Aung San Suu Kyi Update | 05/14/2009 10:45 am

'Wretched American' May Ruin Hopes for House Arrest Release of Aung San Suu Kyi (Video)

American man swam one mile to Suu Kyi’s home prison, and now she may be jailed for it; Nobel laureate under house arrest for 13 years.

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

YouTube

Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, may have to spend even more time under house arrest after an American swam a mile across a lake to her home.

"Everyone is very angry with this wretched American. He is the cause of all these problems. He’s a fool," said Suu Kyi’s chief lawyer, Kyi Win.

John William Yettaw swam to her compound May 3 and was arrested two days later on his way back. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 20 years under house arrest, and she was supposed to finally be freed May 27. She will go on trial for the illegal visitor on Monday; if convicted, she could face up to five years in prison. Police this morning whisked away Suu Kyi and two women who live with her and brought her to the notorious Insein Prison, where human-rights groups say torture is common.

Western leaders condemned the new charges. The United States said it was "troubling," and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asked for more information. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he is "deeply disturbed" about the new charges.

"The Burmese regime is clearly intent on finding any pretext, no matter how tenuous, to extend her unlawful detention," Brown said. "If the 2010 elections are to have any semblance of credibility, she and all political prisoners must be freed to participate."

In 1988, Suu Kyi was named secretary general of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and called for an end to the military rule established in a 1962 coup. She was put under house arrest in July 1989 for "endangering the state." The NLD party won the 1990 election but Myanmar’s military rulers essentially ignored the results. Suu Kyi remains the world’s only jailed Nobel laureate.

Here’s video of the latest report on Suu Ky:

24 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

face up to five years in prison.

And the Dems worry about what the world will think of our past waterboarding of an occasional terrorist? World opinion. We have to set the standards for the treatment of detainees. Like who in the world cares and who’s watching?

By Marjorie C. on 05/14/2009 11:06 am

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In your world, one only acts ethically if someone is watching?

By MK P on 05/14/2009 11:39 am

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Not even then—all one has to do is look at Cheney.

By f p on 05/14/2009 1:07 pm

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MK: In your world, one only acts ethically if someone is watching?

The point I was making is that in a world that will hold a person under house arrest for 13 to 20 years for her political beliefs, America should not be concerned about what the world thinks of our lapse in judgement regarding our military practices in 2003 after being frightfully attacked by terrorists.

But I think you knew that.

By Marjorie C. on 05/14/2009 3:19 pm

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Actually, I didn’t know what you meant……….and I disagree, regardless of how barbaric other countries behave — I believe the United States should hold itself to a higher standard. If we become like our enemies, we might as well join them.

By MK P on 05/14/2009 3:22 pm

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MK: If we become like our enemies, we might as well join them.

Odd thing to say, but carry on… we all have an opinion.

By Marjorie C. on 05/14/2009 3:28 pm

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Odd in what sense — that I think the United States should take a higher moral ground than its enemies?

By MK P on 05/14/2009 3:43 pm

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I agree MK P. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard and be a leader.

By S G on 05/14/2009 4:35 pm

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Marjorie….the point should be that no one else "plays by the rules" that premise is more than gullible. "Lapse of judgement’? I think not.

20 -40 sec under the supervision of medical personnel….and they walk away without ANY severe pain or injury. All to help gather intelligence from 3 terrorist that saved American lives? That is a lapse of judgement? I think not. It is a ridiculous idealistic standard that we have set against our own best interests.

Not a lapse in judgement, a useful Interrogation technique.

These freakin terrorist were not army combatant that some army field manual covers. Neither does the Geneva convention.

So if they want those protections then I suggest that they wear a uniform, declare war and fight on a battlefield like our soliders who deserve that protection..

By Kelly In Texas on 05/14/2009 6:04 pm

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Lapse? and make that 2002 when the torture started.

By f p on 05/15/2009 5:42 am

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Aun is being jailed for a particular reason—elections are coming up in Burma and the junta don’t want her to be an visible influence as her party will be involved in the elections.. As for world opinion, who really cares what a military dictatorship thinks—it’s what they do to a woman I admire and respect whole-heartedly that pisses me off. And the Mormon idiot who swam to her house and prayed all night did very much more harm to her than good.

By f p on 05/14/2009 11:13 am

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The US says "torture is common"? Well many Americans APPROVE of torture, so why would they care?

By DeBúrca obj on 05/14/2009 11:27 am

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Real torture DeBurca…not the 20-40 sec. of medically supervised interrogation that they walk away from without any severe pain or injury.

Real torture. They watch us and laugh…knowing that we are just hurting ourselves by our Pollyanna stance of real life.

By Kelly In Texas on 05/14/2009 6:21 pm

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News flash for well-intentioned but clueless freedom activists: foreign countries are sovereign and the US Constitution does not apply. Numerous US and British activists have been arrested there in recent years for distributing pro-democracy leaflets, and all that does is make things worse for the locals, and adds a burden to our embassies there.

By Lila Kuh on 05/14/2009 2:13 pm