Afraid it is happening again. This is from the newsletter I get from the Free Burma Coalition:
F R E E B U R M A C O A L I T I O N
_______________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 31, 2003
Contact: Jeremy Woodrum, 202-547-5985; 202-246-7924 (cell) Aung Din,
301-602-0077 (cell)
After Alleged Assassination Attempt, Burmese Junta Re-Arrests Nobel Laureate, Several Reported Killed
Nationwide Crackdown Follows: Regime Closes Party Offices, Cuts Phone Lines
WASHINGTON - The Free Burma Coalition (FBC) today condemned an alleged assassination attempt against the leader of Burma's democracy movement, 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the reported killing of several persons and injury of dozens more. FBC has confirmed that Burma's military regime simultaneously raided offices of Suu Kyi's
political party the National League for Democracy (NLD), tearing down party flags and padlocking doors across the country. Military intelligence agents are now posted outside the offices preventing any entry at the offices in Rangoon and Mandalay. The regime placed numerous NLD leaders under house arrest, surrounding their homes and severing telephone lines, making it impossible for the democracy movement to issue a reaction.
"This is the regime's most serious crackdown on democracy in years," said Aung Din, FBC's Director of Policy. "This latest outrage proves yet again that Burma's regime has lied to the international community and lied to the Burmese people."
The arrests and reported killings took place after supporters of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the political arm of Than Shwe's ruling military regime, apparently attacked Aung San Suu Kyi and supporters of her political party in the town of Ye-U, approximately hundreds of miles north of Rangoon. CNN reported that Suu Kyi's car was hit by gunfire. An unconfirmed number of people were killed and dozens reported injured as NLD members and villagers attempted to defend against the attackers.
"Many leading members of Congress will be looking to pass a new set of comprehensive sanctions against the regime," stated Aung Din. "These killings and arrests demonstrate that increased international pressure through sanctions and isolating regime politically and economically is the only policy option we have to press for the removal of the regime and recognition of the 1990 democratically elected parliament," he stated.
The incident is one in a series of intensifying attacks perpetrated by the political arm of the regime as Aung San Suu Kyi and her party leadership traveled across the country on an organizing tour. One week ago, United States Congressmen Peter King (R-NY) and Michael Capuano (D-MA) harshly criticized attacks on Suu Kyi and other party leaders on the floor of the United States Congress after members of the USDA brandished machetes and threw rocks at Suu Kyi's convoy. King said,
"This is yet another example of how Than Shwe's regime continues to employ terror and brutality as a means of retaining power over the Burmese people."
Citing the regime's intransigence and brutality, powerful U.S. Senator Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) recently publicly pledged to introduce new sanctions on Burma and aggressively push for their implementation.
Last May, Aung San Suu Kyi was released from nearly two years of house arrest to much international fanfare after the ruling military regime promised a "new page" for the Burmese people, including the regime's participation in United Nations-facilitated talks aimed at a transition to democracy in Burma. Her release eased international pressure against the regime, including increased sanctions that were about to pass in the U.S. Congress. However, over the past year the regime has repeatedly snubbed the UN envoy to Burma Razali Ismail and refuses to begin the talks.
Aung San Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide victory in Burma's last election, garnering 82% of the seats in parliament. The regime refused to acknowledge the results, and has ruled with an iron fist ever since. Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000. Last month, U.S. President George W. Bush pledged support for freedom in Burma. ##
It's just heartbreaking
