88 Generation Students (Exile): Detention now 'worse' for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Detention now 'worse' for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

The conditions of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's detention have gotten "worse" since her conviction this month for violating terms of her previous house arrest, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Myanmar's military government has not responded to Suu Kyi's request for a visit by her personal physician, said Nyan Win, her lawyer and spokesman for her National League for Democracy party.

Nyan Win also said he and his colleagues have not yet been given permission to meet the Nobel Peace Prize laureate since they last met to consult on filing an appeal about a week after her Aug. 11 conviction.

"The present regulations imposed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are worse than the previous rules," he said. "Daw" is a term of respect.

A Myanmar court found Suu Kyi, 64, guilty of sheltering an uninvited American visitor. Her sentence of three years in prison with hard labor was reduced to 18 months of house arrest by order of military junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Suu Kyi was returned to her tightly guarded home the day she was convicted. She has been detained for about 14 of the past 20 years for her nonviolent political activities, but this year was the first time she faced criminal charges.

The court stipulated eight rules for her new term of house arrest, which were generally seen as slightly more liberal than her previous detention, which kept her in almost complete isolation.

Now Suu Kyi and two female companions can receive visitors with prior permission from the authorities, have the right to medical treatment by doctors and nurses, and are allowed to read state-controlled newspapers and magazines and watch state-run television.

But Nyan Win said authorities still had not agreed on Suu Kyi's request to allow her personal doctor to visit instead of one provided by the government.

He said Suu Kyi wanted her personal doctor "as the doctor knows her medical history well."

Suu Kyi earlier told her lawyers she needed clarification from the authorities regarding the terms of her house arrest regarding matters such as visitation rights and medical coverage.

Nyan Win said it is not clear if she will be permitted to meet people she wants to see, or if people who want to visit her can request permission.

Nyan Win said it is now more difficult to send Suu Kyi books than when she was in Insein Prison during her trial because every book has to pass through scrutiny, taking days.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I am disappointed by the unwillingness of the government of Burma to deliver on its promises for democratic dialogue and the release of political prisoners."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I would like to make an appeal to President Bush: Please take pride as a President who has worked hard for Burma to achieve something before his term expires.”

-U Gambira, a leader of the All-Burma Monks’ Alliance that spearheaded nationwide protests in Burma in September---

—

U WIN TIN

Because we refuse to bow to these unjust election 'laws,' our party will be abolished by the regime soon. Still, the NLD will not disappear. We will be among the people, with the people. We will continue to fight for democracy, human rights and equality among all ethnic nationalities, by peaceful means. —

Win Tin, a member of NLD Central Executive Committee

From Stalin to Burma, a history lesson

They may wear different cloaks, but under the surface all dictators are similar. As the memory of dictators like Joseph Stalin fades, mistakes of the past repeat themselves with a vengeance in forgotten places like Burma.One writer said of Stalin: “He had found Russia working with wooden ploughs and left it equipped with atomic [stock]piles.” But perhaps the true question doesn’t regard Stalin’s undisputable impact on humanity, but whether the legacy justified all the human sacrifice. To Stalin, the millions killed as a consequence of his ambitious drive were simply stepping stones along the road to national prosperity. However, such a Machiavellian frame of mind can neither be justifiable nor ethical.Stalin utilized numerous harsh methods in attempting to meet his ‘utopian’ goals. Collective farms were prevalent, while each Five Year Plan sought to leapfrog Russia ahead of competing nations and systems. Toward this end, virtually every industry fell under the direct control of the government and its de facto and shackled workforce. And the sad truth, more often than not, was results never met by an increasingly impoverished population.Stalin’s principle instrument for maintaining control over his country was his secret police. Through this institution, fear was instilled in the hearts of the people. The final death toll from Stalin’s regime is indeed staggering, with estimates ranging from 10 to 20 million people having perished.Stalin was under the belief that all his actions, extreme or otherwise, were necessary in order to pull Russia into the industrial age. Yet, ultimately, the major flaw in Stalin’s reasoning was that he claimed all sacrifices were necessary and for the future of Russia. “Life has improved, comrades. Life has become more joyous,” he once remarked. And while he was thinking about the future of the country and the generations to come, the standard of living within Russia had plummeted.Today, forgetting that dictatorship is a self inflicted wound, some intellectuals and humanitarians reason that simply sending more aid and increasing engagement are starting points to improving the political situation in Burma. But when they begin to regard the active opposition, as symbolized by Aung San Suu Kyi, as increasingly irrelevant, the time has come to refresh their memory about Joseph Stalin and the enormous price of dictatorship. It is one thing to want to bring Burma into the international community, but it is another to coddle and nurture tyrants without speaking out against their inhumane acts.So far, newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama and Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton have taken a cautious and slow approach toward Burma. But in a world of competing interests and ideology, it will be a great tragedy if they fail to take a firm stand against the dictators in Burma.After all, the United States and its allies helped reform the militaries in Indonesia and Turkey within democratic transitions and transformations. Now, the U.S., United Nations, ASEAN and the European Union need decisive and effective leadership to help Burma. Obama and Clinton have a great chance to seize this mantle…if they are willing to seriously take on the leadership role.Today, even as Burma’s generals tragically act more and more like Stalin, could it not be that the army as an institution in Burma was originally inspired by similar beliefs to those of countries such as Indonesia and Turkey? This should offer an important clue as to where to begin with Burma.

88 Generation Students (Exile)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Detention now 'worse' for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

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