Opposition leader reported to have ended sit-in protest

The Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, ended her six-day, sit-in protest in a car on the outskirts of the capital late…

The Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, ended her six-day, sit-in protest in a car on the outskirts of the capital late yesterday and returned to her home, government sources said early today.

A government source, when asked about reports that Suu Kyi had returned to her Rangoon home, said: "Yes, it is true. She arrived at about 10.30 p.m." The Nobel Peace laureate's decision to return home followed a visit yesterday to her protest site at a bridge near Anyarsu village, about 65km west of Rangoon, by three senior officials of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. The officials were instrumental in persuading her to return home, a government spokesman said.

Earlier in Manila, the Burmese Foreign Minister, Mr Ohn Gyaw, said his government had rejected requests by several countries to give US and Japanese envoys immediate access to the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Western diplomats in turn had vowed to maintain pressure on the junta until it heeded their calls for democratic reform.

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Aung Suu Kyi's NLD yesterday condemned the restrictions on her travel, saying it was an attempt to curb her political activity.

"It is illegal confinement to bar the general-secretary and [her] party from going from specially designated areas to other places," it said in a statement.

Security officials on Friday stopped the car carrying Aung Suu Kyi and three others at a bridge near Anyarsu village. They said she could not go to the western Pathein township to meet supporters and should return to Rangoon. She refused and had stayed in the car except for short breaks to stretch.

The government said Aung Suu Kyi was stopped as she did not have her security team with her and it was concerned she might be harmed by anti-government elements, leaving authorities open to blame.

Aung Suu Kyi is the daughter of the late Aung San, revered as the country's founding father.

The government has accused her of trying to foment dissent ahead of the planned reopening next month of universities and other institutions closed in December 1996 after student unrest.

Tensions between the junta and the NLD escalated after Aung Suu Kyi urged the government to convene by August 21st a parliament comprising members elected in May 1990. The NLD swept that poll but the military ignored it.

"The latest information we have from her party members is that she is running out of food and medical supplies," a diplomat had told Reuters by telephone from Rangoon.

Other diplomats said Aung Suu Kyi was becoming weak with hunger and stress. However, a government spokesman said yesterday Aung Suu Kyi still had boiled eggs, cakes and other food in the car.

"They asked for more drinking water this morning. We gave it to them," he said.

"As to her health, her two personal physicians checked her up yesterday and we have a medical team on standby. These people are just trying to sensationalise the issue," he said.

The government had arranged for two doctors to give Aung Suu Kyi daily checks he added.

"It is psychological warfare," another diplomat said. "The military won't touch her but won't allow anyone to get close either."