Arakanese democracy activists demand release of Aung San Suu Kyi

Sources: Narinjara News

The International Burmese Monks Organization along with Bangladeshi people demonstrated against the junta in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, a town close to the Burma border. The Rakhine Women’s Union in capital Dhaka also demonstrated demanding the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

“It is unfair to arrest Daw Aung San Suu Kyi because of sheltering an American who swam across to her house. This happened because of their (junta’s) own security lapse. She is innocent and the junta must free her,” said Ashin Khaemida, an organizer of the demonstration from the International All Burmese Monks Organization.

Burma’s Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi along with her two house-helps are detained in Yangon’s Insein prison since last Thursday on charges of sheltering an American citizen who swam to her lakeside residence.

“The junta has arrested Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on concocted charges to isolate her from the Burma’s democracy movement. She is a big threat to the junta’s ensuing 2010 general election designed to legitimize and entrench military rule in Burma,” said Saw Mra Raza Lin, Chairperson of the Rakhine Women’s Union.

The demonstrators in their statement requested neighbouring countries especially China and India to pressurize the Burmese junta to free Aung San Suu Kyi and help Burma transform to a real democratic state.

The demonstrators shouted slogans calling for the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.

The junta began a closed-door trail of Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday in the notorious Insein prison on charges of breaching her house-arrest terms amid protests from international governments and communities.