(Petaling Jaya, Monday): DAP
welcomes the release today of
Burmese Opposition Leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi from
19-month house arrest by the military junta.
Veteran
Malaysian diplomat and UN special envoy, Tan Sri Razali Ismail deserves national
and international commendation for his success in achieving the historic
breakthrough in the 12-year political deadlock in Burma.
The
Myanmese military junta should keep its commitment to mark “a new page for the
people of Myanmar and the international community” with Suu Kyi’s release,
paving the way for the end of the country’s international isolation by setting
out a clear road map and reasonable time-table for the restoration of democracy
and the goal of national reconciliation.
This
is not the first time Suu Kyi regained her personal liberty.
She was first placed under house arrest in 1989 and was released in 1995.
She was put under another span of
virtual house detention again in September 2000.
ASEAN
governments and leaders should give positive contribution to ensure that Suu
Kyi’s release today marked a steady and irreversible return to democracy and
power-sharing with civilisans without any relapse to unadulterated military
rule in the months and years ahead.
(6/5/2002)