Suu Kyi lawyer says delays in trial will help prosecution

BURMESE pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was “absolutely dissatisfied” that her trial was adjourned yesterday as it will give the prosecution more time to prepare its case, her lawyer said.

Suu Kyi’s trial was postponed until Monday after her defence gave a 30-page closing statement, said one of her lawyers, Nyan Win.

Suu Kyi, 64, is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harbouring an uninvited American man who swam to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.

She faces a possible five years in prison.

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she was absolutely dissatisfied with the arrangement – giving more time for the prosecution to prepare the argument,” said Win, using the respectful term “daw” for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

To ensure fairness, the usual practice is for both parties to give their closing arguments on the same day, he said.

On Monday, Suu Kyi’s two female companions, who are also on trial, will give their statements, and the lawyer for American John W Yettaw, who is charged with trespassing, is to present his argument.

The verdicts are expected next month.

A diplomat attending the trial said Suu Kyi looked all right in court. “She was well and in good spirits. She was seen joking with her lawyers.”

The defence has not contested the facts of the case but argues that the relevant law has been misapplied by the authorities and that Suu Kyi was charged under a constitution abolished two decades ago. They also assert the security guards who ensure Suu Kyi remained inside her compound should be held responsible for any intrusion on her property.

Security is tight at Insein prison – where Suu Kyi is held and the trial is ongoing – with roads blocked by barbed wire barricades manned by police.

Seven truckloads of riot police were deployed around the compound and pro-government supporters gathered near the area.

Diplomats from Britain, France, Germany, Norway and Italy were allowed into the courtroom yesterday. It was the third time during the mostly closed-door trial that such access has been granted.

The resumption of the trial came after US, European and Asian officials – including the top diplomat from Burma – wound up a conference in neighbouring Thailand that put Burma’s human rights record in the spotlight.

The trial has drawn condemnation from the international community and Suu Kyi’s local supporters, who worry the ruling junta has found an excuse to keep her behind bars through elections planned for next year.

At an Asia-Pacific security forum on Thursday, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton offered Burma the prospect of better relations with the US, but said that depended in part on Suu Kyi’s fate.

State media rejected the criticism, accusing those calling for Suu Kyi’s release of “interference”.

“Demanding release of Daw Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law,” said the English-language New Light of Myanmar, the military junta’s mouthpiece.

Also on trial, and facing the same charges as Suu Kyi, are two female members of her political party who were her sole companions under house arrest.

Yettaw has pleaded not guilty and explained in court that he had a dream that Suu Kyi would be assassinated and he had gone to warn her.

Burma has been under military rule since 1962.