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Activists rally outside the White House to send a message to President Obama before his trip to Myanmar (Burma): Protect human rights. On the eve of President Obama’s historic visit to Myanmar (Burma), human rights activists rallied in front of the White House to send a message to the President: press Burmese authorities to respect human rights. Myanmar is emerging from more than five decades of repressive military regimes, and the U.S. must be vigilant in its demand for freedom and justice. Amnesty International is asking you to stand with Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Myanmar through a symbolic photographic action. We are hoping to gather at least 2,100 photos by June 19 – Aung San Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday – to represent the 2,100 political prisoners detained in Myanmar. Myanmar is not a place that had crossed my radar until I traveled to Thailand in October 2008. If you are like me, you might have heard about monks protesting and a devastating cyclone hitting the country, but mostly this is a place that remains shrouded in mystery. Through some fortuitous networking in Thailand, I connected with a Burmese refugee community and learned about the issues in Myanmar firsthand from those fighting to create change in the country and hopefully one day return. Personally, I know that I feel powerless when I think about the weight of what is happening in Myanmar and how little I can do alone. However, when we stand together, we are strong. At the heart of the movement for Myanmar is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner and co-founder of the National League for Democracy (NLD), a pro-democracy political party that sought to counter the military junta that has reigned over Myanmar since 1962. In 1990, the NLD won the majority of the seats in the parliamentary election, but the military junta refused to recognize these election results and instead jailed scores of political activists. For 14 of the past 20 years, Aung San Suu Kyi has endured unofficial detention, house arrest and restrictions on her movement. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST Thank you to all the Amnesty activists who sent postcards calling for the release of more than 2,000 people detained in Myanmar. Big news. According to our latest count, the Myanmar government has granted amnesty to at least 126 political prisoners, including high profile Amnesty cases Khaing Kaung San, Ko Aung Tun and Myo Yan Naung Thein. The repressive Myanmar regime tried to silence these peaceful voices by putting them behind bars. We’ve been ratcheting up pressure on Myanmar for months, and it’s working. Just a few weeks ago, 20,000 Amnesty activists sent postcards calling for the release of more than 2,000 people detained in Myanmar simply for exercising their human rights. Amnesty members helped secure the release of Burmese dissident Ma Khin Khin Leh earlier this year. These amazing developments give us hope for the release of Nobel Laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, convicted in a sham trial and wrongly sentenced to 18 months in prison. AFGHANISTAN – Increased violence prior to elections As the second presidential election draws closer, increased violence from Taliban militants appears imminent. This past Monday, Taliban militants attacked official buildings in Pul-i-Alam, launching rockets towards the police headquarters and the governor’s building, threatening to weaken governmental authority. The Taliban have declared that they will continue with the attacks in order to disrupt the August 20th elections while the United Nations fears that intensified violence jeopardizes the voter turnout. This attack is one of the closest to have occurred to Kabul, the Afghan capital in the days prior to the election. As the threat to civilian life increases, the White House is in the process of re-evaluating its “metrics” of success to determine if the revamped strategy of the United States in Afghanistan is working. The new measures include tracking the size, strength and durability of the Afghan National Army, analyzing the number of operations led by the Afghan soldiers. The plan is also to include further protection of civilians while isolating the insurgents from support and sanctuary. Must Reads The Wall Street Journal’sinteractive map of Regional Violence in Afghanistan “My message to my Democratic colleagues is that we made mistakes in Iraq. Let’s not ‘Rumsfeld’ Afghanistan,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R), South Carolina. “It’s a very aggressive enemy right now. We’ve got to stop their momentum, stop their initiative. It’s hard work.” General McChrystal, U.S. commander in Afghanistan. MYANMAR – The shameful verdict Myanmar’s military junta handed down its shameful verdict against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi today, locking her up for at least another year and a half. Conveniently for the oppressive Generals, this will put her under house arrest until next year’s planned elections are over. The time between now and next year’s polls bears the great risk of further arrests and oppression of Myanmar’s political opposition. After all, there are already now more than 2,100 political prisoners locked up in the country’s prisons, where they are held in poor conditions and at risk of torture. To quell any potential protests in the aftermath of today’s verdict, the regime has strongly tightened security in the country. Today’s verdict led to worldwide condemnations, and the UN Security Council will be holding a special session on the topic. Political leaders around the world have already spoken out against this injustice. OVERHEARD – The world reacts to the verdict I join the international community in calling for Aung San Suu Kyi’s immediate unconditional release. Today’s unjust decision reminds us of the thousands of other political prisoners in Burma who, like Aung San Suu Kyi, have been denied their liberty because of their pursuit of a government that respects the will, rights, and aspirations of all Burmese citizens. They, too, should be freed. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. I call on the Burmese regime to heed the views of its own people and the international community and to work towards genuine national reconciliation. – US President Barack Obama 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 – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon The reduced sentence was “not a concession — it is a manipulation of an illegal process. It must not be accepted by any government.” – Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town With respect to Aung San Suu Kyi, she should not have been tried and she should not have been convicted. We continue to call for her release from continuing house arrest. The Burmese junta should immediately end its repression of so many in this country, start a dialogue with the oppositon and the ethnic groups. Otherwise the elections they have scheduled for next year will have absolutely no legitimacy – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton The Burmese authorities have shown with this iniquitous ruling their decision to ignore pressing messages from the international community – French President Nicolas Sarkozy I am both saddened and angry at the verdict today, August 11, following the sham trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. 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 – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Yesterday, twenty years after being declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International (with more than 13 of those 20 years spent under house arrest) Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the Myanmar opposition party the National League for Democracy, was awarded Amnesty International’s most prestigious honor, the “Ambassador of Conscience” Award, recognizing her exceptional leadership in the fight to protect and promote human rights. Amnesty International and the Irish rock band U2 announced the award in Dublin, Ireland. Though her house detention order was set to expire on May 27, 2009, Aung San Suu Kyi was instead arrested on grounds that she had violated the terms and conditions of her house arrest, and she was placed on trial on May 18. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is one of over 2,100 others currently imprisoned in Myanmar for their political beliefs, and all of these individuals should be freed. As Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan so eloquently put, “In those long and often dark years Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has remained a symbol of hope, courage and the undying defense of human rights, not only to the people of Myanmar but to people around the world.” Indeed, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a beacon of hope for some, a leader for many and an inspiration to us all. Learn more about Aung San Suu Kyi and take action! I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. The UN Human Rights Council concluded its special session on Sri Lanka yesterday by adopting a resolution proposed by the Sri Lankan government. The Council’s session should have been used to examine the reports of human rights violations and war crimes occurring during the recent fighting between the Sri Lankan security forces and the opposition Tamil Tigers. On May 17, the Sri Lankan government had announced that it had defeated the Tigers, recapturing all the territory controlled by them and killing their leaders. The Tigers had been fighting over the past 26 years to establish an independent state for the Tamil minority in the north and east of the country. Both sides have committed gross human rights violations and war crimes over the course of the conflict. Amnesty International had called for the Council to set up a fact-finding mission to look into allegations of abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law by both sides. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights told the Council’s special session that an independent, international investigation should be undertaken into these abuses. Both also called for the Sri Lankan government to give journalists and aid agencies unimpeded access to the hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians who’ve been placed by the government in overcrowded internment camps which they can’t leave. Of course, the Council’s resolution, since it was drafted by the Sri Lankan government, does none of these things. While condemning the Tigers, it makes no mention of abuses committed by the government forces. It simply acknowledges that the Sri Lankan government would provide aid agencies with access “as may be appropriate” to the displaced civilians. What’s next for the Human Rights Council – asking the Sudanese government to draft a resolution on Darfur? asking the government of Myanmar to draft a resolution on Aung San Suu Kyi? The Council could still redeem itself; its next regular session starts next Monday, June 2. The Council should take up action again on Sri Lanka and this time live up to its responsibilities by establishing an international investigation into the abuses committed by both sides and ensuring unimpeded access for aid agencies and the media to the displaced civilians. Yesterday was a very sad day for the cause of human rights in Sri Lanka. Let’s hope it’s not repeated. Myanmar's Insein Prison, where Auung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of others are held (c) Digital Globe 2008. Image taken from Google Earth Myanmar’s opposition leader and Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been brought to the country’s infamous Insein (pronounced “insane”) prison, to face trial on May 18. The prison has been described as the “darkest hell-hole in Burma” and houses many of the country’s more than 2,100 political prisoners. Just recently, after years of campaigning by Amnesty International, Mah Khin Khin Leh has been released from there. Aung San Suu Kyi’s transfer to Insein prison has sparked international outcry, led by Amnesty International activists. The UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, made the following statement yesterday : “I call on the government of Myanmar [Burma] to release Aung San Suu Kyi and her aides unconditionally”. The BBC has a good report summarizing the events of the last few days. Myanmar’s (Burma) pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was charged today with violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man allegedly snuck into her home last week. She now faces a prison term of up to five years – just weeks before her house arrest was set to expire on May 27th. With general elections coming up next year many have questioned the timing of the arrest as pretext to prevent Suu Kyi’s involvement. Is it merely a convenient coincidence? You decide. Suu Kyi’s female companion, Khin Khin Win, and Khin Khin Win’s daughter were also arrested at the same time. Amnesty International is demanding that the U.N. Security Council, notably China and Japan, and ASEAN countries, urgently intervene to secure their release. They are best placed to bring the necessary pressure to bear on the Myanmar government. After serving nearly 10 years of a life sentence in Myanmar (Burma), prisoner of conscience and long-time AIUSA priority case Ma Khin Khin Leh was freed this past weekend along with 18 others widely considered to be political prisoners. Ma Khin Khin Leh, a school teacher and young mother, had been serving a life sentence because her husband, a student activist, helped plan a demonstration to be held in Bago on July 19, 1999, to protest government policies and to show support for the National League for Democracy (NLD), a pro-democracy political party that sought to counter the military junta that had reigned over Myanmar since 1962. Days before the demonstration was to take place, authorities moved to prevent it. Failing to find her husband, security agents arrested Ma Khin Khin Leh and the couple’s three-year-old daughter. Although her daughter was released after spending five days in detention, Ma Khin Khin Leh, then age 33, was eventually transferred to Insein Prison. In December 1999, the Insein Special Court sentenced her to life imprisonment under vaguely-worded security legislation. Even by the normally harsh standards of “justice” meted out by Myanmar’s military government, the life sentence given to Ma Khin Khin Leh was extreme. Other AI sections and AIUSA have worked for Ma Khin Khin Leh’s release for many years; first as the subject of an Action File for local group campaigning efforts, as the AIUSA Midwest Region’s Special Focus Case from 2005 until recently and finally as one of AIUSA’s Priority Cases in tandem with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We do not know and perhaps never will know why Ma Khin Khin Leh was chosen to be one of those released, but we are overjoyed that she is finally free, and hope that she will quickly recover from the illness and trauma of her time in prison. Amnesty International. Action for Human Rights. Hope for Humanity.
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म्यानमारकी नेतृ आङ साङ सुकी सेनाकाे हिरासतमा, सत्ता परिवर्तन भएकाे आसंका एजेन्सी, माघ १९ । म्यानमारकी डेमोक्रेटिक नेतृ आङ साङ सुकीलाइ त्यहाकाे सेनाले पक्राउ गरेकाे छ । उनलाई सेनाले हिरासतमा लिएको उहाँको पार्टी नेशनल लिग फर डेमोक्रेटिकले जनाएको हो । केही समयदेखि म्यानमार सरकार र सेनाबीच भइरहेको तनावपछि सुकी पक्राउ परेकी हुन । सुकीको पक्राउसँगै म्यानमारमा सत्ता परिवर्तन हुने आशंका छ । सुकीको पार्टी नेशनल लिग फर डेमोक्रेटिकले नोभेम्बर महिनामा भएको चुनावमा फराकिलो मतले जित निकालेको थियो । तर सेनाले भने यो चुनावमा धाँधली गरेको दाबी गर्दै आएको थियो । सेनाले म्यानमारमा आजको संसद बैठक स्थगित गर्न आह्वान गरेको छ । नेशनल लिग फर डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टीका प्रवक्ताले प्रजातन्त्रवादी नेतृ सुकी, राष्ट्रपति विन मिंट र अर्का एक नेतालाई हिरासतमा लिएको बताएका रोयटर्सलाई उदृत गर्दै बीबीसीले जनाएको छ । अहिले म्यानमारको राजधानी नेपिटाव र अन्य मुख्य सहरका सडकमा सेनाको बाक्लो उपस्थित रहेको छ । राजधानीमा टेलिफोन र इन्टरनेट सेवामा समेत प्रतिबन्ध लगाइएको छ । सुकीले १५ वर्षसम्म लामो नजरबन्दको जीवन बिताउनु भएको छ । सुकीले सन् १९९१ मा नोबेल शान्ति पुरस्कार पाएकी थिइन ।