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David Lammy has issued a historic and impassioned plea for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, imprisoned by the brutal dictatorship in Myanmar.
In a major intervention, the foreign secretary has for the first time made a direct appeal to the military junta to free her and give the country’s people “the peace and democracy they deserve”.
On the fourth anniversary of the 1 February coup that saw her jailed, he said the democracy campaigner has been detained on “political charges” and added: “We have not forgotten”.
It is the first call for her freedom from a serving cabinet minister since she was sentenced and follows the recent release of an Independent TV documentary Cancelled: The Rise and Fall of Aung San Suu Kyi.
To mark the anniversary of her imprisonment, her son Kim Aris is delivering a letter calling for her release to Myanmar’s embassy in London and said that as the “last flame of hope for peace and democracy” she “must not be allowed to be snuffed out”.
Now aged 79, her drive for democracy in her country saw her face years under house arrest and win the Nobel Peace Prize.
But she became a deeply divisive figure internationally after she failed to speak out against the military’s extreme violence against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
Mr Lammy told The Independent: “Four years ago, Myanmar’s military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government, stripping the Myanmar people of their right to a democratic voice.
“Innocent civilians face daily atrocities and thousands of opposition voices, including Aung San Suu Kyi, remain detained on political charges.
“Four years on, we have not forgotten. Release Aung San Suu Kyi. Release all those arbitrarily detained. Give Myanmar’s people the peace and democracy they deserve.”
Former international development minister Andrew Mitchell, who has worked and campaigned with Ms Suu Kyi, said: “I am pleased that the foreign secretary has spoken up forcefully in support of her immediate release.“
He added: “The barbaric, cynical and vile treatment of her by the illegal military junta is a stain on humanity.”
He said she was the “only legitimate leader of her country and the international community must do more through sanctions and boycotts to signal our support for her and abhorrence at the appalling way she’s been treated”.
Speaking after watching The Independent’s documentary, he added: “She should be released immediately – and films like this help explain why.”
Former Conservative foreign minister Alan Duncan praised Mr Lammy for “taking such a clear stand on this. Full marks to the government on this one. Her detention is an international disgrace. This is vicious political detention and she should be released immediately.”
Mr Lammy joins three former British foreign secretaries in calling for Ms Suu Kyi’s release, including William Hague, who described her as a “political prisoner on trumped up charges” imprisoned because she was a “force for democracy”.
It was possible to be critical of the country’s former leader, “but also say we should be campaigning for her release”, the Tory peer added.
Ms Suu Kyi raised two children, Kim and his brother Alexander, in the UK after studying at Oxford and marrying a British academic Michael Aris.
She returned to Myanmar in 1988, initially to nurse her sick mother before becoming swept up in the pro-democracy movement in the country. Between 1989 to 2010 she became famous around the world as she spent nearly 15 years under house arrest.
But after elections in 2015 the junta allowed her to become the country’s de facto leader, although only if they kept control of key ministries, including home affairs, defence and border control, as well as the military budget.
By 2019, she had become a pariah in the eyes of many after she appeared at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to defend her country’s use of force against the Rohingya.
Just two years later, she was imprisoned after the military seized power in a coup that plunged the country into conflict.
As part of the UK’s support of Ms Suu Kyi, Mr Lammy also announced that new humanitarian funding would help deliver healthcare to 1 million people in Myanmar.
The UK will give an extra £22.45m in humanitarian support this year, as the fighting in the country leaves it facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Nearly 20 million people now require aid – a twentyfold increase since the coup.
Minister for development Anneliese Dodds said: “The UK will not forget the millions in Myanmar still living through a brutal conflict, creating a humanitarian crisis in a country already vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis.
“Four years on from the military coup and amid ongoing violence, the UK is matching words with action – providing additional support to meet urgent health needs and tackle long-term climate challenges.”
The extra funding will see UK aid to Myanmar rise from £44m to £66.45m.
More than 3.5 million people are now displaced from their homes due to the fighting, while nearly 20 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Typhoon Yagi also caused devastation across southeast Asia last September, severely affecting over 1 million people in Myanmar.
Watch the documentary here
Source: independent.co.uk
