Pressure mounts for Suu Kyi release
An Indonesian special envoy has arrived in Myanmar to press for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.
Former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas flew into the Myanmar capital, Yangon for a five-day visit on Sunday. It was not clear though whether the ruling junta would allow him to meet Suu Kyi.
“The plane has landed and a few Indonesian diplomats are waiting to receive him,” a Myanmarese official present at the capital’s airport said.
Indonesia is chairing the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, some of whose members have been pressing for Suu Kyi’s early release.
Myanmar’s best known pro-democracy campaigner, who has also been awared the Nobel Peace prize, Suu Kyi – has been in detention since May. Currently, she is held in a hospital, recovering from a surgery that she underwent last Friday.
Rally
The Indonesian envoy’s arrival came a day after Myanmar’s ruling junta orchestrated a rally to demonstrate support for itself.
More than 15,000 people attended the rally in Yangon, organised by the junta-backed Unions Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a local daily reported on Sunday.
The USDA is blamed for the 30 May attacks on Suu Kyi and her supporters that led to her detention and another round of crackdown on the country’s opposition.
Suu Kyi had won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, the results of which were annulled by the ruling junta. She has been in and out of detention since then.