The government of Burma (Myanmar) has postponed announcing the verdict in the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. As I explained in the previous post, Suu Kyi had been expected to be sentenced to five years in prison today on transparently trumped-up charges.
The government did not give a reason for the delay, but it's likely they are worried the verdict will touch off mass protests like the "saffron revolution" of 2007. In 2007 people marched in the streets to protest the government, led by Buddhist monks.
The basic situation is this: Burma is ruled by a military dictatorship. Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, is the head of the pro-democracy party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD won elections held in 1990. The military government voided the election results, and Suu Kyi has been confined to her home, under guard, most of the time since.
The UN has demanded that Suu Kyi be allowed to participate in elections to be held next year. It is widely understood that the Burmese government wants to convict her of something and keep her in prison so that she cannot participate.
Well, maybe they just need to alter the verdict and allow her to remain under house arrest rather than sending her to prison for a fraudulent reason.
Is there something that those of us in the west can do to help Suu Kyi? Are there letters that could be written on her behalf? If you can direct us to a group that is waging a letter writing campaign to assist her, or conducting some other kind of campaign on her behalf, I would appreciate it. Thank you.