Struggle still not over

If there is a beacon of hope for Burma's democracy, it is Aung San Suu Kyi.

The female Gandhi who firmly believes in the principles of nonviolence to oppose military dictatorship, was placed under house arrest by the Rangoon junta on July 20, 1989.

Even under the most difficult conditions during her house arrest, the Nobel Peace laureate had words of inspiration for her fellow democracy fighters.

She once said: Under the most crushing state machinery, courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.

Yesterday, almost six years later, she was released by her captors.

It has to be borne in mind that the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is not over with Suu Kyi's release, for political prisoners are still languishing in Burma's jails.

There is still widespread torture in the country and ethnic minorities are used as forced labor by the military junta in its infrastructure projects, or as porters carrying live ammunition, plainly to act as human-shields in the war against the Karens or the Shans.

Academics, artists, poets, medical doctors and students are still behind bars for having defied the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), by openly clamoring for the rights of the Burmese people to be respected.

While we welcome Suu Kyi's release, a note of caution has to be injected.

So far there have been no details of whether or not conditions have been set for her release.

We hope not.

Also, there has been no indication that all political detainees will be released together with the Nobel laureate.

The writing on the wall is still hard to read.

For instance, will the SLORC now recognize the results of the 1990 election in which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the majority of seats?

This and other important questions need to be answered before the international community pats the SLORC on the back.

Unless all political prisoners are released, and the SLORC returns full democracy to the people, the military junta should still be shunned by the civilized world.

-- The Nation, Bangkok