Suu Kyi to Boost Security at Her House

RANGOON — Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi plans to repair her dilapidated two-story home to improve security, after an American's high-profile intrusion led to her house arrest being extended, lawyers said Tuesday.

Suu Kyi wants to reinforce two balconies on the upper floor, which have only glass doors, and meet with an architect to discuss other renovations, said lawyer Nyan Win.

An activist holds a portrait of pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally outside the Burmese embassy in Bangkok in August. (Photo: Reuters)

The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is "very keen to have her house repaired, mainly for security reasons," Nyan Win said.

American John Yettaw sneaked uninvited into her lakeside compound in May this year, even though she was under house arrest and the home was under round-the-clock police guard.

A Burmese court found the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate guilty of violating the terms of her detention by sheltering Yettaw for two days. She was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe reduced the sentence to 18 months of additional house arrest.

Yettaw received a seven-year sentence, but was deported on August 16 shortly after his conviction for what the government said was humanitarian reason.

During the trial, Suu Kyi was imprisoned at Burma's notorious Insein Prison.

While she was away, authorities put up barbed wire at the back of her compound to prevent future lakeside entries. A section of University Avenue, where her house is located, is totally blocked by a barbed-wire barricade, with no traffic allowed.

Suu Kyi had minor repairs carried out on the home in her absence and an architect visited to begin evaluations for future renovations, said Nyan Win. Suu Kyi has not yet met with the architect, Nyan Win said, and it was not immediately known if such a visit would be allowed by the junta.

Suu Kyi, who is an avid reader, is also considering changes to the home's interior such as converting one room into a library and reading room, said Nyan Win.

Suu Kyi and her two female companions returned to her tightly guarded home August 11, the day she was convicted. She has been detained for about 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest, for her nonviolent promotion of democracy.

The latest 18-month sentence ensures that Suu Kyi cannot participate in elections scheduled for next year. Her party swept elections in 1990 but the results have never been honored by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962.

Ban: UN, West Pressure Burma for Change from Within
By JOHN HEILPRIN / AP WRITER

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that elections in Burma must be free and fair, amid mounting concerns that they won't be.

"We need to work more for the democratization of Myanmar [Burma]," Ban told a press conference in Oslo, Norway, with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. "This election in 2010 must be a fair and credible and inclusive one."

Ban said he was working hard to keep the pressure on Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other of Burma's leaders to live up to their commitments to hold legitimate elections in 2010. At a minimum, the UN wants Suu Kyi and 2,000 other political prisoners released. A transcript of Ban's remarks was made available at the UN in New York.

Than Shwe has resisted UN demands to open up democratically, ignoring four Security Council statements and direct entreaties by Ban and a top envoy.