AFL-CIO Demands Release of Burma Activist Suu Kyi

by James Parks, Aug 11, 2009

The AFL-CIO is demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Burmese democracy activist and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Burma’s military dictators today sentenced her to 18 months of house arrest after her conviction on trumped-up charges.

Suu Kyi, 64, was arrested in May 2009, just six days short of completing her most recent house arrest. She was taken to prison after a U.S. citizen swam a mile across a lake to her home and stayed overnight, which violated the terms of her house arrest. She has been under house arrest a total of 14 of the past 20 years.

In a statement, the AFL-CIO said:

The verdict in her so-called trial is a travesty. Her continued imprisonment is extremely dangerous to her future well-being as she is reportedly in poor health and in need of medical care.

While she should be freed immediately, the Burmese military regime must be held accountable for the safety of Aung San Suu Kyi, and her treatment while she remains in custody, ensuring she receive proper medical care.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) also denounced the sentence, saying:

…it is quite clear that this mock trial was mainly aimed at ensuring that the key figure in the Burmese opposition could play no part in the forthcoming national “elections,” due to be held in 2010. Unless some form of pardon is announced between now and 2010, today’s sentence is indeed likely to prevent Aung San Suu Kyi from standing in those elections.

Aung San Suu Kyi is widely recognized as the legitimate president of Burma. Her political party, the National League for Democracy, won 82 percent of the parliamentary seats in a national election in 1990, but the military regime refused to cede power.

Burma’s leaders also have been roundly condemned by the United Nations, human rights groups and others for their brutal suppression of human and workers’ rights.

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