The international community expressed condemnation today over the conviction and sentence in the trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Ms. Suu Kyi was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest, after a Burmese court found her guilty of violating security laws on Tuesday August 11, 2008. Suu Kyi was charged under the draconian State Emergency Act (also known as the Law to Safeguard the State against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts).
According to news agency reporters allowed inside the courtroom to hear the reading of the sentence, the courtroom was initially told that Ms Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labour. A five-minute recess was then called after the verdict was given, and on return, the Burmese home minister, Gen. Maung Oo, entered the court and read aloud an order of commutation of the sentences issued by Senior Gen. Than Shwe, the leader of the junta. Than Shwe’s special order reduced the sentence to 18 months and said it could be served under house arrest.
The junta run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, has insisted that the trial is not political, but is based on purely criminal conduct. Yet, the trial and sentence have been condemned by the international community as a sham. The United Nations issued a statement saying U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: "strongly deplores this decision" and called for the immediate and unconditional release of Ms. Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, U.S. President Barack Obama called it "a show trial," and governments including Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore noted their disappointment and dismay with the decision to convict and sentence Ms. Suu Kyi.
The trial of Ms. Suu Kyi was not conducted in accordance with Burma’s own laws as well as international standards of due process. The Burmese junta has consistently refused to take the steps necessary to be more accountable to its citizens and treat its people in accordance with its constitution, laws, and established international norms, including respect for universal human rights.
The right to a fair trial is explicitly proclaimed in Article Ten of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Criminal trials of political prisoners such as Ms. Suu Kyu in Burma do not meet international fair trial standards. There is no independent judiciary in Burma, and Suu Kyi was not able to present an adequate defense. The trial, which lasted from May 18 to July 31, suffered from frequent delays and while the court permitted 14 witnesses for the prosecution, only two witnesses were allowed for the defense, despite several appeals by Suu Kyi's lawyers to present additional witnesses.
The trial, for the most part, was closed to the public, with foreign diplomats and the press only permitted to observe the trial on a few occasions." The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, visited Burma on July 3 and 4, but was denied access to Suu Kyi. According to the Australian Government, “Aung San Suu Kyi was tried on spurious charges and not granted a fair hearing." Other international leaders, including the Prime Minster of England and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have called on the European Union to impose new sanctions on Burma.
Many analysts speculate the main reason for the charges against Ms. Suu Kyi is to give Burma's military government an excuse to keep her out of next year's planned elections; elections already condemned as a tool to entrench military rule and an attempt to increase the junta’s legitimacy. Her previous period of house arrest expired on 27 May, and the new term of 18 months will mean she will remain in detention during the polls, which are expected to happen in May 2010.
