Second Anniversary of Attack on Aung San Suu Kyi

Burma: Second Anniversary of Attack on Aung San Suu Kyi

May 30 marks the second anniversary of the brutal attack on Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters. Government-affiliated forces used bamboo staves and metal pipes to kill or injure members of the National League for Democracy and pro-democracy supporters. The Burmese junta continues to ignore requests by the international community to investigate the attack and refuses to take any responsibility or hold accountable those officials reportedly involved in the assault. The junta, which has detained Aung San Suu Kyi on numerous occasions over the past fifteen years, again detained her following the May 2003 attack. Today, she is held under house arrest and is virtually incommunicado.

The Burmese people continue to suffer serious abuses at the hands of the ruling junta. Over the last year, conditions in Burma have deteriorated further. May 27 marks the 15th anniversary of the National League for Democracy’s overwhelming victory of an election the Burmese junta has refused to honor. National reconciliation and the establishment of democracy still remain beyond the grasp of Burma’s suffering population. Arrests of pro-democracy activists continue unabated.

The Junta has convened a National Convention to draft a constitution that will entrench military rule in Burma. Any new constitution, referendum, or election emerging from the deliberations of this unrepresentative process will be seriously flawed and cannot represent the true will of the Burmese people.

The United States calls on the Burmese junta to release immediately and unconditionally Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, Khun Htun Oo and all political prisoners; to permit the re-opening of offices of the National League for Democracy; to engage the democratic opposition and ethnic minority groups in a meaningful dialogue leading to national reconciliation and the establishment of democracy; and to respect the fundamental human rights of the Burmese people.

SOURCE: state.gov 2005/560 Press Statement Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC May 26, 2005