Anger greets Suu Kyi conviction (BBC) World leaders have reacted with anger and disappointment at the conviction of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for violating security laws. The UN called for her immediate release after she was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest - where she has spent 14 of the past 20 years. The US, the European Union, Britain and France were among those who condemned the verdict. However, trading partners China and India have made no public comment. Ms Suu Kyi was on trial for allowing a US national, John Yettaw, into her lakeside home after he swam there uninvited. John Yettaw was jailed for seven years, including four years of hard labour. Critics of Burma's military regime say the verdict is designed to prevent Ms Suu Kyi from taking part in elections scheduled for 2010. 'Sham trial' UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has said he "strongly deplores" the verdict, and has called for Ms Suu Kyi's immediate and unconditional release. "Unless she and all other political prisoners in Myanmar [Burma] are released and allowed to participate in free and fair elections, the credibility of the political process will remain in doubt," he said. A spokesman for the European Union, Ton van Lierop, said the further detention of the 64-year-old was unjustified and unacceptable. "Keeping Aung San Suu Kyi under arrest under fabricated reasons violates her fundamental freedoms, and does not serve the proclaimed national interest either," he told the BBC. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "saddened and angry" by the verdict in what he called a "sham" trial. In a strongly-worded statement, he condemned the "purely political sentence". A statement from the office of Nicolas Sarkozy said the French president was calling on the European Union to impose new sanctions on Burma. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Aung San Suu Kyi should not have been tried or convicted. She also called for the release of Mr Yettaw and "more than 2,000 political prisoners". "The Burmese junta should immediately end its repression of so many in this country, start a dialogue with the opposition and the ethnic groups. "Otherwise the elections they have scheduled for next year will have absolutely no legitimacy," she said. Asian response Mrs Suu Kyi's previous period of house arrest expired on 27 May. This new term will mean she is still in detention during the polls, which are expected to take place in about May 2010. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won the last elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power. In Asia, the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines have been outspoken in condemning the sentence. But, says the BBC's Jill McGivering, it is notable that two of Burma's biggest trading partners and allies - India and China - have avoided public comment on the trial. India and China, with Thailand, have been accused by critics of propping up the military government, especially in recent years as growing economic sanctions have strangled its trade relationship with the West. Canada calls Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest 'vindictive' (AFP) OTTAWA — Canada's prime minister Tuesday "strongly condemned" a further 18-months of house arrest handed to Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, saying it is "unwarranted, unjustified, and vindictive." "Canada strongly condemns the Burmese regime's decision to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi to a further 18 months house arrest," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement. Canada refers to Myanmar by its former name, Burma. "This decision is clearly not in accordance with the rule of law: the charges laid against her were baseless and her trial did not come close to meeting international standards of due process. "Her continued detention is unwarranted, unjustified, and vindictive," he said. A Myanmar court convicted the 64-year-old opposition leader of breaching the terms of her detention by the ruling military junta, following a bizarre incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her home. Judges sentenced Suu Kyi to three years of hard labor and imprisonment, but military ruler Than Shwe signed a special order commuting the sentence and ordering her to serve out a year-and-a-half under house arrest. Suu Kyi has been kept in detention for nearly 14 of the past 20 years, since the military regime refused to recognize her National League for Democracy's landslide victory in elections in 1990. Harper accused Myanmar's ruling generals of having "manufactured an excuse to keep Aung San Suu Kyi in detention to ensure she will not be able to participate in the proposed 2010 elections." "Canada calls for the regime to unconditionally free all political prisoners and allow all citizens, including opposition groups, to freely participate in the electoral process," he said. Last year, Canada made Suu Kyi an honorary citizen in recognition of her "long and courageous struggle to promote freedom and democracy" in her homeland. EU President Statement Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the verdict against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi The European Union condemns the verdict against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and the unjustified trial against her. The proceedings against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, on charges which were brought twenty years after she was first wrongfully arrested, have been in breach of national and international law. The EU urges the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release her. The authorities of Burma/Myanmar have chosen to ignore the protests over her arrest and the appeals for her release. These have come from a larger number of States and organisations than ever before, led by the UN Secretary-General, and including the Chair and several Member States of ASEAN, of which Burma/Myanmar is a member. The EU will respond with additional targeted measures against those responsible for the verdict. In addition, the EU will further reinforce its restrictive measures targeting the regime of Burma/Myanmar, including its economic interests. The EU underlines its readiness to revise, amend or reinforce its measures in light of the developments in Burma/Myanmar. The EU will intensify its work with the international community, and especially with its partners in Asia, to achieve our common aim of obtaining the immediate and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners in Burma/Myanmar. This is an essential first step in the process of genuine national reconciliation that is needed if the elections in 2010 are to be seen as credible, free and fair, as was also stressed by the UN Secretary-General during his mission to Burma/Myanmar on 3-4 July. The EU urges the authorities of Burma/Myanmar to comply with the Secretary General's demands and to cooperate with the UN and the international community. If the authorities decide to take such steps, the EU stands ready to respond positively. The EU recalls its strong and unwavering commitment to support and sustain the people of Burma/Myanmar. The EU provides the people with substantial humanitarian assistance and stands ready to increase its support further. Paris – August 11th 2009 : The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Burma Lawyer Council (BLC) and The Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma) express their outrage regarding the condemnation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by the Insein prison court in Rangoon to 18 months house arrest. “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. The Report entitled “Burma: An International Commission of Inquiry more urgent than ever”, can be downloaded at http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/bu08.pdf Press contacts Gael Grilhot, FIDH Press Office : + 33 1 43 55 90 19 Debbie Stothard, Coordinator of Altsean-Burma : +668 1686 1652 Aung Htoo, General Secretary of BLC: + 46 70 866 4159 Gordon Brown statement on Aung San Suu Kyi The Prime Minister has released a statement following the news that Aung San Suu Kyi will spend 1.5 further years under house arrest in Burma. I am both saddened and angry at the verdict today, 11 August , following the sham trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. The news - that she has been found guilty and sentenced to three years hard labour but that this has been “mitigated” to a suspended sentence of 1.5 years under house arrest - is further proof that the military regime in Burma is determined to act with total disregard for accepted standards of the rule of law and in defiance of international opinion. This is a purely political sentence designed to prevent her from taking part in the regime’s planned elections next year. So long as Aung San Suu Kyi and all those political opponents imprisoned in Burma remain in detention and are prevented from playing their full part in the political process, the planned elections in 2010 will have no credibility or legitimacy. The façade of her prosecution is made more monstrous because its real objective is to sever her bond with the people for whom she is a beacon of hope and resistance. I have always made clear that the United Kingdom would respond positively to any signs of progress on democratic reform in Burma. But with the generals explicitly rejecting that course today, the international community must take action. The EU has agreed to impose tough new sanctions targeting the economic interests of the regime. I also believe that the UN Security Council - whose will has been flouted - must also now respond resolutely and impose a worldiwide ban on the sale of arms to the regime. My thoughts today are with Aung San Suu Kyi - the human face of Burma’s tragedy - and with the people of Burma who suffer on a daily basis. Suu Kyi Convicted – Time For Global Arms Embargo Against Burma BCUK The Burma Campaign UK today strongly condemned the Burmese military dictatorship for continuing to detain Burma’s democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and called on the United Nations Security Council to impose a global arms embargo against Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi was found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest after an American man, John Yettaw, swam to her house and refused to leave. As the Burma Campaign UK predicted, Aung San Suu Kyi was not given the maximum 5 year prison sentence, but instead will serve 18 months under house arrest. The regime will try to present this as leniency in order to avoid international sanctions. This period of detention keeps Aung San Suu Kyi in detention during rigged elections due in 2010. The elections bring in a new constitution which is designed to legalise military rule. “The dictatorship is directly defying the United Nations Security Council,” said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK. “It is time the generals faced consequences for their actions, a global arms embargo should be imposed immediately.” On May 22nd the Security Council issued a statement – its third – calling on the regime to enter into genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic groups. Instead they have continued to detain her, along with more than 2,100 political prisoners. The dictatorship is determined to silence all pro-democracy voices in the country in the run up to rigged elections next year. The elections bring in a new constitution that enshrines military rule, and grants no new freedoms or human rights. Instead, a rubber stamp Parliament will do the government’s bidding. Aung San Suu Kyi has been in detention for more than 13 of the past 19 years. The United Nations has ruled that her detention is illegal under international law and Burmese law. According to the dictatorship, her current period of detention was due to expire on 27th May. She was put on trial on 18th May for breaking the conditions of her house arrest after an American man swam to her home and refused to leave. “There was an outcry when the trial started, now those fine words must now be turned into practical action,” said Zoya Phan. “The soft diplomacy of the UN and Asian countries has failed. A global arms embargo is the most effective way of showing this military dictatorship that it can no longer defy the international community.” The Burma Campaign UK is also calling on the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes being committed by the dictatorship in Burma. For more information contact Zoya Phan on 07738630139, or Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK, on 07941239640. Nobel Laureates Call for Action on Burma: A UN Security Council Commission of Inquiry (Ottawa). The UN Security Council must take strong action on Burma and issue an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Burmese military regime. This was the message sent by 14 Nobel Laureates—including The Dalai Lama, Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Kim Dae-jung and Archbishop Desmond Tutu in an open letter to the Security Council. The letter was released today in response to the guilty verdict of Burma’s democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. “This illegal verdict is just one more instance of the junta’s contempt for justice, security, and democracy for the Burmese people,” said Nobel Laureate Jody Williams. “The brutality and lawlessness of this regime can no longer be ignored. It is within the realm of the Security Council to address the crimes against the people of Burma, and the time to act is now.” Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted today by the Burmese military junta, and sentenced to 18 more months of house arrest. The junta says Suu Kyi violated her house arrest in May when she offered temporary shelter to an American man, John William Yettaw, who swam to her lakeside home. Her supporters say the move is meant to keep her confined so she cannot participate in the general elections scheduled for 2010. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions (UNWGAD), an arm of the UN Human Rights Council, has ruled the arrest and detention of Suu Kyi illegal, stating that, "The latest renewal (2008) of the order to place Ms. Suu Kyi under house arrest not solely violates international law but also national domestic laws of Myanmar.” While she is the country’s most prominent political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi is not alone. Over 2100 democracy activists are presently in Burmese prisons. In the meantime, the Burmese military continues its attacks on the people of Burma. In June, the Burmese military dropped mortar shells onto an internally displaced persons camp, causing over 5,000 villagers to flee for their lives. Experts have documented hundreds of cases of crimes against humanity in Burma over the last 15 years, including the rape of hundreds of women. The Laureates’ open letter states that the crimes against the Burmese people and the full extent of the brutality of the regime must be investigated and must not be tolerated any longer. It calls on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution creating a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, and to end the impunity of the Burmese military. “The people of Burma have suffered unimaginable human rights abuses at the hands of dictators. Aung San Suu Kyi’s latest conviction is the final straw,” says Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire. “The time has come for the international community to unite, and stand together in peaceful opposition to the actions of the military junta. The UN Security Council needs to act immediately to send the message that this kind of brutal oppression will not be tolerated, and hold the regime accountable.” Burma Court Finds Aung San Suu Kyi Guilty
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