Head of State of the Union of Myanmar
Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council
Naypyidaw, Burma/Myanmar
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) is writing to you in order to express its deepest concern regarding the health of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Prize for Peace Laureate and leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD).
According to the information received, the health of Ms. Suu Kyi is in constant deterioration. Her blood pressure is reportedly low, she is suffering from dehydration and has stopped eating. In addition, her medical doctor, the physician Tin Myo was arrested on May 7th, following his visit to Ms. Suu Kyi. So far, the authorities have not provided any explanation for this arrest.
FIDH is drawing your attention to the fact that the continued detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi violates both international and national laws. However, despite the legal irregularities of her confinement under house arrest, the appeal lodged by her personal lawyer in October 2008 to obtain her release was recently rejected by the authorities. I'm personally calling on you to consider the urgency of her situation on strictly humanitarian grounds and her need for appropriate medical care. The arrest of her doctor further endangers the opposition leader.
The International Federation for Human Rights reminds the authorities of Burma/Myanmar that they are responsible for the detention conditions and the state of the mental and physical health of the only Nobel Prize for Peace still in detention. I hereby call upon you to assume this responsibility and urgently take all necessary measures to protect her integrity and that of her doctor.
More generally, FIDH urges you to proceed to immediate release of all political prisoners in Burma/Myanmar, estimated at more than 2.100 today, as a first step on the path towards democracy and national reconciliation. The intentions of the Burma/Myanmar authorities are seriously questioned today worldwide, it is time for you to take concrete actions and engage in an open and honest dialogue with all major political and ethnic movements. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has a crucial role to play in this process as major political interlocutor.
Hoping that you will take the above considerations fully into account, I remain,
Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President
--
Karine Appy
