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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Aung San Suu Kyi showdown enters fifth
day, no resolution in sight
Reuters - Myanmar Says Treating Defiant Suu Kyi
Well
Reuters - Opposition attacks Myanmar rulers on
Suu Kyi
The Independent - Fourth night of stand-off as Burma blocks Aung San Suu Kyi's
convoy
FT - Suu Kyi
determined to escape
The Nation - Suu Kyi's car sit-in enters fifth
day
Kyodo news - NLD urges junta to lift
blockade of Suu Kyi cars
BBC - China intensifies anti-Dalai Lama
campaign
SCMP -No end in sight for Suu Kyi's
standoff
SCMP - Junta warned to ensure safety of Aung San
Suu Kyi
CNN / Asianow - Pro-democracy leader in
5th day of Myanmar roadside standoff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMA RELATED NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, August 28 12:47 PM SGT
Aung San Suu Kyi showdown enters fifth day, no resolution in sight YANGON, Aug 28 (AFP) - Aung San
Suu Kyi's showdown with Myanmar's regime outside Yangon dragged on into a fifth
day Monday, after her party vowed she would force the authorities to acknowledge
her right to travel freely.
Aung San Suu Kyi and a dozen members of her National League for Democracy
(NLD) have now spent four nights camped out in two vehicles in the township of
Dallah, which lies on the other side of the Yangon River from the capital.
At the ferry pier in downtown Yangon where the group departed Thursday in
defiance of a ban which confines the opposition leader to the capital, party
members milled around her car which was still parked by the jetty.
Vendors were cleared from the area but commuters still made their way back
and forth from Dallah.
The 55-year-old Nobel laureate and her party were waved down on the
outskirts of Dallah as they attempted to travel on to Kawhmu for a meeting of
the party's youthwing.
Aung San Suu Kyi refused the military's request to turn back, in her first
attempt in two years to test the junta's restrictions on her movement around the
country.
In August 1998 she spent 13 days in a tense stand-off on a bridge outside
Yangon until illness and dehydration forced her to return home.
Her party vowed Sunday that the opposition leader would fight a "war of
endurance" to force the regime to allow her to travel freely and to go about
legitimate party business.
She would remain on the isolated road unless she was allowed to travel on
or forced to return home, it said.
NLD central committee member U Nyunt Wai said the confrontation was aimed
at pressuring the authorities to acknowledge the right to freedom of movement in
Myanmar.
"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is ready to endure all sorts of discomfort for as
long as it takes," he told AFP.
"The purpose is ... to let everyone know, including the people of Burma,
the military authorities, as well as the world, that we have the basic
democratic right to travel freely in our own country."
Although she was released from house arrest in 1995, Aung San Suu Kyi's
movements are closely monitored by the military regime which has been in control
of Myanmar in various guises for nearly four decades.
The government has argued that travel in the area is dangerous and that the
Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters were stopped for their own safety.
"The government encourages Daw Suu Kyi to return home and continue her
political activities in a more secure environment in Yangon," it said in a
statement Sunday.
"However, she and her companions remain free to continue staying at Dallah
township and the government will also provide her with necessary assistance to
enable her to carry out her political activities successfully there."
The international community has expressed its outrage over the stand-off,
with the United States, European Union, Britain and France demanding the junta
lift the blockade immediately.
They also reminded Myanmar's generals that they would be held accountable
for the welfare of Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters.
The NLD won a convincing victory in 1990 elections but the results have
never been recognised by the military, which has carried out a campaign of
intimidation against the opposition since the student uprisings of 1988.
WIRE:08/28/2000 06:13:00 ET
Myanmar Says Treating Defiant Suu Kyi Well YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar"s
military government insisted on Monday it was doing everything to ensure the
comfort and safety of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she spent a fifth
day in her car in a roadside protest outside Yangon. "Since this morning
government officials have provided Daw Suu Kyi and her companions with some
beach umbrellas and a new mobile bathroom to ensure her maximum comfort and
well-being," the government said in a statement. The 55-year-old Nobel laureate
and more than a dozen members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) were
halted by police on Thursday as they headed south of the capital in two
vehicles, and have been locked in a stand-off ever since. It was the first time
Suu Kyi had tried to leave Yangon since another roadside confrontation in 1998
that ended after 13 days when deteriorating health and dehydration forced her to
return home in an ambulance. The government says Suu Kyi is being prevented from
traveling beyond the town of Dala for her own protection, due to threats of
violence by "armed separatist terrorist groups." It has asked her to go home but
says she is free to remain in Dala. In its statement, the government said Suu
Kyi and her companions were "still continuing their rest at Sarpachuan ward of
Dala town, a small but scenic and charming town which is a 10-minute boat ride
from Yangon." MYANMAR HITS BACK AT CRITICS Several countries have criticized the
treatment of Suu Kyi, with the United States and European Union demanding that
she be allowed to travel freely. The government says critics had misunderstood
the situation. "Apparently there is some misunderstanding of the current
situation in Myanmar, so we would like to clarify some basic points to those who
are criticizing us irresponsibly," it said. "Like any government in the world,
the government of Myanmar has a fundamental obligation and responsibility to
protect its citizens from acts of violence from terrorist organizations and
unlawful armed groups." The NLD won elections in May 1990 by a landslide but has
never been allowed to govern. Suu Kyi was under house arrest for six years until
1995 and her movements remain severely restricted. The government"s statement
said people in Dala "are carrying on with their daily life, and business is as
usual in this small booming town." But it said some locals were concerned about
her presence. It quoted a local earthenware pot seller called Sein Sein as
saying: "I hope she returns home to Yangon and leaves us alone with our peaceful
and normal life." The government says Suu Kyi is being provided with ample food
and water, and to support its assertion released five photographs of Suu Kyi"s
"visit to Dala" over the weekend. One showed several men laden with plastic
carrier bags walking along a path toward the parked cars, with the caption: "Suu
Kyi"s travel companions coming back from shopping at nearby food stores in time
for high-tea." Another picture showed the group"s two vehicles -- a saloon car
and a pickup truck -- parked beside a dirt track. Journalists have not been
allowed to visit the scene of the stand-off. Suu Kyi was not visible in any of
the photographs. The government said on Monday that Suu Kyi had visited some
homes in Dala during her time there, and that her companions "enjoy visiting
downtown Dala as well as taking daily dips in the Sarpachuan stream." (With
additional reporting by Andrew Marshall in Bangkok)
WIRE:08/28/2000 09:02:00 ET
UPDATE 2-Opposition attacks Myanmar rulers on Suu Kyi YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar"s
pro-democracy opposition accused the country"s military rulers Monday of
violating human rights by slapping travel restrictions on Nobel laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, who is locked in a roadside stand-off near Yangon. As Suu Kyi spent
a fifth day in her car in the town of Dala, her National League for Democracy
(NLD) sent a letter to the government demanding she be allowed to travel freely
and saying the authorities were responsible if she came to any harm. "The
actions of the authorities amount to a violation of democracy and human rights,"
said the NLD, which won 1990 elections by a landslide but was never allowed to
govern. "The place where the NLD leaders are being held is unsuitable for people
to stay overnight, and their health will be affected after some time. If this
happens, those who stopped them and those who ordered them to do so will be
entirely responsible." Suu Kyi, 55, her driver and 14 NLD members were halted by
police in Dala Thursday as they headed south of the capital in two vehicles.
They have been there ever since. It was the first time Suu Kyi had tried to
leave Yangon since another roadside confrontation in 1998 that ended after 13
days, when deteriorating health and dehydration forced her to return home in an
ambulance. Suu Kyi was under house arrest for six years until 1995 and her
movements remain severely restricted. GOVERNMENT SAYS PROTECTING SUU KYI The
government says Suu Kyi was stopped for her own safety as "separatist terrorist
groups" were in the area, and insisted it was doing everything to ensure her
comfort. It has said she is free to stay in Dala but is encouraged to return
home. "Since this morning government officials have provided Daw Suu Kyi and her
companions with some beach umbrellas and a new mobile bathroom to ensure her
maximum comfort and well-being," the government said in a statement Monday. But
the NLD said it would refuse medicines and treatment offered by the authorities.
It said that if travel in the area was dangerous, the government had been lying
when it said it had brought peace to the country. "The authorities have to lift
the restrictions as soon as possible," the NLD statement said. Several countries
have criticized the treatment of Suu Kyi, with the United States and European
Union demanding that she be allowed to travel freely. But the government says
they had misunderstood the situation, and insisted Suu Kyi was being provided
with ample supplies. To support its assertion, it released six more photographs
said to show Suu Kyi and her companions during their "rest at ... Dala town, a
small but scenic and charming town which is a 10-minute boat ride from Yangon."
Suu Kyi was visible in one of the photographs, in a group of people the
government said were visiting a nearby family house. Another showed men beside
Suu Kyi"s car "trying to put more food and other amenities into an already
overloaded trunk," according to the caption. Photographs released over the
weekend showed the group"s two vehicles -- a sedan and a pickup truck -- parked
beside a dirt track. Journalists have not been allowed to visit the scene. (With
additional reporting by Andrew Marshall in Bangkok)
The Independent
Fourth night of stand-off as Burma blocks Aung San Suu Kyi's convoy By Peter Popham in Delhi 28 August 2000
The Burmese democracy leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was
yesterday still locked in contention with the Burmese military authorities, and
preparing to spend a fourth night with her supporters in two vehicles on the
outskirts of Rangoon.
Ms Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 after the ruling
junta annulled the 1990 general election which the party she leads, the National
League for Democracy (NLD) had won by a landslide, was prevented from travelling
beyond the capital region on Thursday after setting out with about a dozen party
colleagues with the intention of travelling south.
Ms Suu Kyi and her colleagues crossed the Yangon River by ferry and then
were collected by a car and a pickup to make the onward journey. But before they
had travelled more than a few minutes they were stopped by police, and penned in
a narrow lane off the main road, hemmed in by two government trucks. The tyres
of the two vehicles were also let down.
Ms Suu Kyi has been in conflict with Burma's military government ever since
1988 when a democratic uprising was ruthlessly suppressed with the loss of
thousands of lives. Between 1989 and 1995 she was held under house arrest. Today
she is free to visit her party's headquarters in central Rangoon, but whenever
she tries to venture further the authorities find pretexts for preventing it.
In the summer of 1998 she tried four times to leave the capital, but each
time was stopped. On the last occasion she stayed in her car for 13 days before
returning home on her doctor's advice.
The authorities are working hard to put an acceptable spin on this latest
confrontation with their most awkward citizen. "Daw Suu Kyi and her personal
chauffeur, together with 14 travel companions, are still continuing their rest
in Dala township today," the government said in a statement. "Until safety
conditions improve, Daw Suu Kyi is visiting Dala township, a small but charming
and scenic town..."
She was free, they said, to "continue staying by the roadside as long as
the conditions remain safe" – implying that if they decided they had had enough
and she must be taken home, they would say that conditions were no longer
safe.
Financial Times
Suu Kyi determined to escape By William Barnes in Bangkok August 27 2000 16:25GMT Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader, and 15 colleagues were on
Sunday night described as "utterly serious" in trying to break out of Rangoon as
they prepared for a fourth night of a roadside stand-off with the ruling
military authorities.
The leader of the National League for Democracy was, said a senior party
member, determined to rebuild her party's rural organisation, shredded by the
military government.
This is her first attempt to escape "town arrest" since 1998 when she made
four attempts, the last and longest being a 13-day stand-off that was broken off
on her doctor's advice.
Aung San Suu Kyi and Tin Oo, her septuagenarian deputy, another party
official, a driver and a dozen members of her youth wing ran into a police
roadblock after crossing the Rangoon River on a ferry last Thursday.
She has triggered this predictable impasse after watching the authorities'
continued dismantling of the NLD's national infrastructure.
"They are determined to smash the party. She is determined not to let this
happen. She wants to be a real leader who can reach out to people," said a
Rangoon-based diplomat.
"She has repeatedly said that one day there will be democracy in Burma and
Suu Kyi clearly believes it's important to prepare for that day. This is
emphatically not a mere gesture," the diplomat added.
The state-controlled media gleefully publish an almost daily list of NLD
members who have "recanted": on Sunday the New Light of Myanmar, for example,
claimed nine members in the Mandalay division "no longer wish to participate in
party politics of [the] NLD".
In February the party appealed against a court rejection of a suit charging
senior ruling generals with illegally plotting its destruction. The suit claimed
NLD members had been regularly detained, to be released only when they left the
party.
The State Department's 1999 human rights report noted that 55 NLD members
elected to Parliament a decade ago were in detention.
The US, the European Union, Britain and Australia have demanded the junta
lift the new blockade immediately.
The Nation - Aug 29,
2000.
Suu Kyi's car sit-in enters fifth day RANGOON - Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday began a
fifth cramped and uncomfortable day in her car south of the capital in a
roadside test of wills with Burma's military rulers.
The 55-year-old Nobel laureate and more than a dozen members of her
National League for Democracy (NLD) were halted by police last Thursday as they
headed south of the capital in two vehicles.
It was the first time Suu Kyi had tried to leave the city since another
roadside stand-off in 1998 that ended after 13 days when deteriorating health
and dehydration forced her to return home in an ambulance.
Burma's government says Suu Kyi is being prevented from travelling further
for her own protection, owing to threats of violence by "armed separatist
terrorist groups". It has asked her to go home but says she is free to remain in
Dala.
"Until safety conditions improve, Daw Suu Kyi is visiting Dala township, a
small but charming and scenic town about 10 minutes' boat ride from [Rangoon]
jetty," the government said in a statement at the weekend.
A Rangoon-based diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
government was contradicting itself, pointing to the regime's earlier statement
claiming to have secured the area where Suu Kyi is visiting, whereas if their
claim of protecting Suu Kyi from terrorist attack were true, then there would be
a serious concern for the safety of all in the capital, because it would mean
that all-out fighting between rebel armies and the military government was not
far away.
Moreover, said the diplomat, the government has cut off all access to food
by Suu Kyi and the NLD members.
Journalists who tried to go to the scene of the stand-off were turned back
by security authorities at the jetty.
To support its assertion that Suu Kyi was being properly looked after, the
government released five photographs of Suu Kyi's "visit to Dala".
One showed several men laden with plastic carrier bags walking along a path
towards the parked cars, with the caption: "Suu Kyi's travel companions coming
back from shopping at nearby food stores in time for high tea".
Another picture showed the group's two vehicles - a saloon car and a pickup
truck - parked beside a dirt track. The caption pointed out houses in the
background, noting that "bathroom services are available there for free".
Other photographs showed men washing at an outdoor water pump and bathing
in a river. The government said the pictures showed NLD members taking "an
afternoon dip".
Suu Kyi was not visible in any of the photographs. World anger at the
treatment of Suu Kyi has mounted, with the United States and European Union
demanding that she be allowed to travel freely in her own country.
The government said critics had misunderstood the situation.
"Apparently there is some misunderstanding of the current situation in
[Burma], so we would like to clarify some basic points to those who are
criticising us irresponsibly," it said.
"Like any government in the world, the government of [Burma] has a
fundamental obligation and responsibility to protect its citizens from acts of
violence from terrorist organisations and unlawful armed groups."
Other diplomats in Rangoon said they had not heard reports of armed
insurgent groups active in the area of the stand-off.
The NLD won elections in May 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed
to govern. Suu Kyi was under house arrest for six years until 1995, and her
movements remain severely restricted.
Meanwhile in Thailand about 300 Burmese students in Maneeloy holding centre
in Ratchaburi province staged a protest, and 15 of them went on hunger strike,
demanding that the Burmese government allow Suu Kyi to travel freely.
Ratchaburi Governor Preecha Ruengchan said the students should end the
protest as their activities were considered a violation of the centre's security
regulations.
"If they do not stop the protest, we will do what we have to according to
our regulations," Preecha said.
Police and security staff will be deployed to prevent escalation of the
incident, the governor said.
Reuters, The Nation.
YANGON, Aug. 28 Kyodo
NLD urges junta to lift blockade of Suu Kyi cars Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) on Monday
urged the military junta to lift a blockade of cars carrying pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party outside
Yangon.
NLD Chairman Aung Shwe wrote to Gen. Than Shwe, the chairman of the junta -- the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) -- saying there is no security risk in Suu Kyi visiting NLD branches and her visit will not create any disturbances, according to an NLD press release issued Monday. BBC - Monday, 28 August, 2000, 11:04
GMT 12:04 UK
China intensifies anti-Dalai Lama campaign By Rupert Wingfield Hayes in Beijing The Chinese Government appears to be intensifying its campaign against the
influence of the Dalai Lama inside Tibet.
Chinese state media confirms that schools and universities in Tibet have
been told to step up their propaganda campaign against what it calls the
'infiltration' by the Dalai Lama clique.
Tibetan exile groups say the campaign goes much further and has led to the
expulsion of monks from monasteries, house to house searches and threats against
individuals suspected of supporting the exiled Tibetan leader.
The groups say the new campaign against the Dalai Lama has been going on
for several months.
They say it has included the expulsion of 30 monks from one of Tibetan
Buddhism's oldest temples, and house to house searches for religious objects and
photographs of the exiled Tibetan leader.
They say the primary target of the campaign has been government workers and
communist party members, who have reverted to practising Buddhism.
They say some families have also been ordered to withdraw their children
from Buddhist schools in India, or risk losing their jobs.
Schools campaign
None of the accusations in the reports have been confirmed by the Chinese
government.
But there are other indications that an intensified campaign is under way.
Last week communist party officials in Lhasa announced a major campaign in
Tibet's schools and universities.
The main focus, they said, would be to oppose the influence of the Dalai
Lama.
The campaign was described as part of an intense and complex struggle.
Exile groups say the campaign comes in response to the defection of the
Karmapa Lama, the third highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Chinese government had been grooming the fifteen year old Lama to
become the pro-Beijing leader of Tibetan Buddhism and to lend legitimacy to
Chinese rule over Tibet.
Late last year the Karmapa Lama suddenly disappeared from Tibet turning up
a month later in India and leaving Beijing's Tibet policy in tatters.
South China Morning Post
Monday, August 28, 2000 BURMA - No end in sight for Suu Kyi's standoff ASSOCIATED PRESS in Rangoon No end was in sight Monday to Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's
roadside standoff with military rulers, her party said on Monday as it prepared
to send her bedding, medicine and mosquito repellant.
''It is not predictable how and when it will end,'' said Nyunt Wai, a senior official with the democracy leader's party. ''They are a determined group, and we are a resolute group.'' Ms Suu Kyi, two other leaders of her National League for Democracy and 12
members of the party's youth wing have been stuck in the Rangoon suburb of Dala
since Thursday, prevented by police from travelling to the countryside for an
organisational meeting.
They have been sleeping in their two vehicles, blocked by two trucks from
moving ahead.
The government says Ms Suu Kyi and her companions are free to return to
Rangoon or to stay in Dala and carry out her political activities there, but
itis not safe for her to travel further afield.
Ms Suu Kyi, awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has long been at odds with
the military regime in Burma. She was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 for
her pro-democracy organising.
Her party won a landslide victory in a 1990 general election, but the
military refused to honour the results. It has since kept up a campaign of
harassment and arrests of party members.
Thursday was the first time in two years that Ms Suu Kyi had tried to leave
Rangoon. She made four attempts in 1998 but was stopped every time, remaining in
her car for 13 days on one occasion.
The United States and Britain, as well as human rights groups such as
Amnesty International, have condemned the government action and urged
authorities to let Suu Kyi travel unhindered.
NLD Chairman Aung Shwe said on Monday that the vehicles were parked in a
muddy field infested with mosquitoes. He said mosquito repellent would be sent
to them along with medicine, bedding and plastic sheets.
In a second letter demanding that Ms Suu Kyi and her party be allowed to
travel on to Kungyangon, 50km south of Rangoon, Aung Shwe said the vehicles had
been stopped in unhealthy surroundings and the authorities would be held
responsible if the health of the NLD members were affected.
He added that Ms Suu Kyi would never accept medical assistance from
authorities. The government says it stationed an ambulance with one doctor and
six medics nearby.
Aung Shwe said he would deliver the letter to the military government's
leader, General Than Shwe, later on Monday.
''NLD leaders are determined to proceed to their destination and do their
party organisational work and return peacefully to Rangoon. Thus, we demand that
the military leaders lift the restriction,'' the letter said.
South China Morning Post
Monday, August 28, 2000 BURMA - Junta warned to ensure safety of Aung San Suu Kyi WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok Australia has warned Burma's military regime that it should not only allow
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to move freely, it must also protect her.
The popular leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and 15 party members, were preparing to spend their fourth night in a car and a van on the outskirts of Rangoon - facing a police roadblock. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's office said yesterday that freedom and safety were "not mutually exclusive". The warning comes after speculation that the regime may try to physically
force Ms Aung San Suu Kyi back to her house. Previously, she said that in a
similar stand-off, thugs working for the regime made a brief attack on her car.
This is the first time she has tried to move outside the capital since
1998, when four similar attempts were blocked. The last and longest stand-off
lasted 13 days before she ended it on medical advice. The party of 16, including
a dozen members of the youth wing, have rigged up a cover between the car and an
accompanying van and may be settling in for a long wait.
Diplomats in Rangoon said she was clearly determined to try to rebuild her
party's national infrastructure, which has been crumbling under pressure from
the regime. Her influence is perceived by some observers to have waned as a
result of the wider stand-off with the generals.
"She is not looking for trouble - simply seeking to exercise her basic
rights. She is clearly showing that the regime is lying when they say she is
free - she is not. She is caged," a senior NLD official said yesterday.
The party issued a statement earlier this month listing several instances
of officials forcing town residents and villagers in central Burma to sign
petitions distancing themselves from the party.
"They are determined to smash the party. She is determined not to let this
happen. She wants to be a real leader who can reach out to people, not just a
symbol," a Rangoon-based diplomat said. "She has repeatedly said that one day
there will be democracy in Burma and Suu clearly believes it's important to
prepare for that day. This is emphatically not a mere gesture."
The regime has released photographs of the two-vehicle encampment,
apparently aimed at reassuring the world that Ms Aung San Suu Kyi is safe.
However, it also humiliated her respected deputy Tin Oo, who is in his 70s, by
showing him bathing almost naked in the nearby Rangoon River.
The authorities claim they blocked the road near where the car and van
crossed the Rangoon River on a ferry, out of concern for her safety. "The local
authorities and townspeople have provided Daw Suu Kyi and her companions with
food and drinks while the government medical team and local police officials
remain nearby around the clock to ensure her maximum comfort, welfare and
security," said a government statement.
The United States and European Union have demanded the junta lift the new
blockade. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said: "We urge the authorities to
lift these unnecessary and unlawful restrictions immediately."
CNN/Asianow
Pro-democracy leader in 5th day of Myanmar roadside standoff Opposition party says government responsible if Suu Kyi harmed August 28, 2000 - Web posted at: 11:13 p.m. HKT (1513
GMT)
YANGON, Myanmar -- Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy said on Monday that the Myanmar (formerly Burma) military government
was responsible for any harm that may come to its leader while she and 15 others
are locked in a roadside standoff outside Yangon.
"The actions of the authorities amount to a violation of democracy and
human rights," said the opposition political group, which won national elections
in 1990 by a landslide but was kept from power by the military.
Police stopped two vehicles carrying Suu Kyi and her supporters on Thursday
as the group was traveling to Kungyangon, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of
Yangon, for party organization work. The group has remained on the roadside --
in a swampy, mosquito-infested area, NLD officials said -- since that day.
"The place where the NLD leaders are being held is unsuitable for people to
stay overnight," the group said, "and their health will be affected after some
time. If this happens, those who stopped them and those who ordered them to do
so will be entirely responsible."
The 55-year-old Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, was
released from a six-year house arrest in 1995, but the government has kept her
movements restricted. Suu Kyi last tried to leave Yangon, Myanmar's capital, in
1998 and was stopped in similar fashion.
That standoff lasted for 13 days, until deteriorating health and
dehydration forced Suu Kyi to return home in an ambulance.
U.S. issues objection
Karl Wycoff, U.S. acting charge d'affaires in Myanmar, told CNN that such
severe limitations on Suu Kyi were "obviously a violation of internationally
recognized human rights."
"The U.S. has issued a public statement urging the (Myanmar) authorities to engage in a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and the democratic opposition and condemning this latest limitation on her right to freedom of movement in her own country," Wycoff said. The diplomat added that international representatives, including
journalists and diplomats, were barred from the spot where the group was parked,
and he said he'd seen nothing about the situation in the local press.
But the government has released photographs it says show Suu Kyi and her
supporters visiting a nearby house, shopping, loading food into an already
overcrowded car trunk and exercising.
A government statement said the pro-democracy leader had been given "some
beach umbrellas, and a new mobile bathroom to ensure her maximum comfort and
well-being."
The government also said that Suu Kyi's group was stopped to protect her
from "separatist terrorist groups" in the area, a statement the NLD disputes.
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