Spare Suu Kyi jail
Asean envoy appeals to Myanmar junta
A special Southeast Asian envoy for the crisis in Myanmar yesterday urged its military rulers not to hold deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi in prison, appealing for leniency ahead of a visit later this week.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn will make his second trip to Myanmar from Wednesday, a spokesperson for his ministry said, as part of the junta's peace commitment with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Suu Kyi, who has been on trial accused of at least 20 crimes since a coup against her elected government last year, has been moved to a prison in the capital Naypyitaw and kept in solitary confinement. She denies all charges.
The 77-year-old had until last week been spared jail and was held in an undisclosed location.
Prak Sokhonn in a letter to the junta urged compassion. "Aung San Suu Kyi is regarded internationally and by many in Myanmar as having a critical role in your country's return to normalcy and national reconciliation through a peaceful political solution," he wrote, according to a statement.