Call in Burma to deport Suu Kyi

A women’s group in Burma linked to the ruling junta has accused pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of being a troublemaker and urged that she be deported to England, according to a report in a state-run newspaper.

Suu Kyi, the head of the opposition National League for Democracy party, has been detained at her home in Rangoon since May 2003, after a pro-government mob attacked her entourage as she made a political tour in northern Burma, also known as Myanmar. She has not been charged with any crime.

“Daw Suu Kyi should not be released,” Aye Theint Theint Tun, a representative of the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation, was quoted as saying in the Myanma (correct) Ahlin daily, using an honourific title for the pro-democracy leader.

“If she is placed under house arrest, some western nations demand her freedom. Therefore, Daw Suu Kyi should be sent back to England to prevent problems within the country and to satisfy the wishes of the West.”

Newspapers and mass organisations such as the women’s federation are under the tight control of the ruling military, and the publication of such remarks can be taken as a reflection of official opinion.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi returned to Burma from her home in England in early 1988 to look after her ailing mother. She has not left Burma since.

Her current detention is the third time since 1989 that she has been confined to her residence for an extended period. Her party vice chairman, Tin Oo, was also detained.

Leaders of many Western nations, as well as United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, have repeatedly called for her release.

Aye Theint Theint Tun made her remarks at a ceremony to mark Myanmar Women’s Day on July 3 in Burma’s southern Tanintharyi division.

“Daw Suu Kyi, born of Myanmar parents, does not join hands with the people for national development but is pushing the nation to fall into servitude,” said Aye Theint Theint Tun. “Since her arrival to Myanmar, she has done nothing good for the country.”

Another member of the women’s alliance said Suu Kyi needed to be kept in detention to maintain stability in the country.

The US and other Western nations maintain political and economic sanctions against Myanmar because of the junta’s poor human rights record and its failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government. The NLD was the landslide victor of a 1990 general election, but was not allowed by the military to take power.

The Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation, the central organisation of various women’s associations in the country, claims 1.5 million members.