UK presses junta on Suu Kyi

Written by Estrella Torres / Reporter

Sunday, 20 June 2010

THE British government has pressed Burma’s military junta on the immediate and unconditional release of democracy icon and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, saying the United Nations has already declared her 15 years of detention as “an unequivocal breach of international human-rights law.” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Suu Kyi’s continued detention along with more than 2,000 political prisoners violates international human-rights law. He said Suu Kyi’s continued detention also “casts a long shadow” on the first democratic elections in Burma (renamed Myanmar). The prodemocracy leader turned 65 years old on Saturday and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention pronounced her detention as an unequivocal breach of international human-rights law. “I urge the military regime to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, and respect the human rights of Burma’s people,” said Hague, in a statement issued by the British Embassy in Manila. British Minister for Southeast Asia Jeremy Browne said, meanwhile, that Suu Kyi has made clear her commitment to work with all parties to achieve national reconciliation. “It is high time the regime released her and accepted her offer of dialogue,” he said. The UN and the international community have persistently called on Burma’s military junta to release Suu Kyi and the rest of the 2,000 political prisoners there. Story in “World,” page B6. The Philippines has also urged Burma/Myanmar to release Suu Kyi as part of the junta’s commitment to the road map to democracy, which it provided to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Burma also committed to conduct an all-inclusive democratic elections and release all political prisoners. The two countries are members of Asean, along with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore and Brunei. Minister Browne said the plight of Suu Kyi is reflective of the condition of some 2,100 political prisoners still languishing under harsh conditions and far from their families. “This is more than a human tragedy. It is a tragic waste of talent, vision and leadership for a country that desperately needs all three,” said Browne.”The people of Burma have suffered enough. A genuine transition to civilian and accountable government is long overdue. I am committed to making sure the UK plays a part in helping them achieve this.” AP Photo