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Date : June 14, 2002.
BBC : Freedom
Test for Suu Kyi
DASSK has left Rangoon for the first time since her release from house arrest last month. She left her
house early on Friday morning to on a pilgrimage to the Buddhist shrine at Thamanya mountain, 320 kilometres
(200 miles) south-east of Rangoon. She left quietly without prior announcement, apparently to ensure that
she was not followed by crowds of supporters. The two-day excursion, to Karen state, is being seen as a
test of her freedom of movement after years under travel restrictions and house arrest. Aung San Suu Kyi
is a devout Buddhist, and she will meet a monk, U Viniya, at Thamanya mountain. She visited the monk in
1995, after she was released from an earlier period of detention. The visit was a private pilgrimage, and
she was accompanied by the NLD chairman Tin Oo and his wife.
Aung San Suu Kyi has said she wanted to resume talks with army leaders as soon as possible. But since her
release from her latest period of detention on 6 May, the generals have made no attempt to resume talks
with her.
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Date : June 13, 2002.
BBC : Burma
renews Suu Kyi isolation
Burma's military rulers have renewed their efforts to isolate the democracy leader just weeks after releasing
her from house arrest. Shortly after she was freed, Burma's deputy
intelligence chief, Brigadier General Kyaw Win told journalists that both sides trusted each other and a
new stage in the dialogue process would start soon - but that was more than four weeks ago.
Since her release DASSK has been visiting party offices and inspecting international aid projects.
It is these latter visits which worry the generals most. So far she has visited a UNICEF project and a hospital
in the capital Rangoon - the Muslim Free Hospital. Both times thousands of people gathered to glimpse her, according
to Rangoon residents. When she visited the hospital, the traffic was brought to a standstill. The opposition
leader is anxious to see more aid projects, and many international groups working in Burma have invited her
to visit their showcase projects. On Wednesday she was scheduled to visit a Japanese non-governmental organisation,
but the trip was cancelled by the government. Earlier the government also refused permission for the
opposition leader to visit UN programmes in government buildings. Opposition sources say visiting these
kinds of projects is an important part of the work of the NLD's central executive committee, as it prepares
a report on the need for humanitarian assistance. The generals certainly do not want her to be seen socially.
After DASSK attended a prominent wedding in Rangoon recently, the father of one of the couple -
a former ambassador and now a prominent businessman - had all his government contracts cancelled and his
mobile phone confiscated. The military government has warned other businessmen that there would be severe
repercussions if they have any contact with DASSK.
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Date : May 14, 2002.
BkkPost :
Re-entry ban not a problem ?
DASSK could work for her country from abroad if she were banned from Burma after visiting Norway,
senator Kraisak Choonhavan said yesterday. The chairman of the Senate foreign affairs committee
said he was not worried about a possible ban on her return to Burma. She had the necessary
network to work for improvements in her country from outside.
"I have confidence in her ability," senator Kraisak said after taking part in a seminar on Burma
organised by Thammasat University. Somchai Homla-or, secretary-general of Forum Asia, believed DASSK
should ensure her ability to return to Burma before going to Norway. Mr Somchai said SPDC should
strengthen Burmese ethnic minority groups to boost chances of national reconciliation in Burma. It should
also establish direct relations with DASSK and NLD without waiting for the Association of SouthEast Asian
Nations to forge a position, he said. Charnvit Kasetsiri, an historian, said Thammasat should test DASSK's
freedom of movement by renewing its invitation for her to come to Bangkok to receive an honorary degree in political science.
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Date : May 13, 2002.
VOA :
DASSK Calls For New Talks
DASSK has called for a new round of talks with SPDC. In an interview with VOA's Burmese Service, she said resuming
the talks and winning the release of more jailed opposition members are her two top priorities. She said all political
prisoners should be set free without conditions. An estimated 1,500 such prisoners are in Burma's prisons.
During her confinement, she had been engaged in on-again, off-again reconciliation talks with the military leadership.
Those talks have so far made little progress, other than to secure her freedom. The pro-democracy leader told VOA her position
on foreign economic sanctions against Burma has not changed.
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Date : May 10, 2002.
DVB :
Interview With DASSK [realaudio]
[Burmese]
"I continually ask for unity among them, that they
work together. No matter how many times I repeat it, it must be more
than mere words. Work together; if there is disagreement, try to find a
solution together by negotiating with each other. It is a democratic
spirit. If one is working for democracy, one must be able to practice
it. If someone is capable of doing things, others should help him so he
can do more. Please do not approach others who are capable of doing
things with jealousy. Please be united. Please be open-minded. When
democracy is restored in the country, everyone will enjoy the benefits."
- DASSK -
[ Top ]
Date : May 09, 2002.
NJ :
The opposition says Suu Kyi will soon visit countryside
Rangoon, Burma (AP) -- The opposition NLD said
Thursday that DASSK will soon visit party offices in the countryside, in the first
test of her political freedom since being released from house arrest this week. She
has not been allowed to travel to the countryside for political work in the last 13 years.
The NLD said in a statement that Suu Kyi "will be allowed
to freely conduct the political activities as the general secretary of the NLD and will visit NLD
organizational offices in the country soon." It echoed a government spokesman's comments
Monday that there will be no restrictions on Suu Kyi and she will be allowed to travel freely.
[ Top ]
Date : May 08, 2002.
BkkPost :
DASSK returned to office work
The leader of Burma's
democratic opposition returned to work yesterday, visiting
her party headquarters and meeting with diplomats. Speaking
to the press on Monday, she said there were no conditions
attached to her release and she was now free to travel where
she wished, although she had no immediate plans to leave Rangoon.
An NLD official said that the democracy leader will continue
visiting the headquarters "for the rest of the week,"
but observers said she would keep a low profile in order not
to provoke the military regime. "She will continue to
test the waters to see where she can go and what she can do,"
said one Rangoon-based diplomat.
Burma's currency rallied
from all-time lows and the price of gold, still considered
a safe haven in times of trouble, dropped by a quarter yesterday
after the release boosted sentiment. "Obviously it's
because of The Lady's release,'' a local businessman said.
News of the release trickled out to Burmese citizens gradually
yesterday, but the official press maintained its usual silence.
Those who were aware that Mrs Suu Kyi had been freed from
her second long stint under house arrest said they were cautiously
optimistic about the future, but most kept their thoughts
to themselves.
In contrast to the silence in Burma's
official media, there was a flood of reaction from leaders
across the world who hailed Mrs Suu Kyi's release as a step
towards democracy. However, the United States and the European
Union warned it was too soon to lift the heavy sanctions imposed
to punish Rangoon's ruling generals for human rights abuses
and tolerance of the narcotics trade.
[ Top ]
Date : May 07, 2002.
Local Mirror: SPDC Announcement
on May 6, 2002
Local Mirror: Media Release by AUS
Foreign Affairs Minister
Local Mirror: Statement by U.S.
President
Local Mirror: UNHCHR &
Special Rapporteur on Release of DASSK
Date : May 06, 2002.
ATTENTION: Business,
Political, International Editors
World's Most Prominent Political Prisoner [DASSK] Released
from House Arrest,
Free
Burma Coalition Urges International Supporters to Monitor
"Progress" Closely!
BBC : Aung
San Suu Kyi freed
The Long-awaited _Unconditional
Release_ of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
The burmese junta has eventually freed the
nation's pro-democracy leader DASSK today. Around 500
people, including the world media and her supporters, waiting
outside her house have witnessed the emergence of the lady
again after 19 month-long house arrest. A government spokesman
told the media that she was "at liberty to carry out
all activities, including her party's" from Monday. The
burmese junta also proclaimed today as "a day of national
unity that marks the start of a new page for the people of
Myanmar [Burma] and the international community "
While everybody is happy about the news,
many of the international community felt that they should
wait and see the follow-up activities before getting very
optimistic about the junta's move.
[ Top ]
Date : May 05, 2002.
iWon :
Burma to Release Dissident Monday
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - DASSK will
be released from 19 months of house arrest on Monday morning,
Burma's ambassador to Washington said on Sunday. Ambassador
Linn Myaing said he had been informed by the Burmese
government that "Suu Kyi is at liberty to carry out all
activities relating to her party as of May 6."
An official at DCI Group, a U.S. publicity
firm representing the military-ruled government in Washington,
said Burma would release the activist early on Monday morning
in Rangoon, and would hold a press conference at 10 a.m. local
time (11:30 p.m. Sunday). "Aung San Suu Kyi will be
released tomorrow morning. This is the government's statement
regarding that situation," a DCI Group spokesman said.
In a statement faxed to Reuters by DCI, the
government of Burma said it would continue to release detainees,
without mentioning 56-year-old Suu Kyi by name. "We
have released nearly 600 detainees in recent months and shall
continue to release those who will cause no harm to the community
nor threaten the existing peace, stability and unity of the
nation," the statement said.
[ Top ]
Date : May 04, 2002.
Telegraph :
11th-Hour delay as nation waits by Damein McElroy
in Rangoon
The tropical air hung heavy on the near-deserted
University Avenue in Rangoon last night where DASSK waited
for her release from nearly two years of house arrest. A steel
pole stretched across the street, blocking a mile of it off,
and grey-shirted military agents kept a wary watch on the
approach road, the monotony of their task occasionally broken
by expeditions to a nearby tea house.
In a minor concession, five NLD members were
released from prinson on Saturday. A close watch was maintained
at the key points of Rangoon's political map. At the other
end of the city's Inya Lake, and of Burma's political spectrum,
the lights were out at the compound of Ne Win. Despite a news
blackout, the city's residents are aware that change is in
the air, but hesitant to believe that it will come. A shopkeeper
on an evening stroll could only look up towards the entrance
to University Avenue. "I still can't go up there,"
he said. "Who knows, maybe it will be OK next week?"
[ Top ]
Date : May 03, 2002.
TheGuardian :
Burmese Junta may release DASSK today by Luke
Harding
Hope was rising last night that DASSK
was on the brink of signing an historic agreement with the
military junta to release her from house arrest in her lakeside
villa in Rangoon, where she has been confined for the
past 18 months. NLD chairman Tin Oo, said he was "optimistic"
that she would be released from house arrest soon, possibly
today. "We are expecting some definitely good news about
Aung San Suu Kyi in days," he said.
Speculation that Ms Suu Kyi's latest period
of confinement was about to end has been growing since it
emerged that she had been holding secret talks with the military
government. Yesterday she left her house for a rare meeting
with one of the three middle-aged generals who control Burma,
the intelligence chief Khin Nyunt. The junta has taken the
unprecedented step of inviting dozens of journalists to Burma,
a country which has shunned the outside world for most of
its history.
Earlier this week workmen were seen patching
the road leading to Ms Suu Kyi's villa: a clear hint, in a
land where information is scarce and the internet is banned,
that something was about to happen.
[ Top ]
Date : May 03, 2002.
Times :
Compact with junta reflects Buddhist view of change
by James Pringle
After taking a stance against the junta for
years, at great risk to herself, her family and her political
associates, it appears that DASSK will co-operate with
the generals in administering humanitarian work in areas such
as health and education. Reporter has interviewed DASSK
in September 1996 at her Uni Ave compound. DASSK said
that she took the Buddhist view that nothing was unchanging
in this world. With politics, you cannot see ahead more than
a few days. Look at the Soviet Union. Its collapse happened
so quickly and no one would have expected it. To think otherwise
is a lot of nonsense.
Analysts believe that DASSK will seek
to rejuvenate her long-suppressed NLD. In addition she will
seek the release of about 1,400 political prisoners. She is
likely to build bridges to the many minorities who have chafed
under ethnic Burmese rule and suffered grievously under the
bloody repression of the generals. DASSK will also
try to travel in Burma to meet some of the 50 million people.
[ Top ]
CNN :
Doubts cast over DASSK release by Tom
Mintier in Yangon
Speculation over the opposition leader's
possible release began last Friday after United Nations special
envoy Razali Ismail left the country following what
were seen as make-or-break talks with senior generals from
SPDC. During his visit he also met with Aung San Suu Kyi
herself in her heavily guarded home in Rangoon. Earlier this
week, Razali said to reporters in Malaysia, that he
expected "something big" to happen in the coming days. Although
he avoided details, many observers believed that meant DASSK
would soon be released from house detention. In Rangoon itself,
speculation was further heightened by reports of unusual activity
outside Aung San Suu Kyi's home, with city workers
cleaning up the area outside and filling in potholes in the
road.
[ Top ]
AP :
Close to deal, opposition said by Aye Aye Win
(AP)
Tin Oo told reporters that he met her on
Wednesday at her lakeside residence where she has been held
for the last 19 months. DASSK told him to inform the
media that "the developments will be seen within days." He
also said: "It is most feasible. It will come out with an
improvement within days." He did not elaborate.
[ Top ]
So far, DASSK's release had been rumored
since the visit last month of Razali Ismail. And SPDC
allowed dozens of foreign journalists into the country Thursday.
But even if DASSK is formally released, democracy is
unlikely to return to Burma overnight. Outside DASSK's
home a police barricade remained firmly in place Thursday
with no sign of it leaving any time soon. It remains to be
seen, however, if her forthcoming freedom is nothing more
than another ruse of the desperate triumvirate at the top
of the junta to deflect international criticism as it grapples
with inflation and tries to encourage foreign investors to
return.
Then again, browse more related
news up to date ....
[22/07/02] SMH
: Suu Kyi steps up pressure for dialogue
[19/07/02] VOA
: Burmese Democracy Leader Marks Martyrs' Day
[01/07/02] BBC
: Suu Kyi's tour a success
[22/06/02] Yahoo!
: Myanmar Opposition Leader Travels
[18/06/02] Irrawaddy
: Suu Kyi's Pilgrimage tests her freedom
[29/05/02] VOA
: DASSK Reveals Plan to Launch Newspaper in Burma
[24/05/02] BBC
: Burma's opposition lays claim to power
[24/05/02] AP-Yahoo!
: DASSK says party activities still restricted
[22/05/02] WvR
: DASSK Makes Visit To 'DawBon' Township Office
[18/05/02] CNN
: Suu Kyi impatient on talks with military
[17/05/02] FT.com
: In first test of freedom, Burmese Democracy leader visits office outside capital
[16/05/02] AP
: U.N. should seize momentum after DASSK's release to ....
[15/05/02] IndependentBangladesh
: Suu Kyi and the future
[12/05/02] Reuters
: DASSK wants immediate talk with Junta
[12/05/02] WVR
: DASSK no more speeches in front of home
[12/05/02] AP
: DASSK resumes party work since release
[12/05/02] Guardian
: One free in Burma, fifty million to go
[11/05/02] BkkPost
: Suu Kyi told to watch her back
[09/05/02] Time
: Suu Kyi sticks by her campaign for a tourism boycott
[08/05/02] BkkPost
: Thai PM : 'Positive start but junta must do more'
[07/05/02] NJ.Com
: DASSK enjoys second day of freedom, meets diplomats,
party workers
[07/05/02] TheStar
: Friends and foes of junta welcome release
[06/05/02] CNN
: Aung San Suu Kyi released [WAV
sound - 2.3Mb/ 3min. 38sec.]
[05/05/02] BBC
: Aung San Suu Kyi release 'imminent'
[05/05/02] CNN
: Official: Burma to free Nobel laureate Monday
[04/05/02] FT.com
: Burma's implacable idealist
[02/05/02]
"Breakthrough!", says Suu Kyi aide
[02/05/02]
"DASSK soon to be freed", oppoisition expects
[01/05/02]
Junta tight-lipped on DASSK release
[01/05/02]
SPDC silent on Suu Kyi as hopes for her release
[01/05/02]
DASSK optimistic
[01/05/02]
US welcomes release of DASSK
[01/05/02]
Thai supports dialogue
[01/05/02]
NCGUB welcomes & press release
[01/05/02]
Countdown begins DASSK freedom
Other WWW.Resources.Org
:: DASSK.Org
:: BurmaNet.Org
:: FreeBurma.Org
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