Myanmar junta allows glimpse of Suu Kyi trial
By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON (Reuters) - Army-ruled Myanmar opened the trial of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday in an apparent bid
to calm growing international outrage at the regime and its latest
crackdown on the Nobel Peace laureate.
Suu Kyi appeared healthy and confident during the 45-minute hearing
watched by some 30 diplomats and a handful of Burmese journalists
on the third day of her trial inside Yangon's notorious Insein
Central Prison.
The 63-year-old, known affectionately as "The Lady" by her
supporters, faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of
breaking the terms of her latest house arrest.
"Thank you very much for coming and for your support," Suu Kyi,
dressed in a pink blouse and maroon-coloured tied skirt, known as a
longhi, told the diplomats after the hearing.
"I hope to meet you in better days," she said, smiling, before
female police officers escorted her out of the court.
She was to meet privately with diplomats from Russia, Thailand and
Singapore at her prison guest house later. It was not clear if the
trial would be open on Thursday.
The case against Suu Kyi, accused of violating her house arrest
after an uninvited American intruder swam to her lakeside home two
weeks ago, has outraged the West and triggered threats of new
sanctions against the regime.
Even Myanmar's usually acquiescent neighbours have issued a rare
rebuke to the generals.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), setting aside
its mantra of non-interference, said the trial had put the "honour
and credibility" of its troublesome member at stake.
However, Wednesday's gesture of transparency is unlikely to dampen
condemnation of a trial based on what many see as trumped-up
charges to keep the charismatic Suu Kyi in detention through
elections in 2010.
Mark Canning, Britain's ambassador to Myanmar, said he saw little
evidence that Suu Kyi was receiving a fair trial.
"All the paraphernalia of the court room is there," he told BBC
television. "The judges, the prosecution, the defence. That's all
there, but I think this is a story where the conclusion is already
scripted."
One Asian diplomat said: "They seem to want to improve the image of
the trial by allowing us to be there."
AMERICAN INTRUDER
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide
election victory in 1990, only to be denied power by the military,
which has ruled the country for more than four decades.
She has been detained for more than 13 of the past 19 years, most
of them at her home in Yangon, guarded by police, her mail
intercepted and visitors restricted.
Her latest house arrest will end on May 27 after six years,
fuelling allegations that the regime is using the American intruder
as a pretext to keep Suu Kyi in detention.
Despite the tight security at her home, authorities say John
Yettaw, a 53-year-old American, sneaked inside on May 3 after using
homemade flippers to swim across Inya Lake.
Suu Kyi and two female assistants who live in the house were
charged last Thursday with breaking a law protecting the state from
"those desiring to cause subversive acts."
They have denied any wrongdoing.
Yettaw, dressed in a white shirt and khaki trousers, appeared
nervous during Wednesday's hearing, which heard testimony from a
police officer. He did not speak to the diplomats.
He is charged with immigration violations, trespassing into a
restricted area and violating the same draconian security law.
Nyan Win, an NLD official and member of Suu Kyi's defence team,
said on Tuesday the regime was rushing through the list of 22
prosecution witnesses and may wrap up the trial next week.
(Writing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Alan Raybould and Paul
Tait)
