There was a powerful moment at the end of a recent vigil held to mark the 64th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi and to call for an end to her decades long detention. One of the demonstrators pinned a photograph of General Than Shwe, the head of Burma’s ruling military junta, to the doorway of the silent but watchful Burmese embassy, across the portal from a picture of Aung San Suu Kyi………………………..

Read the rest of Melissa Benn’s article on Liberty Central, on the Guardian’s Comment is Free website, here

Melissa Benn is a member of the Writers in Prison Committee of English PEN and co-minder of honorary member Aung San Suu Kyi.

English PEN Writers in prison committee and JAM host Breaking Through the Silence. St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey, July 9, 7.30pm. Tickets from English PEN.