05/12/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09879

AUNG SAN SUU KYI RELEASED AGAIN

Burma's military regime has freed Aung San Suu Kyi after nineteen months of house arrest. Observers hope this indicates that the Burmese military regime is serious about working with Aung San Suu Kyi and the democratic opposition on a return to civilian rule. It is only a first step, however.

Thousands of Burmese democracy activists have been imprisoned since the 1990 general elections, when the people of Burma voted overwhelmingly for an end to military rule. Last year, about two-hundred political prisoners were released. But more than one-thousand-five hundred prisoners of conscience remain in detention, including some twenty members of the parliament elected in 1990.

Freedom of speech, the press, and association are severely restricted in Burma. Serious human rights abuses by the military regime, including arbitrary imprisonment, torture, rape, and forced labor, continue. The Burmese regime publicly stated that Aung San Suu Kyi will enjoy full freedom of movement and can engage in normal political activity. The U.S. and other nations will be closely watching to see if the regime lives up to this commitment.

Speaking to cheering crowds of supporters, Aung San Suu Kyi said that her release and the talks she has had with Burma's military regime signal "a new dawn for the country." She said, "the next step is discussions about policy."

Those discussions are much needed. Burma's economy is stagnating. Corruption, large-scale narcotics trafficking, and other abuses are rampant. Censorship and repression stifle the academic, religious, and social life of the people. And the people of Burma are denied the right to change their government.

The release of Aung San Suu Kyi should be followed, and soon, by the release of other political prisoners, and by an end to repression. As Aung San Suu Kyi put it, "we only hope the dawn will move forward very quickly into full morning."