Burma Generals 'Sign Aung San Suu Kyi Release Order'
BBC: Reports are coming out of Burma saying the military authorities have signed an order authorising the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Nobel laureate has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years, and her house arrest term expires on Saturday.

There has been increased police activity outside her house in Rangoon, but as yet no official confirmation.

However, Ms Suu Kyi is not expected to accept a conditional release if it excludes her from political activity.

She was originally due to be released last year, but a case involving an American who swam across Inya Lake to her home, claiming he was on a mission to save her, prompted the latest 18-month detention.

'Significant impact'

The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Bangkok says a number of sources inside Burma have told the BBC that documents authorising Ms Suu Kyi's release have been signed.

There has been increased police activity outside her home in University Avenue in Rangoon, Burma's biggest city.

Her supporters, who have been publicly counting down the days to the end of her current term of house arrest, have been gathering at the headquarters of her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in anticipation of her release. >>> | Friday, November 12, 2010

LE TEMPS: Aung San Suu Kyi est libre >>> | Vendredi 12 Novembre 2010

LE TEMPS: Aung San Suu Kyi, icône de l’espoir démocratique : Sa frêle silhouette symbolise depuis plus de vingt ans la résistance à la junte. Mais si son aura a résisté au temps en Birmanie comme à l’étranger, l’opposante Aung San Suu Kyi n’en est pas moins devenue une figure marginalisée, une icône à l’avenir politique incertain >>> AFP | Vendredi 12 Novembre 2010

L'ultime appel d'Aung San Suu Kyi rejeté
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: BIRMANIE | La justice birmane a rejeté jeudi un ultime appel de la dissidente contre sa condamnation à la résidence surveillée. Cette décision intervient alors que la junte se prépare à la libération du prix Nobel de la paix dans les prochains jours.

L'ultime appel d'Aung San Suu Kyi rejeté par la justice.

La Cour suprême de la capitale Naypyidaw "a confirmé la condamnation" à 18 mois d'assignation à résidence prononcée en août 2009, a indiqué un responsable birman.

Le rejet de ce troisième appel que ses avocats avaient déposé par principe, dans l'espoir de prouver son innocence, ne devrait rien changer à la libération de l'opposante, qui aura purgé la totalité de sa peine samedi. Indépendamment de cette procédure, des sources officielles birmanes ont indiqué mercredi que les services de sécurité se préparaient activement pour sa libération. >>> ATS | Jeudi 11 Novembre 2010

Suu Kyi Too Hot for Asia's Most Brutal Regime to Handle
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Burma's political heroine has spent 15 of the past 20 years under arrest. Now, as the country goes to the polls, her fate hangs in the balance

She is by some stretch the most abused political heroine alive today. She has been confined to her crumbling family home in Rangoon for more than 15 of the past 20 years. Her two sons, Alex and Kim, have for many years been barred from visiting her – Kim, now 33, is in Bangkok trying to get a visa so he can see his mother for the first time in 10 years. The last wish of her gravely ill husband, Michael Aris – to die in her arms – was brutally snubbed.

But in one week's time all that could be in the past and Aung San Suu Kyi could walk through the rusty iron gates of 54 University Avenue, Rangoon, a free woman again.

Or will she? >>> Peter Popham | Sunday, November 07, 2010

Barack Obama Calls for Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi to Be Freed
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama called on the Burma regime to free Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a message sending best wishes for her 65th birthday.

The US president hailed the Burmese opposition leader's "determination, courage, and personal sacrifice in working for human rights and democratic change" as she marks her birthday Saturday under house arrest in Yangon.

The military regime has kept Ms Suu Kyi in detention for almost 15 years and she has been barred from running in upcoming elections that critics have denounced as a sham aimed at entrenching the generals' power.

"I wish to convey my best wishes to Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate, on the occasion of her 65th birthday on June 19," Obama said in his message.

"I once again call on the Burmese government to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally and to allow them to build a more stable, prosperous Burma that respects the rights of all its citizens." >>> | Friday, June 18, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: Aung San Suu Kyi: the unseen photo album >>>

Neuer Trick gegen Aung San Suu Kyi: Burmas Oppositionsführerin muss vor den Wahlen die Partei verlassen
NZZ ONLINE: Die burmesische Militärjunta lässt offenbar nichts unversucht, um der Oppositionsführerin Aung San Suu Kyi zu schaden. So hat sie nun ein Wahlgesetz erlassen, gemäss dem Aung San Suu Kyi vor den Parlamentswahlen ihre Partei verlassen muss.

Burmas Oppositionsführerin Aung San Suu Kyi muss gemäss dem neuen Wahlgesetz der burmesischen Militärregierung vor den geplanten Parlamentswahlen ihre Partei verlassen. Wer zu einer Gefängnisstrafe verurteilt wurde, darf gemäss dem Gesetz nicht einer Partei angehören. >>> sda/afp | Mittwoch, 10. März 2010

Birmanie : L'émissaire de l'ONU n'a pas pu rencontrer Suu Kyi
20MINUTES.ch: Un haut responsable de l'ONU a quitté Rangoun vendredi après une visite de cinq jours consacrée aux droit humains en Birmanie. Il a évoqué sa profonde déception de s'être vu refuser par le régime militaire une rencontre avec l'opposante Aung San Suu Kyi.

L'Argentin Tomas Ojea Quintana, rapporteur de l'ONU sur les droits de l'homme en Birmanie, n'a pu que constater son échec à convaincre la junte au pouvoir d'assouplir sa position, à quelques mois d'élections aux dates encore inconnues et dont la crédibilité est plus que jamais sujette à caution.

«Je suis déçu de n'avoir pas pu rencontrer Mme Aung San Suu Kyi cette fois-ci, en cette période cruciale d'année électorale, les premières élections en vingt ans», a déclaré l'émissaire de l'ONU avant de partir pour Bangkok. >>> ats | Vendredi 19 Février 2010

Die Friedensnobelpreisträgerin in glücklicheren Zeiten. Bild: Google Images
Birma: Suu Kyi soll offenbar freigelassen werden
ZEIT ONLINE: Neue Hoffnung für Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Suu Kyi: Die Militärjunta will sie angeblich freilassen. Für eine Kandidatur bei der Parlamentswahl wäre es indes zu spät.

14 Jahre Hausarrest könnten in diesem Jahr enden: Wie in Rangun bekannt wurde, soll Innenminister Maung Oo schon in der vergangenen Woche bei einem Treffen mit Lokalpolitikern angekündigt haben, die 64-jährige Aung San Suu Kyi im November freizulassen. Zum ersten Mal seit Langem nennt damit ein Offizieller ein konkretes Datum für die Freilassung der Oppositionspolitikerin und Friedensnobelpreisträgerin.

Ein Sprecher von Suu Kyis Partei NLD wollte die Ankündigung nicht bestätigen. "Ich kann nicht definitiv sagen, dass sie freigelassen wird", sagte U Nyan Win, "aber ich hoffe es."

Suu Kyi war seit September 2003 nicht mehr in Freiheit – sie hat mehr als 14 der vergangenen 20 Jahre unter Hausarrest verbracht. Zuletzt war Suu Kyi von der Militärjunta im August zu 18 Monaten Hausarrest verurteilt worden, nachdem ein Amerikaner unter mysteriösen Umständen heimlich zu ihrem Haus an einem See geschwommen war. >>> Zeit Online, Reuters | Montag, 25. Januar 2010

Diplomatie : Sommet de l'Asean à Singapour : les États-Unis font pression sur la Birmanie
LE POINT: C'est une première. Barack Obama a demandé directement au Premier ministre birman la libération de la dissidente Aung San Suu Kyi. Le président américain a profité de sa première rencontre avec Thein Sein, au cours d'une réunion sans précédent avec des leaders de l'Association des États d'Asie du Sud-Est (Asean), qui s'est ouverte dimanche dans un hôtel de Singapour. Mais pas seulement : les États-Unis et l'Asean ont appelé la Birmanie à faire en sorte que les élections promises par la junte en 2010 soient "libres, justes, transparentes et ouvertes" à l'opposition. >>> LePoint.fr avec AFP | Dimanche 15 Novembre 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Obama demands release of Burma democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi >>> Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent | Sunday, November 15, 2009

John Yettaw, American Jailed in Burma, Released to US Officials
THE SUNDAY TIMES: The American man jailed in Yangon for swimming to the house of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has flown out of Burma after being released to US officials earlier today.

Authorities in Burma handed over jailed American citizen John Yettaw to US embassy officials earlier today, ahead of his departure from the country with US senator Jim Webb.

The US embassy said Mr Yettaw is now headed to Bangkok, Thailand, on a military plane with Senator Webb.

The senator secured his release on Saturday with a plea to Myanmar's ruling junta.

Mr Webb thanked the government for the release of Mr Yettaw at a brief news conference just prior to their departure this morning. Mr Yettaw was sentenced last week to seven years at hard labour for breaking the terms of Ms Suu Kyi's house arrest in early May.

Senator Webb met Myanmar’s top military leader Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday, and announced the release of the American who was jailed for visiting the Nobel peace laureate.

Mr Webb, a Democrat who is chairman of a Senate subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific, is the first member of Congress to travel in an official capacity to Myanmar in more than a decade and is also believed to be the first senior American official ever to meet Than Shwe. >>> | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Australia Plans Broadcasts to Burma
DAILY EXPRESS: Australia is planning to broadcast a Burmese language radio service into the south-east Asian nation to promote democracy and human rights.

The military junta which rules Burma heavily censors the nation's media and limits the population's communications with the outside world. 



But foreign radio remains popular among locals, including US Government-funded Radio Free Asia and Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norwegian-supported operation. 



Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the Burma service would become the eighth language broadcast by state-owned Radio Australia, which focuses on Asia and the Pacific. 



Mr Smith said the service would "open up a new channel of international contact for the people of Burma". 



It would also show Australian solidarity with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, he said. 
>>> | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Aung San Suu Kyi Found Guilty - Sentence Will Keep Her Out of Election
TIMES ONLINE: The Burmese democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest for receiving an eccentric American wellwisher in the home where she was being detained.

The court in Rangoon’s Insein Prison sentenced Ms Suu Kyi to three years hard labour, but it was immediately commuted to a year and a half under house arrest by the leader of Burma’s military dictatorship, Senior General Than Shwe. John Yettaw, the American whose late-night swim to her lakeside home led to her trial, received a seven-year sentence with hard labour.

The sentence will take Ms Suu Kyi out of the running for the elections which the Burmese junta has promised to hold next year, and will confirm many of its opponents in their suspicion that the charges against her were politically motivated to eliminate the symbol of the country’s long suppressed democracy movement.

Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won an overwhelming victory in the last election in 1990, a result that was never accepted by the junta.

The verdict had been delayed without explanation for 11 days, and there had been suspicions that it might be postponed again after Mr Yettaw was admitted to hospital last week after suffering epileptic seizures.

According to her lawyers, Ms Suu Kyi had been anticipating a guilty verdict, and had assembled a library of books to see her through a long prison sentence. Burma has more than 2,000 political prisoners and almost all received no more than perfunctory consideration from the courts, which predictably yield to the wishes of the military dictatorship. >>> Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor | Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Suu Kyi: Sarkozy appelle à des sanctions
leJDD.fr: Nicolas Sarkozy condamne le verdict "brutal et injuste", qui touche l'opposante birmane Aung San Suu Kyi, condamné mardi à 18 mois de prison. "Les autorités birmanes confirment par cette décision inique leur choix d'ignorer les messages pressants de la communauté internationale", estime l'Élysée dans un communiqué publié mardi. Le chef de l'Etat appelle l'Union européenne à réagir rapidement "par l'adoption de nouvelles sanctions dirigées contre le régime birman, qui doivent viser tout particulièrement les ressources dont il profite directement dans le domaine de l'exploitation du bois et des rubis", poursuit le texte. [Source: leJDD.fr] Mardi 11 Août 2009

Prison Looms for Aung San Suu Kyi as Burma Show Trial Draws to a Close
TIMES ONLINE: The Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is facing an almost certain criminal conviction and a sentence of up to five years in prison when a Rangoon court delivers its verdict at the end of this week, her defence team said yesterday.

Wrapping up her two-and-a-half-month trial, Ms Suu Kyi’s lawyers gave their reply to the prosecution’s final arguments in a court in Insein prison, Rangoon. She is accused of violating the terms of her lengthy house arrest by giving shelter to an eccentric American who entered the lakeside home where she has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention.

Speaking softly, Ms Suu Kyi stood and turned to diplomats attending the hearing and said: “I’m afraid the verdict will be painfully obvious.”

“She thanked us for trying to promote a just outcome,” said an Asian diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity. Only diplomats from the US, Japan, Singapore and Thailand were allowed to attend the last day of the trial.

Her lawyers held out little hope of an acquittal when the verdict is delivered. “We have a good chance according to the law but we cannot know what the court will decide because this is a political case,” said Nyan Win, a lawyer for Ms Suu Kyi and the spokesman for her party, the National League for Democracy. “I have never seen any defendant in a political case being set free. We have done our best and she is prepared for the worst.” >>> Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor | Wedmesday, July 29, 2009

Aung San Suu Kyi 'Fears Worst' as Trial Nears an End
TIMES ONLINE: Burma’s democracy leader is “preparing for the worst” as her two and a half month trial for giving shelter to an eccentric American well wisher nears its conclusion, one of her lawyers said today.

Aung San Suu Kyi's defence team summed up their case in the court in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison where she is on trial for allegedly breaching the terms of her detention under house arrest. Also on trial is John Yettaw, a US citizen who swam uninvited to her lakeside house because he had dreamed of her assassination and wanted to warn her of impending danger.

Her two house companions are also charged, and defence arguments for them and for Mr Yettaw will continue on Monday. Foreign diplomats from European embassies in Rangoon were allowed into court for the first time in several weeks, but her lawyer, Nyan Win, suggested that Ms Suu Kyi held out little hope of avoiding conviction, which could bring a sentence of five years and exclusion from the elections which the unelected junta promises to hold next year.

“As for her, she is preparing for the worst,” he told Reuters after the hearing. >>> Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor | Friday, July 24, 2009

Procès de Aung San Suu Kyi: la Birmanie rejette «les pressions de l'étranger»
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: DISSIDENCE | La Birmanie a rejeté jeudi "les pressions et les ingérences de l'étranger" en liaison avec le procès de l'opposante Aung San Suu Kyi, lors d'une réunion entre ministres européens et du Sud-Est asiatique.

Le chef de la junte birmane, Than Shwe, le 27 mars 2009 à Naypyidaw. Crédits photo: Tribune de Genève
Maung Myint, vice-ministre birman des Affaires étrangères, a déclaré que les accusations contre Mme Suu Kyi étaient une "affaire judiciaire interne". >>> AFP | Jeudi 28 Mai 2009

Aung San Suu Kyi erklärt sich für nicht schuldig: Auch US-Besucher verteidigt sich im Prozess gegen die Bürgerrechtlerin
Anhänger demonstrieren für Aung San Suu Kyi in Bangkok. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
NZZ Online: Burmas Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Aung San Suu Kyi hat in dem gegen sie laufenden Prozess für nicht schuldig erklärt.

Im Prozess gegen Burmas Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Aung San Suu Kyi hat sich die Angeklagte für nicht schuldig erklärt. «Ich bin nicht schuldig, weil ich keinerlei Straftat begangen habe», sagte sie gemäss ihrem Anwalt im nicht-öffentlichen Prozess.

Dieser wird im Foltergefängnis Insein in Rangun hinter verschlossenen Türen abgehalten. Burmas Militärjunta wirft Suu Kyi vor, während ihres Hausarrestes Besuch von einem US-Amerikaner erhalten zu haben und damit gegen die Arrest-Auflagen verstossen zu haben. >>> sda/dpa/afp | Freitag, 22. Mai 2009

Birma: Reporter bei Prozess gegen Suu Kyi zugelassen
WELT ONLINE: Offenbar als Reaktion auf internationale Kritik haben Birmas Militär-Behörden Journalisten und Diplomaten zum Prozess gegen Aung San Suu Kyi zugelassen. Der Friedensnobelpreisträgerin wird vorgeworfen, gegen Auflagen ihres Hausarrests verstoßen zu haben, der Ende Mai abgelaufen wäre. Jetzt drohen fünf Jahre Haft.

Aung San Suu Kyi muss sich vor Gericht verantworten. Bild dank der Welt
Birmas Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Aung San Suu Kyi hat erstmals seit Jahren wieder mit ausländischen Diplomaten sprechen dürfen.

Die Militärbehörden hatten die Ausländer und einige Reporter in das Insein-Gefängnis gelassen, wo Suu Kyi der Prozess wegen Verletzung der Auflagen ihres Hausarrests gemacht wird. Darunter waren fünf Vertreter der lokalen Staatsmedien und fünf Reporter für ausländische Medien.

Von der Militärjunta, die Birma regiert, unter Hausarrest gestellt, setzt sich Suu Kyi trotzdem seit den späten 80er-Jahren für eine friedliche Demokratisierung des Landes ein. Sie saß insgesamt 13 der vergangenen 19 Jahre in Haft oder stand unter Hausarrest. 1990 hatte sie die Wahlen mit ihrer Partei Nationale Liga für Demokratie (NLD) in Birma gewonnen, die Militärjunta verweigert ihr jedoch seither die Machtübernahme. >>> dpa/Reuters/dcs | Mittwoch, 20. Mai 2009

Anger Mounts at Fate of Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: There was a growing international outcry last night about the incarceration of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese democracy leader, as more details emerged about the incident that led to her transfer to the country’s most notorious jail.

Ms Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, faces up to five years in Insein prison, a high-security institution which houses more than 2,000 political prisoners, after an American swam across a lake and sneaked into her house, where she was less than two weeks from completing a sentence of house arrest.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which rarely comments on its laureates, issued a statement saying that her detention in prison was totally unacceptable. Several governments, including Britain, the United States and Singapore, have also condemned Ms Suu Kyi’s treatment.

The wife of John Yettaw, the man who swam to Ms Suu Kyi’s home, said that he had done so once before, last year, but was prevented from seeing the Nobel laureate by her house staff. >>> James Bone | Saturday, May 16, 2009

Aung San Suu Kyi à nouveau emprisonnée
Crédits photo: Google Images
LEPARISIEN.fr: L'opposante birmane et prix Nobel de la paix Aung San Suu Kyi a été une nouvelle fois mise en prison par la junte birmane qui lui reproche d'avoir accueilli chez elle un citoyen américain en violation des règles de son assignation à résidence.

Aung San Suu Kyi a été placée en détention en compagnie de deux employées de maison ce jeudi à la suite de la visite d'un Américain John Yettaw qui avait traversé un lac à la nage pour se rendre chez elle.

Le vétéran de la guerre du Vietnam âgé de 53 ans était resté deux jours.

Le Prix Nobel de la Paix, Aung San Suu Kyi sera jugée le 18 mai, a indiqué un avocat. Les mesures de sécurité avaient été considérablement renforcées à l'aube autour de la résidence de la principale opposante à la junte militaire birmane et qui a été privée de liberté pendant la majeure partie des 19 dernières années. >>> | Jeudi 14 Mai 2009

Junta to Put Democracy Leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Trial
Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo credit: TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s democracy leader, is to stand trial on Monday at Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison in connection with a visit from a mysterious American last week, her party said last night.

A motorcade which included her car and several police vehicles left her lakeside home early this morning and drove to the prison.

“Her lawyer said the authorities will charge the lady and her two maids at the court in Insein prison,” said Nyan Win, spokesman for Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.

It was not clear what charges she faced but exile groups said she was likely to be charged under a cover-all public security law which is often used against political dissidents and could face a prison term of up to seven years.

Ms Suu Kyi., 63, has already spent more than 13 of the last 19 years — including the past six — in detention without trial for her non-violent promotion of democracy, despite international pressure for her release.

A trial could be used to justify another extension of her detention, which officially ends on May 27. The military junta has repeatedly found reasons to extend her periods of house arrest. >>> Anne Barrowclough | Thursday, May 14, 2009