Pierre Pettigrew

Canada has denounced 10 years of detention for Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and has demanded her immediate and unconditional release.

In a statement Friday, Canadian Foreign Minister noted that on Monday, Aung San Suu Kyi will have been deprived of her freedom for a full 10 years if one adds up her several periods of detention.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent much of the past two decades under house arrest. Minister Pettigrew said the military government should take steps to initiate genuine democratic reform.

He said Aung San Suu Kyi continues, at great personal sacrifice, to devote all her energies to the struggle for a better life for the people of Burma.