Myanmar´s military junta condemns Aung San Suu Kyi to 18 more months of house arrest

In Myanmar, also known as Burma, the military junta sentenced democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 18 more months of house arrest.

Suu Kyi has been in detention for 13 of the past 20 years. Her latest trial began in May after an uninvited American activist swam more than a mile across a lake to Suu Kyi´s heavily guarded home in Rangoon.  The junta said because of the incident, Suu Kyi violated the terms of her house arrest.

Western governments and human rights groups harshly criticized the trial and today´s decision.  Amnesty International called it a “shameful” sentence and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the release of Suu Kyi, the American John Yettaw and more than 2,000 political prisoners.

Lawyers for Suu Kyi filed a petition with the United Nations today, saying her continued detention is a violation of international law.  To learn more about the human rights situation in Burma and the politics behind Suu Kyi´s verdict, FSRN contacted Aung Zaw.  Mr Zaw is a Burmese journalist living in exile in Thailand, where he edits the news website Irawaddi.  He spoke to us about the reaction in Myanmar.