'humanitarian grounds'.
But the junta cancelled that decision when the 'unexpected incident of the
intrusion of the American happened,' Brig Gen Myint Thein said. -- AFP, AP
__
Reporters and diplomats, including a reporter for The Associated Press, were
allowed into the courtroom for Tuesday's session, the second time during the
trial that such rare access has been granted.
'Thank you for your concern and support. It is always good to see people
from the outside world,' she told reporters and diplomats before being
escorted out of the court by four policewomen.
'Given her ordeal, she is in reasonably good shape,' said British Ambassador
Mark Canning, who met with Suu Kyi last week.
____
Straitstimes..
Myanmar lifts house arrest, but still detained
26 May 2009
YANGON - MYANMAR authorities lifted the house arrest of opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday, her lawyer said, but she remained in detention
while her trial continues.
The Nobel Peace laureate, whose house arrest was due to expire on Wednesday
after six years in detention, is accused of violating the terms of the order
by allowing an American intruder to stay in her home in early May.
'The house arrest has been lifted, but she is still under detention. I don't
know whether to be happy or sorry,' Nyan Win, one of her lawyers, told
reporters after Tuesday's court session.
He said Police Brigadier General Myint Thein read the order to Suu Kyi at
her prison house in Yangon's notorious Central Insein Prison.
Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years under some form of
detention, is widely expected to be found guilty and faces up to five years
in prison.
Western governments have denounced the trial as charade to keep the
charismatic National League for Democracy (NLD) leader in detention during
elections next year. -- REUTERS
____
Elder statesmen call for Suu Kyi's release
26 May 2009
LONDON - A GROUP of former world leaders and Nobel peace laureates called on
Tuesday for the release of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The group, known as the Elders and founded by South Africa's Nelson Mandela,
said their fellow group member Suu Kyi should be freed on Wednesday as her
latest 6-year period of house arrest is due to expire.
The group's chairman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, said Suu Kyi
was a symbol of hope for her nation and the world.
'We are moved by her courage and dignity. She shows the same steel as Nelson
Mandela, who endured 27 years in prison. Like him, she has right and
goodness on her side,' he said in a statement released during a meeting of
the group in Morocco.
Former US President Jimmy Carter said: 'Aung San Suu Kyi is a hero for those
who believe in human rights and democracy.'
The Elders, who are meeting in Marrakech, kept an empty chair for Suu Kyi,
as is usual at their meetings.
The Elders urged governments in South East Asia to make it clear to
Myanmar's leaders that their actions were jeopardising the legitimacy of
elections due in 2010, the statement said. -- REUTERS
____
Anwaribrahimblog..
Live radio interview on BBC World Update 5:00 PM Tuesday
26 May 09
Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim can be heard live at 5:00 PM (GMT + 8) on BBC World
Service's news program, World Update.
Click here to listen
bbc.co.uk..
Office of Anwar Ibrahim
____
Listen to World Update
BBC News..
Malaysian Opposition MPs To Help Free Suu Kyi
Clik Her More News..
600,000 Sign Petition For Release Of Myanmar's Political Prisoners
More News..
Asia, Europe ministers call for Myanmar prisoner release
Red More..
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UN Security Council Issues a Statement on Suu Kyi
23 May 2009, Irrawaddy news,
WASHINGTON.. — The 15-member UN Security Council on Friday expressed its concern about the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the current political situation in Burma in a council statement.
The Security Council president for the month of May, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, said: “The members of the Security Council express their concern about the political impact of recent developments relating to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Reaffirming the sentiments of the previous two statements issued by the Security Council in 2007 and 2008, Churkin said the council reiterated the importance of the release of all political prisoners.
However, unlike previous statements of concern, the statement was downgraded from a presidential statement to a statement issued to the press.
“The members of the Security Council reiterate the need for the Government of Myanmar [Burma] to create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the support of the United Nations,” he said.
Churkin said the Security Council members affirmed their commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Burma and said the future of the country lies in the hands of all of its people.
Talking to reporters outside the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, US Alternate Representative for Political Affairs Rosemary A DiCarlo expressed satisfaction with the Security Council’s decision to issue the statement.
During the past two days, the United States, Britain and France had consulted with other members of the Security Council on the Burma issue.
Because of stiff opposition from two veto-wielding members, the council was only able to issue a council statement on this occasion, DiCarlo said. The Burmese military junta in the past has simply ignored such statements from the UN.
Asked if she thought the council statement would have any impact on the Burmese military government, DiCarlo said: “We will continue speaking out to get that impact that we need. We know Rome wasn’t built in a day, and one statement isn’t necessarily going to do the trick. But we will continue to do so.”
Noting that countries who normally do not want to comment on such issues felt the need to comment this time around, the US diplomat said the US-led group obtained some good support from the Asian region.
“As I said, we’ve worked very collaboratively with other members of the Council. And we’ve made a very clear statement and tied it very clearly to the developments surrounding Aung San Suu Kyi,” DiCarlo said.
“The Council needed to speak out on this issue and speak with one voice. We’ve expressed our concern about the political impact of the recent developments related to Aung San Suu Kyi,” she said.
“We’ve reaffirmed our previous statements and called again for the release of all political prisoners, and made very clear that the Burmese regime needs to create the right conditions for a genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and with other concerned parties,” she said.
Talking to reporters, the British ambassador to the UN, Sir John Sawers, said the recent developments in Burma have “put the spotlight on the inhumanity of the regime” and “their failure” to follow the guidance not just from their neighbors and Asean, but also from all members of the UN Security Council that they should pursue a genuine national reconciliation and should create conditions for that.
“It is inconceivable that the trial and imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi can in any way contribute to that,” he said.
“She is the most prominent of the opposition leaders in Myanmar. She heads the party that won the only credible elections in recent memory in Myanmar and the regime needs to comes to terms with that, but has failed to do so,” Sawers said.
The British ambassador said the statement issued by the Security Council is an important expression of its concern on the recent developments in Burma.
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