injustice prevails in myanmar: suu kyi convicted.

after multiple trial delays and months of growing protests and opposition, the Myanmar junta has finally delivered their long-expected verdict: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, democracy rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been convicted of breaching the terms of her house arrest and has been sentenced to an additional 18 months of detainment.

how shocking.

Check out these links: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has demanded the unconditional release of Daw Suu Kyi; and, U2'S Bono announces Daw Suu Kyi as Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience 2009. I am currently drafting an amendment to Pennsylvania Representative Babette Josephs' (D-182) HR420, adding for the imposition of economic sanctions against Myanmar until such time as Daw Suu Kyi, John William Yettaw, and other political prisoners are released.

the junta attempted to seem compassionate and forgiving by reducing their original sentence of three years to the year-and-a-half confinement, which is significantly less than the maximum five-year prison sentence that Daw Suu Kyi faced throughout the trial. they gave various reasons for the easement, including Daw Suu Kyi's famous, beloved father; the military's fear of anger and instability as it prepares for next year's democratic elections; and, a desire to prevent further division among Myanmar's citizens.

but it's all just propaganda. Daw Suu Kyi has been detained, on and off, since 1989. though her political democratic party won Myanmar's general election in 1990, making Daw Suu Kyi the rightful Prime Minister-elect, the junta refused to hand over power and nullified the election results. now, after Daw Suu Kyi's unjustified arrest and resulting trumped-up show trial, her confinement has been extended once again... and will effectively keep Daw Suu Kyi from next year's general election if she is to serve the full 18 months.

not that such a blatantly unjustified sentence would even been necessary, since the junta has already stated that citizens who bore children with foreigners are ineligible for election. (Daw Suu Kyi married a British man and has two sons with him; she would be kept from next year's elections anyway.) well obviously, when you have a government so uniformly corrupt with absolute stupidity, you wouldn't want to taint it with new, foreign, or legitimate perspectives. seriously?

the junta has recognized the power of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi--her quiet composure, grace, firm conviction, and call for peace. they think by locking her up, they will keep her supporters down. what they have done instead, however, is incite the global community and drawn attention to their own unjust governing practices. U2's Bono said it best, "Her crime is that if she were to participate in elections, she'd win." the junta has revealed their own overwhelming fears; let their verdict be a rallying cry for all people who value democracy, free opinion, and the power of voice.

Daw Suu Kyi's US-based lawyer said, "The outcome of this trial has never been in doubt," Genser said. "The real question is how the international community will react. Will it do more than simply condemn this latest injustice?"

take action now. Visit Amnesty International to petition for the release of Myanmar's prisoners of conscience. it takes no more than five minutes; you can either use the basic email template provided or add your own personal message. take five minutes, to end a decades-long, unjust confinement of an incredible woman... and the mistreatment of all Myanmar's prisoners of conscience.