Suu Kyi was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest by a military-controlled court in Burma on August 11 for breaching the terms of her previous house arrest.
The lord mayor urged young people to be aware of human rights and to spread the message of support for Suu Kyi through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
“Dublin is a city that prides itself on its social conscience, and young people approached me last week who were truly angry at the 18 months house arrest sentence,” she said. “I realize I could have just issued a statement condemning the injustice, but I wanted Dublin and its young people to have their say.
“Aung San Suu Kyi is a global icon of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of military repression, and she takes her rightful place in history amongst other great civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, who I know inspired her. I am calling on the military junta in Burma to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
“I recall the great wisdom in the words of Aung San Suu Kyi when she said, ‘Please use your liberty to promote ours,’ in calling on people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma,” she said.
Burma Action Ireland welcomed the opening of the book of solidarity and urged the public to sign the book in support of Suu Kyi, asking that they use their freedom “to promote hers".
Well-known singer Bono of the Irish rock band U2 also sent a message of support for the book of solidarity campaign.
“This bunch of crooks that call themselves a government continue to rob the people of Burma of their rightful leader,’ Bono said. “This mock trial and its sham verdict is a signal not of junta strength but of fear and cowardice–fear of a 64-year-old woman whom they dare not even let walk down the street.”
Another reaction to the sentencing of Suu Kyi came on August 13, when the New York-based Global Justice Center (GJC) denounced the UN secretary-general’s response to Suu Kyi’s conviction and called for a UN Security Council referral to bring Burma’s junta leaders to the International Criminal Court.
“The Global Justice Center takes exception to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks which fail to address the junta’s systematic rule by crime,” the GJC said, calling for Ban Ki-moon to end the junta’s impunity and not just “convey his ‘disappointment’ and call for ‘reconciliation.’
“Aung San Suu Kyi ‘s conviction is a crime against humanity by means of a judicial order. Judges are Sen-Gen Than Shwe’s weapons of choice and judges U Thaung Nyunt and U Nye Nye Soe, who convicted Aung San Suu Kyi, are ‘top performers’ in the junta’s judicial arsenal,” the GJC said.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Thein Oo, chairman of the exiled Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC), said: “Suu Kyi’s trial shows that there are many unfair trials and sham verdicts in Burma, and that the Burmese military commit crimes against humanity.”
“The BLC is trying to initiate action to bring Burma’s junta leaders before the International Criminal Court in cooperation with the Global Justice Center, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH, Paris) and the Women's League of Burma (WLB). The UN Security Council can play an important role in this,” he said.
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