Myanmar's Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi granted house arrest

From Nobel winner to prisoner
General amnesty
26 years in prison
Life in jail is a possibility
'Absurd'
Kangaroo court
The equivalent of a life sentence
Ousted by the military
Ongoing protests
People's Defense Force
'Sham trial'
Sanctions piling up
Background: from Burma to Myanmar
Her father was a revolutionary
The 8888 Uprising
A Nobel for democracy, human rights by peaceful means
The military steps in
Junta denies Suu Kyi’s victory
House arrest
A new political era
Nobel acceptance speech after 20 years
Meeting with Obama
Leader of Myanmar in 2016
Controversial oppression of the Rohingya
Suu Kyi criticized by Dalai Lama and Tutu
The UN condemns the Myanmar military
A fallen patron saint
2020: The military steps in again
Uncertain future for Aung San Suu Kyi
From Nobel winner to prisoner

Burmese politician and human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi has received a pardon of five out of 19 charges she had been indicted of. Once deemed as the democratic hope of Myanmar, she has been moved from jail to house arrest amid failing health.

General amnesty

According to Al Jazeera, she was partially pardoned by the Burmese government along with an amnesty to 7,000 prisoners to commemorate the Buddhist Lent.

26 years in prison

The former Burmese head of government had been sentenced to least 26 years in prison by a court run by the same military leadership that Aung San Suu Kyi has been facing off for virtually her entire life.

Life in jail is a possibility

Some experts argued that this was a ploy that could potentially make the Nobel Prize winner spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Pictured: Suu Kyi at The Hague in 2019.

'Absurd'

The trial, which according to The Guardian was conducted without the presence of the public or the media, had her lawyers are barred from discussing the case. Amnesty defined the whole trial as 'absurd'.

Kangaroo court

“The days of Aung San Suu Kyi as a free woman are effectively over,” declared Phil Robert, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, to The Guardian.

The equivalent of a life sentence

“Myanmar’s junta and the country’s kangaroo courts are walking in lockstep to put Aung San Suu Kyi away for what could ultimately be the equivalent of a life sentence, given her advanced age”, declared Robert.

Ousted by the military

The elderly Burmese politician was under house arrest since February 2021, after being ousted by a military coup as a result of her party winning the Myanmar general elections in November 2020. The Myanmar armed forces declared the elections fraudulent.

Ongoing protests

Protests have been going on and off in Myanmar since the military coup took over, with Al Jazeera reporting that by August 2023 more than 24,000 protestors have been arrested.

People's Defense Force

Some of the population that oppose the military junta have formed the People's Defense Force, described as the armed wing of the ousted democratically-elected government.

'Sham trial'

Her trial was heavily criticized by the international community. UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet denounced the November 2021 conviction as a politically-motivated “sham trial” that would only “deepen rejection of the coup” among the international community.

Sanctions piling up

In February 2022, the European Union approved a new round of sanctions against the military junta that currently rules the country. The United States, the United Kingdom and Canada have followed suit.

Background: from Burma to Myanmar

Myanmar (known as Burma until 1989) is a southeast Asian country with a population of over 53 million people. A former British colony, since 1962 it has been mostly ruled by a series of military governments. Pictured is the landscape of Yangon, the nation's capital.

Her father was a revolutionary

Suu Kyi is the daughter of Burmese revolutionary Aung San, a key figure in the country’s independence from the British in 1948. He was assassinated when she was two years old. Here you can see a statue of him in Yangon.

The 8888 Uprising

Aung San Suu Kyi studied and worked abroad before returning to Myanmar in 1988, amid mass protests known as the 8888 Uprising. Suu Kyi soon became one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement in the country.

A Nobel for democracy, human rights by peaceful means

Her efforts earned Suu Kyi in 1991 the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee honored her “unflagging efforts" and wished to "show its support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights, and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means."

The military steps in

Multiparty elections, the first since the early 60s, were organized in 1990. Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, won the majority vote, but the military rejected the results.

Junta denies Suu Kyi’s victory

Instead of a democratic government, a new military junta formed to govern the country. Senior General Than Shwe started to preside the junta, officially known as State Peace and Development Council, and rule Myanmar from 1992 to 2011.

House arrest

Suu Kyi was sporadically put under house arrest during this time, but she still worked on politics and met with people (whenever it was allowed) in her dilapidated lakeside house in Yangon. She was released in 2011.

A new political era

The political landscape in Myanmar started to change in late 2010, when the military junta allowed the first elections in two decades. A new government, led by Thein Shein (pictured) and with the approval of the armed forces, took over.

Nobel acceptance speech after 20 years

The reforms put in place by the new government allowed Aung San Suu Kyi to travel abroad and finally give her Nobel acceptance speech 20 years after getting the award.

Meeting with Obama

She also received the United States Congressional Gold Medal and met with president Barack Obama, among other personalities around the world, in 2012.

Leader of Myanmar in 2016

It wasn't surprising when Suu Kyi became the leader of Myanmar in 2016, after her party won over two thirds of the country’s legislature.

However, it was hardly the end of her story.

Controversial oppression of the Rohingya

Violence from the military against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in the Buddhist-majority nation, continued under her government, despite international condemnation.

Suu Kyi criticized by Dalai Lama and Tutu

Fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners such as the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu criticized Suu Kyi's silence. "Her halo has even slipped among foreign human-rights lobbyists, disappointed at her failure to make a clear stand on behalf of the Rohingya minority," wrote The Economist in 2017.

The UN condemns the Myanmar military

A 2018 UN fact-checking mission accused the Myanmar armed forces of crimes against humanity. The report singled out Suu Kyi for not using "her de facto position as Head of Government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events."

A fallen patron saint

Aung San Suu Kyi rejected these allegations and defended the Myanmar military to the International Court of Justice in 2019. The New York Times described her as "a fallen patron saint who had made a Faustian pact with the generals."

Photo: Frank van Beek/ICJ

2020: The military steps in again

Despite international criticism, Suu Kyi's popularity continued in Myanmar. Her party won by a landslide in the 2020 general elections. However, the Burmese military denounced the results and launched a coup in February 2021.

Uncertain future for Aung San Suu Kyi

Suu Kyi's future is likely defined by whatever direction Myanmar takes from now on. However, regardless of whether her supporters regain power, it is certain that the aura around her figure has been tarnished.

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