FORUM-ASIA deplores strongly the sham trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and
the verdict  of another 18 months of house arrest for the Nobel Peace
Laureate.
(Bangkok,
12 August 2009) Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
(FORUM-ASIA) deplores strongly the sham trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and
the verdict  of another 18 months of house arrest for the Nobel Peace
Laureate. 

"The
sentence is clearly a politically calculated ploy by the Burmese
military junta to keep Aung San Suu Kyi and her party out of the
upcoming general election in 2010 promised to the international
community", said Yap Swee Seng, executive director of FORUM-ASIA based
in Bangkok.

Aung
San Suu Kyi's detention was about to end when the military junta
charged her for violating rules of house arrest after an American man
swam across the lake to her house uninvited. She has spent 14 years in
detention out of the last 20 years in Burma.

The
regional human rights group with 46 members across Asia calls on the
Burmese military junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other
political detainees immediately and unconditionally.

"This
will be the first step that the Burmese junta needs to take if they are
to convince the international community that the general election in
2010 is going to be free and fair. There is no way the international
community will accept the result of the election without the
participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy
and other opposition parties in a free and fair manner", stressed Yap.

Meanwhile,
FORUM-ASIA welcomes the call of the Foreign Minister of Malaysia,
Anifah Aman for an emergency meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers on the
continued house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and calls for Burma to be
suspended from ASEAN's membership.

Yap
stressed that what is happening in Burma today is in total
contradiction to one of the purposes of ASEAN as stated in its Charter,
which is to strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and the rule
of law, and to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
freedoms.

"It
is time for ASEAN to suspend the membership of Burma until Aung San Suu
Kyi and all other political detainees are released, the draft
constitution is reviewed with meaningful participation of all
stakeholders and the general election in 2010 is held in a free and
fair manner," Yap added.

FORUM-ASIA
also urges the international community to support the establishment of
a Commission of Inquiry by the United Nations Security Council to
investigate into crimes against humanity in Burma.   

For inquiries, please contact:

• Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director, tel: +66818689178, email: [email protected]
• Yuyun Wahyuningrum, East Asia Program Manager, tel: +66879914451, email: [email protected]