Burmese video journalist given 13 years in jail. New York, February 11, 2011--Burma's new government under Prime Minister Thein Sein must put an end to the former military junta's despicable policy of imprisoning independent journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The most recent case to come to light is the 13-year sentencing of Maung Maung Zeya in a trial held within Insein Prison on February 4.
Staff at the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), for which the journalist worked, confirmed the decision to CPJ. Maung Maung Zeya was convicted for contacting Burmese exiled media and violating the Electronics Act. The court's sentence came on the same day Thein Sein was sworn into office. CPJ counted 13 journalists in jail in as of December 1, 2010, making it one of the five worst jailers of journalists in the world. "Maung Maung Zeya's sentencing to 13 years in prison should dispel any illusions that is on a new path," said , CPJ's program coordinator. Login. Burma patients face eviction after Suu Kyi visit.
By Nov 21, 2010 8:50AM UTC Burma’s government ordered more than 80 people at a shelter for patients with HIV and AIDS to leave following a visit by newly freed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the center’s organizers said Saturday. Suu Kyi, released a week ago from seven years under house arrest, visited the shelter on the outskirts of Yangon on Wednesday, promising to provide it with badly needed medicines.
She also addressed a crowd of more than 600 who came to see her. A day after her visit, government officials told patients they would have to leave by next week or face legal action because the center’s permit was not being renewed, said Phyu Phyu Thin, a pro-democracy activist who founded the operation. By law, home owners must seek government permission every two weeks to allow visitors to stay overnight. “We have been allowed to renew our resident permits in the past. “The patients have the right to make their own choice.
Some patients were defiant. Associated Press. Aung San Suu Kyi's release: A challenge for all. Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday that she had been listening to the radio for so long, it was good to hear some real human voices. It was good also to hear her voice, after the last seven years of house arrest. Her unconditional release was expected to have caused a dilemma for the military junta which repressed it for so long. It may still do so, but her first words in liberty may have also prompted those who campaigned for her release to rethink their tactics as well. She called for national reconciliation, including an honest dialogue with those who jailed her. Her supporters were torn between keeping the pressure up and listening to what their hero had to say.
Aung San Suu Kyi's release may cause western policy on Burma to be tempered with a new sense of realism. These are early days, ones in which the junta will want to bask in its share of the limelight. Supporters flood the streets to welcome Aung San Suu Kyi at party headquarters | World news. At the front of the headquarters of the National League for Democracy hangs a massive portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi. For most of this decade, that is all the people of Burma have had of her, this best-known picture of "The Lady", head turned to camera, eyes set in a determined stare. But today, after seven long years of house arrest at the hands of Burma's military junta, she was back, standing before her own portrait: the same steel in her eye, but with a voice that urged reconciliation, unity, and an eye towards the future, not the past.
"We have a lot of things to do … I believe in human rights and I believe in the rule of law. I will always fight for these things … and I need the support of the people. " From early today, men, women and children crammed every vantage point they could outside NLD headquarters, hanging from trees, climbing on to cars, and scrambling on to roofs, hoping for even a glimpse of their beloved icon.
But there was no fear from the people of Burma. Shepard Fairey portraits Aung San Suu Kyi. Posted by Marc van Gurp | 6-07-2009 21:10 | Category: Human rights Most heard opinion why Obama won the presidential election last year is because of the effective use of social media. True. But also very important was the Hope-poster made by Shepard Fairey. How a piece of design went viral. “This Human Rights cause is something I believe in strongly,” said Fairey. “Aung San Suu Kyi is the Nelson Mandela of Asia,” said Jack Healey, the head of the Human Rights Action Center. ”In a world in which we all too often focus on differences, Aung San Suu Kyi is a unifying figure that people of all political persuasions can work to support.
VOA | Aung San Suu Kyi Seeks Reconciliation With Military Rulers | News. Newly freed Burmese democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi is offering an olive branch to the country's military regime that kept her confined for most of the last two decades. In an exclusive interview with VOA, the 65-year-old Nobel Peace laureate said she and her supporters "are certainly not bent on clashing" with the military rulers. She added, "We hope very much that the regime will understand that clashing is not a solution to Burma's problems. " Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest Saturday and was greeted by thousands of supporters as she emerged from her lakeside home. On Sunday, in a speech at the headquarters of her National League for Democracy party, she said freedom of speech is the cornerstone of democracy.
She said she wants to work with all democratic forces in seeking change in Burma, but that it has to be accomplished in the "right way" through discussions with the military leaders. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP. Do not give up hope, Suu Kyi urges Myanmar democracy advocates. In her first speech to her supporters in seven years, freed Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged them Sunday not to lose hope and called for the country's repressive military regime to allow freedom of speech.
"There is no reason to lose heart," she told a crowd of thousands gathered outside the Rangoon headquarters of her National League for Democracy less than 24 hours after she was released from house arrest on Saturday. "The basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech," she said, adding that she also believes in human rights and the rule of law. "Democracy is when people keep a government in check. " She told the crowd - which chanted "We love Suu! " as they waited for her address to begin - that they could achieve what they wanted, but they would have to do it "in the right way. " Ms. Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, also struck a conciliatory note, saying that she bore "no antagonism" towards those who had kept her in detention.
Ms. Mr. U.S. Ms. Ms. Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi: Thousands turn out for her release. By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 18:14 GMT, 14 November 2010 Pro-democracy leader insists she bears 'no antagonism' towards captorsLawyer insists no restrictions have been placed on her releaseAung San Suu Kyi urges supporters 'not to give up hope' Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi addressed thousands of supporters today and insisted she bears no grudge against the military junta which held her captive for 15 years.
The 65-year-old was freed yesterday by the country's military rulers and was greeted by a vast crowd of cheering people outside the headquarters of the National League for Democracy in Rangoon. The veteran human rights campaigner, who has been detained for 15 of the last 21 years, championed free speech and urged supporters not to give up hope. Free: Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi gestures during a press conference in Yangon after military generals sanctioned her release 'The basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech. He said: 'This is long overdue. Celebrations as Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi released.
14 November 2010Last updated at 05:17 The BBC's correspondent in Rangoon witnessed Aung San Suu Kyi's release World leaders and human rights groups have reacted with joy at the release from house arrest of Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Ms Suu Kyi walked from her Rangoon house at the end of her sentence on Saturday, having been detained for most of the past two decades. Her lawyers say no conditions have been placed on her freedom. She is expected to address supporters. A large crowd has gathered outside the offices of her NLD party to hear her. She arrived at NLD headquarters on Sunday and is also expected to meet diplomats. However correspondents say it is not yet clear what political role she will be able to play. Her release comes six days after Burma held its first elections in 20 years - they were won by the military but widely condemned as a sham. Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power. 'Inspiration'