Call for release of opposition leader

FRANCE yesterday renewed its call for the immediate release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained

“According to information reaching us since yesterday there is uncertainty over the fate of Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi and a certain number of National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders,” foreign ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau told a press briefing.

Myanmar’s military junta said Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel peace laureate, was taken into “protective custody” in the north of the country at the weekend, following pro-democracy protests on Friday that turned violent.

France reacted to Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention in a communiqué on Sunday.

“We reiterate our call for her to immediately regain her full and entire freedom of movement, as well as the leaders of the National League for Democracy, detained or under house arrest,” Rivasseau said, adding that Paris also demanded the reopening of NLD offices in the southeast Asian country.

At the time of her arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi had been on a month-long tour of northern Myanmar, one of a series she has made since she was released from house arrest a year ago.

Another 18 members of her entourage were also detained, and are believed to be held at the notorious Insein jail, while the entire leadership of the opposition NLD was under house arrest in the capital Yangon.