28.5.2008
By Leel Pathirana
Despite
the heavy devastation caused by the recent Cyclone Nargis,
which hit the country from top to bottom and left 134,000
people dead or missing, Myanmar's Military junta leaders
yesterday extended yet by another year, the house arrest
of the opposition leader, Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi.Aung San Suu Kyi has spent more than 12 of the
last 18 years in detention.
This
act was condemned by the Western nations who promised
millions of dollars in aid after people killed by the
cyclone.
The
officials of the junta drove to Suu Kyi’s lakeside
house in Yangon and read the one year extension of the
house arrest, despite the strong resistance by her supporters
who gathered outside her compound. However, a Yangon-based
diplomat said the extension of the house arrest was for
a year. Normally House arrest extension used to be renewed
annually.
Most
political analysts earlier expected Suu Kyi to be released.
The extension of the house arrest is a timely reminder
of the ruling military's refusal to make any concessions
on the domestic political front, despite its grudging
acceptance of foreign help after the May 2 cyclone.
The
62-year-old Suu Kyi, who’s the leader of the National
League for Democracy (NLD) won the landslide victory during
the parliamentary election held on 1990, but the junta
refused to hand over her the power. She has spent more
than 12 of the last 18 years in detention.
In
Colombo, yesterday May 27, Myanmar Student Buddhists Monks
led a protest in front of the Myanmar Embassy, holding
the portrait of their jailed independent leader Aung San
Suu Kyi and her late father Gen. Aung San, who led the
country’s Independence and urged the military Junta
to accept the international aid for cyclone victims and
release all political prisoners immediately.
Courtesy - Asian Tribune