About 300 protesters, all of them members of jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, led a march to Shwedagon pagoda to pray for her freedom.
They were heckled by government supported goons as the police looked on. Democracy looks distant in Burma as the military government extended Suu Kyi’s detention by one more year. The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate has spent more than 11 of the past 17 years in detention.
The protest was to mark 17th anniversary of the land slide victory of Suu Kyi’s party National League for Democracy in 1990. The military refused to endorse the results saying it wanted to draft a constitution. That has not happened till now.
Western countries have been calling for the restoration of democracy in Burma. The US had even moved a Security Council resolution in the UN [United Nations] , which was vetoed by Russia and China - both permanent members - on January 12 this year .
Both these countries have an axe to grind in Burma. Russia has offered to built a nuclear reactor for Burma. It has it’s eyes on Burmese natural resources. China has made significant investments in oil, natural gas and minerals in the country.
Debbie Stothard, of the campaign group Altsean-Burma said,
The regime is detaining Aung San Suu Kyi because they are afraid of her
The reason the army is wary of Aung San Suu Kyi is the hereditary popularity she enjoys. She is the daughter of Aung San, the hero of Burma’s fight for independence. He fought both the British and the Japanese to secure his country’s freedom from foreign rule. In July 1947, just six months before Burma’s independence, Aung San and six members of his provisional cabinet were gunned down on the orders of a political rival. The military has tried everything to erase him from public memory. Aung San’s name has been dropped from official speeches. His face has disappeared from Burmese bank notes. His grave has been closed to the public for years .
