sujithkochi
01-25-2010, 04:35 AM
YANGON - MYANMAR pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be freed when her house arrest ends in November, according to a government minister quoted by witnesses on Monday, but critics said that may be too late for this year's elections.
Home Minister Major General Maung Oo told a Jan 21 meeting of local officials the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner would be released in November, a month after many observers expect the country to hold its first parliamentary elections in two decades.
The information could not be verified independently but three people who attended the meeting said the comment was made to an audience of several hundred people in Kyaukpadaung, a town about 565km (350 miles) north of the former capital, Yangon. The three witnesses requested anonymity.
Ms Suu Kyi, detained for 14 of the past 20 years, was sentenced to a further 18 months of detention last August for harbouring an American who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, raising questions over whether the election will be a sham.
Mr Maung Oo also said detained NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo would be released on Feb 13, and that the government would pursue an international-style market economy after holding 'free and fair' elections, including loosening restrictions on car imports.
Mr Tin Oo, 82, a former defence minister and retired general, has been in prison or under house arrest for more than a decade. -- *******
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_481788.html
Home Minister Major General Maung Oo told a Jan 21 meeting of local officials the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner would be released in November, a month after many observers expect the country to hold its first parliamentary elections in two decades.
The information could not be verified independently but three people who attended the meeting said the comment was made to an audience of several hundred people in Kyaukpadaung, a town about 565km (350 miles) north of the former capital, Yangon. The three witnesses requested anonymity.
Ms Suu Kyi, detained for 14 of the past 20 years, was sentenced to a further 18 months of detention last August for harbouring an American who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, raising questions over whether the election will be a sham.
Mr Maung Oo also said detained NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo would be released on Feb 13, and that the government would pursue an international-style market economy after holding 'free and fair' elections, including loosening restrictions on car imports.
Mr Tin Oo, 82, a former defence minister and retired general, has been in prison or under house arrest for more than a decade. -- *******
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_481788.html