Books, letter to be used in case against Suu Kyi

[May 23, 2009]  YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Several items left by an uninvited American visitor, including a book on the Mormon faith and a letter, could be used to convict and imprison Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of violating her house arrest, a state-run newspaper said Saturday.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council called for the release of all political prisoners in military-ruled Myanmar including Suu Kyi and expressed concern over the political impact her trial, which started Monday.

Prosecutors accused Suu Kyi on Friday of accepting the items left by John W. Yettaw, the Myanmar Ahlin newspaper said. Yettaw swam across a lake to her Yangon home under the cover of darkness earlier this month and entered her compound uninvited.

Yettaw left at least six books including the "Book of Mormon," the newspaper said. He also left a letter written by his daughter which Suu Kyi later ripped up, it said. They were among 23 items that Suu Kyi handed over to police including two black robes, a flashlight and three sets of goggles.

Police Col. Win Naing Tun told the court that Suu Kyi breached the conditions of her house arrest by receiving books and documents from the outside, the newspaper said. The order also bars her from communicating with the outside world by phone or mail and from meeting diplomats and politicians.

Suu Kyi, who has been in detention without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, pleaded not guilty Friday after the special court trying her agreed to accept the charges and proceed with her trial.

Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers, insisted Saturday the restriction order only bars her from sending out books and letters, not receiving them.

Yettaw and the two female companions who stay with Suu Kyi also pleaded not guilty to the same charge.

Myanmar's courts operate under the influence of the ruling military and almost always deal harshly with political dissidents.

The trial, which is to resume after the weekend, has sparked new international criticism of the military junta and calls for Suu Kyi's immediate release.

Critics have accused the junta of using Yettaw's visit as a pretext for keeping Suu Kyi in detention through elections scheduled next year, the culmination of the junta's "roadmap to democracy" which has been criticized as a fig leaf for continued military rule.

Suu Kyi is being held at notorious Insein Prison along with other political prisoners. She had been scheduled to be freed May 27 after six consecutive years under house arrest, although it was expected that the government would try to find a reason to hold her, as has happened in the past.

"We will certainly win the case if it is conducted according to law," Nyan Win said Friday. "But we cannot say if there are other things to be considered. They have not been able to prove that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is guilty of breaking the law." "Daw" is a term of respect used for older women.

He said a verdict could be reached in 10 to 14 days.

On Friday, all 15 U.N. Security Council members released a press statement expressing their concern "about the political impact of recent developments relating to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi." They reiterated the need for Myanmar's military leaders "to create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue" with Suu Kyi and other opposition and minority groups "to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation."

The United States had initially urged the council to adopt a stronger presidential statement, which becomes part of the council's official record. But diplomats said it was downgraded to a press statement to get approval from China and Russia, which have close ties to Myanmar's military government.

In what her supporters are taking as an ominous sign, the authorities have now removed the last of the barriers that were used as roadblocks at both ends of the Yangon street where Suu Kyi's house is located. This was seen as suggesting she may not be returning home soon.

Authorities detained Yettaw after he left Suu Kyi's heavily guarded compound earlier this month. Her lawyers have said she allowed him to stay for two days after he said he was too tired and ill to immediately swim back across the lake.

Suu Kyi also told her lawyers that she did not want him or the security personnel in charge of her house to get into trouble because of her, Nyan Win said.

She said the incident occurred because of a security breach - the house is tightly guarded - so the responsibility for allowing Yettaw to enter lies with the security forces.

[Associated Press]

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