Myanmar denies creating ASSK-Yettaw incident
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-22 14:12:07   Print

    YANGON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has denied that it created the incident involving Aung San Suu Kyi and Johnn Willam Yettaw, an American citizen who sneaked into her restricted house, but countercharged that it was so done by the other side.

    "The incident involving Aung San Suu Kyi and an American citizen could possibly be created by the other side and not by the Myanmar government," Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win said in a recent telephone talks with his Japanese counterpart Hirofumi Nakasone published by Friday's state media.

    "This incident will proceed fairly according to the law," Nyan Win said.

    The hearing of the case has been underway for four days since Monday at a special court set up at Yangon's Insein Prison. Detained Aung San Suu Kyi, her two female housemates and Yettaw are being brought to trial all on charge of breaching Myanmar's security law.

    Nyan Win noted that the defendants are allowed to get lawyers to defend in the court which will decide the case.

    He guaranteed that both Aung San Suu Kyi and the American are under health care, allowing consular access for U.S. diplomats with Yettaw according to the Vienna Convention.

    He accused internal and external anti-government elements of plotting the incident to intensify international pressure on Myanmar at a time when the United States, Japan and European countries are reviewing their policies towards Myanmar.

    In the telephone talks, Hirofumi expressed concern over the recent lawsuit against Aung San Suu Kyi, saying that the action taken by the Myanmar government may impact international views over Myanmar as well as the upcoming general election in the country in 2010.

    He urged the Myanmar government to give humanitarian consideration on Aung San Suu Kyi's reported illness. Despite a domestic legal process of Myanmar, appropriate way should be sought to deal with the issue taking consideration of the international opinions at a most critical juncture in its democratization process, he added.

    Meanwhile, On Wednesday, the third day of the hearing, Aung SanSuu Kyi was allowed a 25-minute meeting at a separate "guest house" of the Insein Prison with three foreign diplomats from Singapore, the Russian Federation and Thailand.

    At the meeting, Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was quoted as telling the diplomats that she is well taken care by the authorities and her health is sound. She admitted that she did accommodate the sneaking American on humanitarian grounds.

    A total of 28 Yangon-based foreign diplomats from respective countries and one United Nations resident representative, five Yangon-based foreign newsmen and five local media persons were allowed so far once into the court to observe the trial but were prohibited to take photos and make sound records except the state-run media persons. 

Editor: An
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