EU/Myanmar

The spokesper­son of Cather­ine Ash­ton, High Rep­re­sen­ta­tive of the Union for For­eign Affairs and Secu­ri­ty Pol­i­cy and Vice Pres­i­dent of the Com­mis­sion, issued the fol­low­ing state­ment today “The High rep­re­sen­ta­tive deplores the deci­sion of the Supreme Court to reject the appeal of Aung San Suu Kyi against the unjust sen­tence imposed last year.
This dam­ages prospects for an inclu­sive polit­i­cal dia­logue between the Gov­ern­ment and oppo­si­tion par­ties that is urgent­ly need­ed to achieve progress in nation­al rec­on­cil­i­a­tion and secure long-term sta­bil­i­ty. In the per­spec­tive of the planned elec­tions lat­er this year, the High Rep­re­sen­ta­tive calls on the author­i­ties to heed the appeals of the Inter­na­tion­al Com­mu­ni­ty to allow her and all oth­er pris­on­ers of con­science to par­tic­i­pate in the polit­i­cal process.
The author­i­ties still have a chance to change course through the legal pos­si­bil­i­ty of a final appeal. The High Rep­re­sen­ta­tive now makes a strong plea to them to grasp that oppor­tu­ni­ty in the inter­est of the future of their coun­try and its people.”

Back­ground: The high­est court in Bur­ma dis­missed Aung San Suu Kyi’s lastest bid for free­dom today, turn­ing down an appeal to end 14 years of House of arrest. The Supreme Court s deci­sion could be expect­ed since legal rul­ings in Bur­ma, which is ruled by the mil­i­tary, rarely favor oppo­si­tion activists. Defence lawyer Nyan­Win said he would launch one final spe­cial appeal before the court after deter­min­ing why the ear­li­er appeal had been reject­ed, with­out giv­ing any rea­sons. The jun­ta has announced it would hold elec­tions some time this years under a con­sti­tu­tion that would allow the mil­i­tary to main­tain sub­stan­tial pow­er; Ms Suu Kyi’s par­ty has not announced whether it would con­test the elections. 

Source:
Euro­pean Union