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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Associated Press: Myanmar's junta keeps democracy activist locked up

Myanmar's junta keeps democracy activist locked up

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar's military regime on Tuesday extended the house arrest of democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, refusing to bow to international pressure of the sort that persuaded the generals to let in foreign help for cyclone victims.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who has been detained for more than 12 of the past 18 years, had her detention extended by one year, said a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

On Wednesday, her National League for Democracy party denounced the extension as "illegal," saying it would launch an appeal. Party spokesman Nyan Win said the regime should also open a public hearing on the case.

Her detention has long been the symbol of the regime's heavy-handed intolerance of democratic opposition to its rule, and there is a worldwide campaign lobbying for her release.

President Bush said he was "deeply troubled" by the extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest but stressed that the U.S. would continue to provide aid for Myanmar's cyclone survivors.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed disappointment at her continued arrested, calling her case crucial to the democratization of Myanmar. And British Foreign Secretary David Milliband said he was "was saddened, if not surprised."

"While our immediate focus is on relieving the suffering caused by the recent cyclone, restoration of democracy in Burma is still vital for that country's long-term future," Milliband said.

Adding to criticism against the junta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda said Suu Kyi's continued detention went against the "goodwill of the international community" in its efforts to aid Myanmar in its momement of need.

"While we are all trying to help, this is very much against that spirit," he told The Associated Press in the Philippines.

The extension of Suu Kyi's detention came as Myanmar, also known as Burma, was still fending off worldwide criticism for its inadequate aid effort after Cyclone Nargis.

The storm left an estimated 2.4 million people in desperate need of food, shelter and medical care, according to the United Nations. The government says the deluge killed 78,000 people and left 56,000 missing.

Only after intense international pressure and a personal appeal by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who flew to Myanmar last week for talks with the junta's chief, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, did the government relent and agree to let foreign relief workers into the Irrawaddy River delta, the area hit hardest by the cyclone.

"International aid workers are starting to move to the delta," Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian effort, said Tuesday. Helicopters also began shuttling high-energy biscuits and ready-to-eat meals into the hardest hit area Tuesday, he said in Bangkok, Thailand.

Myanmar's leaders are leery of foreign aid workers and international agencies because they fear an influx of outsiders could undermine their control. The junta is also hesitant to have its people see aid coming directly from countries such as the United States, which it has long treated as a hostile power seeking to invade or colonize.

But the Suu Kyi, daughter of the country's martyred independence leader, Gen. Aung San, has long been regarded by the generals as the biggest threat to their power.

Her National League for Democracy party is the country's largest legal opposition group, and it retains the loyalty of millions of citizens despite two decades of repression.

The party won the most seats in 1990 elections, but the military refused to convene parliament. Instead, it harassed and arrested members of the party, setting a pattern that still stands.

Tuesday was the anniversary of the abortive election victory, and about 200 members attended a ceremony at the party headquarters.

Standing in front of the dilapidated building, about 30 supporters held a banner calling for Suu Kyi's release and chanted: "Aung San Suu Kyi. Release her immediately."

They also observed a minute of silence for those killed by Cyclone Nargis and for "democracy heroes" while plainclothes police videotaped and photographed the participants.

Police later hauled away about 20 party members who were protesting Suu Kyi's detention. Witnesses saw riot police shove the protesters into a truck as they were marching from the party headquarters toward Suu Kyi's home.

The intersection on the street to Suu Kyi's house, always barricaded, was more closely guarded than usual Tuesday. The barricades were pushed aside to let some Home Ministry officials go to her house Tuesday afternoon to deliver the order extending her detention.

In the first week after the cyclone, Suu Kyi lived in virtual darkness after the storm blew part of the roof off her house, according to one of her neighbors.

The neighbor, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid government harassment, said electricity lines to Suu Kyi's dilapidated lakeside bungalow were snapped by the cyclone, and he could see candles burning at night in her house.

Suu Kyi's latest period of detention started in May 2003 after a motorcade in which she was traveling was attacked by a pro-government mob. An unknown number of her followers, perhaps several dozen, were killed in the attack, which was regarded by some diplomats and specialists following Myanmar affairs as a botched assassination attempt.

She has appeared in public only once in the past five years — she was allowed to stand at the open gate of her compound during last September's pro-democracy protests in Yangon. Only a few hundred demonstrators who were allowed to march down her street got a glimpse of her.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia in 1991 for her nonviolent attempts at promoting democracy.

Ban said he briefly discussed the issue of Suu Kyi and the democratization process with Myanmar's military leaders during his four-day visit to the country to press for international aid workers to be allowed into the country to help cyclone survivors. He said that for "sensitivity reasons" he couldn't elaborate, "but believe me that I am very much committed to work very hard for the democratization of Myanmar."

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