ONE of the world's most courageous women is locked away in a miserable rat-hole in Rangoon. Her "crime"? Demanding freedom for her people.
Burma's junta, naturally, sees the case of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi another way. Because of a bizarre incident in which an American sneaked into Burma to visit Suu Kyi -- who has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest -- she and the American have been stashed in one of Burma's most notorious prisons, and hauled before a kangaroo court to face sentences of several years.
Of course, with an "election" coming up next year, Burma's kooky generals have every reason to keep their country's most beloved democrat under lock and key -- and most of the world sees through the sham. Voices from Congress to the European Union have demanded Suu Kyi's release.
And the Leader of the Free World? Silence.
What a change from the previous White House, which had two champions of Burmese freedom in President George and, especially, Laura Bush. Their backing of Suu Kyi was part of a much broader campaign for freedom fighters around the world. Bush sent a clear message to those risking everything for their freedom: If you stand up for liberty, the president will stand with you.
Now, that message is muffled. In recent weeks, some of the worst human-rights violators have seized and detained US citizens -- from journalists Roxana Saberi in Iran and Laura Ling and Euna Lee in North Korea, to prisoner John William Yettaw in Burma -- with nary a word from President Obama in reply.
Sure, there have been a few comments from the State Department. And one can give Obama the benefit of the doubt on the Saberi case -- who knows what kind of quiet diplomacy went on behind the scenes to secure her release. But after Saberi was safe and sound, did Obama pounce on Tehran for having nabbed her in the first place? Nope: He called the regime "humanitarian."
Talk about a missed opportunity. When the president has nothing to say about regimes that unjustly detain our citizens, what does it tell political prisoners and others who've been starved of freedom their entire lives? Certainly not that they have a reliable ally in America.
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