Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of one of Burma's most cherished heroes, the martyred General Aung San, who led his country's fight for independence from Great Britain in the 1940s and was killed for his beliefs in 1947. Suu Kyi has equaled her father's heroics with her calm but passionate advocacy of freedom and democracy in the country now called Myanmar, a name chosen by one of the most insensitive and brutal military dictatorships in the world....
The Elders say that the entire trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and her companions has been a gross travesty of justice. Her incarceration for the past six years under house arrest was found to be illegal in both domestic and international law by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Any conviction based on allegations of violating that house arrest is therefore invalid.
Elders’ chair, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu urged the international community not to accept the verdict and says that returning Daw Suu Kyi to house arrest is not a concession.
"This is a moral universe. Right and wrong matter. This decision is wrong. We must not allow the government of Burma to convince the world that they are making concessions in relation to Aung San Suu Kyi by returning her to house arrest instead of prison. This is not a concession – it is a manipulation of an illegal process. It must not be accepted by any government, ASEAN, the EU or the UN." – Desmond Tutu.
The Elders said that the trial was a further attempt to exclude Aung San Suu Kyi from any political process, particularly the elections due in Burma in 2010.
They have joined others in calling on ASEAN, the EU and UN to press Burma’s military leaders to release all political prisoners and begin an inclusive national process to review and amend the 2008 constitution, to allow participation by the National League for Democracy and other parties in the 2010 election and also admit international observers to supervise the 2010 election process.
Periods under detention
July 20, 1989: Placed under house arrest in Rangoon under martial law that allows for detention without charge or trial for three years.
July 10, 1995: Released from house arrest.
September 23, 2000: Placed under house arrest.
May 6, 2002: Released after 19 months.
May 30, 2003: Arrested following the Depayin massacre she was held in secret detention for over 3 months before being returned to house arrest.
May 25, 2007: House arrest extended by one year flouting a direct appeal from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to General Than Shwe.
October 24, 2007: Reached 12 years under house arrest, solidarity protests held at 12cities around the world.
May 27, 2008: House arrest extended for another year, illegal under both international law and Burma's own law.
August 11, 2009: House arrest extended for further 18 months due to "violation" arising from the May 2009 trespass incident.
Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:[106]
“ 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.”
Oslo, 14 October 1991
“Human beings the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realize their full potential.”
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