Writers in Prison Committee MYANMAR (BURMA) CAMPAIGN September 15 - October 10, 2003 |
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| Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the NLD, was taken into 'protective custody' following violent clashes between her supporters and those of the government on May 30, 2003. The military government reports that four people were killed in the clashes, though eye-witnesses estimate the numbers killed to be over sixty. Many were also injured, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is believed to have suffered cuts to the face and shoulder when the window of her car was shattered by a brick. Her injuries were not thought to be serious. Tensions between the military government and the opposition have intensified since the jailing on May 24, 2003 of ten NLD members. Most of the NLD's offices have been shut down, at least one hundred NLD supporters have been detained or are missing, and the government has ordered the indefinite closure of the country's universities and colleges. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was admitted to the Asia Royal Hospital in Rangoon on September 17, 2003 and underwent surgery to remove her uterus on September 19, 2003. She is said to be in a stable condition. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in virtual isolation since her re-arrest on May 30, 2003, and her condition remains difficult to verify. Two members from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recently visited her at an undisclosed location for about an hour and reported that she was not on hunger strike as an unconfirmed report had previously suggested. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Burma's independence hero General Aung San, became leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in September 1988. Prior to this she had lived in Oxford for many years, where she raised two sons with her late husband British academic Michael Aris, who died in March 1999 of cancer. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has spent a large part of the past fourteen years in detention in Rangoon, much of it in solitary confinement. She was held under de facto house arrest for six years from July 1989-July 1995, and again from September 2000 until May 2002, when she was released as part of UN-brokered confidential talks between the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the NLD which began in October 2000. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1991. She is the author of many books, including Freedom From Fear (1991), Letters from Burma (1997),and The Voice of Hope (1997). International PEN protests the detention of writer and opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who it considers to be detained in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We call upon the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to show its commitment to political dialogue in Myanmar by securing the immediate and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all others detained in Myanmar for the peaceful expression of their views.
Please write a polite letter to the authorities in Myanmar protesting the detention of opposition leader and writer Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, calling upon the authorities to make known her whereabouts and calling for her immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You may copy the suggested text for your appeal or create your own. Postage is 80¢. Date His Excellency Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman. State Peace and Development Council Ministry of Defense Signal Pagoda Road Dagon Post Office Yangon Union of Myanmar Your Excellency, As one of the 2,700 writers who are members of PEN American Center, I am writing to express my serious and urgent concern about the number of writers in Myanmar who are detained for the peaceful practice of their right to freedom of expression. I am particularly concerned for the well being of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being held incommunicado at an unknown location. The continued practice of arbitrary and prolonged detention without trial of those who seek only to peacefully express their opinions in Myanmar is in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I therefore respectfully call upon the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to show its commitment to political dialogue in Myanmar by securing the immediate and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all others detained in Myanmar for the peaceful expression of their views. Furthermore, I call upon the authorities to make known Daw Aung San Suu Kyi 's whereabouts and provide assurances that she is given full access to any necessary medical treatment. Sincerely, [Your name and signature] Cc:H. E. U Tin Winn Embassy of the Union of Myanmar to the United States 2300 S Street NW Washington, DC 20008 Fax: (202) 332-9046
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