Pro-Democracy Leader Goes on Trial in Myanmar

Pro-Democracy Leader Goes on Trial in Myanmar

By SETH MYDANS and MARK McDONALD

May 19, 2009

BANGKOK — Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, went on trial on Monday in a mostly procedural hearing as hundreds of police officers and army soldiers blocked crowds of protesters, according to reports from news agencies and opposition exile groups.

Several foreign diplomats were prevented from entering the court where Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi faced charges that could bring a prison term of up to five years, according to the reports. A United States Embassy official was allowed to enter because another defendant in the trial is an American man who swam across a lake this month and spent a night in Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s house.

Though the American, John Yettaw, appeared to have acted without her knowledge, his adventure led to charges that she violated the terms of the house arrest that has limited her outside contact for 13 of the past 19 years.

The trial was the most aggressive action that the ruling junta had taken in recent years against Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, 63, who has remained the symbolic leader of an opposition that continues to resurface after repeated crackdowns. Most analysts viewed the charges as a pretext for extending her latest six-year term of house arrest before a general election scheduled for next spring, in which the junta aims to formalize the dominance of the military under a new Constitution.

Some analysts also say the charges could herald a broader clampdown on political dissent and pro-democracy figures in anticipation of the election.

Although the government carried out a purge of opposition activists after an uprising led by Buddhist monks in 2007, demonstrators were on the streets again on Monday, handing out leaflets and challenging police officers, soldiers and civilian militias, who were carrying bamboo rods and canes, according to the Burma Partnership, an exile opposition group.

“In terms of security measures they’ve deployed, it’s very difficult for people to come together for a big march,” said Khin Ohmar of the Thailand-based Burma Partnership, who said she was in direct contact with members of the opposition inside the nation, which was formerly known as Burma.

It was not clear how long the trial might last, but Ms. Khin Ohmar said officials had announced that the streets around the prison would be closed off for a week.

The charges have brought broad condemnation from the United Nations, Western countries and even some of Myanmar’s normally accommodating Southeast Asian neighbors.

The United States, which had said it was reviewing a hard-line policy of economic sanctions, announced last week that the measures would be extended for another year. On Monday the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said, “It’s not the moment to lower sanctions, it’s the moment in any case to increase them.”

Among Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters, including exile groups and her own lawyers, there is widespread anger at the American man for putting her at risk of imprisonment.

Mr. Yettaw, from Falcon, Mo., swam across Inya Lake in central Yangon this month and sneaked into Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s lakeside compound at night. He used empty plastic jugs to keep himself afloat during his swim, and he had a pair of makeshift flippers strapped to his feet, according to reports in the official Myanmar press.

The reasons for his escapade remained unclear, although an American diplomat said last week that Mr. Yettaw seemed to have religious motivations for trying to visit the house. Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s principal lawyer, who called Mr. Yettaw “a nutty fellow” and “a fool,” said Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi had pleaded with him to leave, but he complained of exhaustion and leg cramps. She gave him a ground-floor room while she stayed in her bedroom upstairs.

The government does not allow Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi to have foreign visitors at her home, and even senior diplomats are denied permission to see her there. When the occasional United Nations envoy is allowed to speak with her, it is at a government guest house in Yangon, formerly Rangoon, the country’s main city. Also, overnight guests are prohibited at her home.

Mr. Yettaw, 53, a Mormon, was reported to have prayed often while he was at the house. He is said to have left late the following night and was spotted by the police while he was swimming back across the lake.

He is facing trial along with Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and two women who share her home.

Seth Mydans reported from Bangkok, and Mark McDonald from Hong Kong.