Aung San Suu Kyi – A clear voice for freedom

Everywhere in the world where there is oppression there is also thought control and censorship. That is why the BBC World Service has been an important life line for freedom and has given societies starved of information that which they crave the most. Witness the testimony of one of freedom’s most wonderful protagonist the Burmese Leader and Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, known in Burma simply as “The Lady.”

There were many poignant moments in Aung San Suu Kyi's Reith Lectures (Radio 4), but one of the most powerful things about it was that as she spoke eloquently about freedom, was the fact this is a clandestine lectures that had to be smuggled out of Burma. As this bravest of women and Nobel Laureate said with the authority and respect her long and lonely campaign for the freedom and dignity of the Burmese People has earned;



“To be speaking to you now, through the BBC, has a very special meaning for me. It means that, once again, I am officially a free person. When I was officially un-free - that is to say when I was under house arrest - it was the BBC that spoke to me. I listened. But that listening also gave me a kind of freedom: the freedom of reaching out to other minds.

Of course it was not the same as a personal exchange, but it was a form of human contact. The freedom to make contact with other human beings with whom you may wish to share your thoughts, your hopes, your laughter, and at times even your anger and indignation is a right that should never be violated.

Even though I cannot be with you in person today, I am so grateful for this opportunity to exercise my right to human contact by sharing with you my thoughts on what freedom means to me and to others across the world who are still in the sad state of what I would call un-freedom.”

Let us not have any false optimism about Burma now that Nobel Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been “released” from house arrest. Suu Kyi will only be free when Burma and its long suffering people are free. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years. It is not yet clear if any conditions have been placed on her release.

Let us also not forget when we see her quiet dignity that she is the only democratically elected leader of Burma since independence. In May 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD convincingly won the polls, despite the fact that she herself was under house arrest and disqualified from standing. But the junta refused to hand over control, and has remained in power ever since. Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the country's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947, just six months before independence. Aung San Suu Kyi was only two years old at the time.



So it was a Reith Lecture without a lecturer present in front of an audience. This didn't matter to those of us listening on the radio and in fact echoed the role radio played for San Suu Kyi in her years of incarceration. "When I was officially un-free," she said at the beginning of her lecture, "it was the BBC that spoke to me."

Let us say it loud, let us say it clear; Aung San Suu Kyi will only be free when Burma and its long suffering people are free of the Goon Squad Junta. The struggle continues.

For more background see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/suu-kyi-will-be-free-only-when-burma-is.html

And articles in my Blog Sidebar under “Aung San Suu Kyi will be free only when Burma is free” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Suu Kyi will be free only when Burma is free

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Let us not have any false optimism about Burma now that Nobel Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been “released” from house arrest. Suu Kyi will only be free when Burma and its long suffering people are free. The Burmese military authorities have released the pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest. Appearing outside her home in Rangoon, Ms Suu Kyi told thousands of jubilant supporters they had to "work in unison" to achieve their goals. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years. It is not yet clear if any conditions have been placed on her release.

US President Barack Obama welcomed her release as "long overdue". UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Ms Suu Kyi was an "inspiration", and called on Burma to free all its remaining political prisoners. Ms Suu Kyi, 65, was freed after her latest period of house arrest expired and was not renewed by the military government. Her release comes six days after the political party supported by the military won the country's first election in 20 years. The ballot was widely condemned as a sham.



The ecstatic crowd swelled to three or four thousand before Ms Suu Kyi, in a traditional lilac dress, finally appeared, about 30 minutes later, on a platform behind the gate of her compound. She took a flower from someone in the crowd and placed it in her hair. Ms Suu Kyi then tried to speak, but was drowned out by the noise of the crowd, many singing the national anthem and chanting her name repeatedly.

"I have to give you the first political lesson since my release. We haven't seen each other for so long, so we have many things to talk about. If you have any words for me, please come to the [NLD] headquarters tomorrow and we can talk then and I'll use a loud speaker," she joked. "There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk," she added. "People must work in unison. Only then can we achieve our goal."

She then went back inside her home for the first meeting with NLD leaders in seven years. She also spoke to her youngest son, Kim Aris, who was awaiting her release in neighbouring Thailand. Ms Suu Kyi had two sons with late husband, British scholar Michael Aris.


Buddist Monks protesting in 2007

During her early years of detention, she was often in solitary confinement. She was not allowed to see her two sons or her husband, who died of cancer in March 1999. The military authorities offered to allow her to travel to the UK to see him when he was gravely ill, but she felt compelled to refuse for fear she would not be allowed back into the country. She has grandchildren she has never met.

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the country's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947, just six months before independence. Aung San Suu Kyi was only two years old at the time. In 1960 she went to India with her mother Daw Khin Kyi, who had been appointed Burma's ambassador to Delhi. Four years later she went to Oxford University in the UK, where she studied philosophy, politics and economics. There she met her future husband, academic Michael Aris.


Suu Kyi as a child with her father General Aung San and mother Daw Khin Kyi

After stints of living and working in Japan and Bhutan, she settled down to be an English don's housewife in Oxford and raise their two children, Alexander and Kim. But Burma was never far from her thoughts. When she arrived back in Rangoon in 1988 - to look after her critically ill mother - Burma was in the midst of major political upheaval.

Thousands of students, office workers and monks took to the streets demanding democratic reform. "I could not, as my father's daughter remain indifferent to all that was going on," she said in a speech in Rangoon on 26 August 1988. Ms Suu Kyi was soon propelled into leading the revolt against the then-dictator, General Ne Win. Inspired by the non-violent campaigns of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King and India's Mahatma Gandhi, she organised rallies and travelled around the country, calling for peaceful democratic reform and free elections.



But the demonstrations were brutally suppressed by the army, who seized power in a coup on 18 September 1988. The military government called national elections in May 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD convincingly won the polls, despite the fact that she herself was under house arrest and disqualified from standing. But the junta refused to hand over control, and has remained in power ever since.

Less than a week ago, Myanmar's military party swept the country’s first elections in more than 20 years amid heavy criticism and allegations of widespread fraud. As a result, thousands are fleeing the region as violence erupts.




In a famous speech given to the National League for Democracy Suu Kyi brought the concepts of Mahatma Gandhi into clear focus when she said:

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it… Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one’s actions, courage that could be described as ‘grace under pressure’ – grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure….

Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure.

A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity.


Suu Kyi under house arrest in her family's lakeside villa on University Road, Rangoon

It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.

The wellspring of courage and endurance in the face of unbridled power is generally a firm belief in the sanctity of ethical principles combined with a historical sense that despite all the setbacks condition of man is set on an ultimate course for both spiritual and material advancement. It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute.

At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations and environmental impediments.

It is man’s vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear. It is man’s vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear.

Concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power.”

Let us not forget that the military junta which imprisons the Burmese People, has squandered a fortune on building a make believe “Capital” in the jungle and which enriches itself and its families whilst keeping the people in poverty has over 2,100 political prisoners rotting in its squalid jails. As Daw Suu Kyi has said;



"The release of political prisoners is the most important thing for all those who truly wish to bring about change in Burma."

So let us not let the loathsome Military Junta which still rules Burma off the hook – there is still a long road to travel before the Burmese people enjoy freedom and an economy which meets their needs and aspirations. Suu Kyi’s father, General Aung San, would have been the first leader of Independent Burma if he was not assassinated in 1947. Daw Suu Kyi is the democratically elected leader of the Burmese people with her National League for Democracy having convincingly won the 1990 General election. She was denied the fruits of victory by the successors of those who killed her father. By the brave leadership of an “Army” which has only ever fought against and killed its own people. By sham generals with sham medals who have set up an oppressive kleptocracy which flogs off Burma’s natural resources to China, India and others to fatten themselves and their families whilst running Burma with spectacular incompetence.

The struggle is only beginning. Let us say it loud, let us say it clear; Aung San Suu Kyi will only be free when Burma and its long suffering people are free of the Goon Squad Junta. The struggle continues.


Daw Suu Kyi

Born 1945, daughter of Burma's independence hero, General Aung San, assassinated in 1947

1960: Leaves Burma and is later educated at Oxford University

1988: Returns to care for sick mother and is caught up in revolt against then-dictator Ne Win

1989: Put under house arrest as Burma junta declares martial law

1990: NLD wins election; military disregards result

1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize

1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted

1999: Her husband Michael Aris died of cancer in the UK, she could not visit him for fear of being exiled

2000: Near continuous period of house arrest begins

Sept 2007: First public appearance since 2003, greeting protesting Buddhist monks

November 2010: NLD boycotts first election in 20 years and is disbanded; House arrest ends

Radios for Burma from Amnesty International on Vimeo.

The "darkest hell-hole in Burma"‏

Activists with a birthday cake for Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi marks her 65th birthday on Saturday under house arrest as activists hold protests around the globe and world leaders call for the ruling junta to free her. US President Barack Obama on Friday called on the Myanmar regime to free Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a message sending best wishes for her 65th birthday. Obama hailed the Myanmar opposition leader's "determination, courage, and personal sacrifice in working for human rights and democratic change" as she marks her birthday Saturday under house arrest in Yangon.

Her integrity and commitment to non violence and the people of Burma contrasts with the ugliness of the regime of General Than Shwe and his fellow Military Goons who run the country as a personal kleptocracy as the steal the birthright and hope of the Burmese people.

The military regime has kept Suu Kyi in detention for almost 15 years and she has been barred from running in upcoming elections that critics have denounced as a sham aimed at entrenching the generals' power. Even so, the woman known in Myanmar simply as "The Lady" remains the most powerful symbol of freedom in a country where the army rules with an iron fist.


Monks protesting

The opposition leader is expected to spend a quiet day at her dilapidated lakeside mansion, where she lives with two female assistants, cut off from the outside world without telephone or Internet access. Her supporters plan to throw a small party at one of their houses in northern Yangon in her absence. Members of her National League for Democracy are planting about 20,000 saplings around Myanmar to mark her birthday and plan to send spicy food to her home to share with workers doing renovations. "We believe Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's political spirit will keep growing as long as the trees grow," said lawyer Aung Thein, an active NLD figure. "Daw" is a term of respect in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.


Shoes abandoned by protestors as they fled

Suu Kyi's party won the last vote in 1990 but was never allowed to take office. A UN working group this week pronounced her detention a breach of international human rights law, prompting new calls for her release.

"I wish to convey my best wishes to Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate, on the occasion of her 65th birthday on June 19," Obama said in his message. "I once again call on the Burmese government to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally and to allow them to build a more stable, prosperous Burma that respects the rights of all its citizens."

Amnesty International USA reports;

“Aung San Suu Kyi's last birthday was spent in the infamous Insein (pronounced "insane") prison – notorious for its foul conditions and unrelenting use of torture. Today, more than 2,100 political prisoners are being held in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), many of whom are hidden away in the prison's darkest corners.


Insein prison

But in Honour of Suu Kyi's 65th birthday on June 19th, we're doing all we can to fill those corners with light and expose Myanmar's treatment of political dissents for what it really is…insane. Help drive our ongoing work to protect human rights in Myanmar. Less than a month ago, a youth member of the former National League for Democracy, the political party headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, had his sentence in Insein prison extended by 10 years. Life without human rights is insane. His original offence - distributing a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi.


General Than Shye Leader of the Goon Squad

This blatant manipulation of laws and outright injustice has got to stop. We've fought tirelessly on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi for the past 2 decades and such abuse of human rights only fuels our desire to bring violators to justice once and for all. Our team of researchers and experts are observing Myanmar closely and reporting back whenever there are new developments and opportunities for action. And given that national elections are planned for later this year, our teams are remaining particularly vigilant to ensure that no person is improperly detained during election-related crackdowns without setting off major alarms across the human rights spectrum. But we need your help. This kind of in-depth reporting is done by few, but requires resources and the support of many.

Please say that you'll join the fight to protect political dissidents in Myanmar. Stand with us as we stand with Suu Kyi and the more than 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar. Let Myanmar's government know that a light still shines for human rights even in the darkest corners.”

www.amnestyusa.org

Stand with Aung San Suu Kyi

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/06/stand-with-aung-san-suu-kyi.html

Stand with Aung San Suu Kyi‏

Next Saturday 19th June will be the 65th birthday of Burma's jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. As has been the case for much of her life, the brave freedom fighter and Nobel Peace Laureate will be allowed no celebrations or contact with her loved ones.

Tension builds once again as Myanmar prepares for its elections. Many fear that widespread arrests and detainment will result from election-related crackdowns. Moreover, contributing to the anxiety is the anticipated release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been held under house arrest for nearly 15 years.


Aung San Suu Kyi addressing supporters before her arrest

But Suu Kyi has been close to completing her sentence before. Just last year, as she neared her release date, she was found guilty of allowing an uninvited American man to stay at her home after he strapped homemade flippers to his feet and swam across a lake bordering her house. Authorities sentenced her to 18 more months of detention - meaning that she would not be released until after Myanmar's elections were completed. These arbitrary sentences just won't do. Demand that Aung San Suu Kyi be released immediately and unconditionally.

Earlier this year, Suu Kyi's party, National League for Democracy (NLD), was dissolved for refusing to re-register as a political party, a move that would have forced it to expel its own leader because she is serving a prison term.

It is painfully obvious that Myanmar's government is doing all it can to box Suu Kyi and her supporters into a corner. Her very existence challenges the military's authority because she inspires the people of Myanmar to believe. More than ever, it's up to us to stand united.


General Than Shwe - Leader of the Myanmar Dictatorship

When news about one of the most iconic and revered leaders of our time breaks, whatever the outcome, we need to be able to call on you to stand with Aung San Suu Kyi and stand up for human rights.

The biggest tragedy of all is that Aung San Suu Kyi should have never been arrested in the first place. Her punishment is politically motivated and is an outright violation of international law. But as long as we continue to carry the torch for Aung San Suu Kyi, then Myanmar's junta can't touch us. Help light the way for the people of Myanmar.




Sign the Amnesty International petition to release Aung San Suu Kyi;

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=12656&ICID=I1006A03&tr=y&auid=6491139

See also;

Denounce Aung San Suu Kyi’s imprisonment;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/08/denounce-aung-san-suu-kyis-imprisonment.html

This video “Burma VJ” exposes the atrocities and injustices that have been taking place under the junta's unbending rule. In the film the undercover network of VJs (video journalists) record the appalling treatment of the Burmese citizens and monks which caused a global uproar during the recent uprising. The VJs risk torture, imprisonment and even death in their quest to report what is going on in their closed country.

Aung San Suu Kyi - matching words with action

From Amnesty International;

Leaders worldwide condemned Myanmar's decision last week to extend Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment by 18 months after finding her guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest.

It's time for global leaders to match words with actions.

While Amnesty applauds the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' condemnation of the verdict in Aung San Suu Kyi's trial, the 10-nation ASEAN bloc must ratchet up pressure for the release of Suu Kyi and thousands of other political prisoners in Myanmar.

The head of the Myanmar's ruling military junta, Than Shwe, has brushed off criticisms before, and there's little reason to believe he'll clean-up his act unless ASEAN shows that this time it means business.

That's why we're calling on ASEAN to convene a meeting of the top brass in foreign affairs from all 10 member nations to come up with concrete measures to finally address the growing human rights crisis in Myanmar.


General Than Shwe

We're turning up the heat ourselves by calling on supporters to send 10,000 postcards – instead of emails – to the Thai government, which currently chairs ASEAN. (Don't worry – we'll send the postcard for you, so you don't have to buy postage, lick stamps or find a mailbox.)

Send a postcard today demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and thousands of other political prisoners in Myanmar. Time is running out. Vietnam will replace Thailand as chair of ASEAN at the end of next month. Critics have raised concerns that ASEAN's new human rights body will be toothless under Vietnam's leadership.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98b8a476-7548-11de-9ed5-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

We must ramp up our calls on Thailand to show leadership on human rights in Myanmar in order for it to make a difference in the remaining weeks of its chairmanship.

Act now. Help us send 10,000 postcards to the Thai government by September 1st to urge them to call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and thousands of other political prisoners in Myanmar.

Paste this link into your browser to send a postcard.

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.jhKPIXPCIoE/b.5380275/k.7928/Free_Aung_San_Suu_Kyi/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=5380275&ICID=I0908A02&tr=y&auid=5207238

Denounce Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment‏

The Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been found guilty on the 11th August 2009 of violating state security laws, in effect preventing her from campaigning in next year's elections. A court in Rangoon convicted her of breaking the terms of her house arrest when she allowed an American man, John Yettaw, to stay at her home on Inya Lake after he swam there uninvited in May.

Ms Suu Kyi, who had denied the charge, was sentenced to an additional three years house arrest but this was commuted to eighteen months by the military government. There's been strong international condemnation. She has now been returned to her home where she has lived under house arrest for nearly twenty years. Mr Yettaw was found guilty on three separate charges and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Ms Suu Kyi's opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won national elections in 1990 but the military refused to relinquish power. In the general election, Suu Kyi won right to be Prime Minister, as leader of the winning National League for Democracy party, which won 59% of the vote and 394 of 492 seats. Her subsequent detention by the military junta prevented her from assuming office. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 but has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years. Her father, General Aung San, founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma's independence from the United Kingdom in 1947; he was assassinated by his rivals in the same year.


Aung San Suu Kyi aged 2 with her parents

Myanmar's military junta extended Nobel Peace laureate and pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment by 18 months after finding her guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest. Critics of Myanmar's military regime condemned the outcome of the 3-month sham trial, calling it a pretext to keep Suu Kyi out of the running during next year's presidential elections.


Aung San Suu Kyi is escorted to a car on the third day of her trial at Yangon's Insein Prison

The trial was held in camera in Insein Prison except for one day when international observers and diplomats were allowed to observe proceedings. As the generals have carried out the trial in secret, deep inside the Yangon prison diplomats were shocked to find themselves suddenly being taken to witness the trial - coming face to face with Suu Kyi for the first time in nearly six years. She called out to diplomats in English, telling them she hoped she would see them again 'in better days'. 'She was ramrod straight, dignified, composed,' British ambassador Mark Canning, who sat in court with 10 other ambassadors, told the Independent. She seemed to crackle with energy - you could see the way she commanded her defence team, and in fact commanded the wider courtroom.' 'She exuded an aura that can only be described as awe-inspiring,' Philippines charge d'affaires Joselito Chad Jacinto added.

The junta — which currently detains more than 2,100 political prisoners — commuted Suu Kyi's sentence from three years hard labour in prison to an 18-month extension to her house arrest in the hopes that the international community will view the reduced sentence as an act of leniency. But Suu Kyi should have never been imprisoned in the first place.


Protester killed in 2007

Suu Kyi's deplorable imprisonment has been denounced by everyone from heads of state worldwide to nine of Suu Kyi's fellow Nobel laureates. Join the court of world opinion in condemning Daw Ang San Suu Kyi's sham trial. Tell the leader of Myanmar's military junta that Suu Kyi shouldn't serve another minute of her sentence.
We know that the odds of success may seem stacked against us any time we appeal to authoritarian rulers. But the recent release of two U.S. journalists from North Korea is proof that even totalitarian regimes are vulnerable to relentless international pressure. The fact that Myanmar's government reduced Suu Kyi's sentence is also a sign that the military regime is susceptible to the world community's criticisms.


Burmese monks protest 2007

It has been proven time after time that even military dictatorships and other repressive regimes are no match for world condemnation lending support to internal democracy campaigners. Just last year, Ma Khin Khin Leh, another prisoner of conscience in Myanmar, obtained her release after Amnesty activists sent tens of thousands of letters to Myanmar's leaders on her behalf.

Join Amnesty today in calling for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's immediate release.

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=12656&ICID=I0908A01&tr=y&auid=5173508

See also;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/07/amnesty-honours-burmas-suu-kyi.html

This is Aung San Suu Kyi's website;

http://www.dassk.com/index.php

In a famous speech given to the National League for Democracy Suu Kyi brought the concepts of Mahatma Gandhi into clear focus when she said:

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it… Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavor, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one’s actions, courage that could be described as ‘grace under pressure’ – grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure….

Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure.



A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity.

It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.



The wellspring of courage and endurance in the face of unbridled power is generally a firm belief in the sanctity of ethical principles combined with a historical sense that despite all the setbacks condition of man is set on an ultimate course for both spiritual and material advancement. It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute.

At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations and environmental impediments.

It is man’s vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear. It is man’s vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear.

Concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power.”

Amnesty honours Burma's Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi, elected leader of the Burmese people

Aung San Suu Kyi was today awarded Amnesty International's highest honour, the Ambassador of Conscience Award. The human rights group said it hoped this would help protect the Burmese pro-democracy leader as she faces a potential prison sentence. Amnesty secretary-general Irene Khan said the award coincided with the 20th anniversary of Ms Suu Kyi's initial arrest on 20 July 1989, as she led a campaign to oust Burma's military dictators.

Rock band U2 were due to announce the award tonight at a Dublin concert. U2, who won the honour in 2005 in recognition of singer Bono's humanitarian work, have been honouring Ms Suu Kyi at each performance of their European tour.


Bono

Closing arguments were heard today in the trial of Nobel Peace laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, marking a transition into a crucial phase of her court case and her 20-year non-violent struggle against Myanmar's military junta. The court's verdict could come at any time.

Suu Kyi could spend as many as 5 years in Myanmar's notorious Insein Prison — which some have referred to as the "darkest hell-hole in Burma" — if she's convicted. Critics have condemned the regime's trumped-up charges as a flimsy pretext for keeping her in prison and out of the country's 2010 elections.

Meanwhile, Myanmar authorities have been cracking down on other democracy activists outside the courtroom. The military regime arrested at least 50 opposition party members on Sunday as they peacefully observed the anniversary of the death of Myanmar independence hero Gen. Aung San.

While the trial was initially open to journalists and diplomats, Myanmar authorities closed the courthouse doors, leaving the international community in the dark on the subsequent proceedings. The country's military junta is hoping that by the time the court reaches a verdict in Suu Kyi's case, the world will have long since forgotten about her.

Ms Suu Kyi's opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won national elections in 1990 but the military refused to relinquish power. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 but has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.
Ms Khan said: "In those long and often dark years, Suu Kyi has remained a symbol of hope, courage and the undying defence of human rights." Ms Suu Kyi, 64, is on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house-arrest: harbouring an American who swam to her Rangoon home uninvited. The offence can carry a five-year prison sentence. Foreign diplomats have been barred from key parts of her trial. Her supporters accuse Burma's junta of seeking to put her behind bars until after elections planned for next year.


Saffron Revolution crushed in 2007

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, a fellow Nobel Laureate and the first winner of the award in 2003, said foreign recognition probably has deterred Burma's rulers from imposing even harsher punishments on Ms Suu Kyi. "I know from my own experience that international attention can, to a certain extent, protect the unjustly persecuted from punishments that would otherwise be imposed. Goodness knows what would have happened if her fate had not been highlighted as it is again today," Mr Havel said in a statement.

Her trial has been adjourned until tomorrow. Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer, Nyan Win, said he expected a verdict in two or three weeks. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (64) is a non-violent pro-democracy campaigner and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy in Myanmar (Burma). According to the New York Times she has been held under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years by the military junta. In 1991 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship.

The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma) for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.

...Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades. She has become an important symbol in the struggle against oppression...

...In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour this woman for her unflagging efforts and to show its support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means."

Let us all condemn the self serving Burmese Junta who have imprisoned a whole Nation and cut shabby deals to enrich themselves and their families with the natural resources of what should be the richest nation in the region. What brave Generals they are who have only ever fought against their own people whilst running a kleptocracy. How they must fear the reckoning which is surely to come. Let us join Amnesty International in honouring Daw Aung San Suu Kyi the democratically elected leader of Burma, daughter of the leader of its struggle for independence and a true daughter of Burma.

Free Aung San Suu Kyi and free the people of Burma from the military freeloaders who enslave them.

Here is Aung San Suu Kyi’s website;

http://www.dassk.com/index.php


Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the grounds of the Rangoon house where she has been imprisoned for most of the past 20 years

Aung San Suu Kyi's life on the line

The military junta in Myanmar (Burma) wants to throw Aung San Suu Kyi in jail for 5 years. Act now so we can flood General Than Shwe's office with letters:

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=11134

Aung San Suu Kyi faces her oppressors this week on charges that could land her in jail for five years.

The trial comes just days before she was set to be released from house arrest.Her life is on the line. Aung San Suu Kyi's health is at risk, and five years of torture and abuse at the infamous Insein prison in Myanmar could spell disaster.

Our rapid response to these developments started last week in Australia (a member of ASEAN) when the Amnesty section there mobilized and generated over 7,000 letters to ASEAN. Yesterday, the chairman of ASEAN called on Myanmar to release Aung San Suu Kyi.

With the international pressure snowballing, it's time to focus on General Than Shwe, leader of the military junta.

Please write to General Than Shwe and urge him to release Aung San Suu Kyi:

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=11134

Will you forward this email to friends and to your networks, so we can reach at least 30,000 letters within the next 24 hours?

The stakes couldn't be higher: Aung San Suu Kyi's life is on the line.

Almost 20 years ago, Aung San Suu Kyi's party won over 80% of the vote, making her the rightful political leader of Myanmar. The military refused to hand over power, brutally oppressing any dissent, and imprisoning Suu Kyi for 13 of the last 19 years. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has been detained for 13 of the last 19 years, mostly under house arrest. On May 14, 2009, Aung San Suu Kyi and two of her assistants were taken from her home to Insein Prison following an incident in which an American man allegedly swam across a lake to her house and stayed there for two days. Reliable reports beginning in early May confirm that while still confined in her Yangon home Aung San Suu Kyi had been suffering from dehydration, low blood pressure and weight loss. Her medical condition makes her transfer to Insein Prison at this time doubly serious. Please call on Myanmar’s leaders to free Aung San Suu Kyi and all other prisoners of conscience.