Buddhist monks around the world chanted prayers to mark the 61st birthday of detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday while pro-democracy activists protested her house arrest.
The military junta, that took control of Burma in 1988, changed the name of the country, Burma, to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989. It also changed the capital's name from Rangoon to Yangon.
In 1990, the military junta refused to hand over power after Aung San Suu Kyi's party landslide victory.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most the the past 17 years under house arrest for the unpardonable sin of winning a landslide victory over Burma’s military junta in a 1990 election.
On May 27, 2006, Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest was extended for another year.
Aung San Suu Kyi is in fragile health and has been hospitalized twice since she was re-arrested in 2003. In early June 2006, Aung San Suu Kyi was admitted to a hospital for health reasons. After she was released from the hospital, a senior U.N. official was allowed a rare visit to her home.
We can only hope that the military junta will release Aung San Suu Kyi and allow democracy to florish in Burma.
Technorati tags: Burma ... Aung San Suu Kyi ... Thailand ... Military Junta ... Myanmar ... Pro-Democracy Activism ... Dictatorship ... Military Dictatorship
Monday, June 19, 2006
Quiet prayers, protests as Aung San Suu Kyi turns 61
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1 comment:
This angers me to no end. There is no hoping for reason. These are fundamentalists! Has the whole world gone mad?
I do, however, pray for Aung. She is one heck of a lady.
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