Aung San Suu Kyi to Be Put on Trial

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I already have a Burmese Overview thread, but I feel this to be of sufficient gravity to warrant its own thread. This is getting a lot of news coverage over here of course, but I don’t know how well it’s being spread elsewhere. The EU and Hillary Clinton have all come out with strong condemnation against Aung San Suu Kyi’s being taken away to Insein Prison yesterday (Thursday). Speaking out strongly after only a few hours of this occurrence is quite good. Not that the junta will give a damn, the bastards.

The entire ruckus stems from an American man who swam across a lake – 2 kilometers! But he was buoyed by an empty water jug – to meet with her. There was speculation that there was no American, that the junta was making this up. It now appears he is very real.

A member of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand’s board told me yesterday that his contacts among Burmese-exile groups in northern Thailand told him the man was known to them. Apparently, he’s something of a nutter. Someone thinks he’s a Vietnam vet. He’s squarely on the radical fringe of ideology and is a bit too extreme for even the exiles. They feel he may have been duped into doing this by Burmese-government agents.

Burma is scheduled to hold fake elections next year. Aung San Suu Kyi, if allowed to stand, would win a fair election overwhelmingly, hands down. Her period of house arrest – six years now this time around – expires in a couple of weeks. The junta needs to put her away somehow. Few people believe this can be a coincidence. BBC TV was reporting yesterday that she could be tried on treason charges, possibly for passing information to a “foreign agent”; that is, the American.

But it now seems she will be tried for “violating the conditions of her house arrest” By having a foreign guest there; that is, the American. This could put her away in prison for five years; no more house arrest. Insein Prison is primitive even by Third World standards, and her health has been poor lately. She’s been on a saline drip, even though her doctor has not been allowed to see her. In fact, they’re trying to pin something on her doctor, too, making it into some sort of conspiracy.

I believe BBC said her trial could start as early as Monday.

I’ll tell ya, most of Burma really hates this American man now. There was something on the wire services last night about some relative of his expressing concern about his detention in Burma. Said he suffered from some sort of condition that among other things made him make “unwise decisions.” Well, no shit!

There’s an interesting profile on the man here. His name is John William Yettaw.

More info here: Confusion Reigns over Suu Kyi’s Fate

More info from CNN on Yettaw here. Seems to be from rural Missouri.

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Is there anything we can do? (“We” meaning both Dopers and the US in general.)

3

Should people really be blaming the American guy? If it wasn’t him, they would have found some other dupe, or alternative excuse to keep her locked up, right?

4

What he did was completely stupid, and I see no problem with blaming him.

5

I agree the junta would have found another means to suppress Suu Kyi; no doubt about that. But I also see no reason not to blame that stupid doofus. The guy seems to be a complete clod. When he arrived at the house, he was told in no uncertain terms it was NOT a good idea for him to stay, but he reportedly insisted on remaining the night and just flopped down on the couch. And that was that. They really should have called the cops on him.

One of the photos that have been running in the local press is of the pair of homemade flippers he used to help him swim across the lake. What the hell was that all about? If he could afford to fly all the way from Missouri to Burma, I think he could have picked up a cheap pair of flippers. Here in Bangkok if nowhere else. Why did he have to make his own? What a crackpot!

I’m afraid there’s nothing anyone can do short of an all-out military invasion, which quite honestly many, if not most, Burmese dream of. But that will not happen. This is what will happen, mark my words: After much justified outrage by world leaders and the media, Suu Kyi will spend five harsh years in Insein Prison, if she doesn’t die there before her time is up. :frowning:

The junta just does not care. Period. They have modeled themselves after the 19th-century monarchy, whose outrageous arrogance did draw Britain into no less than three Anglo-Burmese wars during that time. At least Kim Jong-il has a certain entertainment value; the Burmese junta is simply pure evil incarnate.

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Why has the junta put up with her for so long? I think if I were them, she would denounce the democratic movement and then die soon after of natural causes.

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She certainly has been a thorn in the junta’s side for a very long time. I guess they do care about world opinion to the extent that it keeps them from killing her outright, but they’re so apathetic to world opinion on any and everything else that it’s a bit puzzling why they haven’t gone ahead and done her in before anyway. I would not be surprised if she had an “accident” once she’s tucked away in Insein Prison after her sentence has been handed down.

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Here’s one small thing you can do.

http://www.amnesty.org.au/action/action/20988/

(This is from Amnesty International Australia, there will probably be one at the Amnesty International global site, amnesty.org, by next week).

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Sorry, forgot this link
Action from Amnesty International USA

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With all respect, how will that help? ASEAN already knows she’s being unjustly imprisoned and doesn’t much care, and and even if they did say something, the Burmese government already knows that foreigners don’t like the way they’re treating her, and doesn’t much care about that.

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I agree with that to a certain extent. On the other hand, if messages like the one at the Amnesty International site were not sent, it would give the junta just that much more satisfaction. So I do think it’s a good idea to send the messages even though I expect Aung San Suu Kyi is thoroughly screwed no matter what.

BBC TV just reported the trial seems to be underway now but that no one could really be sure. A CNN update is here.

Correct, forget any action by the 10-member Asean (Association of Southeast Asian States). Burma was brought in as a member amid much protest simply because it’s seen as a business opportunity by the other members. No matter how embarrasing Burma has proved to be in the past, Asean just does not try to interfere. Not even during certain EU meetings where they said Burma was not welcome and so Asean was unable to attend.

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Aren’t some oil companies trying to get back in to Burma? Could that be some kind of a carrot to get them to back off?

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They’re not trying to get back in, they’re already in:

http://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/burma/drilling/

And here’s a list of the companies that have an interest in the Burmese oil and gas fields:

14

A quote from Wei Jing Sheng, prisoner of conscience in China, thanking Amnesty International letter writers:
http://www.amnesty133.org/about/inspiration/wei.html

I have heard many ex-prisoners at AI conferences tell the members, in person, how the letters from Amnesty International helped improve their treatment in prison and even secure their freedom.

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A couple of updates. Two of Suu Kyi’s lawyers were disbarred last Friday, three days before her trial began. Story here.

That American doofus who started this trouble is from rural Missouri. There’s a piece here from the Missourian, but apparently reprinted from the Los Angeles Times, about his motives. I still can’t help but believe he was duped somehow by government agents into doing this. I’m usually not one for conspiracy theories, but the timing on this is just too perfect.

BBC Radio this morning was saying Insein Prison was built by the British in the 19th century and designed to be the largest and “most brutal” prison in the empire.

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Well, may it be as you say. I don’t think writing to the President of ASEAN is going to do any real harm, at least. I just think he already knows who ASEAN is in bed with.

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Update here. The junta actually relented a bit yesterday (Wednesday) and allowed some reporters and diplomats to see yesterday’s proceedings. So keep up the pressure. (But don’t kid yourselves. She’s prison-bound.)

18

Well, so much for court access. They barred the reporters and diplomats again the next day. Guess it was figured they’d seen enough. :rolleyes:

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I’m another that can’t believe SLORC (they still call themselves that, right?) hasn’t offed her already. I guess they think harassing her is the only press their gonna get, and that’s better than nothing? And why go thru the farce of elections?

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I heard a report on NPR this morning about it from a reporter who couldn’t be named for fear of retribution. He described the open court yesterday as a “pressure valve” where they were just relieving the tension by giving the appearance of access for a small period of time.
Apparently, if you’re under house arrest (or prison), you’re not able to help at all in the election process. Not that it would seem to matter. As if Aung San Suu Kyi’s involvement would have actually changed the preordained outcome of next year’s elections.