Amnesty says world should not be 'fooled' by Suu Kyi released

Sat, 13 Nov 2010

Berlin - Human rights watchdog Amnesty International cautiously welcomed Saturday the release of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, saying that more than 2,200 other political activists remained imprisoned in the country.

"While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release is certainly welcome, it ... is by no means a concession on the part of the authorities," Amnesty said in a statement, adding "the world should not be fooled."

"The fact remains that authorities should never have arrested her or the many other prisoners of conscience in Burma in the first place, locking them out of the political process," the statement said, using an alternative name for Myanmar.

Suu Kyi has spent much of the last 20 years under some form of detention.

Last week, the country held its first elections in 20 years, though they were widely regarded as a sham in the West. The 1990 election results, which saw Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy emerge the winner, were ruled invalid by the governing military.

Amnesty urged influential powers, including China and India, to pressure Myanmar into ending its intolerance towards political dissent. The release of the democracy icon "must not make them forget other prisoners of conscience," the rights group said.

Reports of torture and other ill-treatment in Myanmar prisons are rife, according to rights groups, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access to prisons there since December 2005.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/353378,fooled-suu-kyi-released.html.