CHR, local groups see ‘partial victory’ in Suu Kyi’s release

Two days after the release of democracy icon and 1991 Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi by the government of Myanmar, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said they greeted the “partial victory" with “cautious joy." Suu Kyi, 65, has been incarcerated in Myanmar — formerly known as Burma — for the past seven and a half years. A military junta has ruled the nation since 1962, and Suu Kyi is one of the leaders in the region's struggle for democracy. “Hers is a fragile freedom clouded by myths. These myths arise from serious doubts over the genuineness of Burma’s recent elections… as well as on the military-led government’s commitment to human rights," said CHR chair Loretta Rosales. Myanmar, battered by poverty over the last few decades, has been isolated from much of the international community since the military took power. The junta has an abysmal human rights record, holding thousands of political prisoners and waging brutal military campaigns against ethnic minorities. “Suu Kyi and the peoples of Burma will not be completely free until… Suu Kyi and the opposition [are given] the opportunity to engage in fair political processes without the threat of incarceration or harm," Rosales said. The CHR also warned the Burmese government against subjecting members of the political opposition to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile. Fight not over Meanwhile, Renato Reyes Jr. of alliance group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said, “We join the world in welcoming the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. However, the fight against tyranny is by no means over." “The Burmese people are well within their rights to continue fighting for genuine freedom and democracy. Their resistance to the junta and its proxies should continue," he added. Reyes also argued that in the Philippines, the Aquino government should “make a similar move of releasing political prisoners, especially the Morong 43 and some 300 others who remain in detention after they were jailed by the Arroyo regime." Morong 43 refers to the health workers arrested last February 6 in Morong, Rizal, on suspicion that they were supporters and members of the communist group New People’s Army (NPA). All of them remain in detention, with 37 held in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig; five in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal; and one female member, who gave birth last July, confined to a room at the Philippine General Hospital. Positive step President Benigno Aquino III has openly welcomed the release of Suu Kyi, describing it as “a positive step in the direction towards democracy." However, Aquino too has noted that Myanmar’s struggle is far from over. “Other political prisoners have not been freed and the recently concluded elections [have] not been viewed as credible," he said. Suu Kyi’s release came mere days after an election overwhelmingly won by the ruling junta's proxy political party. Other nations have criticized the elections as a sham designed to perpetuate authoritarian control, with observers questioning whether Suu Kyi’s release was timed to distract the world's attention from the Nov. 7 polls, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP). Suu Kyi said her political party would help probe allegations of voting fraud, according to the same AP report. Long overdue release Another local group, human rights watchdog Karapatan, also issued a statement regarding the developments in the longstanding case of Suu Kyi. “Karapatan welcomes the long overdue release of Aung San Suu Kyi. Now, national leaders such as Noynoy Aquino who lauded her release should walk their talk and make a genuine step towards the right direction by releasing political prisoners in the Philippines," said Cristina Palabay, coordinator of the Tanggol Bayi-Karapatan. If Aquino does not immediately release the Morong 43 and other political prisoners, “it’s just another hypocritical statement by a President who wants to look good but who has rarely done what is right in his first six months in office," Palabay said. Administration officials have been silent as to whether the detainees will be released soon. (See: Malacañang: No timetable for Morong 43’s release.) Other members of Aquino’s cabinet, as well as the Communist Party of the Philippines, have also called the release of Suu Kyi a “momentous development" and a “landmark victory." (See: Release other political prisoners, PHL urges Myanmar.) - KBK, GMANews.TV