Two British Prime Ministers and three US Presidents call for the release of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi 

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News ServiceBURMA (ANS) – Three former US Presidents and two former British Prime Ministers have signed a letter to the head of the military regime in Burma calling for the release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Three former US Presidents and two former British Prime Ministers have signed a letter to the head of the military regime in Burma calling for the release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Baroness Thatcher, Sir John Major, and former US Presidents Jimmy Carter, George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton joined 54 other former presidents and prime ministers from countries in all continents in urging Senior General Than Shwe to free the Nobel Laureate from house arrest.

The initiative was led by former Prime Minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik, founder and President of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. Other signatories to the letter include former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, former Presidents of Indonesia Megawati Sukarnoputri and Abdurrahman Wahid, former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamed.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, is the recipient of over 60 international awards for her efforts to promote peaceful change in Burma, including the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament, and the US Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Aung San Suu Kyi led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to victory in the elections in Burma in 1990 and has been under house arrest for more than 11 of the past 17 years. Her current period of house arrest is due to end on May 27, 2007.

On January 8, the new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. The UN General Assembly and the former UN Commission on Human Rights have both passed resolutions calling for her release.

Over 1,200 political prisoners remain in prison in Burma today. The ruling military regime is perpetrating widespread violations of human rights, including the use of rape as a weapon of war, forced labor, the forced conscription of child soldiers, the use of human minesweepers, torture, and the destruction of villages, crops and livestock. In eastern Burma, over 3,000 villages have been destroyed since 1996, and over a million people have been internally displaced.

A copy of the letter will be sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and all 15 members of the UN Security Council. The UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, and 13 other UN Special Rapporteurs have already called for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.

Dated May 15, 2007, and addressed to Burmese Senior General Than Shwe Naypyidaw, the former heads of state say: “We are writing this public letter to call for the immediate release of the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Her most recent term of house arrest is scheduled to end on May 27, 2007.

“On January 8, 2007, new United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on you to release Aung San Suu Kyi. May 27, 2007 affords an excellent opportunity to respond to his request. Indeed, the UN General Assembly, former UN Commission on Human Rights, ASEAN, European Union, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and many other countries have all called for Aung San Suu Kyi’s immediate release.

“The 2006 UN General Assembly resolution on Burma, which passed overwhelmingly, expressed ‘grave concern’ at ‘the extension of the house arrest of the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi’ and strongly called upon your government to ‘to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, including National League for Democracy leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo.’

“Aung San Suu Kyi is not calling for revolution in Burma, but rather peaceful, nonviolent dialogue between the military, National League for Democracy, and Burma’s ethnic groups. The UN General Assembly resolution, and 15 previous resolutions also support this approach.

“We strongly urge you to respond to the United Nations and countless other countries and regional groupings around the world by releasing Aung San Suu Kyi before May 27th and committing to participate in peaceful, tripartite dialogue as outlined by the General Assembly.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) worked with other campaign organizations to gather support for the letter. CSW’s National Director, Stuart Windsor, said: “We are pleased to have been involved in this initiative, which sends a very important message to the Burmese regime and the United Nations that the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the gross violations of human rights in Burma, should not be tolerated any longer.”

CSW is a human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.

For more information and a copy of the letter, please contact Penny Hollings, Campaigns and Media Manager at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (02) 0 8329 0045, email pennyhollings@csw.org.uk  or visit www.csw.org.uk.