Democracy Leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Finally Free; Supporters Celebrate and Call for Guarantees of her Safety

By Burma Partnership • November 13, 2010

Today marked the end of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s most recent term of seven years under house arrest as Burma’s military regime finally released the democracy leader upon the expiration of her sentence. Thousands of National League for Democracy (NLD) members and her supporters gathered outside of her house to catch a glimpse of their beloved leader on this historic day. The crowd cheered elatedly as she emerged from her house. People wept for joy, danced and celebrated to long awaited release of the democracy leader. “We must work together in unison to achieve our goal,” she said, reiterating her timeless commitment to unity and peace.

View a video of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi walking out and greeting her supporters:

(Credit: BBC)

Supporters around the world, however, remain cautiously optimistic. The long-awaited release of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is monumentally significant for Burma’s democracy movement. However, observers note that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters are not the only ones who recognize her inherent power to pose a threat to the regime’s repressive rule.

Upon her release in 2002, the regime carried out a brutal attack on the democracy leader the following year as she traveled around the country to meet NLD members and supporters in 125 townships across Burma. She was violently attacked by approximately 5,000 people who were paid and threatened by the regime to carry out the attack. She narrowly escaped with her life, but over 100 NLD members and supporters were killed in this incident known as the Depayin Massacre. Following the assault, the regime unlawfully arrested Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and charged her under article 10(a) of the State Protection Law for “endangering state sovereignty and security.”

The regime’s history of committing gross human rights violations and repression of political opposition fails to lend comfort to those concerned for the well being of the democracy leader following her release. Further, set against the backdrop of frequent and arbitrary arrests of political activists, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s determination to continue her political activities raises fears of another, fourth arrest of “the Lady.”

A statement by the National League for Democracy – Liberated Area (NLD-LA) reiterated this concern: “It is not enough for the regime to simply release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” the statement notes. “In releasing her, the regime must guarantee that they will respect and protect her political freedoms and human rights; the regime must ensure that it will not once again attack, arrest or detain the democracy leader at their convenience.”

The regime has certainly taken no measures to curb their policies of criminalizing political activism, especially around the time of the recent elections. Burma Election Tracker has documented over 15 incidents of election related unlawful arrest and detention, comprising the arrests of as many as 100 democracy and ethnic activists, political candidates, villagers and journalists. These include the arrest of 11 youth activists for distributing print material calling for an election boycott, to the detention of a farmer for criticizing USDP’s manipulative campaign activities, to the arrest of dozens of villagers in Arakan State for refusing to vote for the regime backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

These arbitrary arrests in the pre-election period, during the elections, and after the polls, demonstrate that the military regime had no genuine intention of giving people a voice in this week’s elections, and that it continues to be unlikely that people will be allowed to express themselves politically, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Unlawful and arbitrary arrests and detentions directly undercut the very principles of democracy at the root of multiparty elections; without the political space for freedoms of expression, assembly, and association, Burma’s elections proved to be completely unfree, unfair and a parody of the democratic process.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release should be the first step to the release of all of the 2,200 political prisoners, including Min Ko Naing and Khun Htun Oo – a necessary benchmark for human rights, genuine democracy, and national reconciliation. The regime must also put in place the necessary security measures to guarantee Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s safety, and the international community must hold the regime accountable to such a commitment.

Only by ensuring the protection of all basic political freedoms and decriminalizing political dissent can there be genuine steps towards establishing peace and a genuine democratic federal union in Burma.