New Delhi (Mizzima) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Thursday said he is “deeply concerned” that Burma’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi may be charged with breaching her terms of house arrest, and called on the ruling junta to immediately release her.
In a statement released on Thursday, May 14th, Gordon Brown said, "I am deeply disturbed that Aung San Suu Kyi may be charged with breaching the terms of her detention.”
The British Prime Minister’s call came as the Burmese government on Thursday morning began the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, two live-in aides and an American who allegedly swam across Inya Lake to gain access to her compound.
The Nobel Prize Laureate was charged under section 22 of the penal code, pertaining to the protection of a criminal with intent to disturb the stability of the state, while her two assistants were charged with abetting a criminal.
John William Yettaw, the American in question, was apparently charged for disturbing the stability of the state in addition to charges leveled against him under the Immigration and Rangoon Municipal Acts.
Brown, in his statement, said the junta’s decision to charge the Burmese democracy icon clearly shows that they are determined to extend her detention period, which is set to expire on May 27th.
“The Burmese regime is clearly intent on finding any pretext, no matter how tenuous, to extend her unlawful detention,” Brown said.
If found guilty under the charge, Aung San Suu Kyi could be sentenced to a prison term of three to five years, fined 5,000 kyats ($US 5) or incur both penalties.
The western district court in Insein Prison on Thursday adjourned after a brief hearing, scheduling the next hearing for May 18th. After the court session, Aung San Suu Kyi was not brought back to her lakeside villa, instead being detained at a separate building in the notorious Insein Prison complex.
While the motives that pushed the American man to pay a visit to Suu Kyi are still unclear, members of the international community along with Burmese opposition groups have voiced the opinion that the charge and trial are totally unjust, calling for her immediate release.
Campaigners, including the UK-based Burma campaign UK and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), have urged the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Burma is a member, to immediately send an envoy to seek the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
“It is essential that the U.N., ASEAN and key members of the international community such as China and India act immediately to secure her release and safety, and the release of all her associates,” said Mervyn Thomas, CSW’s Chief Executive, in a statement on Thursday.
The European Union on Wednesday also called on the Burmese government to ensure the safety of Aung San Suu Kyi and, following reports suggesting that her health is deteriorating, to allow her medical attention.
The E.U. referred to her detention as a breach of international norms.
While members of the international community have raised their voices against the charges, Burmese residents of Rangoon said they are outraged by the conduct of John William Yettaw, as it has brought “The Lady”, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi, more trouble in addition to what she must already endure on a daily basis.
An editor with a local weekly journal in Rangoon told Mizzima on Thursday that he clearly believes the incident to have been masterminded by the junta and that Yettaw would not have gone to Aung San Suu Kyi’s house of his own conscience.
“What would he [Yettaw] benefit out of this. I am really angry at what he has done. All Burmese people are angry at him,” the editor lamented.
