The FIDH calls for their immediate release and is launching a petition online.
Mrs Aung San Suu kyi was arrested on 30 May 2003 while on a political tour in the northern part of Myanmar. According to reliable sources, it is believed that members of the police, members of the military and plain-clothed security forces attacked Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi’s convoy. During the attack - which was obviously planned ahead of time - 50 to 80 people are believed to have been killed and another 150 (mostly NLD members or civilians from northern cities such as Mandela, Sagaing and Yenangyaung) are reported missing. The whereabouts of these people, whether they were executed or transferred to military hospitals, remain unknown. It is believed that a Buddhist monk was also killed.
During this attack, Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi was hit over the head and on her arms and U Tin Oo, the vice-president of NLD, was reportedly injured in open fire. At the moment, they both are being held in incommunicado detention and may have been transferred to the Insein prison in Rangoon. Ever since their detention, no one has been permitted to meet with the detainees. This in turn does not confirm to international law and increases concern about their well-being.
NLD offices have been closed down, party members are being held under house arrest, and all universities have been shut down in order to reduce risks of protesting movements.
The FIDH strongly condemns the arrest of Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi, who has already spent several years under house arrest due both to her political activities and to her stance in favour of democracy and rule of law in Burma. The FIDH is especially worried about the severity of the attack, which directly targeted Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi’s physical integrity. In spite of repeated reactions and exigencies from the international community, authorities have taken a step further in their determination to neutralise this eminent opposition leader.
These events take place after a series of repressive activities, which have been carried out ever since the 1988 riots, and clearly illustrate the Burma junta’s policy to restrain, if necessary by force, all forms of political opposition and to restrict free practice of recognised fundamental universal liberties.
The FIDH strongly asks the Burmese authorities to guarantee Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi’s physical and psychological integrity and that of her other party members who are arbitrarily detained, and to immediately proceed in liberating them. The FIDH also demands that the numerous registered cases of forced disappearances come out into the open and that perpetrators of these grave human rights violations be judged and punished accordingly. Overall, the FIDH demands Burmese authorities to conform to the Human Rights Declaration propositions and to the main human rights international instruments.
Furthermore, the FIDH asks the UN general secretary, Mr Kofi Anan, to set up an international commission of investigation in charge of establishing facts and responsibilities in these events and to implement all the necessary measures to prevent the situation from further degrading.
Finally, the FIDH asks the international community to implement all necessary pressure, including economic pressure, on the Burmese junta, so that rule of law may exist in Burma and so that democratic principles are respected.
The FIDH is launching an on-line petition for the liberation of Aung San Suu Kyi and other Burmese political prisoners and for the creation of an international investigation commission by the UN secretary general.