Pressure mounts for release of Suu Kyi

Reports say that Washington was preparing new sanctions against Myanmar that would freeze personal assets of members of the ruling junta and ban remittances from its nationals working in the US. If President Bush signs on the executive order, then it would surely mean trouble for the junta. It's rather bemusing to witness the junta turning a complete deaf ear to the outcry on Suu Kyi's arrest, both internationally and internally. Not just in Myanmar itself, many elsewhere, especially students in the eastern countries, have been extremely vocal against Suu Kyi's detention. It would be interesting to see for how long they can hold onto their position. Defying the requests and the subsequent demand by the international community and testing their patience might become too heavy a load for the junta to carry.

The west has already denounced the government's reason for putting Suu Kyi under 'temporary protective custody.' To undermine those protesting her arrest, is an insult to the international community. Why did she need to be put under such protection and that's also at an undisclosed location, is a question the junta would have to answer convincingly. Because all of their reasoning so far have been anything but convincing. Here we would again like to the draw the attention of ASEAN who probably could have played the most significant role in freeing Suu Kyi from the clutches of the junta. We wonder what's stopping ASEAN governments from moving, even after a special request from US Secretary of State Colin Powell at its recently held summit? May be it's their close business partnership with Myanmar. But unless they show enough grit in listening to what the rest of the world is saying, their intention would remain highly suspicious.

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