Tuesday, June 26, 2012

21 years later, Suu Kyi accepts Nobel Peace Prize

 I got this from Amnesty International:




Dear Tracy,

21 years later, the Nobel Peace Prize is finally where it belongs -- in the hands of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Burmese human rights defender made history this weekend when she officially accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. When Suu Kyi was originally awarded the Prize in 1991, she was under house arrest and couldn't accept it in person. She wasn't freed until November 2010 -- after years of international pressure and thousands upon thousands of letters from Amnesty activists like you demanding her release.

We shone a light for Aung San Suu Kyi. Now we need to shine a light of freedom for every last prisoner of conscience in Myanmar. Hundreds of political prisoners remain behind bars there, simply for calling for freedom and democracy.

Myanmar must unlock the doors and free all prisoners of conscience now!

Watching Aung San Suu Kyi travel freely around the world with passport and now Nobel Peace Prize in hand fills us with joy and hope. But we cannot rest until all prisoners of conscience have been freed. And this is what Aung San Suu Kyi herself urged us to do in her Nobel acceptance speech on Saturday:
"... I was once a prisoner of conscience. As you look at me and listen to me, please remember the often-repeated truth that 'one prisoner of conscience is one too many.'" -- Aung San Suu Kyi
Today in Dublin, Ireland, Amnesty International will celebrate the remarkable life's work of Aung San Suu Kyi by awarding her the prestigious "Ambassador of Conscience Award." There is no better day to honor Suu Kyi and echo the powerful message that she and Amnesty International have long supported -- that human rights matter.

When you take action now, Myanmar's government will hear our message loud and clear -- where there is freedom for one, there must be freedom for all!

In solidarity,

Michael O'Reilly
Senior Director, Individuals at Risk Campaign
Amnesty International USA

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