Burma News (5.26.09)

by Danny Fisher

“A Buddhist monk, center, stands next to riot police officers at a checkpoint on a road to the main entrance of Insein Prison where the trial of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is ongoing Monday, May 25, 2009 in Yangon, Myanmar. Suu Kyi will testify Tuesday at her trial for allegedly violating terms of her house arrest as the prosecution’s withdrawal of its nine remaining witnesses suggested the military government wanted to quickly wrap up the proceedings. Suu Kyi, 63, is widely expected to be found guilty for allegedly harboring an American who swam across a lake to her residence. She faces up to five years in prison.” Photo by Khin Maung Win for the Associated Press.
[This post has been updated as of 7:30 p.m. PST on 5.26.09.]

Here’s the latest on what’s happening in Burma with Prime Minister-elect and Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently on trial before the ruling junta:

  • The Associated Press and the New York Times report on Suu Kyi’s testimony today, in which she said she did not violate the terms of her house arrest.
  • The Washington Post is reporting the junta has officially ended Suu Kyi’s house arrest, though she remains in prison awaiting the outcome of the trial.
  • The BBC reports that U.S. President Barack Obama has called for the “immediate and unconditional” of Suu Kyi in a written statement.
  • Voice of America is reporting that “a group of Southeast Asian politicians is urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to suspend Burma’s membership if it refuses to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.”
  • The Post writes about how the junta’s trial of Suu Kyi is further isolating them from the rest of the world–even from those people they would call allies.
  • Former political prisoner Aung Din writes about Burma’s “last chance” for the Far Eastern Economic Review.