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Lawmakers support peace prize winner

Forty-four female lawmakers from across Taiwan's political spectrum have signed a petition urging the head of Myanmar's ruling junta to immediately and unconditionally free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for most of the past 17 years.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Shu-ying(黃淑英) launched a signature drive last week to enlist female lawmakers' support for a global campaign for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Huang has so far collected signatures from 44 female lawmakers of different political stripes and nine female councilors from various cities and counties. Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) have also signed.

Aung San Suu Kyi was Hu's classmate during her time as a student at Oxford University in England.

Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has promoted a non-violent campaign for democratic reform in her homeland since her return to Myanmar in 1988. Her campaign is widely seen as symbolizing the struggle of Myanmar's people to be free.

Her ongoing period of house arrest began in May 2003 and should have expired last month.

However, the military government in Yangon announced that her imprisonment will be extended for another year.

Major world bodies, including the UN, the EU, ASEAN and Amnesty International have appealed for her immediate and unconditional release. Nobel Peace Prize winners and parliaments in many countries have issued statements condemning the Myanmar junta leaders' suppression of their country's pro-democracy Nobel laureate.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan Labor Front (TLF), a private organization, yesterday also urged Myanmar's rulers to free Aung San Suu Kyi.

The TLF said they have worked with other Taiwanese NGO groups since June 19, 2005 -- Aung San Suu Kyi's 60th birthday -- to collect signatures in support of "Free Aung San Suu Kyi" campaigns launched by many NGO groups abroad.

TLF also collaborated with other NGOs in sponsoring a "Free Aung San Suu Kyi" concert in Taipei yesterday evening,.

It was hoped that this would help to make more people in Taiwan aware of the lack of democracy in Myanmar and extend their support to Aung San Suu Kyi, TLF members said.
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