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Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Release Arou



Subject: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Release Around the World

Attn: Burma Newsreaders
Re: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Release around the world
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Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi released

    (Changes dateline, adds background) 

    RANGOON, July 10 (Reuter) - Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi was
released from house arrest on Monday after nearly six years in detention, a
military spokesman told foreign correspondents. 

    Another official confirmed the news by telephone and said she was
released at 4:00 p.m. local (1130 GMT). 

    ``Suu Kyi is free today at 4.00 p.m. (1130 GMT),'' he told a Bangkok
Reuter correspondent by telephone. He could not give further details. 

    The Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Nobel Peace
Prize-winner was released unconditionally. 

    The ministry said the Burmese government had told the Japanese Embassy in
Rangoon that Aung San Suu Kyi had requested to be kept under guard for the
time being. It did not give a reason why. 

    Aung San Suu Kyi, 50, was placed under house arrest on July 20, 1989, for
``endangering the state.'' She had never been charged or tried. 

    Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, was
detained for her outspoken attacks on the military, which killed and
imprisoned thousands while supressing pro-democracy uprisings in 1988. 

    On Friday, Burma's most powerful general, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt,
hinted that the dissident would not be released any time soon, telling a
Rangoon meeting the rights of Burma's 45 million people had to come before
the rights of ``any single person.'' 

    Rangoon-based diplomats, who had expected the military government to once
again extend Aung San Suu Kyi's detention, were shocked by the unexpected
release. 

    ``It's a surprise, but they like surprising us,'' a diplomat said.
``Friday's speech suggested that they were building for a further extension
of her detention.'' 

REUTER
******************

Amnesty delighted at Burmese dissident release

   (Updates with Amnesty statement) 

    LONDON, July 10 (Reuter) - Amnesty International on Monday welcomed the
release of Burma's top dissident Aung San Suu Kyi but said it hoped no
strings were attached and that other human rights improvements would soon
follow. 

    ``We are pleased that after six years of worldwide campaigning, Aung San
Suu Kyi is finally free,'' the London-based human rights group said in a
statement. 

    ``We hope that no conditions are placed on her freedom, and that she is
allowed to participate fully in her country's political process,'' it said.
``We also hope that this decision marks the beginning of a new policy to
fundamentally improve Myanmar's human rights record.'' 

    Amnesty has campaigned on behalf of Suu Kyi -- the 50-year-old leader of
Burma's main opposition party -- ever since she was detained in 1989 under an
anti-subversion law. 

    She had never been charged or tried, the group said. 

    While welcoming the move, Amnesty said it was taking the opportunity of
Suu Kyi's release to renew its call on the Burmese authorities to free 40
other prisoners of conscience. 

    The rights group said it was also concerned about 20 members of
parliament-elect who, instead of taking office after the 1990 elections, were
thrown in jail. 

    ``The human rights situation in Myanmar (Burma) remains desperate,'' said
Amnesty. 

REUTER
************************

Pakistan Greets Burmese Dissident's Release

      ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuter) - Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's
government welcomed the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung Sung Suu
Kyi on Monday and said it would help further democracy in the region. 

    ``We would certainly welcome this, particularly if it is unconditional,
as it seems to be,'' a Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters. 

    ``It will help further democracy in the region and the process of
reconciliation in Myanmar (Burma),'' he said. 

REUTER
*********************

Indian Friends Welcome Burmese Dissident's Release

      NEW DELHI, July 10 (Reuter) - Indian supporters of Burmese dissident
leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday welcomed her release from house arrest by
military rulers after six years in detention. 

    The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, whose mother was a Burmese
ambassador to India in the 1960s, has devoted admirers in New Delhi, where
she went to school and took a university degree. 

    ``We hope this paves the way for establishment of proper free democracy
in Burma,'' said Jaya Jaitley, a leader of the socialist Samata Party and an
activist for Friends of Burma, which is leading a campaign for democracy in
the nation. 

    ``This is only the first step,'' Jaitley, a schoolmate of Aung San Suu
Kyi, told Reuters. 

    India shares a border with Burma. Friends of Burma activists say there
are several thousand Burmese refugees in the states of Nagaland, Manipur and
Mizoram. 

    Jaitley said Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom might still be affected despite
the unconditional release because of her democratic inclinations. ``The laws
as we see it are not the laws of a democratic state,'' she said of Burma. 

    India's relations with Burma were crucial because of the increasing
Chinese presence in that country, Jaitley said. 

    Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India's first prime minister, whose
daughter and grandson followed him into power, was a close friend of the
family of General Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi's father and Burmese nationalist
leader. 

    There was no immediate comment from the Indian Foreign Ministry on her
release. 

REUTER
*******************

India Hails Burmese Dissident's Release

   (Updates with official reaction) 

    NEW DELHI, July 10 (Reuter) - India welcomed on Monday the release of
Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi by military rulers after six years
in detention. 

    India's foreign ministry said Suu Kyi shared the values of its own past
national leaders including Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. India hoped
the release would herald an era of national reconciliation, freedom and
democracy. 

    ``India notes with a feeling of great satisfaction the step taken by the
(Burmese) State Law and Order Restoration Council,'' the Foreign Ministry
said in a statement. 

    The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, whose mother was a Burmese
ambassador to India in the 1960s, has devoted admirers in New Delhi, where
she went to school and university. 

    ``We hope this paves the way for establishment of proper free democracy
in Burma,'' said Jaya Jaitley, a leader of the socialist Samata Party and an
activist for Friends of Burma, which is leading a campaign for democracy. 

    ``This is only the first step,'' Jaitley, a schoolmate of Aung San Suu
Kyi, told Reuters. 

    India shares a border with Burma. Friends of Burma activists say there
are several thousand Burmese refugees in the states of Nagaland, Manipur and
Mizoram. 

    Jaitley said Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom might still be endangered. ``The
laws as we see it are not the laws of a democratic state,'' she said of
Burma. 

   Nehru, independent India's first prime minister, whose daughter and
grandson followed him into power, was a close friend of the family of General
Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi's father and a Burmese nationalist leader. 

REUTER
*********************

Richardson Welcomes Suu Kyi Release as "First Step"

      WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuter) - A U.S. congressman who was the first
foreigner to visit detained Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on
Mondoy he was surprised and pleased at her release. 

    ``I am enourmously pleased and surprised by her release. When I went to
Burma two weeks ago every expectation was that she would be detained
indefinitely,'' New Mexico Democrat Bill Richardson told Reuters. 

    Richardson, who visited Suu Kyi in February last year but was denied
access last month, said the move was a step in the right direction and
deserved credit but he hoped it would lead to more measures towards democracy
in Burma. 

    ``I think the significance is that Aung San Suu Kyi can now take her
rightful role as the leader of the pro-democracy movement in Burma, since she
was released unconditionally,'' he said. 

    Richardson said he believed U.S. and international pressure helped
persuade Burmese authorities to free Suu Kyi ``but also I think credit needs
to go to the Burmese government for taking this step.'' 

    He said the United States in the future should seek to engage rather than
isolate Burma but Burma must take steps including allowing the International
Red Cross to inspect prisons and releasing thousands of other political
prisoners. 

    ``This is a welcome first step,'' he said.

********************

Japan Welcomes Suu Kyi Release in Burma

      TOKYO, July 10 (Reuter) - The Japanese government said on Monday it
welcomed the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as an
important step forward in human rights and democracy in Burma. 

    ``We welcome her release as important progress towards the
democratisation of Burma and the improvement of its human-rights situation,''
Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said in a statement. 

    ``We expect the Burmese government to take still more positive steps
towards improving human rights and realising democracy,'' Kono said. 

    Aung San Suu Kyi, 50, was released on Monday having been under house
arrest since July 20, 1989, for ``endangering the state.'' She had never been
charged or tried. 

    The Japanese Foreign Ministry noted in its statement that the Nobel Peace
Prize-winner was released unconditionally. 

    Kono said he valued highly the fact the Burmese government had responded
to international calls to release her. 

REUTER
***************

U.S. Welcomes Release of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi

      WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuter) - President Bill Clinton on Monday
welcomed the release of Burmese Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
after almost six years under house arrest. 

    The White House said in a statement that Clinton was gratified by the
release and hoped she would be able to participate freely in political
reconciliation in Burma leading to the installation of a
democratically-elected government. 

    But it said that ``even while welcoming her release, President Clinton
expressed concern about a number of serious and unresolved human rights
problems in Burma.'' 

    It cited the continued detention of other political prisoners, the
failure to allow the International Red Cross to visit prisoners and
continuing military campaigns against ethnic minorities. 

    The State Department said it hoped Aung San Suu Kyi's release signalled
``the Burmese government's commitment to free all political prisoners and
engage in a genuine political dialogue with all political forces in Burma.'' 

    Before improving ties with Rangoon, Washington wanted to be sure there
was ``a genuine effort to try to improve the political situation in Burma,
and to permit a much greater measure of political expression,'' spokesman
Nicholas Burns said. 

    ``We're just not quite sure of any strings that might be attached to this
particular release or if in fact there are some conditions that may been
applied to her actions after having been released,'' Burns told a news
briefing. 

    ``I think it's important we hear from her and we satisfy ourselves
through our embassy in Rangoon to the specifics of this particular case.'' 

    A U.S. congressman who was the first foreigner to visit Aung San Suu Kyi
during her detention said on Monday he was surprised and pleased by her
release. 

    ``I am enormously pleased and surprised by her release. When I went to
Burma two weeks ago every expectation was that she would be detained
indefinitely,'' New Mexico Democrat Bill Richardson told Reuters. 

    Richardson, who visited Aung San Suu Kyi in February last year but was
denied access last month, said the move was a step in the right direction and
deserved credit. He said he hoped it would lead to more steps towards
democracy in Burma. 

    ``I think the significance is that Aung San Suu Kyi can now take her
rightful role as the leader of the pro-democracy movement in Burma since she
was released unconditionally,'' he said. 

    In the Senate, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also welcomed her
release but said it would not alter his plans to offer sanctions legislation
on Tuesday. 

    ``In my view, it is more important than ever to keep the pressure on the
SLORC regime to fully implement the 1990 election results,'' McConnell said
in a statement, referring to Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC). 

    The 1990 elections were won by the main opposition party but the military
rulers refused to hand over power. 

    Richardson said the United States in future should seek to engage rather
than isolate Burma, but Rangoon must take steps including allowing
International Red Cross prison visits and releasing thousands of other
political prisoners. 

    ``This is a welcome first step,'' he said. 

REUTER
*******************

Italy urges Burma to free all political prisoners

      ROME, July 10 (Reuter) - Italy said it hoped Burmese opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, freed on Monday after nearly six years of house arrest,
could resume her political activity and called on Burma to release all such
prisoners. 

    The Foreign Ministry said in a statement it hoped Aung San Suu Kyi
``would be allowed, respecting the free will shown by the Burmese people in
the May 1990 elections, to return to involvement in political activity.'' 

    ``The hope is that this gesture of great importance and symbolic value by
the authorities in Rangoon leads to a concrete improvement in the whole area
of human rights and fundamental liberties, the main one being the freeing of
all political prisoners,'' the statement said. 

    Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, was
detained for her outspoken attacks on the military, which killed and
imprisoned thousands while suppressing pro-democracy uprisings in 1988. 

    Her National League for Democracy party swept elections in 1990, taking
392 of 485 contested seats. 

REUTER
*****************

France Welcomes Release of Burmese Dissident

      PARIS, July 10 (Reuter) - France welcomed on Monday the release from
house arrest of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and said the move
seemed to indicate the country's rulers intended to move towards democracy. 

    ``The French government learned with the greatest pleasure of the
release,'' a foreign ministry spokesman said. 

    ``This decision opens the way for a resumption of a (French) dialogue
with Burma and seems to demonstrate the will of the Burmese authorities to
engage their country as soon as possible on the road to democracy and
integration into ASEAN,'' the spokesman said. 

REUTER
*********************

Aquino in Philippines Hails Suu Kyi's Release

      MANILA, July 10 (Reuter) - Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino
hailed the release of Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday and
hoped the Nobel Prize peace laureate would be able to restore freedom to
Burma. 

    ``I am truly happy for her and her people and I am glad that her years of
suffering have finally come to an end,'' Aquino said in a statement. 

    ``Hopefully, she will be able to work with her people in bringing about
the freedoms that she has been fighting for,'' Aquino said. 

    Aquino said she hoped to meet Aung San Suu Kyi ``in the very near
future.'' 

    Aquino played a key role in restoring democracy in the Philippines by
inspiring a popular and largely bloodless revolt that led to the ouster of
the late president Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. 

    Although the two women have never met, they developed a long distance
friendship through Aquino's communication with Aung San Suu Kyi's British
husband, an Aquino spokesman said. 

    Aquino twice read a speech for Aung San Suu Kyi in international meetings
on democracy last year, one in Manila in 1994 and another in Seoul. 

    During her six-year presidency, Aquino wrote to the Burmese government
asking it to allow Aung San Suu Kyi's husband and sons to visit the jailed
dissident leader for humanitarian reasons. 

    After she stepped down from office in 1992, Aquino again wrote the
Rangoon government requesting permission to visit her. She received no reply.
*********************

Nobel Panel Welcomes Release of Laureate Suu Kyi

      OSLO, July 10 (Reuter) - The committee that awarded the 1991 Nobel
Peace Prize to Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed her
unconditional release from house arrest on Monday, saying it was long
overdue. 

    ``I am very happy. This is one of the awards which we have followed very
closely,'' Francis Sejersted, chairman of Norway's secretive five-member
Nobel Committee, told Reuters. 

    Asked whether the prestigious Nobel award had helped Suu Kyi, he said:
``I like to think that it has helped somewhat.'' 

    Aung San Suu Kyi, 50, was placed under house arrest on July 20, 1989,
under a l975 anti-subversion law. 

    ``We have waited some years for this to happen. The regime has clearly
been under pressure recently,'' Sejersted said. 

    Sejersted said Suu Kyi would probably be invited to Oslo to finally give
her Nobel lecture, but that he had not yet been able to discuss this with the
rest of the committee. 

    ``I cannot say more about what we are going to do,'' he added. 

    The Nobel Committee awarded Suu Kyi the Peace Prize for her non-violent
struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma and her courage in standing
up to ``a regime characterised by brutality.'' 

    The prize -- a gold medal, a diploma and a cheque for about $1 million --
was received on December 10, 1991 on Suu Kyi's behalf by her two sons and
husband Michael Aris. 

REUTER
*****************

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