The Nation's Hypocritical Editorial on Aung San Suu Kyi 's Trial

The Nation

As expected the internationally condemned trial of Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has ended with a guilty verdict and an 18-month sentence handed down to her for violating the terms of her previous house arrest. Suu Kyi will now have to remain under house arrest for a further 18 months, just long enough for her to be unable to take part in the general election set for next year.

While it is generally agreed the so-called democratisation process in Burma is a sham, Suu Kyi's participation would have lent a degree of legitimacy to the process.

Despite tilting the ground rules for the election absurdly on the side of the military junta, the generals still do not want her anywhere near the process. If anything, this illustrates the enormous fear these men in uniform have of this lady.

The sentence has naturally provoked anger in countries all around the world, including some Asean members who are fed up with Burma continually dragging the regional grouping into controversy.

The court at Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison sentenced Suu Kyi to a three-year jail term plus hard labour for breaching the terms of her house arrest following an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside residence in May.

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Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years, since Burma's ruling military junta refused to recognise her National League for Democracy's landslide victory in the election of 1990.

Burma's state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, has had the audacity to tell the world to keep out of it and also warned its own citizens not to cause trouble.


This editorial belongs in Not the Nation.

It is absolutely mind boggling when The Nation gets on the high horse concerning Burma when its editorial position for the last 4 years has been to favor the Burmese junta's tactics in Thailand.

Everything that The Nation condemns here has been right out of its own playbook.

Here is a short list of The Nation's editorial positions:

1) Justify coups to destroy their political enemies.
2) Use the courts to destroy political enemies. (Remember, fugitive Thaksin is on the run from a 2 year prison sentence because he signed his wife's land title documents, just as any husband would in any community property country.)
3) Disenfranchise most of the country and give power to the generals
4) Attack the foreign media for interfering and not agreeing with The Nation's editorial positions.