Lawyers oppose sale of Suu Kyi’s plot

Contempt of Court...
the verdict will be announce tomrrow and
the plot has already been sold by the junta hahaha Jeg

by Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The sale of a plot of land in detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s house compound has been opposed by her lawyer through an official letter on Thursday.

“We have sent our opposition to the two lawyers, whose names were in the announcement. We said the plot of land cannot be sold as it is owned by our client. We have sent a letter opposing it,” Nyan Win, Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer told Mizzima.

The July 24, issue of the state-run newspaper “Mirror” carried an announcement stating that a plot of land in the compound of House No 54 in Rangoon’s University Avenue has been sold and anybody, who objects to the sale, can oppose it within seven days.

The announcement said, a plot of land – 40 A, 41, 42, 42 A, 44 B, 44 C, and 64 C – 200 feet in length and 70 feet wide in Rangoon’s Bahan township has been sold-off by Khin Maung Aye and that any objection can be lodged within a week.

But following the announcement, Khin Maung Aye’s wife Daw Tin Tin Oo, living separately, made an announcement objecting to the sale of the plot of land and the constructions on the land.

Khin Muang Aye is the foster son of late Thakhin Than Tun and Daw Khin Gyi, who was the sister of detained Aung San Suu Kyi’s mother Daw Khin Kyi. He is a retired army officer and also a writer.

Though the announcement, signed by High Grade Pleaders Cho The May and Wai Wai Aung said opposition to the transfer can be made, it made no mention of the buyer.

“The plot of land mentioned in the notice is the area that has not been divided. But the notice does not name the buyer. They have hidden the name of the buyer. We are worried about the notice. We cannot divulge what we will do but we have our plans,” Nyan Win said.

The sale of the plot of land comes at a time when Aung San Suu Kyi, who lived in the compound, is awaiting a verdict at the Insein prison court.

Earlier, Aung San Suu Kyi’s brother Aung San Oo, claiming to be the rightful heir to the compound of House No. 54, filed a lawsuit.

READ MORE---> Lawyers oppose sale of Suu Kyi’s plot...

World Wants Suu Kyi Free: Ban

By LALIT K JHA
The Irrawaddy News

WASHINGTON—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said the world wants Aung San Suu Kyi free and that by sentencing her to another five-year prison term, the Burmese junta would miss another opportunity to engage the international community.

“They will have missed a very important opportunity, first of all, to engage with the international community, and they will be betraying the expectations and wishes of all the international community who really want to see Myanmar fully integrated as a member of the international community,” Ban said at a news conference held at the UN headquarters in New York.

The international community, Ban said, wants to see Suu Kyi freed to enjoy freedom and liberty like anybody else in the world.

Responding to questions, Ban said he has been closely following the developments in Burma since his recent return from the country.

“I hope they will keep their pledges which were conveyed to the [UN] Security Council a few days ago, officially—that at the request of the secretary-general of the United Nations—they would be taking necessary procedures to grant amnesty to political prisoners,” Ban said.

“Detailed information has not been given, and I am concerned that they are continuing this judicial process on Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said.

“When I was there, I made it quite clear repeatedly that all the charges should be dropped and she should be freed. We will continue to press on this issue,” Ban said.

Meanwhile, a US State Department official said he hoped that US mission officials in Rangoon would be able to attend the final court hearing related to Suu Kyi. “You know there’s an American citizen who is also on trial. We expect the final verdict Friday,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

READ MORE---> World Wants Suu Kyi Free: Ban...

Predicting Suu Kyi’s trial is “contempt of court”: Junta’s mouthpiece

by Mungpi

New Delhi (Mizzima) – With speculation rife that the court will pronounce pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi “guilty”, Burma’s state-run newspaper on Wednesday warned against predicting the outcome saying it amounts to ‘contempt of court’.

A commentary in the New Light of Myanmar, the junta’s mouthpiece, on Wednesday justified the trial against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her two live-in party mates and John William Yettaw, the American man, who swam across a lake and sneaked into Aung San Suu Kyi’s home, saying they have violated the law.

The newspaper while justifying the charges and trial said, “Everyone who breaches the law shall face a lawsuit and obey the court decision.”

On Tuesday, the court heard final arguments by the defence attorneys, formally ending the over two-month long trial. Now the court’s verdict is awaited on Friday.

Nyan Win, one of the defence lawyers, told Mizzima on Tuesday that legally the trial has proved Aung San Suu Kyi’s innocence and there is not sufficient ground to find her guilty. But he refused to comment on the possible outcome of the trial.

But many observers including senior leaders of the National League for Democracy, Win Tin, said the court will find her “guilty” and sentence her to a prison term.

However, the newspaper on Wednesday warned against such comments saying, “biased writings about the trial in progress, writings about which side will win or lose in that trial, predicted writings about the possibility of the defendant’s conviction and writings about tendency to give instructions to the judgment of the judge” amounts to contempt of court.

But Win Tin said the trial itself is unfair and there are no grounds to charge the pro-democracy leader as it is not her fault in a stranger forcing his way into her house, as she had not invited him.

He said the court is not acting independently in filing a lawsuit against the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate and even in the trial, stating instances of the court dismissing two out of the four defence witnesses while allowing several prosecution witnesses.

He said even in the last stage of the trial – submission of final arguments by lawyers of both sides – the court has shown partiality towards the prosecution by setting a two-day gap after the defence had submitted their arguments.

“Daw Suu had told her lawyer that she was not happy with the two-day gap between the defence and prosecution’s submission of their final arguments,” Win Tin said.

The trial, which began on May 18, has attracted the attention of human rights activists, politicians, world leaders and celebrities calling for her immediate release along with other political prisoners in Burma.

The commentary on Wednesday also attacked such calls saying calling for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release while she is facing a court trial amounts to contempt of court.

Despite the newspaper’s claim that Aung San Suu Kyi would be released if she is found not guilty, Win Tin said it is obvious that the junta is all set to continue detaining her.

“It seems to me that the junta is all set to detain her in anyway. But it may possibly buy-time in doing so if the pressures mount,” Win Tin said.

He added that with the kind of international as well as internal pressure mounting over the trial, the Insein prison court might not pass a strong verdict on Aung San Suu Kyi.

“But it is likely that the prosecution will go to a higher court and appeal and then they will sentence her,” he added.

According to him, it is unlikely that the Insein prison court will sentence her heavily at the moment to ease the mounting pressure, but that does not mean Aung San Suu Kyi will be acquitted.

“In anyway, they will detain her,” he added.

He also said, Wednesday’s commentary in the New Light of Myanmar might be a warning that the junta intends to crackdown on opposition figures, who are commenting on the trial and speculating on the junta’s possible plans.

READ MORE---> Predicting Suu Kyi’s trial is “contempt of court”: Junta’s mouthpiece...

Suu Kyi Insists Her Trial Will Test Rule of Law in Burma

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

Aung San Suu Kyi insisted after Tuesday’s final session of her trial before Friday’s scheduled verdict that the proceedings would show “whether or not the rule of law exists in the country,” according to her lawyer Nyan Win.

Suu Kyi made the comment to Nyan Win after the court announced a verdict would be announced on Friday. Suu Kyi is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest order by giving refuge to an American trespasser, John Yettaw, and faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if convicted.

Nyan Win, who is also a spokesman of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, told The Irrawaddy that his legal team had tried its best in accordance with the law.

Suu Kyi was innocent, Nyan Win insisted. “She [Suu Kyi] did not break the law. According to the law, it will be unlawful if the court even sentences her.”

During Tuesday’s two-hour morning session, a defense plea for more witnesses to be heard was rejected by the court, Nyan Win said.

Win Tin, an NLD executive leader who joined Suu Kyi supporters outside Insein Prison on Tuesday, said her two female companions and Yettaw also appeared at Tuesday’s session.

Suu Kyi’s companions Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma also face a charge of giving unlawful refuge to Yettaw. They are represented by Hla Myo Myint.

Nyan Win was one of four lawyers representing Suu Kyi at Tuesday’s session. The others were Kyi Wynn, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe, according to Khin Maung Swe, an NLD spokesperson.

Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to attend Tuesday’s session, according to an Associated Press report.

Last weekend, Suu Kyi told Nyan Win that she is unhappy with the continual delays in her trial, which she said gave the prosecution more time to prepare its final arguments. The trial began on May 18 and has been interrupted by several adjournments.

The proceedings against Suu Kyi have drawn wide international condemnation.

Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and several Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers called for the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other political prisoners during the Asean Ministerial Meeting and Asean Regional Forum at Phuket in southern Thailand.

The Burmese state-owned newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, carried an editorial last weekend saying that “demanding the release of Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law.”

The opposition leader has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. Her latest term of detention began in May 2003, when she and her supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in central Burma.

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi Insists Her Trial Will Test Rule of Law in Burma...

Legally Suu Kyi is innocent: Defence lawyer

by Mungpi

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The over two-month long trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi points to her innocence, legally and the verdict to be pronounced on Friday will put to acid test the rule of law in the military-ruled country, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

Nyan Win, one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers told Mizzima after the arguments put forward by the defence on Tuesday that testimonies of the witnesses, arguments of lawyers of both the defence and the prosecution have all proved that the Burmese pro-democracy leader is innocent.

“As far as I have analysed the trial, legally there is no evidence to convict her [Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Nyan Win, adding that it would surprise him and the other members of the defence team if the verdict pronounces her guilty.

On Tuesday Nyan Win submitted his clarification on the prosecution’s arguments stating that there are no grounds to charge the Nobel Peace Laureate and the charges filed by the prosecution are not valid as the 1974 constitution is no more in effect.

Fellow party member and one of the spokesperson of the National League for Democracy, Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima earlier that he believed legally there is no ground to charge and convict the Burmese democracy icon but expressed concern that the court might not independently take a decision.

“I think the court will convict her because that’s the junta’s plan,” he said.

Like Ohn Kyaing, observers and critics believe that the junta is using the incident of John William Yettaw’s visit to Aung San Suu Kyi’s home as an excuse to charge her and sentence her to yet another prison term, in a move to keep her out of the 2010 election scenario.

But Nyan Win said, the defence team has not given up, and is willing to go to any extent in trying to bring justice to the pro-democracy leader.

“Aung San Suu Kyi has agreed with us and has given us permission to continue fighting the case legally and we plan to take the case to higher courts if the verdict pronounces her guilty,’ Nyan Win said.

Opposition activists widely believe that the military has chalked out a plan to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi before the end of July to avoid the verdict coinciding with the ensuing anniversary of the 8.8.88 uprising on August 8.

But the junta, which initially thought of sentencing Aung San Suu Kyi in a short trial, is also taking into account the possible reaction – both international and domestic - that may erupt in the wake of her being sentenced.

Win Tin, a senior leader of the NLD and veteran journalist, earlier told Mizzima that pronouncing Aung San Suu Kyi guilty and sentencing her to a prison term could provoke peoples’ anger that could lead to yet another mass movement particularly in Burma’s former capital city Rangoon.

READ MORE---> Legally Suu Kyi is innocent: Defence lawyer...

Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers present arguments in conclusion

by Mungpi

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Lawyers defending Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi presented their final argument on Friday saying if she is being charged under the1974 constitution, she must be released and allowed to enjoy the rights mentioned in the constitution.

Kyi Win, personal lawyer and member of the defence team of Aung San Suu Kyi, on Friday presented his argument at the special court in Insein prison but the court postponed the prosecution argument till Monday.

Nyan Win, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team and spokesperson for her party, said “the session started at 2pm and U Kyi Win submitted his argument. His submission alone lasted about two hours.”

The court adjourned at 4:40 p.m. as it ran out of time to continue with the hearing of the prosecution’s argument. The court fixed July 27 for the hearing of the arguments of the prosecution.

Nyan Win said Aung San Suu Kyi was unhappy with the time being limited that barred the prosecution lawyers from presenting their argument on the same day.

“She [Aung San Suu Kyi] wanted to hear the prosecution’s argument the same day and she was unhappy with postponement of the argument to Monday,” Nyan Win said.

During the session, Kyi Win argued that the 1974 constitution has been technically dissolved and Aung San Suu Kyi cannot be charged under the statutes of a defunct constitution.

But if, according to the prosecution, the 1974 constitution is still valid, it cannot be partially implemented and Aung San Suu Kyi should get her freedom and enjoy her rights as stated in the constitution before being charged for anything.

The Burmese pro-democracy leader has been charged for violating her house arrest terms by ‘harbouring’ an American, John William Yettaw, who swam across a lake and entered her home uninvited in early May.

If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison.

The session on Friday, is part of the final stage of the trial, which has been conducted behind closed-doors since May 18. But surprisingly, the authorities on Friday allowed diplomats from Britain, Germany, France and Italy to be present.

While a few hope that Aung San Suu Kyi will be declared innocent, the widespread speculation is that the junta has used the incident of Yettaw as a pretext to charge her and sentence her to yet another prison term.

READ MORE---> Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers present arguments in conclusion...

Myanmar rejects criticism at end of Suu Kyi trial

(SMH) -Myanmar's state media denounced criticism of its planned elections and ongoing detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi Friday as she faced her final trial hearing in prison.

The Nobel peace laureate is due to appear at an afternoon court session at Insein prison where final arguments will be presented at her trial on charges of breaching the conditions of her house arrest.

Foreign ministers attending Asia's biggest security conference in Thailand this week urged Myanmar's military junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dangling the carrot of future business ties.

But state mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar rejected the comments as "interference".

"Demanding release of Daw Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law," said the editorial in the English-language newspaper.

"The court will hand down a reasonable term to her if she is found guilty, and it will release her if she is found not guilty," it insisted.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) leader faces up to five years in jail on charges of breaching the conditions of her house arrest after a bizarre incident in which US national John Yettaw swam to her lakeside home uninvited in May.

Security was extremely tight near the Yangon jail on Friday, witnesses said, with more than 10 police trucks and armed officers manning a barricade by the prison gates where about 40 NLD supporters were gathered.

Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers have told AFP they are fully prepared to present their final arguments on Friday, when a date will also be set for a verdict.

Diplomats from the embassies of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Norway have been permitted to attend the hearing although most of the trial has been held behind closed doors.

The New Light piece also defended elections planned for next year after criticism that they would not be credible if political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, were not released and permitted to stand.

The Nobel laureate has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention since the regime refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in the country's last democratic polls in 1990.

READ MORE---> Myanmar rejects criticism at end of Suu Kyi trial...

Suu Kyi to make final court appearance

(DVB)–Lawyers of Aung San Suu Kyi were yesterday granted permission to meet with her and discuss their statement prior to today’s final appearance in court.

A request to see Suu Kyi on Wednesday had been denied by the courtroom, and yesterday’s meeting only came about following an appeal letter sent by her lawyers to the judges.

Permission was granted at late notice and only three of the four lawyers managed to visit their client inside her prison unit yesterday, said lawyer Nyan Win.

“We mainly discussed the case, more than 20 pages long in all,” he said. “We went through it from the beginning to the end, amending it as necessary."

Suu Kyi is being charged for breaching conditions of her house arrest following the intrusion into her compound in May of US citizen John Yettaw.

The courtroom claims that she sheltered Yettaw for two days after he swam across Rangoon’s Inya lake to her home, which would violate restrictions placed on her.

Burma’s opposition leader is also being tried alongside her two caretakers, Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, and Yettaw, who is being tried on immigration charges.

Nyan Win said that the charges are not legally valid. Critics of the trial, which is being held in a courtroom inside Insein prison, have said that is it a pretext to keep her in detention beyond the 2010 elections.

One of charges she faces is that she broke a law refraining her from correspondence via letter.

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has had correspondence with no one,” said Nyan Win. “Mr Yettaw brought with him a letter from his young daughter [and] in this letter there is no political talk.”

He said that the law only accounts for correspondence leaving the country, and not coming from the outside in, adding that the lawyers will be arguing this “by using the Burmese dictionary”.

The trial of Suu Kyi has brought international condemnation, and was the focus of a trip to Burma earlier this month by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently in Thailand to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional forum, said yesterday that the US may engage with and invest in Burma if Suu Kyi is released.

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi to make final court appearance...

Diplomats allowed to attend Suu Kyi’s closing arguments

Scores of supporters gather in front of Insein prison

Friday, 24 July 2009 13:50

Mizzima News

Authorities have beefed up security in front of Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison, as scores of supporters and members of the National League for Democracy have gathered to wait on the closing arguments of Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial.

Eyewitnesses said at least 10 trucks full of uniformed police are stationed near the prison, while on the corner of the street at least 2 prison vans are parked.

Police have blocked the road to Insein prison with barbed wire barricades.

---------------------------------------------

Friday, 24 July 2009 13:17

New Delhi (mizzima)– Burma's military government on Friday allowed foreign diplomats from Britain, Germany, France and Italy to attend the closing arguments in the trial against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The trial against the Burmese pro-democracy leader, at a special court inside Rangoon’s Insein prison, has for the most part been a closed-door affair, with authorities only twice previously allowing selected diplomats and journalists to witness proceedings.

“This time they have not invited or even informed us, but they [the government] have granted permission to diplomats who have sought to attend the final hearing,” a journalist in Rangoon told Mizzima on Friday.

An official from the Embassy of the United States has also so far been permitted to attend proceedings against American John William Yettaw, who is standing trial at the court for secretly swimming across a lake and entering, uninvited, into Aung San Suu Kyi’s home.

A source in Rangoon told Mizzima, “As far as I have confirmed, diplomats from Britain, Germany, France and Italy have been allowed to attend the court session.”

On Friday, the court will hear closing arguments from both prosecution and defense lawyers. The defense team told Mizzima on Thursday that they have prepared a 23-page argument to be submitted to the court.

Observers, however, believe the court will fix yet another date to hand down a verdict.

A journalist in Rangoon said Friday’s court session has attracted the interest of several political observers and scores of supporters and members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, who have gathered in front of Insein prison.

READ MORE---> Diplomats allowed to attend Suu Kyi’s closing arguments...

Asean expects Burma to respond to Int’l concerns

by Mungpi

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their dialogue partners on Thursday concluded the regional security forum, exhorting Burma to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose trial will hear the final argument on Friday.

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, in his press statement as the Chairman of the Asean Ministerial Meeting, Post Ministerial Conferences and ASEAN Regional Forum reminded military-ruled Burma to be responsive to international concerns.

Kasit said the Asean as well as members of the ARF respect the sentiment of friendship and goodwill and would like to assist Burma in its efforts to promote democracy, human rights and the well-being of her people.

“At the same time, it is hoped that Myanmar would also be responsive to the international community's concerns,” Kasit said.

Delegates from Burma led by Foreign Minister Nyan Win, during the four day conference held in Thailand’s resort island of Phuket faced criticism and strong worded messages from several quarters over the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

On Wednesday evening, US officials met the Burmese delegation and conveyed the importance of Burma implementing the terms of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1874 on North Korea, which imposed sanctions on North Korea over its recent missile and nuclear tests.

US Secretary of State Clinton did not join the talks with the Burmese delegation. (JEG's: wise male power)

During the talks, according to a statement by the US State Department, the US officials also pointed out their expectation from Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi and to begin a process of freeing political prisoners, and making the election scheduled for 2010 open, transparent and credible.

Clinton, during a press briefing on Thursday said, this view was not only of the US, “It was very widely and, I must say, from the heart – it was really expressed from the heart by so many people.”

On Wednesday, Clinton said Asean should consider expelling Burma from the grouping if the ruling regime sentences the detained Nobel Peace Laureate.

But later on the same day, she also said, the US would expand relations with Burma if the military junta releases Aung San Suu Kyi.

“If she [Suu Kyi] were released, that would open up opportunities, at least for my country, to expand our relationship with Burma, including investments in Burma. But it is up to the Burmese leadership,” Clinton said.

But her remarks were refuted on Thursday by Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva saying there are “insufficient grounds" to expel Burma from the 10-member bloc.

Speaking in his capacity as the current chair of Asean, Abhisit said while the west and Asean share the same goals regarding democracy in Burma, the policies cannot be the same.

He also said, expelling the military-ruled country over the detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is not likely solve the problem but will only further isolate the country.

"There are not enough grounds to expel Myanmar [Burma] from ASEAN", reports quoted Abhisit as saying. "If we do that, it will further isolate Myanmar [Burma] and would not solve the problem."

But he reiterated that Asean wishes to see Burma achieve democracy and is monitoring the situation there including the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the 1990 election winning National League for Democracy party, is currently facing a trial on charges of violating her detention terms for allegedly harbouring an American man, John Yettaw, who swam to her lakeside home in early May.

If found guilty, she could be sentenced up to five years in prison.

READ MORE---> Asean expects Burma to respond to Int’l concerns...

Aung San Suu Kyi meets lawyers to oversee final argument

by Mungpi & Myint Maung

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday met her legal counsels and discussed the final argument to be submitted in court in Rangoon’s Insein prison on Friday.

Kyi Win, a member of the legal team, told Mizzima that he along with three other colleagues – Nyan Win, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe – on Thursday met Aung San Suu Kyi for about two hours. They made a few changes in the draft final argument.

“Tomorrow [Friday] we will submit the argument and Hla Myo Myint will speak in her defence,” Kyi Win said.

On Wednesday, the defence team was not allowed to meet the detained opposition leader, but since it needed to consult her on the draft final argument, Kyi Win said he had reapplied for permission, which was eventually granted.

“Officials came and informed us on Thursday that we have been granted permission. They took us to the prison at about 2 p.m. (local time). We concluded our meeting at about 4 p.m.” Kyi Win said.

He, however, refused to talk about the contents of the final argument. He only said that the defence will prove Aung San Suu Kyi’s innocence.

The special court in Insein, where the Noble Peace Laureate is on trial since May 18, has fixed Friday, July 24 for the hearing of the final argument by lawyers from both sides - the prosecution and the defence.

With only the hearing of the final argument and pronouncement of the verdict remaining, Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial is approaching the last lap.

Asked what he expected would be the outcome of the trial, Kyi Win, however, declined to comment saying “As it is a legal proceeding, I would not like to comment before the trial is over. Please bear with us, because it will not take much longer to complete the trial”.

But Dr. Win Naing, one of the spokesperson for the National League for Democracy (NLD) said since the junta has set-up the whole thing to charge Aung San Suu Kyi, “I think it [junta] will find a way to sentence her.”

The Burmese democracy icon has been charged for flouting the terms of her detention and ‘harbouring’ an American, John Yettaw, who sneaked into her lakeside home in early May. If found guilty, she could be sentenced up to five years in prison.

READ MORE---> Aung San Suu Kyi meets lawyers to oversee final argument...

NLD at a 'critical stage': Win Tin

by Myint Maung

New Delhi (mizzima) – A leader of Burma’s opposition party – National League for Democracy (NLD) – said the party’s leadership has reached a 'critical stage' as most members of the party’s executive committee are aging and faced with worsening health.

Win Tin, a veteran journalist and member of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the NLD, said with most CEC party members over the age of 80 and confronting severe health problems, the party is at a crossroads.

“The leaders are already at the age of retirement from party work, but with so many things yet to be done it is difficult for them to retire. They are also facing severe health problems, so the party is at a crossroads,” Win Tin said.

He said with Aung San Suu Kyi and Vice-Chairman Tin Oo still under detention, the party cannot renew its registration and inject young blood into the party’s leadership, as it would essentially remove Aung San Suu Kyi and Tin Oo from the committee.

“With Daw Aung San Suu Kyi still under detention we cannot renew our party registration. And we cannot include more people in the committee, as we would like to do, because the election commissioner will check and we can only renew the registration with the people they approved,” Win Tin explained.

NLD CEC Chairman Aung Shwe, Vice-Chairman U Lwin and members Lun Tin, Nyunt Wei, Hla Pe, Than Tun, Win Tin and Thakin Soe Myint are all in their 80s and 90s and reportedly experiencing increasing health concerns.

“U Aung Shwe is over 90 now. He has not been able to come to the party office for months. I don’t think he can come in the next two to three months either. U Lun Tin’s eyesight and hearing are poor too. He has to be escorted to the office. He is paralyzed and is now confined to his bed. U Hla Pe’s health is also not so good, while U Than Tun suffers from frequent headaches,” elaborated Win Tin.

He added that he himself has been suffering from a heart problem as well as a low pulse rate and low blood pressure, in addition to diabetes and arthritis. He may also have to undergo an operation to combat deteriorating eyesight.

“My heartbeat is only 48 beats per minute. The normal is about 80 beats per minute. I cannot move easily. I get exhausted after taking four or five steps. My physician instructed me not to take liver, innards, tomato and bean sprouts, and to instead take only fish and meat with other healthy foods,” said Win Tin, who has his next medical check-up scheduled for August 3rd.

Yet, despite his poor health, he said he will not forego traveling to Insein prison on Friday, where a special court is to hear final arguments relating to the ongoing trial of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

READ MORE---> NLD at a 'critical stage': Win Tin...

Free Suu Kyi and the US May Invest in Burma: Clinton

what a carrot...!!!

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

PHUKET, Thailand—The United States would be willing to expand its relations with Burma if the country's military junta released opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday in Phuket.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (C) waves as she arrives for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum on the Thai island of Phuket. (Photo: AFP)

“We are calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, which we believe is very important," she told reporters at a press conference.

“And if she were released, that would open up opportunities, at least for my country, to expand our relationship with Burma, including investments in Burma. But it is up to the Burmese leadership," Clinton added.

The US has imposed economic sanctions on Burma since 1997, preventing new US investment in the military-ruled country. The US set tighter economic sanctions that banned importing goods from Burma in 2003, following an attack on Suu Kyi's convoy by regime-backed thugs at Depayin in northern Burma.

At Wednesday's press conference, Clinton repeated US concerns over the military cooperation between Burma and North Korea, and the pursuit of "offensive weapons including nuclear weapons."

“There are a lot of issues that Burma raises for the entire region, not just the United States," she said. "I think it is important to encourage the Burmese leadership to begin to open up, to pursue the model other Asean countries are following."

Clinton told reporters at the press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday that the Obama administration is concerned about the increasing military ties between North Korea and Burma.

“We know that there are also growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma, which we take very seriously. It would be destabilizing for the region," Clinton said. "It would pose a direct threat to Burma’s neighbors. And it is something, as a treaty ally of Thailand, that we are taking very seriously."

Clinton, who is now attending the Asean Regional Forum in Phuket, said that Burma is moving in the opposite direction from other Southeast Asian countries, which, like the United States, want the Burmese military government to change their behavior.

Clinton added that the Burmese junta would have a better future by turning away from isolation and treating their own people better.

During an interview on The Nation Thai television network, Clinton said Asean should consider expelling Burma from the regional bloc if the junta fails to release pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi.

Before flying to Phuket, Clinton met several activists in Bangkok, including Dr Cynthia Maung, founder of the Mae Tao Clinic for Burmese migrants and refugees in the Thai-Burmese town of Mae Sot.

After fleeing the 1988 uprising, Cynthia Maung set up a clinic in Mae Sot where she and her medical workers treat refugees and migrant workers. The former US first lady Laura Bush visited her clinic in August 2008.

READ MORE---> Free Suu Kyi and the US May Invest in Burma: Clinton...

Suu Kyi denied final meeting with lawyers

(DVB)–Lawyers of Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have been denied a request to meet with her one last time before Friday’s final court hearing and will not be able to discuss a final statement.

The lawyers were due to meet with Suu Kyi to finalise her court statement prior to the hearing on Friday but, according to lawyer Nyan Win, authorities phoned and said the court would not allow it.

“Now we are planning to just make a presentation based on our previous discussions with [Suu Kyi] and our legal point of view,” he said. “This decision was not drawn together with Daw Suu but we’ll just have to go with it.”

It is widely expected that Suu Kyi will be found guilty of breaching conditions of her house arrest, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Critics have said that the trial is a pretext to keep her in detention beyond the elections next year.

Another lawyer for Suu Kyi said that the rejection could weaken her defense at the hearing as well as drawing more criticism towards the Burmese judicial system.

Nyan Win urged international leaders attending the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and ASEAN Regional Forum in Thailand today to keep a close eye on the situation.

“I think the international community’s urging for her release is a reasonable thing as she was not even supposed to be on trial at this moment,” he said.

A joint communiqué released on Monday following the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting called for the release of political prisoners in Burma, including Suu Kyi, as a prerequisite to “free, fair and inclusive” elections.

The statement also addressed the issue of ASEAN’s much-criticised policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of Burma, preferring instead to “constructively engage” with the junta.

Reporting by Htet Aung Kyaw

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi denied final meeting with lawyers...

Court News

** Suu Kyi’s Long Friday
** Yettaw Admitted to Prison Hospital
** Security Tightened as Suu Kyi Trial Resumes

Suu Kyi’s Long Friday

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

The Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent over six hours in court during her trial on Friday as government prosecutors questioned a defense witness, according to Suu Kyi’s lawyer.

“The trial started at 10 am, broke for one-hour from 12 pm to 1 pm, and then continued from 1 pm until 5 pm—it was long trial,” said Nyan Win, a lawyer for Suu Kyi.

Nyan Win said most of the trial on Friday was spent by prosecutors and defense lawyers arguing over whether Law Section 22 charging Suu Kyi was still in effect. Section 22 was enacted under the 1974 constitution, but the constitution was abolished by the current regime after the coup in September 1988.

Section 22 of the law safeguards the state against the dangers of those desiring to cause subversive acts. Suu Kyi has been charged under this section by Burmese authorities for allowing the American intruder John W Yettaw to stay at her house while she was under house arrest.

“Prosecutors argued that the law is still effective. But we denied this was the case because the 1974 constitution was abolished in 1988,” Nyan Win said.

The defense witness, Khin Moe Moe, who is also a lawyer, testified at the court today in relation to Section 22.

Suu Kyi has only been allowed one defense witness in the case, as Win Tin and Tin Oo, who are leaders of the National League for Democracy, were banned from testifying.

According Nyan Win, the court has set July 24 for hearing final arguments in the case.

If she is found guilty, Suu Kyi could face up to five years imprisonment.

Burmese observers say the junta is prosecuting Suu Kyi to show the world that they will not tolerate any outside interference.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Yettaw Admitted to Prison Hospital

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

John William Yettaw, the American accused of unlawfully seeking refuge in Aung San Suu Kyi’s home, has been admitted to hospital in Rangoon’s Insein Prison after declining food for 49 days, according to his lawyer, Khin Maung Oo.

The lawyer told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Yettaw is being fed intravenously. He said the 53-year-old American, a Mormon, had existed for seven weeks on only water for religious reasons.

Khin Maung Oo said Yettaw told him the Bible had instructed him to travel to Rangoon to protect Suu Kyi from assassination. He had had a vision of Suu Kyi’s home, the lawyer said.

Yettaw has been charged with violating Burma’s security and immigration laws after he allegedly swim across Inya Lake and entered Suu Kyi’s house in May. If convicted, he faces a sentence of between six months and five years imprisonment.

Khin Maung Oo said that when Suu Kyi discovered Yettaw outside her home she told him to respect and comply with the rule of law in Burma. “She gave him refuge because he was very weak when she found him,” the lawyer said. Yettaw suffers from diabetes.

Khin Maung Oo said Yettaw had acted without financial or political backing. He was a devout Mormon, guided by his Bible.

Yettaw’s wife Yvonne told the US magazine Newsweek that her husband apparently suffered from untreated bipolar and posttraumatic stress disorders and regarded himself as a man sent by God to protect foreign leaders whom he esteemed.

Yettaw saw service in Vietnam and receives disability payments from the US Veterans Affairs office. He has been pursuing studies in psychology.

The Burmese junta claims a Burmese opposition group was behind Yettaw’s action.
(JEG's: and the opposition in exile and in burma claims the junta was behind Yettaw's actions, what a football match)

Burma’s police chief, Khin Yi, told journalists in Rangoon in June that the background to Yettaw’s intrusion needed more investigation.

Khin Yi said Yettaw had met with exiled and unlawful groups in Mae Sot before his last visit to Burma. The police chief accused him of receiving financial support from the groups.

Yettaw reportedly first visited Suu Kyi’s home unlawfully last November, and his family says he was still in debt for the expenses he incurred during that trip.

Before setting out for his second trip, Yettaw told his wife that he planned to visit Asia for a book he was writing, according to Newsweek magazine.

Burmese and Thai sources in Mae Sot, on the Thai-Burmese border, say he spent more than a month at a hotel in the town after his first visit to Rangoon. During this visit he managed to get in to Suu Kyi’s compound, but her companions prevented him from meeting her.

While he was in Mae Sot, people recalled Yettaw saying that he planned to return to visit Suu Kyi again. His second visit led to the fateful encounter with Suu Kyi in May, sources said. (JEG's: the right ears always attentive to capture junta's weapons)

In Mae Sot, Yettaw stayed at the Highland Hotel, where he spoke to several people about Burma and talked briefly about Suu Kyi. He openly told people about his first visit to her compound.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Security Tightened as Suu Kyi Trial Resumes

By THE IRRAWADDY

Security was tightened around Rangoon’s Insein Prison on Friday as crowds gathered for the resumption of the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Barbed wire road blocks were set up, and armed riot police took up positions. “About 30 riot police trucks have been deployed around the prison and other police trucks are patrolling,” said one resident.

Despite the tightened security, about 100 Suu Kyi supporters gathered near the prison. They included Win Tin, a prominent leader of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in prison and facing unjust charges,” said one 24-year-old activist. “She could face unjust imprisonment soon. It would be irresponsible not to come here.”

NLD member Ohn Kyaing said the trial resumed on Friday morning and, after a break, was continuing in the afternoon. Khin Moe Moe, a defense witness, was scheduled to testify.

Suu Kyi is charged with violating the terms of her house detention order by allowing American intruder John W Yettaw to stay at her home. She could face up to five years imprisonment if the court finds her guilty.

Suu Kyi was arrested in May and put on trial as her latest term of house arrest was due to expire.

Burmese observers say Suu Kyi could face a prison sentence because the junta may want to show the world that it cannot accept any outside interference.

READ MORE---> Court News...

Misinformation circulated on Suu Kyi’s trial

by Mizzima News

New Delhi (mizzima) - In a bid to disperse the crowd assembled outside the Insein prison in Rangoon, authorities spread false information that the court hearing of a defence witness in the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was adjourned and that the court has fixed the next hearing on July 17.

Nyan Win, member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team, told Mizzima that the information was false. It was spread in order to keep at bay members of the National League for Democracy and its supporters, who crowded outside the Insein prison.

“I think the news was spread by those who are against us, in order to send away the waiting crowd outside the prison,” said Nyan Win adding that the court session went on for about seven hours.

Nyan Win also said the court has fixed July 24 for the hearing of the final argument from lawyers of both sides refuting the wrong date of July 17 rumored earlier in the day.

Nyan Win said on Friday that the district court in Insein prison heard the testimony of the second witness, Daw Khin Moe Moe, who is also a lawyer by profession and member of the National League for Democracy.

“The court adjourned at 5 p.m. (local time). Daw Khin Moe Moe testified. She was also cross examined by the prosecution lawyer,” Nyan Win said.

Meanwhile, at least 80 NLD members including veteran journalist Win Tin and supporters crowded outside Insein prison waiting for the trial. Mingling with the crowd, were riot police personnel and soldiers.

But after being told that the court session had been adjourned, that witness, Khin Moe Moe, did not testify and the next hearing had been fixed for July 17, supporters dispersed in the afternoon.

Phyu Phyu Thinn, an NLD youth member, who was among the crowd, said, “We were informed by a man that the court had adjourned and the next hearing is fixed for July 17. After that we all dispersed. I don’t know the man’s name.”

“All of us believed that the information was correct and left the prison precincts. But in the evening we learnt that the information was wrong, and was intended to make us leave,” she added.

Nyan Win said, “As we came out, several people asked whether the court had adjourned till July 17. It was false information spread by people who are against us.”

In the court on Friday, Khin Moe Moe argued that the 1974 Constitution of Burma is no longer effective and that the charges against the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate cannot be filed under the statutes of the 1974 Constitution.

But the prosecution argued that despite the changes in the regime, the 1974 Constitution is still valid.

“They tried to prove their stand with various government orders and documents, so it took a long time to conclude,” Nyan Win said.

Nyan Win said the defence team on Wednesday met Aung San Suu Kyi with a prepared 18-page final argument to be submitted to the court on July 24. Following the submission of the final argument, the court is likely to set another day to pronounce the final verdict.

Under the charges of violating the detention terms, if found guilty, the Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi could face up to five years in prison.

Meanwhile, John William Yettaw, the American man who is also facing trial for taking refuge in Aung San Suu Kyi’s house, has been taken to hospital, reports said.

READ MORE---> Misinformation circulated on Suu Kyi’s trial...

Myanmar's snub may result in sanctions

YANGON, Myanmar, July 5 (UPI) -- Britain may impose new sanctions on Myanmar because of a snub of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

After the Myanmar government refused the secretary-general's request to visit detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Brown told the BBC the regime was "obstinate." He suggested further sanctions against the military leaders of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Ban was in Myanmar for two days. He said Gen. Than Shwe told him he could not visit Suu Kyi while she is on trial.

Her trial for allegedly violating terms of her house arrest was postponed indefinitely July 3. She has been in prison since May when she was transferred from house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside house.

Members of the opposition claim the trial is a pretense to keep Suu Kyi away from the public until after next year's elections. She could serve as much as five years if convicted.

READ MORE---> Myanmar's snub may result in sanctions...

Aung San Suu Kyi supports Ban’s agenda: Lawyer

by Salai Pi Pi

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Detained Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is in complete agreement with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s three main points to resolve Burma’s political imbroglio during his two-day visit to Burma on Friday.

Speaking to Mizzima on Thursday, Nyan Win, lawyer of Aung San Suu Kyi said the detained Burmese democracy leader supports Ban’s major agendas to address the political deadlock in military ruled Burma.

“She said the three issues are worthy of discussion,” Nyan Win said.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s comment came because the UN Secretary General, during his stay in Burma, plans to resolve the issues of political prisoners, bring up the issue of resumption of dialogue between the government and the opposition, persuade the junta to initiate national reconciliation, and set the stage for credible elections slated for 2010.

Ban is due to meet Senior General Than Shwe and leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD). However, it is uncertain whether he will get to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi met her lawyers Nyan Win, Kyi Win, Khin Htay Kywe and Hla Myo Myint in a guest house in Burma’s notorious Insein Prison at 1 pm on Tuesday.

“We discussed her case and how to deal with it during the trial to resume tomorrow,” Kyan Win said.

During the meeting with her lawyers, Aung Sang Suu Kyi said that she disagreed with some statements made by Khin Ye in a press conference held in Nayphidaw, the new jungle capital of Burma in the last week of June, regarding the cleaning of flotsam plant growing on the edge of Innya lake alongside her house and the her alleged non-cooperation with authorities over an American man John William Yettaw’s intrusion into her home in early May.

“The police chief said there is regular cleaning of flotsam on Innya Lake near her house. Suu Kyi said, the authorities had cleaned the plants once in six month after she complained to them several times,” Nyan Win said.

“She said that she reported about the first visit of Yettaw in 2008 to her house. But no investigation team came. In this situation, she said, how could she cooperate with them?” Nyan Win quoted her as saying.

Aung San Suu Kyi is being charged for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest and allegedly sheltering Yettaw, who swan to her lakeside home and stayed there for two nights.

If convicted, she is likely to face up to five years in detention. The testimony of the second defence witness, Khin Moh Moh will be heard on Friday.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial has sparked global and domestic outrage, followed by repeated calls for her immediate release.

READ MORE---> Aung San Suu Kyi supports Ban’s agenda: Lawyer...

Suu Kyi trial postponed as UN chief arrives in Burma

(DVB)–Judges at the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi have adjourned the next hearing until 10 July on the day UN Secretary General arrives in Burma for high-profile talks with government leaders.

The trial was due to resume today, and would have coincided with the first day of a two-day visit to the country by Ban Ki-moon, during which he will meet with Senior General Than Shwe and members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Pressure on Ban Ki-moon to achieve results is huge, although he told the BBC recently that he “[does] not believe my trip should be seen as a make or break event”, although said yesterday that the trip would be “very difficult”.

In the face of near certainty that Suu Kyi’s trial will end in a guilty verdict, Ban has said he will strongly urge the ruling junta to release all political prisoners and create conditions necessary for free and fair elections next year.

Earlier this week an appeal to allow two of Suu Kyi’s witnesses to testify in her defence, following their disqualification in May, was rejected, leaving her with just two witnesses.

The Insein prison courtroom where Suu Kyi is on trial announced this morning that the next hearing had been adjourned until 10 July.

“We arrived to the courtroom around 10am [today], as scheduled for the hearing, and a judge told us we are reappointed to July 10,” said one of the remaining witness, Khin Moe Moe.

The reason, she said, was that Suu Kyi case file “has not yet arrived back from the central court”.

“There is no huge distance between the central court and this court [in Insein prison] but I don’t understand why it has to take them so long transferring a case file,” she said, adding that they had been allowed to meet with Suu Kyi.

All four defendants – Suu Kyi, her two caretakers Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, and John Yettaw – were present this morning, Khin Moe Moe said.

Reporting by Naw Say Paw

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi trial postponed as UN chief arrives in Burma...

Confusion in the Court

By NEIL LAWRENCE
The Irrawaddy News
JULY, 2009 - VOLUME 17 NO.4

While the case against Aung San Suu Kyi remains shrouded in deliberate obfuscation, the likely outcome seems clear

John William Yettaw had it easy.

Swimming across Inya Lake with a backpack containing a camera, two sets of Muslim women’s clothing and a veritable toolbox of other items was no doubt hard going for the 54-year-old diabetic. But it was probably a cakewalk compared to the task of trying to get to the bottom of the case against him and his famous co-defendant, Aung San Suu Kyi.

There are many hurdles to making sense of the trial against Suu Kyi, her two personal assistants and her American intruder, not the least of which is the often impenetrable prose of The New Light of Myanmar, the ruling junta’s main English-language newspaper.

Among other challenges: the Burmese regime’s tight control over access to the facts surrounding the case; constitutional issues in a country that has been ruled by diktat for more than two decades; political posturing; and a host of conspiracy theories.

Wading through the pages of The New Light of Myanmar for reliable information is never a very rewarding experience, but in this case, the crudely written propaganda broadsheet is an important point of reference for news about the proceedings at the special court in Insein Prison, where Suu Kyi, et al, are being tried, and so cannot be ignored.

Occasionally, amid the tangle of often incomprehensible sentences, something of genuine interest appears. For instance: in an account of Yettaw’s testimony on the eight day of the trial, he is reported as telling the court that when he first visited Suu Kyi’s home on November 30, 2008, “he walked along the bund [embankment] of Inya Lake through the drain.”

This intriguing, if somewhat obscure, detail adds to uncertainty about the circumstances of his intrusion, since it suggests that, at least on the occasion of his first attempt to make contact with Suu Kyi, he did not actually swim to her house, as claimed by the authorities.

But even more interesting is the fact that the newspaper did not report an encounter between Yettaw and a policeman after he left Suu Kyi’s house last November. According to a lawyer who was present when Yettaw was giving his testimony, the American said he was stopped at gunpoint as he was leaving her home, but was later released.

Nyan Win, one of the lawyers working for the defense, also told The Irrawaddy that Yettaw said several policemen threw stones at him as he was entering Suu Kyi’s residential compound for the second time on May 3—another fact that the state-run press neglected to mention.

The incompleteness of The New Light of Myanmar’s account will only serve to fuel suspicions that the regime knew more about Yettaw’s activities than it is admitting, and was complicit in allowing him access to her compound, just in time to extend her detention.

Besides the confusion surrounding the actual events that led to the trial, another baffling aspect of the whole affair is the legal basis on which the case against Suu Kyi has been allowed to proceed.

At one point, the sole defense witness, lawyer Kyi Win (not to be confused with Suu Kyi’s defense counsel of the same name), suggested that the Law Safeguarding the State from the Danger of Subversive Elements, which Suu Kyi has been charged with violating, was invalid because it was part of Burma’s 1974 constitution, which was nullified by the 1988 coup that installed the current regime in power.

This complication is not likely to deter the prosecution, however, since the State Law and Order Restoration Council that seized power in 1988 reinstated the draconian decree as Law No 11/91 on August 9, 1991, and even extended the maximum sentence from three years to five (Suu Kyi has already served six years under the law).

To deflect some of the intense international criticism it has been facing for the many irregularities of the case, the junta has launched a counteroffensive designed to further muddy the waters.

Amid persistent speculation that the regime somehow engineered Yettaw’s misadventure as a pretext to keep Suu Kyi locked up, the junta’s foreign minister came up with his own conspiracy theory. The whole episode was “timely trumped up” by dissidents “to intensify international pressure on Myanmar,” he told his Japanese counterpart, without offering any evidence.

The regime also tried to take the moral high ground by castigating Thailand for interfering in Burma’s internal affairs by issuing an expression of concern on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and cited a mildly worded press statement on the case by the United Nations Security Council as “proof” that its conduct of the trial was fundamentally sound.

But China and Russia, the junta’s friends in the UN Security Council, could not shield the generals from the scathing judgment of legal experts in the world body. Leandro Despouy, the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, one of five UN experts who spoke out on the case, said pointedly: “The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and her aides has been marred by flagrant violations of substantive and procedural rights.”

Although the trial was adjourned pending a decision on whether to allow more defense witnesses to appear in the court, the regime’s handling of the case leaves little doubt about how it will ultimately play out.

As Mark Canning, the outgoing British ambassador to Burma—one of the few who were briefly allowed to witness the proceedings—told The Irrawaddy: “The outcome in these sorts of trials—and don’t forget we’ve seen over 1,000 political prisoners locked away over the past 16 months—tends to be pretty predictable.”

READ MORE---> Confusion in the Court...