Aung San Suu Kyi Hospitalized

[Jamila]

This is VERY troubling news:


US worried over Suu Kyi medical reports Fri Jun 9, 2:53 PM ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States voiced concern on Friday over reports Myanmar democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi may have been hospitalized and urged the authorities to release the Nobel laureate from house arrest.


State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said he had heard reports that Suu Kyi had been hospitalized but he could not confirm whether they were true or not.


"We would call upon the Burmese (Myanmar) government to provide Aung San Suu Kyi any and all medical assistance that she might need and to do so expeditiously and to ensure her safety during any treatment," said McCormack.


"We are, of course, very concerned by these reports and we would also reiterate our call on the regime to release her from house arrest," he added.


Earlier on Friday, military-ruled Myanmar, formerly called Burma, confirmed Suu Kyi's house arrest had been extended for one year.


Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and has been in prison or under house arrest off and on since 1989. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won landslide elections in 1990 but the military refused to relinquish power.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060609/pl_nm/myanmar_suukyi_medical_dc
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And here is an email that I received from the U.S. Campaign for Burma organization today:


We have learned that Aung San Suu Kyi has been hospitalized in Rangoon.


While news reports (see AP article below) cite severe diarrhea, we have
reason to fear that her situation is worse than that would make it
sound
- severe gastro-intestinal distress like Aung San Suu Kyi is
experiencing can be signs of serious medical conditions and she has not
been able to see her doctor regularly in the recent months because of
increased restrictions imposed by the regime.



The international media is aware that this is happening, though we
cannot rely on them to report it widely enough. As a measure to
protect
Aung San Suu Kyi's safety while she's in the hospital we must make June
17 a huge day of action. We can protect her by insisting on vigilant
and intense international scrutiny by the media and the world's
governments.


Please, please double your efforts now.


Contact the local media about your house party, invite more people,
solicit more funds, donate more, and get more letters written so that
Aung San Suu Kyi will be provided with the best medical care, and so
that she will be released, and we can begin on a path to global action
that might end all of this suffering once and for all.

The last time that Aung San Suu Kyi was free (in 2003), the military
tried to assassinate her. She needs our help and protection, and even
if you don't feel like your one house party in middle-America will make
the difference, yours and the 252+ others combined WILL make a
difference, like so many individual drops of water building a great
ocean.


Let's all do our part and more.

Cristina




Myanmar's Suu Kyi Hospitalized

By NICK WADHAMS

The Associated Press

Friday, June 9, 2006; 3:10 PM

UNITED NATIONS -- Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has
been hospitalized with severe diarrhea, activists with contacts in the
country said Friday.

Suu Kyi, 60, was taken to the hospital Thursday afternoon after calling
her physician to say she was suffering from diarrhea and weakness, said
Thaung Htun, the New York-based U.N. representative for the Burmese
government in exile. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

Htun said Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has spent much of the
last 16 years under house arrest, was delayed going to the hospital
because her physician had trouble getting permission to see her.

"The physician should have a visit any time he thinks it's necessary,"
Htun said. "Delays should not happen because of asking permission from
the authorities."

Htun said colleagues in Myanmar had confirmed Suu Kyi's
hospitalization.
It was not immediately clear if she had been released.

In Washington, the State Department said it had heard reports of Suu
Kyi's hospitalization but could not confirm them.

"We would call upon the Burmese government to provide Aung San Suu Kyi
any and all medical assistance that she might need and to do so
expeditiously and to ensure her safety during any treatment," spokesman
Sean McCormack said.

"And we would also reiterate our call on the regime to release her from
house arrest. It's sometimes difficult to get good, solid information
in
Burma, just because of the nature of the place. But we are quite
concerned about the reports."

Myanmar's junta took power in 1988 after crushing vast pro-democracy
demonstrations in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. In 1990, it refused
to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party won a general election by a
landslide.

The United States and many Western nations have since shunned the junta
due to its poor human rights record and failure to give up power.

Earlier Friday, the government acknowledged for the first time that it
had extended her house arrest last month.

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PLEASE visit this website to learn what more that you can do to support freedom and democracy in Burma and to win the

UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI!


Thank you for your time.


http://www.uscampaignforburma.org

 

[U2democrat]

Thanks for the notice.

 

[Jamila]

You're very welcomed, U2democrat.

I only hope more people will become interested in this very disconcerting situation for one of the GREAT leaders of our time.

WALK ON....

 

[Jamila]

To show your support of freedom and democracy in Burma and for the IMMEDIATE and UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE of Aung San Suu Kyi, the U.S. Campaign for Burma is asking as many people as possible to "arrest yourselves" on June 17, 2006 in honor of the 61st birthday of "The Lady".


Here is some more info on this international event:


'Arrest Yourself' on June 17, 2006!


Help the world's most prominent political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi !



We are calling on every single person in the world who cares about human rights to lock themselves up in their home for 24 hours in solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi on June 17, 2006 - the weekend before her 61st birthday.


Why 'Arrest Yourself?'
Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced Sue Chee) has been held in prison and under house arrest for over ten of the past 16 years in the Southeast Asian country of Burma, which is situated between China and India.

Her captor--Burma's ruling dictator Than Shwe--is among the world's most brutal leaders and is often compared to Kim Jong Il of North Korea.


How Do I Participate?
First, sign up to 'arrest yourself' on June 17, 2006.

If you live in the United States, we'll send you a packet of materials so that you can hold a successful and action-oriented 'Arrest Yourself' party through the mail. You can also download these materials by clicking on the individual packet items below. We'll sign you up to our listserve for 'arrest yourself' party hosts so you can share your party ideas and ask any questions you may have.

Next, start inviting your 'arrest yourself' house party guests, and making your party preparations! With June 17 fast approaching, you should be making plans ASAP.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope that YOU will arrest yourself next weekend to show your support for a free and democratic Burma

and the immediate and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.


WALK ON....

 

[Jamila]

What a difference a day makes (and a whole lot of international pressure)!

The day after it was reported that Aung San Suu Kyi was hospitalized with severe gastro-intestinal problems, she evidently was treated and released to return back to her home to resume her illegal house detention:


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060611/en_afp/myanmarpoliticssuukyi_060611073645



Aung San Suu Kyi feeling better after illness: party

Sun Jun 11, 4:31 PM ET



YANGON (AFP) - Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is feeling better after suffering from stomach troubles and remained at home under the care of her personal physician, her party said.

Her family doctor is taking very good care of her. We are sure of that," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for her National League for Democracy. "The latest information we have is that by yesterday, she was recovering."

Reports of her illness had on Friday prompted the US State Department to say it was "very concerned" and call on the country's military rulers to ensure she received prompt treatment.

Nyan Win on Saturday said that the 60-year-old Nobel peace laureate had been briefly hospitalized on Friday for treatment.

But on Sunday he said "it was a misunderstanding," and that the party was still trying to confirm whether she had been taken to hospital.

Myanmar's police chief, Major General Khin Yi, said that the doctor had treated her at home Thursday for digestive problems and that she had not left the house.

Aung San Suu Kyi's doctor could not be reached for comment on her condition, but Nyan Win said the physician could still be caring for her inside the lakeside home where she is under house arrest.

The daughter of the country's independence hero Aung San has spent more than 10 of the past 17 years under house arrest, with only a short-wave radio to connect her to the outside world.

The junta last month defied international demands for her freedom and extended her house arrest by another year.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in detention since a May 2003 attack on her convoy by junta-backed militia in the country's central region.

She was thrown into prison after the assault but, following a gynecological operation four months later, allowed to return home -- again under house arrest.

Just last month, more than two years after being barred from seeing foreigners, Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed by the junta to meet with UN Under Secretary General Ibrahim Gambari.

The UN envoy said after the surprise meeting that Aung San Suu Kyi's health was good, but reported that she would like visits by her doctors "to be more predictable and regular".

Hopes had swelled for her release after the meeting, but the junta -- accused by various governments and non-governmental groups of human rights abuses -- extended her house arrest.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was among world leaders who expressed profound disappointment over the junta's decision.

Her National League for Democracy party won a landslide election victory in 1990, but the military government never recognized the result.

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This is definitely a situation that all supporters of human rights and democracy need to keep a watch on.

 

[Jamila]

Here is a short biography about "The Lady" from the website that bears her name:


Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of one of Burma's most cherished heroes, the martyred General Aung San, who led his country's fight for independence from Great Britain in the 1940s and was killed for his beliefs in 1947. Suu Kyi has equaled her father's heroics with her calm but passionate advocacy of freedom and democracy in the country now called Myanmar, a name chosen by one of the most insensitive and brutal military dictatorships in the world.

The ruling junta – "political party" would be too generous a concession – goes by the Orwellian name of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Burma, or Myanmar, has a population of 45 million and is Southeast Asia's second largest country (in area) after Indonesia.

The news event that brought Suu Kyi back into prominence in May 2002 was her release from 19 months of house arrest in her barricaded villa in Yangon, formerly Rangoon. The United Nations helped to negotiate her release this time.

There was outrage around the world in 2000 when Suu Kyi tried to leave Yangon, only to be thwarted by authorities. In August of that year Suu Kyi, her driver and 14 members of her pro-democracy party were confined in two cars on the side of the road outside of Yangon. She endured a similar roadside standoff for 13 days in 1998, during which time she suffered severe dehydration and had to be returned to her home by ambulance.

Suu Kyi (pronounced Soo Chee) was two years old when her father – the de facto prime minister of newly independent Burma – was assassinated. Though a Buddhist – the predominant religion of Burma – she was educated at Catholic schools and left for India in her mid-teens with her mother, who became the Burmese ambassador to India. Suu Kyi went to England where she studied at Oxford University. There she met Michael Aris, the Tibetan scholar whom she married. They had two sons, Alexander and Kim.

A watershed in her life was 1988, when Suu Kyi received a call from Burma that her mother had suffered a stroke and did not have long to live. Suu Kyi returned to Burma, leaving her husband and two children behind in England, having cautioned them years earlier that duty may one day call her back to her homeland.

She arrived back in Burma to nurse her mother at a time of a burgeoning pro-democracy movement, fueled by the energy and idealism among the country's young people. There were demonstrations against the repressive, one-party socialist government. Suu Kyi was drawn into the pro-democracy movement, which was snuffed out by SLORC, which seized power on September 18, 1988. Thousands of pro-democracy advocates were killed.

Next came a general election in 1990, which political parties were allowed to contest. Suu Kyi headed the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a landslide victory, with 80 per cent support. This was not be tolerated by the SLORC leaders, who refused to recognize the election results. Worse, SLORC put the elected pro-democracy leaders under house arrest, including Suu Kyi.

Despite the restrictions of house arrest, Suu Kyi continued to campaign for democracy, and for this she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

One of Suu Kyi's most dramatic speeches was in 1995, soon after she was released from nearly six years of house arrest, when she spoke to a global women's conference in Beijing. She didn't appear at the conference, but spoke to the international gathering by means of a video smuggled out of Burma. Suu Kyi always expresses herself with calm conviction and calm passion, which reflects her Buddhist upbringing. She is Gandhian in her synergistic mixture of force and restraint.

In her speech, she said, "…to the best of my knowledge, no war was ever started by women. But it is women and children who have always suffered the most in situations of conflict." She mentioned "the war toys of grown men." Without specifically targeting her SLORC opponents, but her words dripping with gentle sarcasm, Suu Kyi went on to say:

"There is an outmoded Burmese proverb still recited by men, who wish to deny that women too can play a part in bringing necessary change and progress to their society: 'The dawn rises only when the rooster crows.' But Burmese people today are well aware of the scientific reason behind the rising of dawn and the falling of dusk. And the intelligent rooster surely realizes that it is because dawn comes that it crows and not the other way around.

"It crows to welcome the light that has come to relieve the darkness of night. It is not the prerogative of men alone to bring light to the world: women with their capacity for compassion and self-sacrifice, their courage and perseverance, have done much to dissipate the darkness of intolerance and hate, suffering and despair."

It was a powerful speech, subtly crafted for the targeted audience in her homeland.

In 1999, Michael Aris, was dying of prostate cancer in England, where he lived with their two sons. He had repeatedly requested permission to visit his wife one last time before he died, but the SLORC authorities denied him entry, arguing that there are no proper facilities in the country to tend to a dying man. They suggested instead that Suu Kyi visit him in England. She refused, fearing if she ever left the country she would never be allowed to return.

The day Aris died, on his 53rd birthday on March 27, 1999, Suu Kyi honoured the occasion at her home in Rangoon, with 1,000 friends and supporters, including high-ranking diplomats from Europe and the United States. As part of a ceremony, she offered food and saffron robes to 53 Buddhist monks, one for each year of her husband's life. The monks recited prayers and chanted sutras. Instead of wearing her usual bright flowers and wreathes of jasmine, Suu Kyi chose instead a traditional black lungi with a white jacket. She cried only when one of the monks reminded the audience that the essence of Buddhism is to treat suffering with equanimity.

The police did not stop the supporters from visiting Suu Kyi in her time of grief. But they took the names and addresses of all those who attended at the service to honour the husband from whom she had been separated since she left England to tend to her dying mother.


-----------------------------------------------------


I hope that this article informs more people about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.


She has had a much more diverse life and experiences in her life than I think some people realize.


Next time, I'll provide ONE way that you can show your support FOR THE LADY.


http://www.dassk.org/contents.php?id=127



WALK ON....

 

[Jamila]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Display...e/editorial_June25.xml&section=editorial&col=

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Pressure is building on the illegal military government in Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi from detention and to restore democracy to Burma!


Here is an editorial from a newspaper in India which appeared yesterday:




Set Suu Kyi free

12 June 2006



US has strongly reacted to reports about the illness of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s charismatic champion of democracy, demanding her immediate release. Suu Kyi, who has remained a prisoner in her own home, after her National League for Democracy swept parliamentary elections in 1990.


The military junta that has ruled the Southeast Asian country for the past 45 years simply ignored the democratic verdict. Instead it went ahead and imprisoned Suu Kyi, the winner of that historic vote. Last month, the Generals extended her detention by another year despite passionate appeals by Myanmar’s friends, neighbours and the world powers.

Myanmar remains an affront to the international community and all that it believes in: freedom, democracy, rule of law, justice and human rights. It is hard to believe that the tyrants can get away with such blatant abuse of basic rights in the 21st century. When will the world act to stop this continuing outrage? The Generals in Yangon have to be sent back to their barracks, or wherever they came from.

Myanmar’s neighbours and big powers have to stop treating the junta with kid gloves. It’s time to show where the world stands on basics such as a people’s right to determine and run own affairs. And it’s time to force the junta to free Suu Kyi and her people.
---------------------------------------------------------

This is EXCELLENT news!

The more the countries in the area put pressure on the military government, the better the chances that things will change sooner than later.

 

[Zoomerang96]

7amila, it's an editorial...

 

[Liesje]

Thanks for the info.

As for the last article, yeah, as an editorial I would HOPE that those things would happen, but unfortunately it's not news until people follow through.

 

[Jamila]

7amila, it's an editorial...

I'm fully aware that it's an editorial.

My point which was clearly delineated is that when the countries in the area of Burma begin to state as clearly as this editorial does that they also want to see change in Burma, then that's a very positive thing.

How could anyone interpret it as anything but a positive development?

For too long countries in SE Asia have looked the other way to the abuses of the illegal military government that has ruled Burma.

Now more and more of them are speaking out against the military dictatorship in Burma.

Again, how could you interpret it as anything but a positive development?

 

[Jamila]

Here is ONE thing that you can do this weekend to help show your support for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi:

you can "ARREST YOURSELF" to help gain her freedom!


Check it out:



'Arrest Yourself' on June 17, 2006!

Help the world's most prominent political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi


We are calling on every single person in the world who cares about human rights to lock themselves up in their home for 24 hours in solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi on June 17, 2006 - the weekend before her 61st birthday.



Why 'Arrest Yourself?'

Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced Sue Chee) has been held in prison and under house arrest for over ten of the past 16 years in the Southeast Asian country of Burma, which is situated between China and India.

Her captor--Burma's ruling dictator Than Shwe--is among the world's most brutal leaders and is often compared to Kim Jong Il of North Korea.



How Do I Participate?

First, sign up to 'arrest yourself' on June 17, 2006.

If you live in the United States, we'll send you a packet of materials so that you can hold a successful and action-oriented 'Arrest Yourself' party through the mail. You can also download these materials by clicking on the individual packet items below. We'll sign you up to our listserve for 'arrest yourself' party hosts so you can share your party ideas and ask any questions you may have.

Next, start inviting your 'arrest yourself' house party guests, and making your party preparations! With June 17 fast approaching, you should be making plans ASAP.



Lastly, start thinking about your "Beaming Burma!" project. "Beaming Burma!" is a cutting-edge and unique video project that will allow people all over the world to create video-taped messages of support and hope to the people of Burma, who will actually watch the videos on satellite TV inside Burma!



http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/action/community.html



I will be arresting myself this weekend.


Here is a list of everyone around the USA and elsewhere who will also be "arresting themselves" and their friends who participate in this event to show our Respect for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the very beleaguered People of Burma.



http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/action/j17.html



Please join us.

 

[Jamila]

Here is some VERY INTERESTING news today about the conti- nuing international pressure to free Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest:


Aung San Suu Kyi Relative Files First Petition to UN Rights Body
June 16, 2006

By Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON -- A family member of Myanmar's jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday filed the first petition with a new UN Human Rights Council challenging her detention by the country's military junta.


The petition was filed just as the Geneva-based council officially took over at 2200 GMT Thursday from the discredited UN Commission on Human Rights, which has been abolished by the world body as part of UN reforms.


It was filed on the relative's behalf by American lawyer Jared Genser, who is also president of Freedom Now, a US-based group striving to free "prisoners of conscience" across the globe.


Freedom Now filed the petition directly to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, a five-member panel of human rights experts led by Algerian judge Leila Zerrougui which will operate under the council.


"I think it is highly appropriate that this first case filed to this new human rights council is on behalf of such an important symbol of freedom, democracy and human rights in the world," Genser told AFP.


He declined to name the member of the detained leader's family who authorized him to file the petition, saying he had to "maintain their privacy."



Aung San Suu Kyi is the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and has spent more than 10 of the last 17 years under house arrest.


Defying international demands for her freedom, Myanmar's military rulers in late May extended her arrest for another year.


Previously, the UN working group had declared that her house arrest was in violation of international law.


"This new petition to the working group is necessary because the latest working group's declaration in 2004 expired when the military junta in Burma (Myanmar) issued a new detention order on May 27, 2006," Genser said.



"We need to reaffirm that her extended house arrest is a violation of international law," he explained.


The petition came in the wake of a US bid to seek a UN Security Council resolution compelling Myanmar's military junta to change its repressive policies.
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All I can add to this action is....WALK ON!

 

[Jamila]

Here is a very good editorial about "The Lady" on the eve of the worldwide "arrest parties" that will be happening around the world to remember Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.



http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion...0,5695107.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions



Asia's captive heroine
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will turn 61 in forced solitude.

By Timothy Garton Ash

TIMOTHY GARTON ASH is professor of European studies at Oxford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

June 15, 2006




NEXT MONDAY is the 61st birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Prize winner. Unless she is back in the hospital, where she was recently treated for a stomach ailment, she will presumably mark that birthday alone in the rundown villa on the shore of Inya Lake where she has spent more than 10 of the last 17 years under house arrest.



We don't know what she will do, what she is writing or what she is thinking. Her isolation is almost total. According to recent reports, she sees only a housekeeper, the housekeeper's daughter, a gardener and occasionally her doctor. It seems unlikely she will even be able to talk on the phone with sons Alexander and Kim, who live in the West.


We are told she spends time meditating, playing piano and keeping fit, but that is hearsay. The last foreigner to meet her was a United Nations envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, who visited Burma — now officially Myanmar — last month and said she was well. There were rumors at the time that her house arrest would be lifted, but a few days later, the military regime extended her detention for another year. So much for dialogue.


I will never forget meeting Suu Kyi in Rangoon — now Yangon — about six years ago, when she was still able to leave her house. I delivered a lecture about transitions to democracy — which she interpreted — to a brave group of activists of the National League for Democracy, or NLD. Such a meeting would be unthinkable today in a country that has gone backward while all around are going forward.


I'm sure she will be bearing her solitary confinement with fortitude, grace and the Buddhist life-philosophy that is so important to her. Yet I feel a terrible sense of frustration in writing about her and her country's predicament. What new is there to say? That she is a heroine of our time, an Asian Nelson Mandela? That the Burmese generals run one of the worst states in the world, spending about 40% of the country's budget on the military while most of their people live in poverty and disease? (The health system is ranked 190th out of 190 countries by the World Health Organization.) That dialogue with the NLD, which overwhelmingly won a democratic election in 1990, is the key to political change? All true. All said a thousand times already. All to no apparent effect.


But if she doesn't give up, we have no right to. So here are three modest thoughts about possible ways to thaw this frozen conflict.


First of all, remembering Burma is itself a political act of the first importance. As the Czech writer Milan Kundera famously observed, "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." Forgetting Burma is just what its rulers want us to do. We have to keep hammering away. After all, though the comparison is hardly encouraging, Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years, and yet South Africa moved in the end.

Second, while paying all respect to Suu Kyi's often-repeated call for tight sanctions against the military regime, we should think again about the mix of our policies. For example, is there more we can do to alleviate directly the suffering of the population from the effects of AIDS or heroin addiction without giving an unacceptable payoff to the regime? What mixture of carrots and sticks would have a chance of persuading the Burmese military to loosen up?



Third, if the internal key to change is the reopening of dialogue between the regime and the NLD, the external key is a change in approach by at least one of the country's Asian neighbors — because we in the West simply don't have enough leverage to do it ourselves.

Where to begin? Surely in India, the world's largest democracy and the country where Suu Kyi went to school. One hardly expects communist China to press for liberalization and democracy in its disgraceful little neighbor, but it is disappointing that democratic India has been so timid toward its Burmese neighbor. The shape of the conversation should not be (Washington speaking), "Hey, Indians, you must take our self-evidently correct Western template and help us impose it on Burma." It should be: "We're wondering whether you think, judging by your own values, that this is acceptable behavior in your own immediate neighborhood?"



This is the shape of the new world order, if there is to be one. If we are to achieve liberal ends in an increasingly multipolar world, then we do have to rethink how we say it, and to whom. And we have to listen more than we have for the last 500 years.


------------------------------------------------------------

I especially liked the idea that if she doesn't give up, then neither should we.


EXCELLENT!


I hope that you will do something special to remember "The Lady" this weekend and beyond this weekend because Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle is much bigger than her own freedom.


It's about the freedom of the Burmese people.


Thanks for your time.


http://www.freeburmacoalition.org

 

[zoney!]

'Arrest Yourself' on June 17, 2006!

Don't forget to arrest yourself tomorrow Jamilla!

 

[Jamila]

Don't forget to arrest yourself tomorrow Jamilla!

I have a feeling that this comment wasn't sincerely meant to show support for Aung San Suu Kyi as to take another cheap dig at me.

If that is the case, it's really sad to know that some people at this site refuse to move on with their lives enough to stop appearing to be so immature as to try to make fun of me at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's expense.


That would say a whole lot more about them than about me.

I will be glad to "arrest myself" tomorrow for "The Lady" as will thousands of other people around the world this weekend.


And I will our efforts on her behalf.

 

[zoney!]

Jamila...it is OK to laugh at yourself once in a while!

 

[VintagePunk]

I will be glad to "arrest myself" tomorrow for "The Lady" as will thousands of other people around the world this weekend.


And I will our efforts on her behalf.

This is a genuine question - do you really anticipate that her captors are going to pay one iota of attention to this self-arrest action? That it will make a difference in any way?

 

[Jamila]

Well, my first attempt at an "arrest party" is over - and it will only be BIGGER AND BETTER NEXT YEAR!

I'll talk about what's been happening with me in several sections because I simply don't have the time to post one gigantic post.


We gathered last night (17 June) at 6:00pm to start our day of "house arrest".

There were five people altogether - two university students that I met through AI (Amnesty Internat'l), a friend of mine from Vietnam who was very interested in learning more about "The Lady" and the fight for freedom and democracy in Burma, her teenage son and me.


We spent the first hour gathering and getting to know each other better as we helped my friend from Vietnam finish preparing the Burmese food that she had prepared for the evening meal.

Although her and her husband own a local restaurant, this was the first time she had attempted to prepare food from Burma and found the whole process quite enjoyable. She said that she felt closer to "The Lady" just in preparing some food from her land. She also brought some music and some textiles from her country.


We also had some CDs of traditional Burmese music, a copy of the CD "For The Lady" and the DVD about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma which the US Campaign for Burma sent all those who wanted to attempt an "arrest party".

About 7:00pm, we sat down for dinner while the music played in the background.

We all shared from our different perspectives how we first heard of "The Lady" and the situation in Burma.
The two students had heard of AI and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi through the Elevation tour in 2001. And it was actually my friend from Vietnam's 16 year old son who had been talking about "The Lady" at home over the last few months which prompted her to come to my "arrest party"! (smile)

About 8:30pm, after dinner and clean up, we began our "program".


This is where I will pick up the next part of my story tomorrow.


Although it was a small gathering, it had a VERY POWERFUL effect on me and on all the others who came and participated.


I only hope that some of you will seriously consider JOINING US NEXT YEAR!


Thanks for taking the time to read this.


WALK ON....

 

[zoney!]

This is where I will pick up the next part of my story tomorrow.

I feel somewhat "arrested" having to wait for the end of the story about your gathering!

 

[Bonochick]

Hey, zoney? I think that's enough of the "arrested" jokes.

 

[foray]

@ zoney

 

[Angela Harlem]

This is a genuine question - do you really anticipate that her captors are going to pay one iota of attention to this self-arrest action? That it will make a difference in any way?

At risk of jamila thinking this is another attack on her, let me state that it actually has nothing to do with jamilia, but I am quite perplexed at how locking yourself up is going to do anything to help either "The Lady" as she is now called, or to learn yourself on the situation. It seems like such a uni student union member token gesture.


The woman needs real help. Not a bunch of idealists locking themselves up in some silent protest who merely burn incense and stuff their faces. Really. Dont bother getting offended, jamila. How do you think you/we can help? Without writing some letter to some uninterested US politician, I mean. I want to hear something else. What other ideas are there?

Anyhow, glad you enjoyed yourself with your Vietnamese friend. Must be nice to have a Vietnamese friend. I have friends, but none currently who are Vietnamese.

 

[maycocksean]

A teacher at our school is Burmese (actually a member of the same ethnic group--the Karen they're called--as Aung San Suu Kyi) and every time she goes to Burma we're never sure if she's coming back. They really are very strict about letting their own people out of the country (even if you're not agitating for change). Very repressive regime.

As to "arresting yourself" I'm not sure what I think about it. I certainly admire the good hearted intentions behind it, though I must also question how much it will contribute towards her release.

It raises the question of how much good nonviolent resistance can do in a totatlitarian regime. I think the non-violent protest of Ghandi and King worked in their respective countries because the countries had a democratic, human rights based tradition that Ghandi and King could appeal to. I think Suu Kyi's resistance has been good because it's raised awareness, but ultimately the only thing that will change things in Burma is the rest of the world putting serious pressure--to the point,possibly, of militaty--pressure on the country. Perhaps that pressure will come about because of her work. I hope so.

 

[Schmeg]

At risk of jamila thinking this is another attack on her, let me state that it actually has nothing to do with jamilia, but I am quite perplexed at how locking yourself up is going to do anything to help either "The Lady" as she is now called, or to learn yourself on the situation. It seems like such a uni student union member token gesture.


The woman needs real help. Not a bunch of idealists locking themselves up in some silent protest who merely burn incense and stuff their faces. Really. Dont bother getting offended, jamila. How do you think you/we can help? Without writing some letter to some uninterested US politician, I mean. I want to hear something else. What other ideas are there?

Anyhow, glad you enjoyed yourself with your Vietnamese friend. Must be nice to have a Vietnamese friend. I have friends, but none currently who are Vietnamese.

 

[Jamila]

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi turns 61 under house arrest by Hla Hla Htay


Mon Jun 19, 2:37 PM ET


Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi turned 61, alone and under house arrest in the military-ruled state that has ignored calls to free one of the world's best known political prisoners.

Some 300 supporters began a day of ceremonies and protests near her crumbling Yangon house, where the Nobel peace prize laureate has spent 10 of the past 17 years behind barbed wire and isolated from the outside world.

Members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) offered Buddhist prayers and released doves and 100 colorful balloons at their party headquarters as 20 plainclothes security personnel kept a close eye on activities.

NLD supporters, clad in the party's orange uniforms and T-shirts bearing the picture of the pro-democracy leader, chanted "Free Suu Kyi!"

"We wish her good health," said Lai Lai, a senior member of the NLD, the opposition party which won 1990 elections that were annulled by the junta, and whose members have been targeted with harassment and arrest.

Several NLD members also prayed for Aung San Suu Kyi at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the most notable building in Yangon.



Her birthday also drew international responses with British Prime Minister Tony Blair saying he was "bitterly disappointed" she was spending another year alone and under house arrest.

"This is utterly unacceptable and goes against everything the United Nations Secretary General, most of Burma's neighbours, the European Union and the wider international community have repeatedly called for," he said in London.

UN Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown said Myanmar could be referred to the world body's Security Council over its failure to release her and for its repressive policies.

Malloch Brown, who is visiting Malaysia, told the country's official news agency late Monday that several members of the Security Council, apart from the United States, were pursuing the matter.



In Yangon, police arrested a man in his 40s at the City Hall as he was about to shout demands for her release. Witnesses said the man was wearing the Aung San Suu Kyi T-shirt. The NLD said he was not a party member.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the foreign-educated daughter of national independence hero General Aung San, underwent a hysterectomy in 2003 and was treated last week for stomach troubles.

Five Buddhist monks prayed for her health and her immediate release from house arrest, which was extended by the isolated junta for another year in May.



Supporters in Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States, and ethnic minority guerrillas and refugees near and across the Thai border, were also marking her birthday.

In Bangkok monks and supporters held a birthday ceremony outside the Myanmar embassy, following similar events with hundreds of people in Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi at the weekend.



In the United States, home to Myanmar's largest exile community, the Washington-based US Campaign for Burma organized events in more than 270 towns and cities over the weekend to demand her freedom.



Bangkok-based exile group the National Council of the Union of Burma condemned the regime, which calls itself the State Peace and Development Council, and accused it of "brutality and mismanagement."

It demanded the junta led by 73-year-old General Than Shwe "immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi, all jailed members of National League for Democracy, women political activists and democracy-loving people."

The regime had showed its "sheer disinterest in a peaceful and negotiated political solution to the festering crises facing Burma today," it said.



Aung San Suu Kyi studied and worked abroad including for the United Nations but returned to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, in 1988 to care for her ailing mother.

That same year mass pro-democracy rallies broke out but were bloodily crushed by the military. Aung San Suu Kyi co-founded the NLD and was put under house arrest in 1989. She refused an offer of freedom if she left the country for good.



The opposition party won 1990 elections by a landslide but the military, which has ruled the country since 1962, ignored the results.

Her most recent house arrest began after her convoy was attacked by a regime-backed mob during a political tour of northern Myanmar on May 30, 2003. The attack left four people dead and Aung San Suu Kyi was briefly jailed.

She has had no contact with the outside world since, except for a short-wave radio and a monthly visit from her doctor. She lives with two maids but is not allowed to receive guests, including her two adult sons.

Following her extended detention the United States, an increasingly vocal critic of Myanmar, has said it would pursue an unprecedented UN Security Council resolution to condemn the junta's repressive policies.



Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060619/wl_asia_afp/myanmarpoliticssuukyi



We must continue to use our liberty to gain theirs.

 

[verte76]

Rats, I was in the hospital and didn't know I was supposed to arrest myself. Maybe I'll arrest myself now. Busted!

 

[Angela Harlem]

jamila, you've been done a disservice by never being taught how rude it is to ignore someone who addresses you.

Do you give anyone the time of day who is not marginalised, starving, politically disadvantaged, a victim of famine/drought, or bono? You continually promote goodwill. So show some yourself, please, and at least be civil and polite enough to engage in a discussion. I would like to ask you some questions without having to read copious cut'n'pastes, as it is a discussion forum, afterall.

Thanks.

 

[Zoomerang96]

If that is the case, it's really sad to know that some people at this site refuse to move on with their lives enough to stop appearing to be so immature as to try to make fun of me at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's expense.

yes... you're quite spot on. that comment was CLEARLY at her expense.

the correlation was immediate and obvious.

*cough

 

[yolland]

I'm all for a discussion about what we can do to bring pressure to bear on the Burmese regime--although, as always, it's up to individual posters to decide if they wish to answer specific questions addressed to them or not. I'd also like to remind everyone at this point that mean-spirited jabs and/or pointed condescension--whether to provoke, or in response--have no place in a useful discussion, and could easily wind up getting this thread closed.

Angela Harlem is correct that FYM is primarily for discussion and as such, excessive use of cut-and-paste stories illustrating the same point over and over is a problem. From the reminder about Iraq threads pinned to the top of this page (which, please note, applies to all FYM threads--not just Iraq ones):

Posting informational items such as news stories; op-eds...brief lists of statistics, etc. in moderation is fine, so long as they are relevant to the thread topic. Repeatedly cluttering up threads with...posts consisting of nothing more than these types of items is not fine. Bottom line: FYM is first and foremost a place for *discussion*--therefore, informational items should be posted judiciously, and because you feel they will further enhance the discussion. Not as a chronic substitute for people taking the time to articulate their own views and directly engage the comments of other posters.

FYM, as a whole, is a very socially and politically aware group of people. Several of us are regularly involved with charitable and action campaigns of various kinds, and several of us have on occasion created threads in here to share our concerns on these issues with other posters--soliciting their input, encouraging their participation, or just aiming to raise a little awareness. That's fine, and I want everyone to continue to feel comfortable doing that. But...these threads still need to abide by the same rules as any other FYM threads, and a little moderation in taking to the pulpit (hey, we all do it sometimes) is called for. Please--do not overexploit or monopolize this particular use of the forum. It can only be counterproductive in the end.

--Thanks

 

[Jamila]

Here's the text of an email that all of us who participated in "arrest parties" received from the U.S. Campaign for Burma yesterday:



J17 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Aung San Suu Kyi Top World News Story Because of You


Monday, June 19 2006


Dear Debbie,

Our June 17 Global Day of Action was a huge success! Over 270 events around the world commemorating Aung San Suu Kyi's 61st birthday raised an amazing amount of global awareness about the situation in Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi's ongoing imprisonment.


As of the writing of this e-mail, there are over 240 articles on the internet and in print around the world about Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma! Years ago, before we started asking people to 'arrest themselves to highlight Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday and her unjust imprisonment, the world passed June 19 without taking stock of the immense suffering of Burma's people and the great contribution to humanity's strivings for peace made by Aung San Suu Kyi.


Aung San Suu Kyi is rising in the minds of people around the world, and we are closer to seeing real positive action in Burma than ever. This is all because of you.



Please know what a great contribution you have made to the cause of Burmese freedom, democracy, and human rights! Below is a small sampling of the articles that have been written about our Global Day of Action and Aung San Suu Kyi. Click on the links, read the articles, and know that your efforts have really meant so much.



Many, many thanks! Please keep the messages to the june17forsuukyi@lists.riseup.net listserve going with notes about your house arrest parties!

Sincerely,

Cristina Moon, Campaigns Coordinator, USCB




Suu Kyi Spends 61st Birthday Under Arrest The Associated Press/Washington Post 19 June 2006

Burma's opposition muted but alive BBC

Birthday Tribute Fort Wayne News Sentinel

Pursuing Burmese freedom: Celebration aims to educate public of activist’s work Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Quiet Prayers, Protests as Suu Kyi Turns 61 Reuters/Washington Post

Protests Mark Suu Kyi's Birthday ITV News

New Bid to Free Burma's Suu Kyi The Age (Australia)

Burma Activists to Mark Suu Kyi Birthday Bangkok Post

Meeting of Nobel Winners Shows Sharply Different Treatment for Two Absent Laureates Voice of America News

Birthday greetings to Aung San Suu Kyi - 3,888 days in detention OneWorld UK

Protests as Detained Suu Kyi Turns 61 The Advertiser (Australia)

Low Key Celebrations for Suu Kyi Birthday Irish Examiner (Ireland)

Protestors Exhort World to Condemn Myanmar Daily Times (Pakistan)

Indian Lawmakers Plan Birthday Gift for Suu Kyi Daily Times (Pakistan)

Activists Call for Sanctions on Myanmar Peninsula On-Line (Qatar)

Amnesty Urges Burma to Free Opposition Leader ABC Pacific News (Australia)

India 'to Push for Burma Reform' Bangkok Post

Burma's Solitary Existence Globe and Mail (Canada)

Burmese Democratic Activists in New Delhi Stage Protests Before Daw Suu's Birthday Narinjara News (Bangladesh)

Quiet prayers, protests as Suu Kyi turns 61 Boston Globe

Suu Kyi spends 61st birthday under arrest Times Picayune (Los Angeles)

Suu Kyi Spends 61st Birthday under arrest Wilmington Morning Star (North Carolina)

Suu Kyi Spends 61st Birthday Under Arrest Duluth News Tribute (Minnesota)



Press for Change in Burma
Wall Street Journal
By PAULA J. DOBRIANSKY
June 19, 2006

Today marks the 61st birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected leader of Burma's National League for Democracy. It is the third consecutive birthday that she has spent under detention -- and a stark reminder that not only she, but 50 million fellow Burmese are living without basic freedoms and human rights. Absent change, Burma is likely to continue a dangerous decline that threatens the welfare of its people and its neighbors alike.




Aung San Suu Kyi
Only by unconditionally releasing Ms. Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, restoring a democratic form of government, and observing international standards of human rights can Burma's regime bring stability, prosperity and peace to its country -- and international respect to its leaders. Toward that end, we are seeking a United Nations Security Council resolution that underscores the aforementioned goals, which were communicated by U.N. Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari to senior Burmese officials during his visit to the country last month. The U.S. is committed to working with the U.N. Security Council, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, regional institutions and governments to press for genuine national reconciliation in Burma.


The threat to the Burmese people from their own leaders is clear: In only the last few months, attacks against ethnic minorities have displaced thousands. Military units abuse their power regularly and commit egregious human rights abuses with impunity, including rape, forced labor, murder and torture. The regime's continued economic mismanagement and corruption have led to a widespread failure of the banking system and rampant inflation, which increases the daily hardships of the Burmese people. Making matters worse, the military's restrictions on U.N. and nongovernmental organizations have hampered the ability of relief organizations to deliver assistance to Burma's most vulnerable populations.


Infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and avian flu are best controlled by responsible governments with transparent public health systems that cooperate closely with international institutions. Yet even as the Burmese regime spends considerable sums to finish relocating its capital, malnutrition is rising and thousands are dying from treatable diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. This tragic failure calls into question the Burmese junta's willingness and ability to protect and improve the well-being of its people.

Burma's people are not alone in facing the consequences of their government's actions: the country's deterioration poses a real danger to its neighbors and -- in today's interconnected world -- even to those far away. The drug trade and trafficking in persons are rampant; both flow across porous borders and spread corruption, political instability and disease.


America will persist in its strategy to increase international pressure on Burma by working with individual governments and regional organizations, such as the European Union, to seek to return the country to its people through a transparent, inclusive political process. The U.S. administration will continue to impose economic sanctions on the Burmese government, while insisting upon the unconditional release of Ms. Suu Kyi and other political prisoners; an end to attacks on civilians and other human rights violations; and a real dialogue leading to peace, democracy and national reconciliation.

In Asia, the U.S. will continue to collaborate with Burma's neighbors, including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who have a particular interest in seeing Burma's decline reversed. Asean leaders have already publicly called for the release of political prisoners and for the resumption of a national dialogue with all political stakeholders. On June 3, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda stated that "the junta [can] not deflect criticism of the Nobel peace laureate's detention by saying it was an internal matter. The truth is no country can claim that human rights abuses are its own internal affairs."


Finally, the U.S. will work in the U.N. to press for change in Burma. We are pleased that the U.N.'s Economic and Social Council will discuss Burma's forced labor practices in its July session. The U.S. will continue to pursue a U.N. Security Council resolution. As U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said, America stands with the people of Burma, and we have not forgotten their dream of democracy.



The economic, political and public health situation in Burma has deteriorated to the point where the regime's combination of repression and its unwillingness -- or inability -- to meet its own citizens' needs pose a threat to the peace, security and stability of the region. We must all act together to help the Burmese people win the freedom and prosperity they deserve.

Ms. Dobriansky is the U.S. Undersecretary of State for democracy and global affairs. In this capacity, she is responsible for directing U.S. foreign policy on a range of transnational issues, including human rights, health, humanitarian matters and democracy promotion.
----------------------------------------------------


It is better to light ONE light than to curse the darkness.


Use your liberty to help achieve theirs.