By Megan E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
RANGOON, Burma– Though not present, final arguments were made by defense lawyers of Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The proceeding was closed to Ms. Suu Kyi while her attorneys argued against an extended house arrest at a hearing in Rangoon. The hearing was also closed to reporters. According to lawyer, Nyan Win, the Yangon Divisional Court will deliver its verdict on October 2.
Ms. Suu Kyi has spent 14 out of the past 20 years in detention. She is said to have violated the terms of her last house arrest sentencing, and the length of the penalty was extended for another 18 months. In effect, this extension would bar Ms. Suu Kyi from participating in next year’s elections.
The timing of Ms. Suu Kyi’s appeal is extraordinary. As she awaits a sentencing verdict, one day earlier 7,0000 prisoners were granted amnesty by Burma’s military rulers. Prison amnesties such as the one announced Thursday usually mark important national days or are intended to deflect criticism ahead of high-profile international gatherings. This release is a memorial of the 21st anniversary of the seizure of power by the military junta in Burma. The amnesty also comes just ahead of the opening of this year’s U.N. General Assembly session. The event will be attended by Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein. Sein is the highest-ranking Myanmar government leader in more than a decade to participate.
Aside from the recent group of prisoners granted amnesty, among those still in capture are many political prisoners, not unlike Ms. Suu Kyi who represents the National League for Democracy (NLD). In the past 20 years, the number of political prisoners in Burma is reported to have doubled according to Human Rights Watch. The current number of political inmates is approximately 2,200. Of those released, 20 were held as political prisoners, two of whom are prominent NLD members. Another two are journalists who were jailed last year for reporting the Cyclone Nargis.
The NLD won elections in 1990, however, the military has never allowed the political party to assume power. The military seized power in 1962 and has not relinquished its authority to other political factions. Any information from Burma, including reports about Ms. Suu Kyi’s hearing and about a series of seven recent explosions in the northern part of the city of Rangoon, is tightly regulated. Burma’s military government strictly monitors the flow of information in and out of the country, and there has been no indication as to the cause or source of the blasts.
For more information, please see:
BBC World News- Suu Kyi appeal ruling next month – September 18, 2009
MSNBC World Headlines- Myanmar junta closes Suu Kyi hearing again – May 21, 2009
The Irrawaddy- Rangoon Court Postpones Suu Kyi Appeal Hearing – September 18, 2009
Yahoo! News- Myanmar’s Suu Kyi appeals conviction – September 18, 2009
