Condemnation of Suu Kyi's detention
Friday, 15 May 2009 22:23Burma is facing international pressure to release pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after she was imprisoned ahead of a new trial next week for breaching the terms of her house arrest.
The ruling military junta took the Nobel Peace Prize laureate from her home yesterday to Yangon's notorious Insein prison.
She was then charged over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside residence.
The US led Western calls for her immediate release, while rights groups urged the UN Security Council to intervene to help the 63-year-old, whose trial is due to start at the prison on Monday.
There was no comment from Burma's government, which has kept Aung San Suu Kyi in detention for most of the last 19 years and now looks set to do so past controversial elections that are due next year.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was 'deeply troubled' by the 'baseless' case laid against Ms Suu Kyi just days before her latest six-year detention was to have expired.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was 'gravely concerned'.
UN special envoy on human rights in Burma Tomas Ojea Quintana called for Ms Suu Kyi to be freed and said her detention broke the country's laws.
Britain, France and other western nations, which like the US have imposed sanctions on Burma, condemned the decision and said it did not bode well for the 2010 elections.
A group of statesmen including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former US President Jimmy Carter also demanded her release.
