This decision is not surprising and shows the junta’s embarrassment regarding this trial. Despite the fact that the court was showing a real eagerness at the opening of the trial in May 18, the judicial proceedings have been postponed several times.
The junta’s indecision to announce the verdict of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, should be analysed within the scale of the international outcry. If some countries have strongly denounced this political trial against the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), ASEAN is clearly starting to take some distance from its member. The failure of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s visit to Burma at the beginning of July has seriously hampered the handling of the Burmese issue at the United Nations. The UN Secretary-General was not even able to meet the Nobel Peace Prize despite his constant request.
In the meanwhile, the Burmese junta has to face the issue of national mobilization. Some sources indicate that the authorities fear a massive reaction from the Burmese population regarding Aung San Suu Kyi’s conviction. Security has been reinforced in Rangoon, with the arrival of additional troops to join the local security forces. Burma’s tightly controlled state media have warned people not to organise protests as a response to the verdict and according to the National League for Democracy, last night more than 25 activists were arrested in several quarters in Rangoon.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Info-Birmanie and the French Human Rights League ( Ligue des droits de l’homme - LDH) expressed their outrage regarding Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial and call for her immediate and unconditional release, together with all political prisoners in Burma. Moreover, FIDH, LDH and Info-Birmanie urge the Burmese junta to put an end to attacks against ethnic minorities and initiate a national reconciliation process leading to a real democracy in the country.