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Aung San Suu Kyi

I do, and I think that that view is held fairly widely. The history of Aung San Suu Kyi's detention is a remarkable, albeit perverse, tribute to her strength, and the extent to which the junta truly fears the influence that she could have if she were left at liberty. The irony is that while she may become physically more frail, politically she becomes stronger with every day that she passes in detention. We should be interested to hear from the Minister whether he has any information from Mark Canning on what he has been able to discern about the conduct of the trial from the limited access that he and other external monitors have been given. I once heard Aung San Suu Kyi described as""an outstanding example of the power of the powerless"." That encapsulates rather nicely the point that I just made to the hon. Member for Dundee, West (Mr. McGovern). The real tragedy is that while she herself is a remarkable woman who is widely recognised for her achievements throughout the world, inasmuch as she is a political prisoner she is by no means unique in Burma. It is estimated that there are some 2,100 political prisoners there, and the figure may be even higher. It is clear that Aung San Suu Kyi's detention is a political detention. There is no question of any criminality. There is also no doubt that the wish to keep her in detention is clearly related to the elections due in 2010. If we imagine the position from the generals' point of view, we can well see why they would want to do that. It is fair to recognise the strong and effective efforts made by the United Kingdom Government in recent years. I was particularly impressed by the words of the Prime Minister in his contribution to the "64 words" project. We were all invited to offer 64 words in anticipation of Aung San Suu Kyi's 64th birthday next Friday. The Prime Minister put it rather well when he wrote:""The clamour for your release is growing across Europe, Asia, and the entire world. We must do all we can to make this birthday the last you spend without your freedom."" President Obama perhaps understated the position when he said that Aung San Suu Kyi's detention""cast serious doubt on the Burmese regime's willingness to be a responsible member of the international community"." It is not often that we would accuse President Obama of understatement, but on this occasion it appears that he did not indulge in any hyperbole.