Secretary-General calls for freedom of Myanmar activist on her sixtieth birthday
Wishing her a happy birthday as he spoke to reporters upon entering UN Headquarters this morning, Mr. Annan added, "I wish she were out amongst her people and her supporters, pushing for stability and democracy and democratization of her society."
As he recalled his appeals to Myanmar's leader General Than Shwe, the Secretary-General said, "I will still urge him to release her and let her join her party, and join the process on the national dialogue and national reconciliation."
Over the past several years Mr. Annan, in concert with his Special Envoy Razali Ismail, has been pushing the Government of the South Asian country to allow a role for opposition parties such as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).