Human Rights Group Calls on UN and ASEAN to Send Envoys to Burma in the Case of Myanmar Noble Peace Laureate Charged with Violating Terms of House Arrest

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

May 2009

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was charged Thursday with violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam across a lake to sneak into her home, her lawyer said.

According to www.MSNBC.com news sources, Suu Kyi, 63, whose latest detention period was set to end May 27, could face a prison term of up to five years if convicted, said lawyer Hla Myo Myint. The trial is scheduled to start Monday at a special court at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison, where she was arraigned Thursday.

MSNBC.com says the Noble Peace laureate's National League for Democracy won a huge victory in 1990 polls only to be denied power by the military, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962. The 63-year-old has already spent more than 13 of the last 19 years -- including the past six -- in detention without trial for her nonviolent promotion of democracy, despite international pressure for her release.

MSNBC.com said the American man, who has been identified as 53-year-old John William Yettaw, was arrested last week for allegedly swimming across a lake to secretly enter Suu Kyi's home and staying there for two days. His motives remain unclear.
He was charged at Thursday's hearing with illegally entering a restricted zone, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and breaking immigration laws, which is punishable by up to one year behind bars, said the lawyer.

MSNBC.com reports that human rights groups said they feared the trial would be used to justify another extension of Suu Kyi's years-long detention despite international demands for her release. Her latest six-year detention is due to expire on May 27.
In the past the junta has found reasons to extend her periods of house arrest, which international jurists say is illegal even under Myanmar's own law.

MSNBC.com says the regime appears bent on ensuring that general elections scheduled for next year are carried out without any significant opposition by pro-democracy groups that say the balloting will merely perpetuate military rule under a democratic guise.

MSNBC.com reports that Kyi Win, another lawyer for Suu Kyi, said the opposition leader did not invite the man to her home and in fact told the man to leave. He said the incident was merely a breach of the normally tight security authorities impose on Suu Kyi and her household.

"Everyone is very angry with this wretched American. He is the cause of all these problems," Suu Kyi's lawyer Kyi Win told reporters. "He's a fool."

U.S. consular chief Colin Furst was allowed to visit Yettaw, of Falcon, Missouri, for the first time on Wednesday.
"He seemed to be in good spirits and in good health," U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei reported Thursday. Mei was not present at the arraignment and said he did not immediately have additional details.

"I know that John is harmless and not politically motivated in any way. He did not want to cause Suu Kyi any trouble," his stepson Paul Nedrow wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He said he was concerned over his stepfather's health since he was a diabetic and the ailment "could cause him to become disoriented and confused and be unable to make wise choices for himself."

MSNBC.com says state television Thursday said Yettaw had served two years in the military and listed his occupations as "student, clinical psychology, Forest Institution."

Earlier Thursday, armed police drove Suu Kyi and two women who live with her to Insein Prison. The two women, who have lived with Suu Kyi since she was last detained in 2003, were also charged with the same offense, lawyers said.

"This is a non-bailable case, but we will fight for bail," Hla Myo Myint told reporters outside the prison after Suu Kyi and Yettaw were charged.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith described Suu Kyi's arrest as "gravely concerning" and called for her immediate release.

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, which describes itself as the country's government-in-exile, said the junta was using the incident to extend Suu Kyi's detention.

Meanwhile, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, working on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all, today called on the United Nations (UN) and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to send envoys to Burma as a matter of urgency, to secure the release of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, currently held in Insein Prison.

CSW says Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was moved from her home, where she has spent 13 years under house arrest, to the infamous Insein Prison earlier today, and put on trial for breaking the terms of her house arrest. She was charged after an American, John Yettaw, reportedly swam across Inya Lake to her house, and refused to leave.

CSW explained that Aung San Suu Kyi's current period of house arrest expires later this month, and the UN has already ruled that her detention violates both international and Burmese law. Last week she was denied medical treatment despite being in ill health, and her personal doctor was arrested.

Mervyn Thomas, CSW's Chief Executive, said: "The treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi by the Burmese military dictatorship is inhumane. The charges made today are outrageous. She cannot be held responsible for the actions of the uninvited American intruder, especially as reports indicate that although she pleaded with him to leave, he insisted on staying.

"It is essential that the UN and ASEAN, and key members of the international community such as China and India, act immediately to secure her release and safety, and the release of all her associates. She has committed no crime whatsoever, her detention violates international law, and the regime must not be given any excuse to continue to hold her captive."

For further information, contact Matthew Jones, Public Affairs Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0063, email matthewjones@csw.org.uk  or visit www.csw.org.uk  

Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.