Wednesday July 1, 2009, 2:25 am
Free Aung San Suu Kyi! (Avaaz.Org Petition)
Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is seriously ill, locked up by the brutal Burmese regime on new trumped up charges.
This cruel maneuver comes days before her 13 years of detention expires and will keep her jailed until after the 2010 elections. The only 'crime' she committed was to peacefully call for democracy.

Burma's brave democracy activists are calling on UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to secure all 2,100 political prisoners release -- he can make this a condition of any renewed international engagement. We have just six days to get Ban Ki Moon's attention -- the petition will be presented on May 26th. Sign the petition below and forward the email.
405,816 have signed the petition. Help us get to 500,000
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/free_aung_san_suu_kyi/

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 7:43 am
Thank you Ben.

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 8:20 am
Already signed. Noted with thanks Ben.

You've already signed this petition!
According to our records, you--or someone with your email address--signed this petition at the page http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_burma_political_prisoners on 2009-03-19. Avaaz only counts each signer once. But please help spread the word by using the tell-a-friend tool below!

Thursday July 2, 2009, 9:24 am
Ban Ki-Moon Says He’ll Urge Junta to Free Suu Kyi. (Irrawaddy)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon assured reporters on Tuesday during a Tokyo stopover on his way to Burma that he will urge the Burmese military junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, when he visits the country this week.

Speaking after talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, he said he was aware of concerns about his July 3-4 visit coinciding with the trial of Suu Kyi, the main opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for a total of more than 13 years.
The UN Information Center in Rangoon said on Wednesday that it could not provide any details about Ban Ki-moon’s Burma schedule.

Suu Kyi, 64, is on trial in Rangoon on a charge of breaking the terms of her house arrest.
“It may be the case that the trial may happen during my visit in [Burma]. I am very much conscious of that. At the same time, to find the most appropriate timing has been a challenge for me, too,” Ban told reporters.

"I try to use this visit as an opportunity to raise in the strongest possible terms and convey the concerns of the international community of the United Nations to the highest authorities of the [Burmese] government," he added.
“We have received no notification yet from the Burmese authorities regarding a meeting with Ban Ki-moon.” said Ohn Kyaing, a member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
More:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16242

Thursday July 2, 2009, 9:32 am
"No Hope for Suu Kyi from Ban’s Trip", says NLD leader. (Irrawaddy)
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to visit Burma on Friday and Saturday, and there’s little hope for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the trip, said a prominent Burmese opposition leader.

Ban plans to focus on three issues: the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners; the resumption of dialogue between the junta and opposition as a necessary part of national reconciliation process; and to create a condition conducive to credible elections in 2010, according to a UN press briefing on Monday.
Commenting on the trip, Win Tin, a prominent leader of the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said that the international community has achieved little in the way of real progress toward national reconciliation.

“Therefore, I do not expect Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would be released during or after Ban Ki-moon’s trip,” he said. “But it’s because the junta has failed to response to the international calls.”
Win Tin, who spent 19 years as a political prisoner, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he welcomed Ban’s trip.

“I agree with Mr Ban Ki-moon’s agenda: release of political prisoners and dialogue for national reconciliation. But I want to point out that Burma’s problem now is about its constitution rather than the election,” Win Tin said.
“So we need to review this unjust constitution first and then talk about the election. That will be more reasonable for the country’s democracy process,” he said.

The junta has scheduled elections in 2010 under a constitution which was approved by a referendum in May 2008. The constitution reserves 25 percent of the seats in the upper and lower house of parliament for the military. The referendum was neither free or nor fair, analysts say.
Ban Ki-moon’s last visit to the military-ruled country was in May 2008 following the Cyclone Nargis disaster in the Irrawaddy delta, during which he met the leader of the junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

Although Ban’s trip is confirmed, a UN spokesperson indicated there was no agreement that he would meet with Suu Kyi, even though he requested to meet with the pro-democracy leader.
Suu Kyi is on trial charged with violating the terms of her house arrest, in what observers say is a trumped-up charge designed to remove her from active political life during the 2010 election. She was schedule to be released last month.

“Despite the NLD’s protestations and the growing international pressure, there was never any real likelihood of Aung San Suu Kyi being freed ahead of the planned election in 2010,” noted a London-based think-tank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its June report on Burma.
“The last time she was released, in May 2002, the junta clearly miscalculated the extent to which she had remained a popular and influential figure,” said the report.

Thursday July 2, 2009, 9:35 am
FREE AUNG SAN SUU KYI!
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!
FREE BURMA!
I not NOW - WHEN???
http://internationalcampaignforfreedom.blogspot.com/

Thursday July 2, 2009, 10:50 am

LOVE your so-true graphic, dear Bengt!

Thursday July 2, 2009, 11:35 am
thanks ben for keeping us informed and for all you do

Tuesday July 7, 2009, 7:12 am
Noted thank you Ben.