Grave concern for Aung San Suu Kyi

Director-General expresses grave concern following arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has informed General Than Shwe, head of Myanmar's ruling military junta, of his grave concern regarding the arrest and trial of the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, coinciding with the moment her house arrest was due to end.

In the letter he sent today to Myanmar’s ruler, the Director-General, while not presuming to pass judgment on the validity of the charges brought against her, stresses that Aung San Suu Kyi plays an invaluable role in Myanmar’s national reconciliation process, and more generally in the promotion of tolerance and non-violence. She was recognized for her actions in 2002 by UNESCO, which awarded her the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence.

Joining his voice to that of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Director-General called for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi, in respect of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.