Outrage at Suu Kyi’s 18-month detention
The 64-year-old opposition leader has already spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention, mostly under house arrest, and the extension will remove her from the political scene when the junta stages elections next year.
The ruling — which also convicted the American, John Yettaw, and sentenced him to seven years with hard labour — drew immediate criticism from world leaders, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown calling it “monstrous.”
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Suu Kyi should never have been put on trial. French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged the EU to quickly adopt new sanctions, calling the verdict “brutal and unjust.”
But Suu Kyi’s term was less severe than the maximum sentence she faced — five years in prison — and shorter than the one the court initially ordered yesterday — three years with hard labour.
Five minutes after that sentence was read out, Home Minister Major General Maung Oo entered the courtroom and read aloud a special order from junta chief Senior Gen Than Shwe, cutting the sentence in half and saying it could be served at home.
Than Shwe’s order, signed on Monday, likewise reduced the sentences of Suu Kyi’s two female house companions, Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, to 18 months. Both are members of her political party.
The junta leader said he commuted the sentences to “maintain community peace and stability” and because Suu Kyi was the daughter of Aung San, a revered hero who won Burma’s independence from Britain.
It seemed likely it was in response to intense international pressure, including a call for Suu Kyi’s release from the United Nations that was backed by China, Burma’s key ally and benefactor.
South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu warned, however, that the reduced sentence was “not a concession — it is a manipulation of an illegal process. It must not be accepted by any government.”
Clinton said Suu Kyi “should not have been tried, and she should not have been convicted.”
Suu Kyi looked alert but tired during the 90-minute session. She stood as the verdict was announced and then thanked foreign diplomats for attending her trial.
“I look forward to working with you in the future for the peace and prosperity of my country and the region,” Suu Kyi said in a soft voice to diplomats seated nearby. She then was led out of the courtroom.
Officials said she was driven back to her lakeside villa in a six-car convoy.
One of her party members tied yellow ribbons at the gate as a gesture of welcome. Suu Kyi had been in prison during the trial.
Yettaw — who swam across a lake the night of May 3, entered Suu Kyi’s home uninvited and asked to spend two nights before trying to swim back — was sentenced to seven years in prison with hard labour.
The timing of his visit came just weeks before Suu Kyi’s current six-year term of house arrest was to expire on May 27. It sparked theories among Suu Kyi supporters that he was a pawn of the regime, while the junta insinuated he was being used by its exiled opponents.
Suu Kyi’s trial has sparked international outrage and calls for her release and Burma’s 2,000 other political prisoners. The sentence sparked angry reaction across the globe.
“The facade of her prosecution is made more monstrous because its real objective is to sever her bond with the people for whom she is a beacon of hope and resistance,” Brown said.
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