Videocrux - Burmese court finds Aung San Suu Kyi guilty

#Videocrux - Burmese court finds Aung San Suu Kyi guilty Burmese court finds Aung San Suu Kyi guilty
Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been handed another 18 months of house arrest, taking the Nobel laureate out of the picture for elections next year. A court convicted the 64-year-old of breaching the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her home.
Another 18 months of house arrest for Suu Kyi
Another 18 months of house arrest for Aung San Suu Kyi. A prison court decided Myanmar's pro-democracy leader had broken the terms of her house arrest when an American man John Yettaw swam to her lakeside residence in May. He was sentenced to seven years hard labour and imprisonment. For protestors in Bangkok, the trial is simply a ruse to keep Suu Kyi out of next year's general elections.
Supporters protest for her release
Myo Naing, head of the Burmese Democratic Network, Bangkok "They're afraid of Aung San Suu Kyi,that is why they won't release Aung San Suu Kyi. They will hold her till the 2010 election, after they finish all the administration... at that time they will release Aung San Suu Kyi."
Myanmar's military junta is fearful of Suu Kyi's influence.
The last time elections were held in 1990, her National League of Democracy won a landslide victory. The generals cancelled the polls and jailed the Nobel peace laureate for 14 of the next 20 years. But that has done nothing to diminish her popularity. The last time she was free in 2003, she drew huge crowds.
Suu Kyi getting international support
Aung San Suu Kyi was initially sentenced to three years hard labour. The sentence was commuted to 18 months house arrest in an apparent nod to widespread international condemnation. Donna Jean Guest, Deputy Director Amnesty International Asia-Pacific "The fact that her sentence was commuted from three years hard labour to 18 months house arrest is not progress, it's another backwards step so we're very concerned. We're also concerned about the 2,150 other political prisoners in Myanmar who are languished in very harsh conditions throughout the penal system there."
Mood sombre in the Suu Kyi camp
Mood at the National League of Democracy headquarters on Tuesday was sombre. They know they face a hard task in contesting next year's election without their figurehead. But even though Aung San Suu Kyi will be out of sight, her drive for democracy will continue to inspire change.

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