Thu May 14, 6:55 AM ET

Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon. The south east Asian nation's military rulers have charged Aung San Suu Kyi with breaching the terms of her house arrest over an incident in which a US man swam across a lake and entered her home.

(AFP/File)






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Suu Kyi Faces Jail After Visit From Uninvited American

The Lady was in court, but with the trial in Burma's commercial capital Rangoon closed to the public, few knew whether she wore her trademark flowers in her hair. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who's known in Burma simply as "the Lady," was dragged to the notorious Insein Prison on Thursday morning to face charges of disobeying the terms of her house arrest. On May 3, according to the Burmese state press, an American man illegally swam across a lake to Suu Kyi's waterfront villa and snuck into her compound for two nights. Foreigners are not allowed to stay overnight in Burmese houses - and Suu Kyi is no ordinary lady. The leader of Burma's crushed democratic opposition, she has been confined to her crumbling home by the ruling junta for much of the past two decades. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won nationwide elections by a landslide in 1990 only to have the military regime, which has been in power since 1962, ignore them.

Suu Kyi's trial is due to begin on May 18, according to one of her lawyers. Two housekeepers, who have lived with Suu Kyi since her latest stint of house arrest began in 2003, were also charged. A doctor, one of the only other people with regular access to the opposition leader, was detained a day after the swimmer was arrested while trying to swim back to shore from Suu Kyi's home. Though Suu Kyi's lawyer has said she was upset to discover an unexpected visitor in her home, the democracy activist could still face five years in jail if she is convicted. (See pictures of Burma after Cyclone Nargis.)

After several days of stone-walling by the Burmese regime, an American diplomat was allowed to meet with the detained American swimmer, who was identified by the official Burmese media as 53-year-old former military serviceman John William Yettaw of Falcon, Missouri. Previous articles about him in the state press spelled his name different ways, but U.S. public records online do point to the existence of a John W. Yettaw residing in the Ozarks. Kyi Win, another of Suu Kyi's lawers, said that her uninvited guest was a Mormon; a 2007 obituary for a son of John W. Yettaw said the deceased young man had also been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

On Thursday morning, along with the charges read against Suu Kyi and her housekeepers, Yettaw was charged with entering a restricted area and contravening immigration regulations. His motives for his alleged lake exploits remain unclear.

The incident of the midnight swimmer came just weeks before Suu Kyi's latest round of house arrest was set to expire. But, even prior to the charges stemming from Yettaw's visit, another of her laywers said that her latest appeal for freedom had been denied by the junta. Some international observers had hoped that the military regime would soften its grip on Suu Kyi as the country prepares for elections next year. The army government calls the polls the final step in its formation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy." But scores of NLD members languish in jail, and intimidation of opposition parties by junta goons continues unabated. Polls may well be held in 2010, but they will not take place on a level playing field. Top posts will be reserved for members of the military, and arcane rules have been designed to keep Suu Kyi and other NLD stalwarts from running for office. Burma-watchers also fear that ballot boxes will be stuffed to ensure that the military doesn't lose as it did so spectacularly in 1990.

In the days after her aquatic houseguest visited, Suu Kyi was reportedly feeling unwell. NLD colleagues reported that she was feeling dehydrated and was suffering from low blood pressure. The health of the 63-year-old is watched anxiously not only by Burma's democratic opposition, but by many other Burmese who revere her with a singular - if hushed - devotion. On sensitive dates related to the doomed democracy movement, some women put flowers in their hair, a subtle show of support for the silenced activist. Now, with the Lady suddenly in jail, flowers may bloom in Rangoon anew.

Read about Burma's ethnic minorities.

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View this article on Time.com

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Article: HERE

Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi meets with United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari in February

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam across a lake to sneak into her home, her lawyer said.

Suu Kyi, whose latest detention period was set to end on May 27, could face a prison term of up to five years if convicted, according to Hla Myo Myint.

The trial is scheduled to start Monday at a special court at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison, where she was arraigned Thursday.

The 63-year-old has already spent more than 13 of the last 19 years - including the past six - in detention without trial for her nonviolent promotion of democracy, despite international pressure for her release.

The American man, who has been identified as 53-year-old John William Yettaw, was arrested last week for allegedly swimming across a lake to secretly enter Suu Kyi's home and staying there for two days. His motives remain unclear.

He was charged at Thursday's hearing with illegally entering a restricted zone, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and breaking immigration laws, which is punishable by up to one year behind bars.

Human rights groups said they feared the trial would be used to justify another extension of Suu Kyi's yearslong detention despite international demands for her release.

In the past the junta - which regards the Nobel Peace laureate as the biggest threat to their rule - has found reasons to extend her periods of house arrest, which international jurists say is illegal even under Myanmar's own law.

The regime appears bent on ensuring that general elections scheduled for next year are carried out without any significant opposition by pro-democracy groups that say the balloting will merely perpetuate military rule under a democratic guise.

Kyi Win, another lawyer for Suu Kyi, said the opposition leader did not invite the man to her home and in fact told the man to leave.

He said the incident was merely a breach of the normally tight security authorities impose on Suu Kyi and her household.

American John Yettaw was arrested at Suu Kyi's home

'Everyone is very angry with this wretched American. He is the cause of all these problems,' Suu Kyi's lawyer Kyi Win told reporters. 'He's a fool.'

U.S. consular chief Colin Furst was allowed to visit Yettaw, of Falcon, Missouri, for the first time on Wednesday.

'He seemed to be in good spirits and in good health,' U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said.

Mei was not present at the arraignment and said he did not immediately have additional details.

'I know that John is harmless and not politically motivated in any way. He did not want to cause Suu Kyi any trouble,' his stepson Paul Nedrow wrote in an e-mail to a reporter.

He added that he was concerned over his stepfather's health since he was a diabetic and the ailment 'could cause him to become disoriented and confused and be unable to make wise choices for himself.'

Burma state television said Yettaw had served two years in the military and listed his occupations as 'student, clinical psychology, Forest Institution.'

Earlier today, armed police drove Suu Kyi and two women companions to the high security Insein Prison.

The women, who have lived with Suu Kyi since she was last detained in 2003, were also charged with the same offence, lawyers said.

'This is a non-bailable case, but we will fight for bail,' Hla Myo Myint told reporters outside the prison after Suu Kyi and Yettaw were charged.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith described Suu Kyi's arrest as 'gravely concerning' and called for her immediate release.

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, which describes itself as the country's government-in-exile, said the junta was using the incident to extend Suu Kyi's detention.

'It is nothing more than a political ploy to hoodwink the international community so that it can keep (Suu Kyi) under lock and key while the military maneuvers its way to election victory on 2010,' the group's Prime Minister Sein Win said in a statement.

Suu Kyi has recently been ill, suffering from dehydration and low blood pressure.

Her condition improved this week after a visit from a doctor who administered an intravenous drip, said Nyan Win, the spokesman of her National League for Democracy Party, who is part of a team of three lawyers hoping to represent her.

'Please tell them (reporters) I am well,' Kyi Win quoted Suu Kyi as saying. But he added: 'I am very concerned about Suu Kyi's health, even though she said she is well.'

Article: HERE