Global campaign to free Suu Kyi

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) and Forum for Democracy in Burma, will launch the campaign at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand.

According to Soe Aung, campaign spokesperson, over the past 18 months, the number of political prisoners jailed by Burma's military regime has almost doubled to more than 2,100 people.

He also added that since October 2008, Burmese courts began sentencing hundreds of political activists to long prison terms for their involvement in peaceful demonstrations in 2007 and for assisting victims in the wake of the devastating Cyclone Nargis in May last year.

The campaign, he said, marks Burma's Human Rights Day. The petition calls on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to make it his personal priority to secure the release of all political prisoners in Burma, as an essential first step towards democracy in the country. The target symbolises 8.8.88, the day an estimated 3,000 people were massacred in Rangoon for daring to protest for democracy.

At the launch, former political prisoners Moe Zaw Oo and Su Mon Aye will share their experiences. Soe Aung, campaign spokesperson, will discuss the importance of UN leadership in securing the release of all of Burma's political prisoners as a vital first step towards peace and stability in Burma and the region.