Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has called for political change in Myanmar and has spent 14 of the last 20 years being punished for it. The military junta that has run the country since a 1962 coup has cracked down on political dissent, jailing thousands of reformists and activists. Aung San Suu Kyi, the primary face of the movement for democracy, has been kept under house arrest, unofficially detained, and subjected to other restrictions since the National League for Democracy (NLD), which she co-founded, won a 1990 general election. The NLD was immediately denied power by the ruling State Peace and Development Council.
Aung San Suu Kyi is one of Amnesty International’s 10 priority cases who you can help free by participating in our Global Write-a-thon running from December 5-13. She has most recently been placed under 18 months’ house arrest in August, a move that the international community has censured as a government pretext to prohibit her from participating in state elections scheduled for 2010.
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.
Shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a shift in U.S. policy towards the oppressive military regime in Burma (Myanmar), new details emerged about a U.S. citizen who was arrested on September 3: Activist Kyaw Zaw Lwin is being held in the infamous and feared Insein Prison, where Burmese authorities tortured him during recent interrogations. The torture and ill-treatment that Kyaw Zaw Lwin suffered included beating and kicking. He has also been denied medical treatment for the injuries he sustained from the torture. He was deprived of food for seven days and moved between different interrogation centers. He was not allowed to sleep at night and was kept awake during interrogation by the authorities. Details of the charges against him are not known.
We put out the following statement today on his case in light of the U.S. administration’s shift in policy:
This is the first test for the United States’ new policy of engagement. Amnesty International hopes that this new engagement also covers protecting human rights in Burma. If Secretary Clinton fails to act, there will be many questions about the United States’ latest strategy to end the oppression of the Burmese people.
(…) we will be using a mix of policy tools. Sanctions remain important, as the Secretary said today, an important tool. By themselves, they have not produced the results we would like, but that does not mean they don’t have value. And also dialogue, as well as continuing things that help the people of Burma – humanitarian assistance, those sorts of things. So going forward, we can expect to use a mix of tools. (…) we think that going forward with a more nuanced approach that focuses on trying to achieve results and that’s based on pragmatism, it increases the chances of success over time.
Recent reports suggest that U.S. officials have protested Kyaw Zaw Lwin’s mistreatment and American officials have visited him in Insein prison last weekend. However, more urgent action is needed.
Burma – New Fighting in Northeast
The last few days have seen renewed violence in Myanmar (Burma). Fighting erupted between government forces and one of the so-called ceasefire groups, when the army clashed with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Myanmar’s northeast Shan state. 37,000 people fled to the neighboring Yunnan province in China. Even more noteworthy, the fighting and the resulting displacement led to a surprising criticism by China, the military regime’s strongest supporter.
The MNDAA is one of the 17 ethnic armies that have signed a ceasefire agreement with the government. Last week’s fighting broke a 20 year old ceasefire and might be the beginning of increased clashes between the army and ethnic armed groups ahead of next year’s elections. Tensions have increased due to government demands that the groups convert their forces into border guard units under the command of the national army. Many analysts agree that the aim is to disarm ethnic insurgents and neutralize their threat ahead of the elections.
We are working together with the Chinese authorities to try to get access to the area. While we believe their material needs are being taken care of, we haven’t been able to assess what their needs for international protection are – Kitty McKinsey, UNHCR spokeswomen, September 1, 2009.
This is an irrational and short-sighted move by the army. Not only have they increased tensions and caused distress with the ethnic groups, they’re straining ties with China – Aung Zaw, editor of Thailand-based Irrawaddy magazine, August 29, 2009.
There’s a degree of brinkmanship that’s extremely precarious and things could get out of control. When both sides are engaged in brinkmanship, the potential for miscalculation is considerable and dangerous – Anthony Davis, security analyst at Jane’s, August 29, 2009.
The United States is deeply concerned over the attacks by the Burma army in Eastern Burma against several ethnic nationality groups and we continue to monitor developments there very closely. The brutal fighting has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes for safety in Thailand and China, and has reduced both stability and the prospects for national reconciliation in Burma. We urge the Burmese authorities to cease their military campaign and develop a genuine dialogue with the ethnic minority groups as well as with Burma’s democratic opposition – Ian Kelly, US Department of State, August 31, 2009
Gabon – Poll Uncertainties
Sunday’s presidential elections to replace late President Omar Bongo – who passed away in June after 41 years in power in this oil-rich country – are leading to uncertain results. Three different candidates – Bongo’s son, Ali Ben Bongo, veteran opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou, and former minister Andre Mba Obame – have all claimed to have won the election. The BBC reports that the vote was generally peaceful but tense, especially due to long lines at polling stations.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Gabon’s security forced stepped up patrols in the capital on Tuesday, after election officials delayed announcing the results of the election until Wednesday. Witnesses said anti-riot police had been deployed to one of the squares often used for political gatherings in Libreville, Gabon’s capital, and that Republican Guard soldiers had reinforced the usual gendarme presence outside several government buildings.
Overheard
Democracy is about accepting success and defeat – Interim President of Gabon Rose Francine Rogombé, August 31, 2009
The Secretary-General […] calls upon all Gabonese to continue to support the democratic process, to ensure the will of the people is respected, and to heed the appeal by the Interim President of Gabon, H.E. Ms. Rose Francine Rogombé, for calm and responsibility as the vote counting process continues – Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, August 31, 2009 .
The [AU] mission calls on the candidates … and the entire population to ensure peace and democracy is maintained in Gabon by sticking to dialogue – Albert Tevoedjre, head of the AU election observer team in Gabon, September 1, 2009.
September 1: Day of commemorations in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII
September 1: The United States assumes the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of September
September 1: Libyans celebrate the 40th anniversary of Colonel Qaddafi’s rise to power
September 2: Meeting of the International Special Representatives for Afghanistan and Pakistan in Paris.
Juliette Rousselot contributed to this post.
Human Rights Flashpoints is a weekly column about countries at risk of escalating human rights violations and is brought to you by AIUSA’s Crisis Prevention and Response team
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 Australian government is convinced that Aung San Suu Kyi was tried on spurious charges and not granted a fair hearing – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
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
August 10: President Obama arrives in Mexico to discuss immigration and the drug cartels
August 11: Secretary Clinton to arrive in Eastern Congo
Expected later on this week: A report from Congress describing the 50 suspected Afghan drug lords with ties to the Taliban, a status that allows them to be captured and killed at any time.
Jacki Mowery contributed to this post.
Human Rights Flashpoints is a weekly column about countries at risk of escalating human rights violations and is brought to you by AIUSA’s Crisis Prevention and Response team.
A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in prison, a sentence which was immediately reduced to a year and half under house arrest. The verdict was handed down in the country’s infamous Insein prison, where she was held since her arrest last May. If this shameful verdict will lead to wider unrest remains to be seen. There were apparently at least 2,000 security personnel deployed around Insein prison.
20 years of oppression
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was on trial for allegedly violating the terms and conditions of her house arrest. The leader of the Myanmar opposition party, the National League for Democracy, was arrested shortly before her house detention order was to expire on 27 May 2009
She has been detained for over 13 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest. Her first period in detention began in July 1989 as the Myanmar government intensified its crackdown on nationwide pro-democracy protests that began a year earlier.
Amnesty International announced on 27 July that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been awarded its most prestigious honor – the “Ambassador of Conscience” Award for 2009.
Over 2,100 political prisoners
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the most prominent of over 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar. Many are held in poor conditions, and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Conditions in Myanmar’s prisons are harming the health of many political prisoners. Access to medical treatment is severely limited. Many prisoners are denied adequate food and are therefore malnourished.
Judicial proceedings show no regard for due process, and many trials have been held in special closed courts. Since October 2008, when the government began sentencing en masse those who had peacefully taken part in major anti-government protests in August and September 2007, more than 350 political activists have been jailed.
Some of these political activists have been given lengthy jail terms – one being sentenced to 104 years in November 2008, while 23 others were sentenced to 65 years.
We have recently highlighted ten individual cases in order to demonstrate the ongoing political repression in Myanmar in the last two decades.
A long list of crimes
Today’s guilty verdict can only be added to the already long list of the junta’s crimes. In addition to locking up political dissidents and violently oppressing peaceful protests, the atrocities committed against ethnic minorities amount to crimes against humanity, as Amnesty International has documented. Additionally, the American Association for the Advancement of Science has used high resolution satellite images to document human rights abuses in eastern Burma.
MYANMAR - Tensions rise in anticipition of verdict
The situation in Myanmar (Burma) is getting more tense this week in anticipation of a verdict against Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday, August 11. She is currently held in Myanmar’s notorious Insein prison, awaiting her verdict in a trial that has gathered worldwide attention. Given the fact that the “Four Eights” anniversary is to take place only 3 days prior to the release of Aung San Suu Kyi’s verdict, these two highly politically charged events can prove to be a galvanizing force for major protests. Looking at the regime’s track record of violent suppression of any dissent, recent developments justify major concern of what will happen in the country in the next few days. Last week, authorities detained 30 members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), in an apparent attempt to block them from organizing protests on July 31, the day the verdict was originally expected. All those arrested are at risk of torture. While some of the opposition members were released, further arrests can be expected in the run up to the announcement of the verdict. If there are outbreaks of demonstrations in spite of government attempts to forestall them, there is the added concern that we will see violent tactics by the police and armed forces to suppress them like the ones we saw in the uprisings of August and September of 2007. Reports are indicating that the regime has heightened its alert and has deployed security forces in strategic areas of the country, something that is very characteristic of the government preparations to prevent suspected dissent.
“(…) we have consistently had a very consistent public message that we believe that she should be immediately and unconditionally released, along with the 2,100 other political prisoners in Burma. I know Secretary Clinton has been very engaged with her colleagues, with some of her foreign minister colleagues. It was a topic at the ASEAN meeting, and she took every opportunity to urge her colleagues to make a similar message on the need for Aung San Suu Kyi to be released conditionally.” – Ian Kelly, Department of State, July 30, 2009.
“Suu Kyi’s continued detention, isolation, and show trial based on spurious charges cast serious doubt on the Burmese regime’s willingness to be a responsible member of the international community.” President Obama, May 26, 2009.
SRI LANKA - Local elections without independent monitors
There are growing concerns over the upcoming August 8 local elections due to the prohibition of media and independent monitors of the first elections since the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers. This Saturday’s elections in the cities of Vavuniya and Jaffna are being hyped up by the government as the first democratic elections in this war-torn region.
The two cities fall just on the other side of the former de facto state of the Tamil Tigers in the north. Tamils remain the majority in the area. The cities in which the elections are held are surrounded by checkpoints, only accessible with permission from the Defense Ministry. Lakshman Hulugalle, the head of the government’s security information center, stated that reporters will not be allowed into the cities to report on the elections, relying solely on handouts from the government. The Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa originally stated to let civilians who lived in the Tamil Tigers’ self-declared state to vote in an election. However, close to 300,000 civilians are currently held in military run de-facto internment camps.
August 11: Verdict against Aung San Suu Kyi expected
Jacki Mowery, Anil Raj and Jim Roberts contributed to this post.
Human Rights Flashpoints is a weekly column about countries at risk of escalating human rights violations and is brought to you by AIUSA’s Crisis Prevention and Response team.
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!
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.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Khin Khin Win and her daughter are now among the more than 2,100 political prisoners currently being held in prison in Myanmar. Conditions in Myanmar prisons are extremely bad and jeopardize the health of prisoners. Take action now to demand Suu Kyi’s and other political prisoners’ immediate release from prison!
Amnesty International works to protect human rights worldwide. We have more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150 countries, and are completely independent from government, corporate or national interests.
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Bryna Subherwal is the Individuals at Risk Campaigner for the Americas. In this position she leads the development and implementation of campaign strategies for individual cases of human rights abuses throughout Latin America, the US, and Canada. See all »
