Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) – The verdict in the trial against Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader accused of violating the terms of her house arrest, is expected for July 31.
Yesterday the final pleas where heard from the defence team who are also assisting Suu Kyi’s three co-defendants; two domestic staff and the American citizen John Yettaw. Some foreign diplomats were present in the courtroom, invited as observers, while the press was not allowed access. Nyan Win, Suu Kyi's lawyer, commented on the final act of the trial against the “Lady" by saying: "We did our best and she is ready for the worst". Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to be sentenced to five years in prison with the subsequent exclusion from the elections scheduled for next year.
Htun Htun Surte, one of three founders of Burma Centre Delhi (BCD) an NGO established by Burmese refugees that follows events in Myanmar from neighbouring India, explains to AsiaNews: “The case staged against Suu Kyi is ridiculous, but at the same time it has scared even more people because it shows the arbitrary power of the military junta”.
The clear intent of excluding Suu Kyi from the election campaign and barring the campaign road for her party, the National League for Democracy, shows that “the military is very desperate and afraid of the possible opposition success in elections”. Surte however does not limit his concern to the political aspects of the story saying that the BCD and the citizens of Myanmar "are tormented over concerns for the health of Suu Kyi. The official report says that she is fine, but in this climate you can not believe that this is the truth of the facts”.
The co-founder of BCD explains that for the entire population "the ‘Lady’ represents hope and the future of democracy in Myanmar”, which is crippled by the junta. “Everyone lives in terror under the control of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) which is the watchdog with which the military oversees and threatens the public. Any action, any group meetings and even the slightest attempt to distribute flyers are under control. The USDA seeks to eliminate civil society organizations in the country, and reconstitute society according to the needs of the military regime".