Today Myanmar’s opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prizewinner Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years imprisonment, commuted to 18 months house arrest.

In this connection Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued the following statement today (11 August):

”Today’s judgment is another setback for human rights in Myanmar. It comes at the end of a court case which was more of a farce than a trial and which shows how little basic human rights mean in this country.

I urge the regime in Rangoon to give Aung San Suu Kyi her complete freedom forthwith and to also release all other political prisoners.

National reconciliation and economic development can only be achieved by conducting a real dialogue with all democratic forces and with the different ethnic groups in Myanmar.“

The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi has met with strong protests from the United Nations, the ASEAN members, the EU, the USA and numerous other countries.