After spending 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was released Saturday to a cheering crowd. Suu Kyi has been advocating publicly for years against the current rule of Myanmar's military junta, which is accused of numerous human rights violations. Her release this weekend was unconditional, but she has been released before only to be re-arrested shortly after. Suu Kyi has already resumed her advocacy for change in the government of Myanmar.
Suu Kyi tells supporters to work with her for change
Her release comes the same weekend that Myanmar held its first elections in 20 years. Many speculated that Suu Kyi would be held under arrest until after the elections in order to prevent her from running in them. The elections have been widely criticized as a facade of democracy designed to maintain the ruling military junta's legitimacy. In fact, fighting broke out this weekend in a Myanmar town bordering Thailand after the military there was accused of forcing citizens who were boycotting the elections to vote at gunpoint. Over 10,000 people fleed the fighting by crossing the border into Thailand. Opposition parties, many of which boycotted the elections, were limited as to which candidates they could enter into the elections, and the junta did not allow international observers to follow the elections. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon denounced the voting conditions.
Elections bring suspicion, violence to Myanmar
Despite its reputation for corruption and human rights violations, the leader of Myanmar's military junta was welcomed by the Indian government in July. India and many other neighbors of Myanmar have positive diplomatic relations with the country, but are being pressured by the UN and others to pressure the junta to change its ways.
India gives red carpet welcome to Myanmar's military junta leader
What are your thoughts on this? Are Myanmar's neighbors wrong for not pushing harder to change the internal politics of the nation? What do you think can be done to prevent countries like Myanmar from using elections as as front to continue dominance of the ruling party?
One more interesting note: below is an article where Bono of U2 talks about Suu Kyi's release this weekend. From a critical theory perspective, I was struck by the way that the Asian Nobel laureate was not allowed to speak for herself at all in the article, but that a popular white Western European spoke for her. The article is basically about Bono's support of her, while it gives hardly any mention to what Suu Kyi has actually been working for. I was a little disgusted by the way Bono's thoughts on the matter completely eclipsed those of Suu Kyi herself or any substantive details about her struggle.
Look how great Bono is
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