Even before she was arrested and sent to Insein Prison May 13, Aung San Suu Kyi was accustomed to detainment. She had been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years and was recently denied medical care, although she is reported to be ill. She is only one of more than 2,100 prisoners of conscience currently being detained in Burma. Many of these political prisoners are democracy activists who receive harsh sentences – from 25 to 100 years – simply for speaking out against the violent excesses of the military government. A U.N. report noted that many of these detentions not only break international law, but Burmese law as well.

Political change is the only long-term solution to these abuses and the AFT has a long history of working with labor activists, healthcare workers and teachers to promote grassroots democratic change. At its convention in July 2008, the American Federation of Teachers awarded a Burmese human rights group, The 88 Generation Students, with the “2008 President’s International Democracy Award” for their decades of protest against the totalitarian regime. Unfortunately, the military junta has held on to power for more than 30 years through violent oppression, and many of the people honored by this award are the very political prisoners serving long prison terms.

Please take a moment to support our brothers and sisters struggling against oppression in Burma. Join with thousands of concerned human rights activists around the world and sign this petition to the U.N. that urges continued pressure on the military regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and her imprisoned brothers and sisters.