Burma

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Suu Kyi to Be Freed in November

Release may come too late for this year's elections

(Newser) - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be freed when her house arrest ends in November, according to an announcement made by Burma's home minister. That's a month after the country is expected to hold its first parliamentary elections since 1990, notes Reuters , which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy...

Burma Urged to Take US Citizen Out of Solitary

Diplomats want junta to return hunger striker to a normal cell

(Newser) - An American citizen jailed without charge in Burma since fall has been put in solitary confinement after ending a 12-day hunger strike this month, embassy officials say. Diplomats have requested that Kyaw Zaw Lwin be returned to a normal prison cell, the AP reports. Kyaw—whose mother and sister have...

Suu Kyi Granted Meeting With Her Party

Detained leader plans to reorganize Burma's opposition

(Newser) - Burma's detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, today met with three political allies to discuss the future of her political party, the National League for Democracy. It was the first time since June 2008 that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was allowed to meet with the NLD's ailing leaders....

Obama: 'War Is Sometimes Necessary'
 Obama: 'War Is 
 Sometimes 
 Necessary' 
nobel acceptance speech
Dec 10, 2009 7:53 AM CST

Obama: 'War Is Sometimes Necessary'

Obama accepts peace prize by saying force morally justified

(Newser) - President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today with, paradoxically, a defense of war. Obama began his speech by acknowledging the controversy surrounding his reward, both because his accomplishments are slight and because of the wars he presides over. “We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes,”...

Junta's Honcho Meets Suu Kyi
 Junta's Honcho Meets Suu Kyi 
Dec 9, 2009 5:34 AM CST

Junta's Honcho Meets Suu Kyi

State media slam 'dishonest' pro-democracy leader

(Newser) - Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was escorted from her home today for her first talks with junta officials in two months. Officials declined comment on the subject of the talks with the detained activist, the AP reports. A state-run newspaper yesterday accused Suu Kyi of "dishonesty" for...

Obama to Myanmar: Free Suu Kyi

First direct appeal for pro-democracy leader's release

(Newser) - President Barack Obama today abandoned decades of Western avoidance and told Myanmar's prime minister to free opposition leader and fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a rare face-to-face meeting. The strong message, delivered during his summit with leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, signals a further thawing in...

Burmese Junta Says It Will Release Suu Kyi
Burmese Junta Says It Will Release Suu Kyi
deja vu
Nov 9, 2009 5:10 PM CST

Burmese Junta Says It Will Release Suu Kyi

Junta claims it will spring activist to 'organizer her party'

(Newser) - Pro-democracy activists are responding skeptically to news that Burma’s ruling junta is considering releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years. "There is a plan to release her soon so she can organize her party,...

Obama Coming Up Short on Human Rights
Obama Coming Up Short
on Human Rights
OPINION
Oct 20, 2009 1:19 AM CDT

Obama Coming Up Short on Human Rights

President's actions don't match the promises that wowed Berliners

(Newser) - President Obama's decision to skip the celebrations of the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall highlights the gap between his rhetoric on the campaign trail and the realities of his presidency, writes Bret Stephens. Obama hailed the "dream of freedom" in his big speech in Berlin last...

Aung San Suu Kyi Meets US, Other Diplomats

Surprise permission may signal shift in Burmese junta

(Newser) - Burma's military rulers allowed Aung San Suu Kyi to meet with diplomats from the US, Britain and Australia today, an unexpected development that may reflect shifts in Western approaches to the regime. The hourlong meeting took place at a government guest house, after which she was returned to the home...

Suu Kyi Loses Appeal, Will Sit Out Election

Burmese democracy leader fails to reverse newest term of house arrest

(Newser) - A Burmese court rejected Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against her latest spell of house arrest today. The pro-democracy leader, who was convicted of violating her previous sentence after an American swam to her home, will remain confined through next year and will be ineligible for the upcoming election. A...

US to Engage Burmese Junta
 US to Engage Burmese Junta 
Sep 24, 2009 6:09 AM CDT

US to Engage Burmese Junta

Clinton announces change in policy, says sanctions will remain

(Newser) - The US will directly engage with Burma's military leadership in addition to its current sanctions, Hillary Clinton said yesterday. The secretary of State acknowledged that sanctions alone had failed to change "the lack of democracy in Burma and the authorities’ abysmal record on human rights," and it was...

Suu Kyi Launches Appeal as Junta Frees 7K Cons

Detained Burmese leader seeks to overturn extension of house arrest

(Newser) - Lawyers for detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi today appealed her recent conviction that extended her years of house arrest, a day after the ruling junta announced it was releasing thousands of prisoners. Reporters were banned from the hearing, where her lawyers insisted that the law under which...

Writer Wrestles With Visit to Long-Necked Thai Tribe

Overcomes angry tour guides, conscience

(Newser) - Most travel companies refuse to take tourists to Thailand’s Burmese Padaung tribe—whose women wear neck coils that artificially elongate their necks—arguing that the practice is exploitative. But Amit R. Paley, writing for the Washington Post, ultimately found a guide and wrestled down his conscience. "My ability...

Suu Kyi Swimmer Heads Home
 Suu Kyi Swimmer 
 Heads Home 
Aug 19, 2009 7:17 AM CDT

Suu Kyi Swimmer Heads Home

(Newser) - American John Yettaw boarded a flight home today, ending an infamous journey that began three months ago with a secret swim to the home of Aung San Suu Kyi that landed them both in prison. Suu Kyi, who repeatedly asked him to leave, and her two live-in aides, are still...

Suu Kyi OK With Lifting Sanctions on Burma: Webb

(Newser) - Burma’s imprisoned opposition leader may be OK with a “new approach” toward the country’s oppressive military regime, Sen. Jim Webb told reporters today. Webb met with Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday, during his visit to the country. “It was my clear impression from her that...

Suu Kyi's Yank Swimmer Lands in Thailand

Sen. Webb: 'What he did was regrettable'

(Newser) - While Myanmar activist Aung San Suu Kyi begins another 18 months under house arrest, the American responsible for her sentence is free and has landed in Thailand, reports CNN. John Yettaw, whose release was won by Sen. Jim Webb, was hospitalized for observation in Bangkok. “He had a medical...

Webb Visits Burma, Will Meet With Junta Chief

(Newser) - Sen. Jim Webb arrived in Burma today and will meet with the leader of the country's junta this weekend, reports the New York Times. The Virginia Democrat will be the highest-ranking American official ever to meet Gen. Than Shwe; the White House said the senator was "not carrying a...

Buddhist Monks Are Key to Change in Burma
Buddhist Monks Are Key to Change in Burma
OPINION
Aug 11, 2009 6:00 PM CDT

Buddhist Monks Are Key to Change in Burma

Diplomatic efforts to 'engage' generals won't lead to democracy

(Newser) - The extension of Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest today serves as the latest reminder of the injustice at the core of the Burmese government. Past US policy revolves around sanctions, which further isolate the country and drive it into China’s economic embrace. Some congressional figures have called...

Suu Kyi Found Guilty
 Suu Kyi Found Guilty 
Aug 11, 2009 3:24 AM CDT

Suu Kyi Found Guilty

Myanmar democracy activist gets another 18 months house arrest

(Newser) - Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been found guilty of violating a security law because an American swam to her house, and will again be placed in house detention for at least another 18 months, Reuters reports. The court handed down a sentence of three years hard labor,...

Suu Kyi Supporters Soften Demands to Win Release

(Newser) - Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters are reevaluating their tactics ahead of her expected conviction tomorrow, hoping they can come to some kind of agreement with Myanmar’s junta, the Wall Street Journal reports. Suu Kyi faces a five-year sentence for violating her government-imposed house arrest by allowing in an...

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