The World from The Hill: Fears for Nobel laureate as democracy fervor spreads

Lawmakers are concerned
that the wave of freedom fervor sweeping across the globe will result
in the reimprisonment — or worse — of a famous pro-democracy
opposition leader.

But for a Congress that has long heralded Aung San Suu Kyi, the
spirit of peaceful overthrow that began in North Africa and has spread
through the Middle East also presents a tantalizing opportunity to pick
up where the Saffron Revolution left off.

{mosads}Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in November, to the delight
of legislators on Capitol Hill who long lobbied Myanmar’s military junta to release
her. The 65-year-old had been imprisoned in her
home for 15 years, from 1989 to 2010, and was released just days after elections that
were roundly condemned as undemocratic in a House resolution.

A junta-run newspaper in the repressive nation, New Light of
Myanmar, ran what was called a “veiled threat” last week against the
beloved opposition leader. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy had
just released a statement supporting the effectiveness of Western
sanctions against the regime.

The Obama administration said afterward that “she could be in some danger.”

“We
remain concerned about Aung San Suu Kyi’s safety and security,” State
Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday. “This is a
fundamental responsibility of Burmese authorities to ensure her safety
and that of all Burmese citizens.”

Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, introduced that November
resolution condemning the junta’s elections.

He told The Hill that in light of recent developments he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Suu Kyi is arrested again.

“Obviously the Burmese government is watching very closely what is
going on in the Middle East and terrified that the equivalent of George
Washington’s daughter is going to be in the forefront and they have the
possibility of breathing a little freedom into that country,” Manzullo
said.

Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, a revolutionary considered the father of modern Burma, as the country is still referred to by the U.S. and United Kingdom in non-recognition of the junta’s name change to Myanmar.

Efforts
for the country in the last Congress included the renewal of import
restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003
and a unanimous consent resolution in 2009 sponsored by Sen. Judd Gregg
(R-N.H.) calling for Suu Kyi’s immediate release. Gregg, who has retired from the Senate, is now a columnist for The Hill.

Manzullo said it was the pressure of public opinion that freed Suu
Kyi from house arrest, and if the junta tries to put her back there,
“Twitter, Facebook and the other Internet voices are going to go
ballistic.

“If they arrest her, it may cause more trouble than if they let her alone,” he said.

Suu Kyi has been honored several times in Congress, and lawmakers have eagerly taken up the Nobel Peace Prize recipient’s cause.

In 2009, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) became the highest-level American
politician to meet with junta leader Than Shwe. He also met with Suu
Kyi, calling for her release, and brought home an American arrested for
swimming to Suu Kyi’s home, an odd incident that served as an excuse
for the military regime to extend the opposition leader’s house arrest.

Webb, who recently announced he is not running for reelection, did not comment for this article.

Manzullo
said the citizens of Myanmar are “rightly worried” about what may happen to Suu
Kyi, as the regime fears her as the figurehead of the long-simmering
democracy movement.

Before Tunisia and Egypt, and even the 2009 Green Revolution in
Iran, thousands of Buddhist monks led peaceful protests for several
weeks in the military state. The protests were eventually put down
violently, resulting in an unknown number of deaths, including that of a
Japanese photojournalist, Kenji Nagai, who was shot in the chest
while covering the crackdown.

Like the economic underpinnings that sparked unrest targeting
longstanding Middle East rulers, the 2007 Myanmar democracy protests
arose from fuel price hikes.

Manzullo said “anything is
possible” when it comes to the chances of the Middle East protest
fervor reigniting democracy demonstrations in Myanmar.

“Who would have thought that [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak would step down?” he said.

“This
is an opportunity for people to recognize the fact that deep within the
soul of every individual is the seed to be free of government
oppression,” Manzullo said. “That’s something you’re born with;
sometimes it takes years to germinate.”

He said that large numbers of young people, coupled with the
“explosion” of social media, gave renewed strength to democracy
movements in troubled regions.

Even Suu Kyi told The Globe and Mail in an interview published Friday, “As soon as the conditions are right, I want to have both Facebook and Twitter.”

“The world has suddenly become
much smaller,” Manzullo said. “There is a commonality linking people
who live in oppression — not a political party or movement, but an
innate desire to be free.”