Reuters-Myanmar's Suu Kyi won't dis

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Subject: Reuters-Myanmar's Suu Kyi won't discuss dying husband 

Myanmar's Suu Kyi won't discuss dying husband
06:37 a.m. Mar 24, 1999 Eastern
YANGON, March 24 (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is
very upset about the condition of her gravely ill British husband but has
declined to talk about him publicly, her close aides said on Wednesday.

Suu Kyi had also vowed to stay put in Yangon, fearing that if she went to
Britain to see her cancer-stricken husband, Michael Aris, she might not be
allowed to return to Myanmar, they told Reuters.

``She is very upset this week after learning on Monday that his condition
had worsened,'' said one aide. ``She said she does not want to talk about
her personal affairs as many people suffer the loss of family and loved ones
in Burma (Myanmar) all the time.''

Family sources say that Aris, 52, an Oxford academic who has been denied a
Myanmar visa for the past three years, is dying from prostate cancer that
has spread to his spine and lungs.

Aris has requested a visa to travel to Yangon to see Suu Kyi, but Myanmar's
military government has said Suu Kyi, who is in good health, should visit
her terminally ill husband instead.

Yangon has said it is reviewing Aris's visa request, but argues Myanmar
lacks proper medical facilities to treat him.

The military has long sought to get Suu Kyi, the biggest thorn in its side
for a decade, out of Myanmar.

Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy party, has not left
Myanmar for the past 11 years, fearing she may not be allowed back if she
did.

Suu Kyi's aides said that she had vowed to remain in Yangon even though her
husband was dying. This was because the couple had made an agreement in the
past that if she was forced to return to Myanmar to serve her country she
would do so.

``She is basically sticking to that agreement,'' the aide said. ``Suu Kyi is
also upset that her telephone contacts with the outside world have been
tampered with.''

One aide said that when her telephone rang she would be allowed to answer it
but soon after some words were spoken the line would be cut by the
authorities.

``This has happened even when her husband has tried to call and talk to her.
People around her say this is very cruel,'' the aide added.

The aides also said that Suu Kyi had won much sympathy for her current
dilemma from members of the public. Some poets were even writing poems about
her plight.