Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi detained in Burma

May 14, 2009

The world's most famous political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi has been transferred from her Rangoon residence, where she has been under house arrest since 2003 totaling 13 years of home confinement,to Burma’s most notorious Insein prison today. Her crime is of a bizarre nature and many human rights advocates and her lawyer believe that the Burmese junta is using this as an excuse to keep the popular pro-democracy leader away from the Burmese population until their puppet candidates are elected to office in the upcoming 2010 Burmese election.

Last December a 53 yr old John Yettaw,reportedly swam to her house but left after Suu Kyi convinced him to leave. He re-visited her last week but stayed with her at her residence for two days before being discovered and arrested on May 5 as he was swimming away across Inya Lake; this visit, the junta said is a breach of her sentence which was slated to end later this month. Her trial is set for next week and if found guilty she can be sentenced to about five years imprisonment in Insein, Burma's colonial era jail, where only a few prisoners have known to survive, according to a Burmese national.

Jared Gensher, a lawyer for Ms Suu Kyi who is based in the US, condemned the upcoming trial. "The charge is going to be violating the conditions of her house arrest, and what her lawyer is going to argue is that of course that's ridiculous," he told the BBC. "Under the terms of her arrest she cannot invite people to visit her, but she of course did not invite this person to visit her. If somebody shows up at her door step in violation of Burmese law she cannot be held responsible."

Even the walls of her home could not prevent her popularity from spreading and clearly, the junta government is skeptical of her influence, and is looking for ways to silence Suu Kyi (pronounced Suu Chi), the popular democratic leader of Burma. She is the only living Nobel Peace Prize recipient to be behind bars, bestowed with the honor in 1991 for her work with the Burmese National League for Democracy; her sons accepted the award on her behalf. The United States and other governments including several human rights groups have called for her immediate release and condemed the junta government.

Suu Kyi, 63 is said to be frail and despite her deteriorating health continues to be abused by the ruling junta party according to a report by the BBC. She is considered the to be the living international symbol of peace via non-violent means and justice, and many in Burma and around the world regard the story of her struggle as an inspiration. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, another Nobel Peace Prize recipient has said this about her, “In physical stature she is petite and elegant, but in moral stature she is a giant.”

The story of her arrest may be unusual, but the arrest is typical of Suu Kyi’s story. She has been arrested several times during her struggle for Burmese democracy. Her gaze is powerful and can speak a million words and many journalists and activists have tried to tell her story. But no matter how skilled their writing, no one would ever be able to express in words the extent and impact of her struggle in a comprehensive way; perhaps, some things are better left to the protagonist.

While the war in Iraq and elsewhere make the rounds of the news regularly, very little is known about the oppression that has been part of Burma’s (a.k.a.Myanmar) history. This is because the government controls the press and foreign journalist are strictly unwelcome and if found reporting on the junta’s policies are expelled and their camera and other media equipment confiscated. But human rights and aid organizations have taken to a more valiant stance on her case and are not deterred by the junta’s control and continue to fight for her release. The Human Rights Action Center and the U.S. Campaign for Burma have ongoing campaigns that advocate for her release and the liberation for the Burmese people from the oppressive regime of the junta and are currently promoting the “Arrest yourself” campaign to raise significant awareness and call for signatures before her nineteenth birthday on June 19.

The results of her trial are uncertain, but we can be assured that her story will be the center of discussion on news channels, in rallies, and human rights seminars. Fingers are being crossed, vigils are being held and events are being organized in the hope that she can be saved from the atrocities experienced by other Insein prisoners. The junta can no longer afford to ignore the calls of the international community.

For a developing report on Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial and the Burmese struggle, watch this space.