AUNG SAN SUU KYI VERDICT IS MOCKERY

SUU KYI’S LIFE OF SOLITUDE:
18 MORE MONTHS OF HOUSE ARREST LOOM

RANGUN - Burma’s military regime presented yesterday’s sentence of 18 months house arrest on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as a concession, compared to the court verdict of three years hard labour. It is in fact a monstrous injustice and a manipulative move to keep her party out of elections called for 2010. Surprising almost no one in the international community, the ruling Burmese military junta and its puppet court on Tuesday announced a guilty verdict in the trial of Burmese freedom fighter and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Convicted of violating her terms of house arrest by allowing an American, John Yettaw, to swim to her home and seek shelter, Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years hard labor. Immediately after this announcement, the court adjourned for several minutes. Following this recess, Home Affairs Minister General Maung Oo announced an order of commutation from ruling Senior General Than Shwe, to a sentence of 18 months under house arrest. The courtroom theatrics were a clear attempt by the junta to be seen as lenient and/or responsive to the international outcry that has surrounded Suu Kyi's trial, while keeping the democratic leader safely locked away during the regime's planned 2010 elections.

So far, the dramatics aren't working. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a diplomatic trip in Africa, decried the verdict, saying: "She should not have been tried, and she should not have been convicted. We continue to call for her release." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown added that he was "saddened and angry" at the "monstrous" sentencing. Even French President Nicolas Sarkozy got into the mix, announcing, "This political trial had just one aim: to prevent Madame Aung San Suu Kyi from leading her fight in favor of a free and democratic Burma." Sarkozy called for further sanctions against the regime -- specifically in the industries of timber and gems, but not, alas, in natural gas. (Total, the French energy behemoth, is a major investor in Burmese gas fields.)

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Hiranyakaśipu's spiritual master, Śukrācārya, had two sons named Shanda and Amarka, to whom Prahlāda Mahārāja was entrusted for education. Although the teachers tried to educate the boy Prahlāda in politics, economics and other material activities, he did not care for their instructions. Instead, he continued to be a pure devotee. Prahlāda Mahārāja never liked the idea of discriminating between one's friends and enemies. Because he was spiritually inclined, he was equal toward everyone.

Srila A.C. BV Swami Prabhupada:
"The Srimad Bhagavatam - Purport in Canto 7 - Summary Chapter 5"

A pure devotee is always free from any kind of material desires. In the material world, one's material desires are all most demonic; one thinks of others as one's enemies, one thinks of revenge against one's enemies, one aspires to become the topmost leader or topmost person in this material world, and thus one competes with all others.

Srila A.C. BV Swami Prabhupada:
"The Srimad Bhagavatam - Purport in Canto 1 - Chapter 10 - Verse 5"