Burma: Justice, Junta Style

The Associated Press reported this morning that Myanmar's opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will see the length of her house arrest prolonged by 18 months. A time in which she will allowed to have access to state doctors and state media.

The sentence came after an American (who was also on trial) swam across a lake to reach her home and she allowed him to stay there for two days, thus breaching the terms of her house arrest. John Yettaw, the American, was sentenced to 7 years including 4 years of hard labor even though he claims that he swam across the lake because he had a vision from God that Suu Kyi's life was in danger.

The Junta, which imprisons just about everybody and their dog for no particular reasons, decided today to reduce her original sentence of 3 years hard labor to 18 months house arrest, probably due to international pressure. Besides... the arrest keeps her in state custody long enough that she will not be able to run in upcoming "elections" planned for the fall.

The international community is said to be outraged, the UN is outraged and Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu is down right pissed off... Let's see if this time the international community steps up and throws more than just empty words in front of the cameras, let's see if they can grow a pair and do something concrete to help Myanmar and rid them of this totalitarian regime that is plaguing the already battered people of this country.

Aung SanSuu Kyi... please show your support.

In an unsurprising turn of events, the meeting that occurred two gays between UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Junta General Than Shwe ended in the same way it started: with Aung San Suu Kyi remaining under arrest and awaiting "trial" and with Ban Ki-moon still unable to visit her.

“I pressed as hard as I could,” Mr. Ban told reporters. “I had hoped that he would agree to my request, but it is regrettable that he did not.”

World leaders and celebrities have been criticizing the Junta and the treatment of the citizen of Myanmar since 2007's Saffron Revolution. But nothing has ever come of this criticism, the junta has never moved its position on Aung San Suu Kyi or on the treatment of the citizens living under its iron fist rule.

In 1990 Aung San Suu Kyi's party had won the elections but the Junta did not relinquish power, now the Junta says it is planning another election as part of the “road map to democracy”.

Rock band U2 kicked off its latest world tour by asking fans to click HERE and dowloading a mask of Aung San Suu Kyi's face and wear them at concerts to show their support and help raise awareness about the cause.

The website 64 Words for Aung San Suu Kyi has now received over 16,000 message from all around the world for both her and the 2154 other political prisoners Burma.

For those wanting to know more or have a chance to interact with the Burmese community please visit Ahsin Mettacara's social network Smile Club and join, it's free and you can send messages directly to others who care for the cause and directly to Burmese members.

Burma was voted the worst country in which to be a blogger. I urge other bloggers to perpetuate the message the the blogosphere stands with the people of Burma and show our support.

(source for quotes G&M)

Muchacho Enfermo