“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi enters the court-within-a-prison on May 20, 2009 in this screenshot from Burmese state television.” Photo via MRTV.
Here’s the latest on what’s happening with the military trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma:
The Irrawaddy reports that in her testimony, Suu Kyi both protested her innocence and accused the prosecution of bias.
The Agence France-Presse reports on American intruder John Yettaw’s testimony, in which he claimed God told him to warn Suu Kyi about a “terrorist” plot to assassinate her.
Voice of America reports that the junta has rejected “all but one of [Suu Kyi's] defense witnesses as she faces up to five years in prison for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest.”
VOA News also reports that the 15-member U.N. Security Council has issued a statement expressing concern about “the political impact” of Suu Kyi’s trial, and calling for the release of all political prisoners in Burma (including “The Lady”).
The BBC reports that “Burma’s military regime has blamed the incident which led to the arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on ‘anti-government elements’.”
The BBC also notes the junta’s rejections of pressure from the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
In the pages of the New York Times, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who was the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Burma from 2000 to 2008, writes that it is time to end the junta’s “system of impunity.”
The Washington Post ponders the “mixed messages” sent by the junta in their recent behavior toward Suu Kyi.
The Post also reports on a demonstration of democracy activists in Rangoon, which marked two “grim” anniversaries: “19 years since the vote in which democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi led her party to a victory the military refused to recognize, and six years since she was last free.”
In a write-up for The Huffington Post, U Pyinya Zawta, founding member and the Executive Director in Exile of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance, notes that “the real culprits that the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in Burma should have arrested for a foreigner’s intrusion into Aung San Suu Kyi’s house were the security officials charged with guarding the home where she lives with her female companions.”
Agam Tapak of Agam’s Gecko offers a thoughtful post about Suu Kyi’s testimony.
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“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi enters the court-within-a-prison on May 20, 2009 in this screenshot from Burmese state television.” Photo via MRTV.
