On May 18, human rights activists rallied outside Australian foreign affairs minister Stephen Smith's office in Perth to protest against the treatment of Burma's democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Protesters wanted the Australian government to urge Burma's military regime to immediately release 63-year-old Suu Kyi. Similar protests occurred around the nation.
Suu Kyi and her two maids are accused of offering US national John Yettaw food and drink after he swam across a lake to Suu Kyi's house and stayed there between May 3 and 5.
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, co-chair of Australian Parliamentarians for Democracy in Burma, demanded action from the minister: "It's clear the Burmese military regime is stepping up its efforts to stifle political dissent. This requires a swift and decisive response from the international community.
"The regime is determined to prevent Suu Kyi from participating in the 2010 election, which must not go ahead while political leaders such as Suu Kyi are imprisoned, and the prevailing conditions are so repressive."
Bo Hla Tint, foreign affairs minister for the exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, said: "This situation is as clear an indication there ever was that the proposed 2010 national elections are an absolute sham.
"This election has zero credibility and zero democratic accountability."
This year, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released their findings that Suu Kyi's house arrest was illegal under international and Burmese law.
Suu Kyi's house arrest was due to end on May 27. Since 1989, she has spent nearly 14 of the last 19 years in detention.
Suu Kyi was a leader of the pro-democracy movement that swept Burma in 1988. Despite Suu Kyi winning an overwhelming victory in the 1990 elections, the military refused to transfer power to the civilian government.
Burma does not have an independent judicial system and prison sentences are imposed at the whim of the country's military dictators. If found guilty of the alleged house arrest breaches, Suu Kyi faces a sentence of up to five years.
Burma Campaign Australia spokesperson Dr Myint Cho said Suu Kyi "is not a criminal — she has been imprisoned because the regime believes she is a threat to the military dictatorship's political monopolisation of the country."
There are 2100 political prisoners in Burma. In November, 14 activists from the 88 Generation Students group were given 65-year prison sentences.
Cho said: "We need concrete actions to ensure the unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in Burma from the UN and individual countries, particularly Australia.
"The release of all political prisoners in Burma is the first step of a genuine reconciliation process for Burma."
[For more information, visit www.aucampaignforburma.org.]