Word: burma
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There's something about Burma. Zimbabwe, Laos, North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan - all these countries are plagued by repressive rulers. But none of these places grips the popular imagination like this isolated nation in the heartland of Asia. With its thuggish ruling junta and defiant, beautiful opposition leader, Burma inspires unparalleled international sympathy and the passions of do-gooders. Only the Dalai Lama rivals fellow Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi when it comes to dissident magnetism - and, even so, the Tibetan monk has not languished under house arrest for much of the past two decades...
...backyard. John Yettaw of Missouri was arrested as he was paddling back from Suu Kyi's villa in early May. The American was put on trial the same day as Suu Kyi, charged with various crimes, including immigration violations and swimming in a forbidden part of Inya lake in Burma's commercial capital Rangoon. Two of Suu Kyi's aides, who live with her, are also on trial. (See pictures of Burma after Cyclone Nargis...
...American's rationale for sneaking into the residential compound of the world's most famous political prisoner without her permission is uncertain. But the implications are chilling. Suu Kyi's most recent house-arrest stint was supposed to expire at the end of the month. Now, Burma's generals have a pretext, outlandish as it may be, to keep her locked up anew. The charges against the democracy activist carry a prison sentence of up to five years. "I cannot tell you what he was thinking when he made those swims or whether or not he considered the consequences...
...junta ignored the results. This time around, they have rigged the electoral system with arcane regulations that deliberately exclude Suu Kyi from participating. Other rules specify that top posts must be reserved for members of the military, thereby ensuring the junta's longevity. Nevertheless, many in Burma had hoped that Suu Kyi, in whatever limited form, might be able to influence the political process. It will be near impossible for her to do so from prison...
Read about Burma's ethnic minorities...