Investments

For Immediate Release
Contact: Free Burma Coalition, (202) 547-5985

Bank Of America Investment WASHINGTON (May 5, 2002) -- Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi was released today from a 19-month house arrest. Known for her fiery charisma and Gandhi-like essays on nonviolence and active resistance, Aung San Suu Kyi was the only Nobel Peace Prize recipient in the world under long-term house arrest.

Although Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy power was never handed over. A result of 1988 protests, Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest. Those protests ended in thousands' killed, with the media's attention on the country unlike ever before, it cannot be guaranteed this latest round won't deteriorate in the same way.

Investment Opportunity The U.S.-based Free Burma Coalition welcomes the news of the release, and while the Coalition is cautiously optimistic about the latest development(s), it urges activists and governments around the world to continue monitoring the country's human rights situation and political progress.

In 1991, the Nobel Committee awarded its Prize for Peace to Aung San Suu Kyi, a peaceful protester for democracy and human rights in Myanmar, then called Burma. For those actions, she was kept under house arrest for six years ( 1995). She was still in isolation when she received the Nobel Prize.

Banc Of America Investment ''Free Burma Coalition is pleased by the release news. We sincerely hope this is the first genuine step (by the Burmese generals) towards national reconciliation and nation-building,'' said Dr. Zar Ni, a Burmese political exile and founding director of the Coalition.

For those following the situation in Burma who would like to support the protesters in some way, Burma is ruled by one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world. -imprisoning elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and democracy activists, wiping out thousands of villages, imposing forced labour,

Banking Investment Aung Din, a prominent student leader in Burma's 1988 popular uprising who was tortured and jailed by the regime for 5 years, stresses, ''There are currently about 2,000 pro-democracy activists behind bars (in Burma). Some are aging and some are ailing. The international community must call on the regime to release these political prisoners as well.''

World media attention ensured that the charges were dropped, but for hundreds of human rights activists and Kurdish campaigners this kind of persecution is part of daily life. For the past four months Kurdish activists in Turkey have been campaigning for the right to receive education in their mother tongue. University students have now been joined by parents and pupils at primary schools across Turkey, and campaigners say they have won support from local trade unions and human rights groups. More than 20, 000 people have now signed petitions supporting the campaign.

Investment Solution Strategic The European Union, United States and Canada, as well as grassroots ''Free Burma'' activists internationally, have put consistent pressure on the Burmese regime through consumer boycotts and diplomatic and economic sanctions for a genuine political change including her release. Since 1995, over 50 multinational corporations including PepsiCo, Wal-Mart, Texaco and ARCO cut ties to Burma, owing to citizens'' campaigns led by the Free Burma Coalition and its allies. In 2000, the International Labor Organization, an agency of the United Nations, paved the way for further economic sanctions after discovering the pervasive use of "forced labor" throughout the country by the Burmese regime. It is believed that Aung San Suu Kyi''s release came about as a result of these multi-layered efforts.

Lawmakers, legal experts, and human rights organisations and activists in Europe, North America, and the Middle East have raised serious doubts about the motives behind the report, many criticising the rights group of bowing to the demands of the Iranian regime and writing a "political paper" rather than a human rights report.

Investment Banking Services ''We re-affirm our solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi and her people by carrying on with our citizens'' efforts until and unless Burma''s democratic leadership calls for the end of international sanctions,'' said Larry Dohrs, longtime Burma supporter and Vice-President of Seattle''s Newground Investment Services.

Bank Investment Aung San Suu Kyi rose to prominence during a nationwide uprising in 1988. Despite being placed under a previous house arrest in 1989, her popularity and charisma led her National League for Democracy party to a landslide victory in the 1990 multiparty elections. The military has refused to honor the election results.

Alternative Investment One of the world''s poorest nations, Burma under the current military regime is in economic ruin with a high rate of HIV infection amongst its populace. The regime has been shaken by a recent abortive coup attempt by former General Ne Win (and family), who officially ruled the country from 1962-88. Unable to address the country''s economic and HIV crises, the Burmese regime appears desperate for international assistance and collaboration with the opposition.

Online Investment Services FBC Washington Office (202) 547-5985
Dr. Zar Ni (510) 685-4170
Aung Din (301) 602-0077

###

[ Comment, Edit or Article Submission ]