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Myanmar military 'to try Suu Kyi'

The Nobel laureate has been detained for more than 13 of the last 20 years [AFP] Myanmar's military government is to put Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's opposition leader, on trial over an American who allegedly sneaked into her home, her political party says. Following the announcement by the National League for Democracy (NLD), police took the Nobel laureate to Insein prison on Thursday morning where she and the two women who live with her were to face trial, an NLD spokesman said. "Her lawyer said the authorities will charge the lady and her two maids at the court in Insein prison," Nyan Win told the AFP news agency, referring to the prison in Yangon, the former capital. Nyan Win said he was informed of the plan to try Aung San Suu Kyi by her lawyer, Kyi Win. 'Cunning' plan Critics say such a trial could be used to justify another extension of her home detention which officially ends on May 27. Zin Linn, the director of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, a pro-democracy group that supports Aung San Suu Kyi, told Al Jazeera there was an "ulterior" motive to the trial. "They are finding fault with her to extend her detention because they didn't allow her to participate in the election, that is their main intention," he said, calling the military's move "very cunning and crooked". Aung San Suu Kyi has been under detention at her lakeside home in Yangon [EPA] "She was under house arrest. Any security measure was taken by the authorities, so whoever [enters] into the compound of a resident, the responsibility is upon the authorities, not upon her," he added. The military government has in the past found various reasons to extend her periods of house arrest, which has been condemned internationally. The 63-year-old has been detained without trial for more than 13 of the last 20 years, with the military refusing to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990. It was not immediately clear what charges she faced, but Myanmar exile groups said she could be charged under a public security law and face a prison term of seven years. 'Secret meeting' An American man, John William Yettaw, was arrested last week for allegedly swimming across a lake to secretly enter Aung San Suu Kyi's home in Yangon and stay there for two days. Yettaw is accused of having met Aung San Suu Kyi during his two-day stay at her home [EPA] Myanmar's state-run newspapers reported last week that Yettaw, 53, swam on the night of May 3 to her lakeside home, "secretly entered the house and stayed there" two nights. He then swam away on the night of May 5 before being arrested the next morning. Myanmar official sources said the man had succeeded in meeting Aung San Suu Kyi during his time at the house. His motives remain unclear. Myanmar citizens are required by law to notify local officials about any overnight visitors who are not family members. The law also states that foreigners are not allowed to spend the night at a local's home. In poor health Aung San Suu Kyi has of late 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, Nyan Win, the NLD spokesman, said on Tuesday. According to the US Campaign for Burma, a US-based lobby group opposed to military rule in Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, her two helpers, her personal doctor Tin Myo Win, and Yettaw would all be tried together. The two helpers, Khin Khin Win, 65, and her daughter Win Ma Ma, 41, have lived with Aung San Suu Kyi since the start of her latest detention in 2003. Tin Myo Win was arrested without explanation last week, a day after Yettaw was taken into custody. Jason Fieldhouse