Here's how this court ordeal can be turned to her advantage

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/dr-muang-zarni-heres-how-this-court-ordeal-can-be-turned-to-her-advantage-1687218.html

by Dr Maung Zarni

Aung San Suu Kyi is already presumed guilty in the eyes of hercaptors. Her Kafkaesque trial offers her one opportunity however: a rare media platform to present her side of the story.

Instead of focusing on the legal defence, her lawyers should help herto transform this farcical trial into a semi-public venue wherein shearticulates her democratic vision for the Burmese people; to reconnect with her political base and convey a strategic message to theinternational community.

Burma today is not under the rule of law, but rather under themaniacal dictatorship of Senior General Than Shwe. He alone makes allcrucial executive and judicial decisions in a manner that befits an 18th-century monarch informed only by astrology, sycophantic advisers and Machiavellian calculations.

Than Shwe is also known for his extreme hatred of Aung San Suu Kyi, the most formidable of all Burmese dissidents, who remains unbroken inspirit, despite her poor health. Even before the news of "the American intruder", no one really entertained any illusion about her releasefrom house arrest. With her unfading prestige, popularity and international appeal, Aung San Suu Kyi poses the single most symbolic– if not material – threat to Than Shwe's personal delusion of grandeur.

The junta is apparently treating the American intruder incident as a"god send" for propaganda purposes, proof that the leadership is actingin accordance with the law. However, the regime's decision to try the Burmese icon on the most fictitious charges is outright stupid, irresponsible, and counter productive.

It conveniently overlooks the fact that it was the military government itself which failed to provide its most famous captive full security in her home, a virtual prison for 13 of the past 19 years. The Obama administration meanwhile, was reportedly looking for a wayto re-engage with the military and perhaps even recognise the generalsas legitimate stakeholders in Burmese national politics. Instead, newsof the junta trying Aung San Suu Kyi on trumped-up charges has recaptured the world's imagination, highlighted the heinous character of the Burmese regime, and re-united the fractured Burmese opposition.

Her military captors have unwittingly helped build her politicalcapital as a powerful moral and political icon. Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues must seize this trial as a rare opportunity to revive a popular message of hope, addressing not just democracy and human rights, but also the survival concerns of ordinary Burmese. They should suggest ways for the international community to engage with Burmese people and civil society, if not the Neanderthal regime.

The author is a research fellow at the London School of Economics andPolitical Science and the founder of the Free Burma Coalition