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Suu Kyi's party to appeal 'unfair' detention to junta

Myanmar's pro-democracy party said yesterday that the ongoing house arrest of its leader Aung San Suu Kyi was illegal, and demanded the ruling junta accept an appeal against her detention.

The military regime — which calls itself the State Peace and Development Council — extended the Nobel peace prize winner’s house arrest by one year on May 27. Her latest period of detention began in 2003.

“The NLD will submit an appeal under the law as the extension of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention was against the law and unfair,” her National League for Democracy (NLD) party said in a statement.

“If the State Peace and Development Council assumes that the extension of the detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was in accordance with the law, we ask them to accept the appeal and open the case in accordance with the law.”

Aung San Suu Kyi was first detained in 1989, and has spent most of the last 18 years as a prisoner at her sprawling lakeside Yangon home, with only brief spells of freedom.

The junta says they are keeping her locked away under a 1975 law to protect the state from “destructive elements,” but legal experts say that under Myanmar law, a person cannot be held without charge or trial for more than five years.

The NLD did not say on what legal basis they would challenge their leader’s house arrest, but also branded the detention of their vice chairman Tin Oo and two other senior party members illegal.

Aung San Suu Kyi led her NLD to a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but ruling junta never allowed them to take office.

Keeping her under house arrest has effectively silenced the woman known here simply as “The Lady,” while leaving her party rudderless.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has released 15 supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi who were arrested last month as they marched to her house demanding her freedom, the opposition said yesterday.

“Altogether 15 were released last night. I spoke to one of the people released, but I haven’t met them yet,” said Nyan Win, a spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

About 30 activists and NLD members tried to march to the home of Aung San Suu Kyi on May 27 ahead of the extension of her house arrest by the junta, which has kept the Nobel laureate locked up for most of the last 18 years.

But security forces broke up the protest and arrested about 16 people, including a 12-year-old boy who Nyan Win said had already been freed.

The arrests in May came as the NLD marked the anniversary of its victory in 1990 elections, which was ignored by the ruling military junta.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest was extended for one more year. Her current spell in detention began in 2003, and the NLD on Tuesday vowed to appeal the junta order, labeling it illegal and unfair.
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