Gambari said the verdict can be appealed, and he is hopeful that Aung San Suu Kyi will be released unconditionally without further delay, so she can join the political process.

VOA: standard.2009.08.11

Aung San Suu Kyi is now on trial for allowing an uninvited guest to stay in her house without official permission and is expected to be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

VOA: standard.2009.06.09

"Without the release of Aung San Suu Kyi there will be no inclusive political process, and there will be no peaceful transition and no reconciliation and also no lasting peace and democracy in Burma,".

VOA: standard.2009.05.15

But it is hard for Western governments to lift them without Ms Suu Kyi's backing.

ECONOMIST: How Myanmar is moving ever closer into China��s orbit

Ban Ki-moon left Yangon earlier this month without being allowed to meet Miss Suu Kyi.

ECONOMIST: Banyan

None of that would have been possible without the extraordinary sacrifices that Aung San Suu Kyi made over so many years.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House