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BANGKOK: Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi could face a five-year jail term on charges that she broke the terms of her house arrest.
The charges stem from a bizarre incident, in which an American citizen swam to her lakeside house and hid inside her home.
The Nobel Peace laureate is now being held at Insein Prison, and faces trial on Monday.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi are outraged, as her six-year detention was due to expire in a few days.
Millions in Myanmar consider Aung San Suu Kyi the rightful leader of their country.
As head of the National League for Democracy (NLD), she won the 1990 election, but Myanmar's military nullified the results and refused to hand over power, and instead has kept her under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years.
An American man, John Yettaw, who is thought to be sympathetic to the pro-democracy cause in the country, was caught in her home after illegally entering, leading to the current charges against her.
With a new trial set for next week, her supporters fear that any hope of her being released is now lost. And at age 63 and in ill health, five more years in prison - instead of at home - could be a death sentence.
Thin Thin Aung, Presidium Board Member of Women's League of Burma, said: "We clearly make this call that the international community should not be silent and also act very urgently and firmly, and send the strong signal to the regime that they can no longer act with impunity, such kind of violations of basic human rights and democratic rights for her and all other political prisoners."
Myanmar's political opposition in exile said the arrest was timed to undermine their attempts at answering the current government's call for reform.
Nyo Ohn Myint, National Coalition of the Union of Burma, said: "This is unfairly and politically motivated and a setup for her not to participate in the political process now and in the future... We think this arrest is a response by the regime to the NLD offer just a few weeks ago. NLD offered that we would like to negotiate the 7 Step Road. We try to comprise."
No one is expecting Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial to be anything but a pro forma one, but the whole world is watching to see the severity of her punishment.
Myanmar's military government, flush with cash from the country's vast natural resources, and immune to outside pressure, has no reason to grant Aung San Suu Kyi her freedom. And despite going through the motions of democracy, they will do nothing that seems to put their own grip on power in jeopardy.
- CNA/yt
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