Myanmar's democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Monday was named the recipient of Amnesty International's highest honor, the Ambassador of Conscience Award. The human rights watchdog said it hoped this would help protect her as she faces a potential prison sentence.
Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said the award was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Suu Kyi's initial arrest on July 20, 1989, as she led a campaign to oust Myanmar's military dictators.
Suu Kyi's opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won national elections in 1990 but the military refused to relinquish power. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 but has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.
"In those long and often dark years, Aung San Suu Kyi has remained a symbol of hope, courage and the undying defense of human rights," Khan said.
Suu Kyi, 64, is on trial for allegedly harboring an American who swam out to her residence uninvited. The offense of violating house-arrest rules carries a potential five-year prison sentence, and foreign diplomats have been barred from key parts of her trial. Suu Kyi's supporters accuse Myanmar's junta of seeking to put her behind bars until after elections planned for 2010.
Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, a fellow Nobel recipient and the first winner of the Ambassador of Conscience Award in 2003, said foreign recognition probably has deterred Myanmar's rulers from imposing even harsher punishments on Suu Kyi.
"I know from my own experience that international attention can, to a certain extent, protect the unjustly persecuted from punishments that would otherwise be imposed. ... Goodness knows what would have happened if her fate had not been highlighted as it is again today," Havel said in a statement.
Irish band U2 is publicly announcing Suu Kyi's award Monday night at a Dublin concert.
U2 _ which won the top Amnesty honor in 2005 in recognition of singer Bono's humanitarian work _ has been honoring Suu Kyi at each performance of the band's European tour.
