Pelosi Welcomes the Release of Aung San Suu Kyi from Detention in Burma

By Nancy-Pelosi • November 13, 2010

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to the news that Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest. Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and she is the leading advocate for democracy and human rights in Burma. She has spent 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest despite winning the country’s last democratic election in 1990, which was annulled by the military regime.

“The news that Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from detention is a positive development. The timing is a disappointment, coming one week after an election conducted by the Burmese regime that was neither free nor fair. It also remains to be seen whether conditions have been placed upon her release from detention. It is essential that her full rights be restored so that she can help Burma usher in a new era of respect for democracy and human rights.

“Aung San Suu Kyi has inspired the world in her fight for the freedom of the Burmese people. She has seen her supporters beaten, tortured, and killed but she has never responded to hatred and violence in kind. All she has ever asked for is peaceful dialogue.

“I am proud that the U.S. Congress passed and the President signed into law a resolution awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Aung San Suu Kyi for ‘her courageous and unwavering commitment to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and democracy in Burma.’ Let there be no doubt that Members of Congress stand together with Aung San Suu Kyi and the freedom seeking people of Burma in their just cause.”

Contact:
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
Drew Hammill/202-226-7616

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Pelosi Welcomes the Release of Aung San Suu Kyi from Detention in Burma

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