(New York) -- Human Rights Watch welcomed the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD), freed today from twenty months of de facto house arrest. Human Rights Watch called on the government of Burma to immediately take additional actions to restore basic human rights.
This is certainly a positive step, but the Burmese government should do more," said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director for Asia at Human Rights Watch. "Burma's leaders should release all political prisoners. They should also lift severe restrictions on free association, assembly and expression so that open political activity can resume. This would show they are committed to an irreversible process of reform."
The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) holds more than 1,000 political prisoners, including members of ethnic minority groups and 17 elected members of parliament.
Human Rights Watch also urged the SPDC to fully respect the unconditional terms of Aung San Suu Kyi's release, and called on the United Nations and foreign diplomats to carefully monitor implementation of the agreement leading to her release.
Aung San Suu Kyi was arbitrarily detained on September 22, 2000, when she and other NLD members tried to board a train to the northern city of Mandalay. She was forcibly returned to her compound , and a number of other NLD supporters were also detained and later released. In October 2000, the military government began secret talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, facilitated by the U.N. Secretary General's Special Envoy, former Malaysian ambassador Razali Ismail. Other than U.N. officials and some diplomats, few others from outside Burma have been allowed access to her. This past February, a delegation from the International Labor Organization, investigating forced labor in Burma, was prevented from meeting with her.
"The international community should increase both the pressure and opportunities for engagement and dialogue," said Jendrzejczyk. "Before any existing sanctions are lifted, Burma should implement key recommendations adopted unanimously by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva last week," he added.
The Commission passed a resolution calling on Burma, among other things, to release immediately and unconditionally those detained or imprisoned for political reasons; to end the practices of torture, forced labor and forced relocations; to fully respect freedoms of expression, association, movement and assembly, and the right to a fair trial; and to protect the rights of ethnic and religious minorities.
