2009 trespass incident
On 3 May 2009, an American man, identified as John William Yettaw, swam across Inya Lake to her house uninvited and was arrested when he made his return trip three days later.[55] He had attempted to make a similar trip two years earlier, but for unknown reasons was turned away.[56] It is unknown what his motives were. On 13 May, Suu Kyi was arrested for violating the terms of her house arrest because the swimmer, who pleaded exhaustion, was allowed to stay in her house for two days before he attempted the swim back. Suu Kyi was later taken to Insein Prison, where she could face up to five years confinement for the intrusion.[57] The trial of Suu Kyi and her two maids began on 18 May and a small number of protesters gathered outside.[58][59] Diplomats and journalists are barred from attending the trial; however, on one occasion, several diplomats from Russia, Thailand and Singapore and journalists were allowed to meet Suu Kyi.[60] The prosecution had originally planned to call 22 witnesses.[61] It also accused John Yettaw of embarrassing the country.[62] During the ongoing defence case, Suu Kyi said she was innocent. The defence was only allowed to call one witness (out of four), while the prosecution has been permitted to call 14 witnesses. The court rejected two character witnesses, NLD members Tin Oo and Win Tin and only permitted the defense to call a legal expert.[63] According to one unconfirmed report, the junta is planning to, once again, place her in detention, this time in a military base outside the city.[64] In a separate trial, Yettaw said he swam to Suu Kyi's house to warn her that her life was "in danger".[65] The national police chief later confirmed that Yettaw was the "main culprit" in the case filed against Suu Kyi.[66] According to aides, Suu Kyi spent her 64th birthday in jail sharing biryani rice and chocolate cake with her guards.[67]
Her arrest and subsequent trial received worldwide condemnation by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Security Council,[68] Western governments,[69] South Africa,[70] Japan[71] and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member.[72] The Burmese government strongly condemned the statement, as it created an "unsound tradition"[73] and criticised Thailand for meddling in its internal affairs.[74] The Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win was quoted in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar as saying that the incident "was trumped up to intensify international pressure on Burma by internal and external anti-government elements who do not wish to see the positive changes in those countries' policies toward Burma".[62] Ban responded to an international campaign[75] by flying to Burma to negotiate, but Than Shwe rejected all of his requests.[76]
On 11 August 2009 the trial concluded with Suu Kyi being sentenced to imprisonment for three years with hard labour. This sentence was commuted by the military rulers to further house arrest of eighteen months.[77] On 14 August, U.S. Senator Jim Webb visited Burma, visiting with junta leader Gen. Than Shwe and later with Suu Kyi. During the visit, Webb negotiated Yettaw's release and deportation from Burma.[78] Following the verdict of the trial, lawyers of Suu Kyi said, they would appeal against the 18-months sentence.[79] On 18 August, United States President Barack Obama asked the country's military leadership to set free all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.[80]
[edit] International support
There is widespread international support for Aung San Suu Kyi.
All over the world, many are in solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi and the Democracy Movement.
Aung San Suu Kyi has received vocal support from Western nations in Europe[81], Australia[81] and North[82] and South America, as well as India,[3] Israel,[83] Japan[84] and South Korea.[85] In December 2007, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously 400–0 to award Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal; the Senate concurred on 25 April 2008.[86] On 6 May 2008, President Bush signed legislation awarding Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal.[87] She is the first recipient in American history to receive the prize while imprisoned. Other non-American recipients of the medal include Sir Winston Churchill, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa.[82] More recently, there has been growing criticism of her detention by Burma's neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, particularly from Indonesia,[88] Thailand,[89] the Philippines[90][91] and Singapore.[92] At one point Malaysia warned Burma faced expulsion from ASEAN as a result of the detention of Suu Kyi.[93] Other nations including South Africa,[94] Bangladesh[95] and the Maldives[96] have also called for her release. The United Nations has urged the country to move towards inclusive national reconciliation, the restoration of democracy, and full respect for human rights.[97] In December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Burma and calling for Suu Kyi's release – 80 countries voting for the resolution, 25 against and 45 abstentions.[98] Other nations, such as China and Russia are less critical of the regime and prefer to cooperate only on economic matters.[99] Indonesia has urged China to push Burma for reforms.[100] However, Samak Sundaravej, former Prime Minister of Thailand, criticised the amount of support for Suu Kyi, saying that "Europe uses Aung San Suu Kyi as a tool. If it's not related to Aung San Suu Kyi, you can have deeper discussions with Myanmar."[101] U2 supported her on their 2009 U2 360° Tour by encouraging fans to wear masks with her likeness on them during the band's performance of the song "Walk On", which was originally written for her. In 2005, Irish singer songwriter Damian Rice released the single Unplayed Piano in support of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Vietnam, however, does not support calls by other ASEAN member states for Myanmar to free Aung San Suu Kyi, state media reported Friday, 14 August. 2009.[102] The state-run Viet Nam News said Vietnam had no criticism of Myanmar's decision Tuesday 11 August to place Suu Kyi under house arrest for the next 18 months, effectively barring her from elections scheduled for next year, 2010. "It is our view that the Aung San Suu Kyi trial is an internal affair of Myanmar," Vietnamese government spokesman Le Dung stated on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In contrast with other ASEAN member states, Dung said Vietnam has always supported Myanmar and hopes it will continue to implement the "roadmap to democracy" outlined by its government.[103]
