Tuesday 16 February 2010
AUNG SAN SUU KYI, Burma's Legitimate Leader
“If this country is to achieve genuine democracy, the result of the elections of 1990 must be recognized. It must be recognized by the military regime, as it has been recognized by the people, and by the world at large. It is through this recognition that we will be able to make genuine progress in Burma. The results of the 1990 General Elections must be implemented is a resolution already taken by the United Nations. We already know that the General Assembly of the United Nations has accepted the notion that the will of the people has been expressed in the 1990 General Elections. This is something we can not abandon. It will be to the detriment of our country if after an election has been held the results are not honoured and we do not resist attempts to trivialise it”, Aung San Suu Kyi insists.
UN envoy meets lawyers for Burmese opposition NLD
A special UN Human Rights envoy has met lawyers for Burma's opposition party on the first day of a five-day visit to the country.
Tomas Ojea Quintana has said that with elections due sometime in 2010, Burma is facing a critical year.
Opposition groups welcomed the UN visit, with one activist saying human rights in Burma were "at the abyss".
It comes two days after pro-democracy leader Tin Oo was released following seven years in prison.
A lawyer for the National League for Democracy party (NLD) told the BBC Mr Quintana had spoken with them in Rangoon for about an hour.
The lawyer said the group had discussed Burma's legal system and the detention of their party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Senior NLD member Win Tin called on Mr Quintana to "be decisive and perform his duties in the strictest manner without falling prey to the lies of the government".
"Myanmar's human rights conditions are at the abyss. The government continues to violate human rights and they don't have the will to alleviate human rights conditions," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.
Mr Quintana is also expected to meet several ministers in the military government and to visit Rangoon's notorious Insein prison.
Election question
But he has not been granted an audience with the man who makes all key decisions in Burma - General Than Shwe.
Mr Quintana has also asked for permission to visit Ms Suu Kyi in detention, but on Monday said that he had not yet received a response to his request.
Tin Oo, vice-president of the NLD was released from prison on Saturday, having been in prison since 2003.
As he visited NLD headquarters on Monday, he said he was optimistic that "things can be resolved" through Mr Quintana's visit.
Gen Than Shwe said Burma's elections would be held 'soon'
He said he thought Ms Suu Kyi could be freed soon as she had shown good behaviour under house arrest, a condition of her release.
On Friday, Gen Than Shwe said elections - the first in two decades - would be held "soon".
But Tin Oo has not yet said whether the party will take part.
There are some 1,200 such political prisoners in Burma and their release will be one of the main items on Mr Quintana's agenda, says the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey.
It is perhaps no coincidence that a high profile detainee such as Tin Oo won his freedom just ahead of the UN envoy's arrival, says our correspondent.
But the Burmese leadership is adept at giving hints of progress on reform when international attention is focused in its direction, she adds.
Tin Oo was at the end of his latest period of detention, so his release does not represent a major concession on the part of the government.
http://ping.fm/KX564
Tomas Ojea Quintana has said that with elections due sometime in 2010, Burma is facing a critical year.
Opposition groups welcomed the UN visit, with one activist saying human rights in Burma were "at the abyss".
It comes two days after pro-democracy leader Tin Oo was released following seven years in prison.
A lawyer for the National League for Democracy party (NLD) told the BBC Mr Quintana had spoken with them in Rangoon for about an hour.
The lawyer said the group had discussed Burma's legal system and the detention of their party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Senior NLD member Win Tin called on Mr Quintana to "be decisive and perform his duties in the strictest manner without falling prey to the lies of the government".
"Myanmar's human rights conditions are at the abyss. The government continues to violate human rights and they don't have the will to alleviate human rights conditions," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.
Mr Quintana is also expected to meet several ministers in the military government and to visit Rangoon's notorious Insein prison.
Election question
But he has not been granted an audience with the man who makes all key decisions in Burma - General Than Shwe.
Mr Quintana has also asked for permission to visit Ms Suu Kyi in detention, but on Monday said that he had not yet received a response to his request.
Tin Oo, vice-president of the NLD was released from prison on Saturday, having been in prison since 2003.
As he visited NLD headquarters on Monday, he said he was optimistic that "things can be resolved" through Mr Quintana's visit.
Gen Than Shwe said Burma's elections would be held 'soon'
He said he thought Ms Suu Kyi could be freed soon as she had shown good behaviour under house arrest, a condition of her release.
On Friday, Gen Than Shwe said elections - the first in two decades - would be held "soon".
But Tin Oo has not yet said whether the party will take part.
There are some 1,200 such political prisoners in Burma and their release will be one of the main items on Mr Quintana's agenda, says the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey.
It is perhaps no coincidence that a high profile detainee such as Tin Oo won his freedom just ahead of the UN envoy's arrival, says our correspondent.
But the Burmese leadership is adept at giving hints of progress on reform when international attention is focused in its direction, she adds.
Tin Oo was at the end of his latest period of detention, so his release does not represent a major concession on the part of the government.
http://ping.fm/KX564
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