Skip to content Skip to navigation

Condemnation Pours on Burmese Junta as Suu Kyi's Detention Continues

Soon after the declaration of the extension of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest by the Burmese junta, the condemnation poured on the military rulers from the world communities. From the United Nations to European Union and the United States of America to other pro-democratic regimes in the globe, all came out with string words of criticism against the State Peace and Developing Council, which is ruling the South East Asian country since early Nineties. The Senior General Than Shwe led Burmese regime was targeted for extending the period of house arrest of Suu Kyi by another year even after the Nobel laureate had spent five full years under detention since May, 2003.

The international media has gloomed on the alienated country soon after the cyclone Nargis had devastating vast areas of Burma, also known as Myanmar, on May 2,3 last. After visiting the country and meeting many cyclone victims, the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who also met Than Shwe at the capital Nay Pi Taw on May 23, disclosed that more than one hundred thousand people were killed or made homeless by the disaster. The UN chief left for New York on Monday after attending a fund raising meeting at Rangoon, where donors representing various nations pledged for nearly $100 million to support the victims.

But Ban Ki-Moon had bad news once he arrived in New York, as the Burmese government decided to extended the term of house arrest of the pro-democracy icon by another year.

He had no other options than expressing 'regrets' over the action of the junta. Though he believed that 'the sooner the restrictions on Suu Kyi and other political figures are lifted,the sooner Burma will be able to move towards inclusive national reconciliation, the restoration of democracy and full respect for human rights', the UN chief however remainedsilent about Suu Kyi's prolonged detention while discussing with the SPDC chief Than Shwe in Burma.

The extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest has been termed as 'very sad and frustrating' by the European Union. The EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, while talking to media persons, said that they would continue 'to be deeply concerned by the political situation' as the EU believes that 'transition to democracy remains important for the future of Burma.'

The US President George W. Bush expressed his anguish at the development saying he was 'deeply troubled by the extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest.' President Bush, in a statement, disclosed that the US continues calling 'upon the regime to release all political prisoners in Burma and begin a genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, and other democratic and ethnic minority groups on a transition to democracy.'

Earlier an American advocacy group, Freedom Now demanded immediate release of Suu Kyi as she passed five years of house arrest in May, 2008. The group, which initiates to set free the prisoners of conscience through legal, political, and public relations advocacy efforts, raised voice for the release of the detained Burmese icon, arguing that her 'ongoing detention under house arrest was a clear violation of international law.'

Even not to speak of international laws, stated in a press statement of Freedom Now on May 23 from Washington DC added, the Burmese law itself doesn't allow to elongate the
detention of a person, who has not received trail, for more than five years. Under Article 10(b) of Burma's State Protection Law 1975, a person in Burma who is deemed a 'threat to the sovereignty and security of the State and the peace of the people' may be detained for up to a maximum of five years through a restrictive order, renewable one year at a time, the statement asserted.

So, Jared Genser, Freedom Now president argues, The extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest in clear violation of its own law of Burma.' He however did not express surprises at the move, as 'adherence to the rule of law is not their forte.' "The Burmese junta remains deeply concerned about her (Suu Kyi) appeal to the Burmese people, especially in the wake of their denial of relief to millions of its own people after Cyclone Nargis," added Jared Genser, who also serves as a legal counsel to Ms Suu Kyi. The Nobel Laureate Ms Suu Kyi, who spent more than 12 of the past 18 years in detention, was last arrested on May 23, 2003 after the Deepayin massacre. Her house arrest was last extended on May 25, 2007. Therefore, her fifth and final year of house arrest allowable under Burmese law had already expired on May 24, 2008, it asserted. Even the Amnesty International in its latest report too describes that the 'human rights situation in Myanmar continued to deteriorate.'

Ban Ki-Moon had however earned disapproval from some critics as he did not purse for Suu Kyi's release during his meeting with Than Shwe. But he later made it while talking to media in New York that 'his trip was a purely humanitarian one intended to save lives, not to press a pro-democracy agenda,' The UN chief also added, "I went there with a message of solidarity and hope, telling the survivors (of cyclone Nargis) that the world is with you and that the world is ready to help you." But at the end, it is widely understood that that following his personal initiatives, the military rulers of Burma had finally agreed to allow the foreign aid workers, irrespective of their nationalities, to go to the Irrawaddy River Delta areas, where the cyclone Nargis prevailed over on May first week to kill thousands of people and make another thousands families homeless.

(Reporting from Bloomington, USA)

Add new comment

Random Stories

Alert in Guwahati on ULFA threat

16 Sep 2012 - 2:36am | editor
Security has been beefed up in Guwahati following ULFA’s threat to strike in the city with car blast. Checking has been intensified following intelligence inputs that cadres of ULFA opposed to...

Bhabananda Deka-Nalini Prava Deka Endowment Lecture held

31 Dec 2019 - 7:57pm | Prantik Deka
The 13th Principal Bhabananda Deka-Nalini Prava Deka Endowment Lecture was successfully organised by the Assam Foundation-India in a solemn function held at the Guwahati Press Club, on December 4,...

Sahitya Sabha souvenir inaugurated

16 Feb 2009 - 3:09pm | editor
The souvenir of the 70th Dhemaji Session of the Biennial Conference of the Asam Sahitya Sabha was inaugurated by Dr Girish Sharma at Sukapha Pathar Samanway Kshetra, Dhemaji on Sunday.Photo: Buljit...

Anglo-Assamese-Nagamese-Singpho version of Miles Bronson Dictionary is released

13 Jan 2012 - 9:00pm | Anup Arandhara
Assam Jatiyo Prakash, Jorhat has published the Anglo-Assamese-Nagamese-Singpho version of Miles Bronson dictionary at Jorhat. Miles Bronson was a linguist worked with Jaduram Deka and Nathan Brown...

Other Contents by Author

Guwahati: Interviewing a leader of an armed outfit in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and publishing its substance through a portal can be termed as a serious offence against the concerned editor. The fate of Khaing Mrat Kyaw, chief editor of Narinjara news portal, based in Sittwe of Rakhine (also known as Arakan) province in western Myanmar indicates the state of media’s freedom in the southeast Asian country. While the world is fighting against Covid-19 pandemic with over a hundred thousand casualties, the Myanmar authorities have framed charges of glorifying terrorism against the editor for uploading an interview with Khaing Thu Ka, spokesperson of Arakan Army, an ethnic revolutionary...
Amidst myriad devastation created by the novel corona virus around the world, news industries might learn to survive with regained credibility, continued authenticity and most sought after accountability in the post Covid-19 pandemic era. Earlier if these principles were necessary for the mainstream media, now it becomes an utmost priority for its survival. Besides the news outlets, working journalists will also face the same heat.  As millions of people are infected with the deadly virus with thousands of casualties across the globe, once a vibrant media fraternity finds itself in an awkward situation as they start losing their readers, viewers, appreciators along with the...
Guwahati: City-based Dispur Hospitals in association with ‘The Heart’, a non-government organization, have organized an awareness rally on the occasion of World Heart Day on 29 September in the morning hours on streets of the pre-historic city, said the organisers in a press meet held in Guwahati Press Club on Saturday. Created by the World Heart Federation, the heart day updates people around the globe that the cardiovascular disease, including heart disease & stroke, remains the leading cause of human death. Moreover it highlights the probable actions for individuals to prevent and control the disease. “Over 17.9 million people die from CVDs worldwide every year and according to...
Dharamshala: Indian supporters for a free Tibet have urged the Union government in New Delhi to confer Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour, on the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for his immense contributions in creating goodwill for India in the last six decades. In a declaration, adopted in the 6th All India Tibet Support Groups’ Conference held on 15 and 16 June in Dharamshala township of Himachal Pradesh under the chairmanship of Rinchin Khandu Khrimey, national convener of Core Group for Tibetan Cause (CGTC), it was accomplished that the Nobel laureate continues to be a holy ambassador of Indian culture enriched with non-violence, compassion...
Guwahati: City based Barthakur Clinic Hospital conducted a brief media OPD clinic at Guwahati Press Club on Saturday (23 February 2019), where nurses Lucy L Chongloi and Kapila Lama Borah checked blood pressures of the participants. It may be mentioned that the participating scribes have maintained the readings of normal blood pressure in the camp.
“In a single generation, Singapore became a first world country. It is now one of the wealthiest nations in the world while maintaining social harmony and remaining free of corruption and crime,” so said senior journalist Hiren Phukan, presently retired after a successful career in the island nation. He was speaking to scribes in the city on Friday through video conferencing from Singapore as part of Guwahati Press Club’s ‘Meet the Press’ programme. Recalling Singapore’s trajectory after independence from Malyasia, Phukan dwelt on the export-led industrialization rather than import substitution that drew multi-national companies to its shores. “The country was made attractive for foreign...
A senior Assamese journalist, who has worked for many years in Singapore will interact with the city based scribes on next Friday (25 January 2019). Hiren Phukan, now settled in the port city State, will answer queries from the members of Guwahati Press Club (GPC) through the video conferencing facility in the program starting at 3 pm. Hails from Uzanbajar locality of Guwahati, Phukan used to work for The Straits Times, Singapore's leading English language daily till 2005. Earlier he was associated with The New Straits Times, Malaysia’s premier daily. After two years he left Kuala Lumpur for Singapore in 1982 and since then he is living there. Prior to it, Phukan worked for The Statesman...
Narayana Super-Specialty Hospital, Amingaon (north Guwahati) will conduct a free health camp for the member-journalists of Guwahati Press Club (GPC) along with their families on Saturday (12 January 2019). The daylong camp will be started by 10 am at newly launched Narayana Superspeciality Clinic (Near Ulubari KFC, Kacharibasti, Guwahati, helpline number- 8011242424) and get over by 2 pm. The participants will be offered the facility of free RBS, ECG and Echo (if advised ) test and subsequent doctor consultations at the centre. One consultant relating to medicine will also be present at the camp. The interested member-journalists are requested to arrive at the venue with the government...
Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA), while expressing serious concern over repeated attacks on working journalists across India, insisted on honoring media wisdom by both media and non-media entities. The scribe’s body reiterated that as the journalists enjoy the right to ask questions for information, the others should have the opportunity to criticize the media persons as well. It may be noted that following the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's long interview by Smita Prakash, editor of Reuters' partner Asian News International (ANI), which was subsequently telecast by various news channels on 1 January 2019, criticisms erupted against the interviewer that she left many hard issues from...
Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA) welcomes renaming of three Andaman & Nicobar islands after legendary freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose along with his magnificent legacy and it expresses happiness that the Patriot of Patriots has been duly honoured on 75th anniversary of Netaji’s declaration of the formation of Azad Hind government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his recent visit to Port Blair renamed the Ross island as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Neil island as Shaheed Dweep and Havelock island as Swaraj Dweep. He also hoisted the 150-feet national flag at South Point of Port Blair, where Netaji Bose unfurled the Tricolour in 1943 as the head of provisional...