Aung San Suu Kyi's Release

[frdc@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Dear Friends of Burma:

I have just heard the news that Aung San Suu Kyi has been released.

The full details are not yet clear. However, it appears that she may 
have been released unconditionally.

Here are a few thoughts:

I think we should approach this news with hope and caution. It is a 
development we all hoped for. However, we do not yet know what 
conditions the SLORC will place on her. The SLORC's track record on 
human rights and the restoration of democracy requires us to treat 
their actions and statements with a certain degree of skepticism.

Aung San Suu Kyi's release does not mean the end of the campaign for 
economic sanctions on Burma. We do not yet know what Aung San Suu 
Kyi's position will be on sanctions now that she is released. We 
should remember that Nelson Mandela did not call for the lifting opf 
sanctions on South Africa until he had reached a political settlement 
with the National Party, a couple of years after his release.

The SLORC has blinked. With US Congressional support for economic 
sanctions building daily, the SLORC appears to have made an important 
concession. But more concessions and the restoration of democracy in 
Burma will take more, sustained pressure. Let us continue to press 
for economic sanctions, selective purchasing legislation and boycotts 
of companies doing business in Burma until Burma is free.

Simon Billenness
Franklin Research & Development
(617) 423 6655 x225
(617) 482 6179 fax