A birthday cake for Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.
Photo by Saeed Khan for the Agence France-Presse.

Campaigners across the globe are honoring the birthday Friday of Burma's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Burmese pro-democracy leader spent her 64th birthday at Rangoon's notorious Insein prison, where she is on trial and facing up to five years behind bars. Activists and politicians are marking Aung San Suu Kyi's 64th birthday with gatherings of support from Thailand to Europe and the United States. In addition, a coalition of 23 Burma rights groups has formed "64forsuu.org", a website where supporters can post messages urging her release from detention.

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May 05, 2008
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA – Canada has granted honorary citizenship to Aung San Suu Kyi, the legendary crusader for democratic reform in Burma. Suu Kyi's first cousin Sein Win accepted the honour Monday on her behalf as the coastal nation in Southeast Asia reels from a deadly cyclone.

It's feared that up to 10,000 people died in the devastating storm, and thousands of people desperately need clean drinking water, food and shelter. Win thanked Canada for the tribute on Parliament Hill and for a $2-million donation to help cyclone survivors.
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On May 25th, the Burmese military regime extended the house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by another year. Aung San Suu Kyi, now aged 61, has been under house arrest since May 2003 after the regime's militia attacked her convoy and killed up to 100 of her supporters.

On October 14, 1991, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent struggle on behalf of democracy and human rights. Being under house arrest, she was unable to accept the award in person. Her sons accepted it on their mother’s behalf.

As a child, Suu Kyi conquered a fear of the dark by standing alone at night in her family’s rambling lakeside home. Now she has spent the best part of sixteen years confined to it. She battles her isolation with the same single-mindedness, sustained by her faith, Buddhism.

Amnesty International says in its latest annual report that the state of human rights in Burma has worsened. Buddhism is the majority religion in Burma and almost all the rulers claim to be Buddhists, but even Buddhists in Burma have no freedom. The country's current regime is ‘religionless’ and shows no no value to their own people. Buddhist monks have been jailed for protesting against the ruling military government. Security forces have also destroyed or looted Buddhist temples, churches and mosques of other ethnic communities.

The military rulers do not worry about killing Buddhist monks while they claim to adhere to Buddhism. The Burmese authorities have stepped up repressions across the country and there are 1185 political prisoners there. The EU and the USA have imposed sanctions on Burma.

On June 6, the Canadian Parliament reinforced their policy on this issue, "We are very proud to announce that our motion requesting the Burmese Government to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest was passed with the unanimous consent of the House, " said Larry Bagnell, Chairman of Parliamentary Friends of Burma.

Under house arrest, Suu Kyi meditates and memorizes Buddhist sutras. Her speeches and essays include frequent references to Buddhist principles.

REM's Michael Stipe narrates this PSA for Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Produced in association with MTV UK

FOR MORE BACKGROUND:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1950505.stm
http://www.dassk.com/index.php

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
http://www.bpf.org/html/home.html
http://www.cfob.org/