madam president on thirteen november less than a week after the disputed national elections had been held aung san suu kyi was released from house arrest after spending fifteen of the last twenty-one years effectively imprisoned for her pro-democracy thoughts
as an iranian woman said in the movie after being released from evin prison in tehran the moment i stepped outside i realised i had just moved from a small prison to a bigger one that prison is called iran
people should not live in small or big prisons for their thoughts
the eu will see to and encourage further freedoms for all burmese citizens and remains concerned about aung san suu kyi's wellbeing and safety as she is being kept under surveillance by state security services
the welcome move of her release needs to be reflected in further expansions of freedoms to all citizens which are systematically curbed through the two thousand and eight constitution and the military junta
elections such as those which took place in burma this month even if held in a climate of fear and repression are often used by regimes to claim legitimacy and to suggest that a democracy is in place
however any government derives its legitimacy from providing for the wellbeing of its citizens and democracy is always more than one man one vote
it is enshrined in democratic institutions good governance the rule of law and respect for human rights
