Myanmar tells ASEAN, EU not to interfere in Suu Kyi trial

May 28, 2009, 5:24 GMT

   Phnom Penh - Myanmar's foreign minister Thursday warned a meeting of European and South-East Asian leaders in Cambodia not to interfere in the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently under way in Yangon.

   In his opening address to a meeting of European Union and Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Phnom Penh, Nyan Win said Suu Kyi's trial was an internal legal matter and 'international interference' threatened Myanmar's sovereignty.

   'We understand that the international community has taken a great amount of interest in this trial, but in doing so it has overlooked the important issue of non-interference,' he said. 'This is an internal legal issue and it is not a human rights issue.'

   Nyan Win said last week's statement by the Thailand-chaired ASEAN Secretariat, which criticized Myanmar's actions, was an act of interference and threatened the military-ruled country's democratization efforts.

   'The case of one person should not overshadow the process of democratization in Myanmar,' he said. 'This process in now entering its most important stage.'

   Wednesday marked the sixth anniversary of Suu Kyi's arrest on charges of undermining national security and the beginning of her most recent detention in her home-cum-prison.

   Suu Kyi is currently on trial in Yangon for allegedly violating the terms of her detention by allowing US national John William Yettaw to swim to her lakeside compound on May 3 and stay there until May 6.

   No formal discussions on the trial have been scheduled for the two-day meeting in Phnom Penh, but Cambodian Foreign Ministry officials said earlier this week that some delegates were likely to urge Myanmar to release Suu Kyi.

   Dozens of protestors gathered outside the Myanmar embassy in Phnom Penh Wednesday and urged ASEAN leaders to expel Myanmar from the regional alliance unless it immediately released all political prisoners.