Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 19 years detained in virtual isolation in her house. -- PHOTO: AFP FILES
YANGON - MYANMAR authorities on Thursday charged opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi with breaching the conditions of her house arrest and her trial will start on May 18, her lawyer said.
US gets access to Yettaw
In Washington, the US State Department said that Myanmar authorities had allowed a US diplomat to visit Mr Yettaw on Wednesday.
'Mr Yettaw has not been charged, nor have the Burmese authorities provided information on the next steps in this case,' the US statement said, referring to the country by its former name. 'The embassy has stressed to Burmese authorities the US government's strong interest in Mr Yettaw's case and our concerns for his health, welfare and fair treatment,' it said.
EARLIER on Thursday, a motorcade accompanied by armed police, drove Suu Kyi and two women who live with her from their lakeside villa to Insein Prison. They were escorted into the closely guarded prison through a side gate.
Kyi Win said that Suu Kyi will be held in a house inside the Insein Prison compound so she could be close to the courtroom. The notorious prison holds both common criminals and political prisoners, with international human rights groups alleging that torture and mistreatment of prisoners are common.
'The authorities have charged Aung San Suu Kyi and her two maids under Section 22' of the Law Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements, under which she is detained, lawyer Hla Myo Myint said.
The charges come a week after the arrest of US national John Yettaw, who was detained by police for swimming across a lake and staying at her off-limits residence for two days before he was caught.
The American man, John William Yettaw, was also charged with immigration violations and breaching a security law. He was arrested last week for allegedly swimming a lake to secretly enter Suu Kyi's home and stay there for two days. His motives remain unclear.
'Everyone is very angry with this wretched American. He is the cause of all these problems,' Suu Kyi's lawyer Kyi Win told reporters. 'He's a fool.' Kyi Win quoted Suu Kyi as saying she told the American man to leave her home.
The lawyer said that the incident was merely a breach of security in the lakeside area where authorities normally keep close watch over Suu Kyi and her household.
One of many strict rules the junta imposes on citizens is that they must notify local officials about any overnight visitor who is not a family member. The law also states that foreigners are not allowed to spend the night at a local's home.
Some members of Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, have been jailed for about two weeks for violating that law.
There are no known previous cases of anyone sneaking into Suu Kyi's home, though an account earlier this week on a pro-government Web site said Yettaw admitted to making a similar secret visit late last year. -- AP
