Yahoo! News News Home - Yahoo! - Help

Reuters
ADVERTISEMENT
Gifts for Dads & Grads: Steaks for Dad | Father & Son Tent | Jeans Sale $14.99 | Deluxe Hammock
Welcome, Guest Personalize News Home Page   -   Sign In
Yahoo! News   Mon, Jun 09, 2003
Search   for     Advanced
News Front Page
Top Stories
Business
World
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Politics
   White House
   Elections
   Congress
   U.S. Government
World
   Supreme Court
   Press Releases
Most PopularNew
Science
Health
Oddly Enough
Op/Ed
Lifestyle
Local
Comics
News Photos
Most Popular
Weather
Audio/Video
Full Coverage
Lottery
Crosswords
News for Kids

Full Coverage
More about
Myanmar
Related News Stories
UN mission to Myanmar in jeopardy as Suu Kyi meeting hopes fade AFP (Jun 8, 2003)
Labour group calls for Suu Kyi's release CBC (Jun 7, 2003)
U.N. Envoy Fails to Get Suu Kyi Released AP (Jun 7, 2003)
Opinion & Editorials
Put Burma on the map Capital Times (Jun 6, 2003)
What to do about Myanmar Asia Times Online (Jun 6, 2003)
Squeeze the junta Baltimore Sun. (Jun 6, 2003)
Feature Articles
Yangon feels the tightening of the screws Asia Times Online (Jun 5, 2003)
Inside Burma? Bangkok Post (Jun 5, 2003)
Related Web Sites
Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Myanmar Information Committee
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

News Resources
Providers
· AP
· Reuters
· AFP
· OneWorld.net
· NPR
· Photos
News Alerts
· United Nations
· Kofi Annan
Search News

Search:

for

Advanced
 
World - Reuters
Myanmar's Junta Moves Suu Kyi to Capital
Sun Jun 1, 2:48 PM ET
Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo!

By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta moved opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to a guest house in the capital Yangon Sunday two days after she was detained in a crackdown which included the closure of universities and offices of her party.

Photo
Reuters Photo

Reuters Photo Photo
Reuters Photo
Slideshow Slideshow: Myanmar

 

Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders, who had been touring northern Myanmar, were detained Friday after clashes between supporters and opponents of her National League for Democracy (NLD) killed four people.

"Government authorities brought her back to the capital today from the north, where she was visiting supporters," a source close to the government said.

The United Nations (news - web sites) had earlier expressed concern about the whereabouts of Suu Kyi, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) said in a statement Saturday he was "following, and with concern, the situation in Myanmar."

The ruling military, which described Suu Kyi's detention as "protective custody," closed off the party headquarters in Yangon, and a party official said its offices had been closed elsewhere in the country, formerly known as Burma.

An education ministry source said the government had also closed universities and colleges "indefinitely."

Universities have been closed and reopened several times since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which began with student riots. Most universities were relocated outside major cities in the late 1990s.

Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy icon, had been on a month-long tour visiting supporters and party offices in the north of the country. Other top NLD party members have been confined to their homes and their phone lines have been out of order since Friday night.

BLOW TO TALKS

Myanmar has been ruled by the military in various guises for the last four decades.

Foreign diplomats contacted by Reuters Sunday said they feared the detentions could deal a death blow to stalled talks between the ruling generals and the opposition on Myanmar's political future. U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail is due to travel to Myanmar Friday.

Suu Kyi's party won 1990 elections by a landslide but she was denied power by the military and spent much of the last decade under house arrest. After intense international pressure, the junta released her from 19 months under house arrest in May 2002.

Officials of Suu Kyi's party, which has been pushing for a transition to democracy in the Southeast Asian nation, said contact with her and senior aides had been cut off since Friday.

One NLD official, who declined to be identified, said authorities had shut down party offices in the country's second biggest city, Mandalay, 700 km (430 miles) north of Yangon, as well as in Mawlamyaing in the south and Pathein in the west.

"As far as we have heard, our offices...have been closed and we think some offices in other home states have been closed," said the official.

Myanmar officials did not say what sparked the violence in Yaway Oo, about 560 km (350 miles) north of the capital, and denied media reports that Suu Kyi's vehicle had been fired on by an unidentified gunman Friday night.

Talks between the junta and the opposition began in late 2000 after Suu Kyi was put under house arrest. They stalled in the early stages and the government has not responded to Suu Kyi's calls for substantive dialogue on political change.

 

More than 1,000 of her party members are in Myanmar jails, where many of them have languished for years.


Mail to Friend  Email Story
Message Boards   Post/Read Msgs
Printer Version   Print Story
Ratings: Would you recommend this story?
Not at all 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 Highly


Prev. Story: Croat Court OKs Suspect's Handover to U.N. Tribunal (Reuters)
Next Story: WHO Official Coming to China to Talk SARS Warning (Reuters)

More World Stories
· Hamas Still Opposed to Talks with Palestinian PM  (Reuters)
· North Korea admits nuclear weapons drive, blames Washington  (AFP)
· India Battles Polio as Virus Strikes  (OneWorld.net)
· Abbas: No Force Against Arab Militants   (AP)
· Israel to dismantle outposts despite deadly Palestinian attacks  (AFP)


Weekly SpecialsADVERTISEMENT
· Top 10 Auto Theft Areas
· Chase® Platinum Visa: 0% Intro APR, No Annual Fee. Click to Apply!
·Stop Snoring Now - Sleep Better Tonight
· Check out Toyota's quality cars, trucks and SUVs at toyota.com..
· Need Health Insurance? Get FREE Health Insurance Quotes!
· Save money now...GEICO.com
· Save up to 70% on Life Insurance. Get Instant Quotes!
· eLibrary: Get 15 years of BUSINESS news here!
· Car Payment too High Because of Your Credit? Refinance Today!
· Get a fresh start with ClearCredit
Platinum


Services
Daily Emails
Free News Alerts

Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2003 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright Policy - Ad Feedback