Although Myanmar leaders have released Aung San Suu Kyi, it doesn't mean they're being reasonable now. Myanmar's government has shut down a shelter for patients with HIV and AIDS, and ordered more than 80 people to leave. This came a day after Suu Kyi visited the shelter and promised to get the shelter badly needed medicines. She also addressed a crowd of more than 600 that gathered to see her.
The day after Suu Kyi's visit, government officials said that the center's permit was not being renewed and told the patients that they would have to leave the shelter by next week or face legal action (what a coincidence...). In Myanmar, it is the law that homeowners must seek government permission every two weeks to allow visitors to stay over night (!). One of the organizers of the shelter said, "We have been allowed to renew our resident permits in the past. I think authorities want to pressure us because of aunty's [Suu Kyi, she is referred to as "aunt" or "aunty" by Burmese supporters] visit to the shelter."
The shelter -- which currently accommodates 82 patients, including children -- provides housing, food, medicine, and educational opportunities. Health authorities offered to move the patients to their own HIV center; however, patients have said they do not want to leave the shelter that has become home for them. They want to make their own choice as to where they stay and they don't want to be pressured to leave. (Full Story)
In another incident in Myanmar, a popular Burmese sports magazine First Eleven was shut down by the government for two weeks. The reason? They had a front page soccer headline that read: "Sunderland Freeze Chelsea, United Stunned By Villa, & Arsenal Advance To Grab Their Hope." Apparently some letters in the headline were shaded a different color from the rest, so that it could have been read as "Su Free, Unite & Advance To Grab The Hope."
Either the government is stretching and they're being overly conspiratorial OR that sports magazine is absolutely brilliant. If it is true (if the magazine did intentionally shade the letters to get a secret message across), what a novel way to get messages of activism out. If that is the case, you see what lengths people have to go to try to organize in Myanmar.
In Myanmar, daily and electronic media is monopolized by the state. All privately-owned publications have to submit their issues to the Press Security Board, a government censorship board, for approval (!). The government has recently suspended eight magazines in Myanmar for their coverage of Suu Kyi's freedom. It is believed that their suspension will last one to two weeks. These eight magazines had prominently published news and photos about Suu Kyi's release. One magazine, 7 Day News, got in trouble for a supplementary section on Suu Kyi. In the supplementary inserts they printed photos of her, and they were used as wrap-around covers. They got suspended supposedly because the size of the insert was against regulation. One of the editors of the magazine explained, "The Press Security Board said we violated the regulations by printing the second cover the same size as the actual magazine, but I think the real reason is for using [Suu Kyi's] photo on the cover." (Full Story)(Full Story - at the bottom)(Full Story - at the bottom)
Luckily, in a rare bout of reasonableness, the ruling junta in Myanmar granted Aung San Suu Kyi's son a visa. Suu Kyi hasn't seen her son in 10 years. Her 33 year old son lives in Britain and he has repeatedly been denied visas by the Myanmar government. His last visit to the country was in 2000. The British embassy said his visit is strictly a private one and he doesn't intend to discuss politics. Suu Kyi would not go to visit her son in Britain because she is unwilling to leave Myanmar for fear that she would not be let back in. Her activism and calls for democracy are a threat to the ruling junta in Myanmar, and the government would probably love nothing more than to not let her back in the country.
Suu Kyi was mostly raised overseas, she married a British academic, and she initially raised their two sons in England. She returned to her home country in 1988 when her mother was sick. This is when mass demonstrations against the country's military rule were breaking out. During this time of unrest, Suu Kyi was thrust into a leadership role, mainly because she was the daughter of Aung San -- a revolutionary leader that helped bring about Burma's independence from British colonial rule. He is considered the country's founding father. He is also a martyred leader; he was assassinated for his activism. Suu Kyi took up the cause, and has subsequently faced many years of detention or house arrest. As a result, she hasn't seen her family very much. When she was first arrested in 1989, her eldest son was 16 and her younger son was 11. Her husband died of prostate cancer in 1999. For the three years leading up to his death, he kept trying to get a visa to see his wife but he was always denied. (Full Story)
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