Suu Kyi trial enters final phase in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar — The trial of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was adjourned until Tuesday when her defense team will give their reply to final prosecution arguments, Suu Kyi’s lawyer said.

The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who swam to her lakeside home and stayed for two days. She faces a possible five years in prison.

Suu Kyi’s lawyer Nyan Win said he anticipated the verdict in two to three weeks.

At Monday’s hearing, defense lawyers submitted an application to the court to call a Myanmar foreign ministry official to appear as an additional defense witness.

He said the defense has records that Myanmar’s then U.N. representative Nyunt Maung Shein stated that “(Suu Kyi) was not arrested but was detained for her own security.”

Defending the regime’s continued detention of Suu Kyi, Nyunt Maung Shein made the statement at three meetings of the working group of the U.N.’s Human Rights Council, the lawyer said.

“We have asked the Myanmar foreign ministry to appear before the court with the necessary records, in order to have a fair trial,” Nyan Win said.

The lawyer could not be reached for further clarification but it appeared the defense is trying to argue that since Suu Kyi was not under arrest, she could not be punished for allegedly violating the detention order.

During the session, the lawyer for American John W. Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, gave his final arguments Monday. Two female companions of Suu Kyi also presented statements before the court.

Diplomats from the United States, Singapore, Australia, Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia were allowed to attend the morning session but not the key afternoon one, one of the diplomats told reporters.

However, authorities allowed U.S. Consul Colin Furst to be present in the afternoon because an American was standing trial.

Yettaw is charged with violating terms of Suu Kyi’s house arrest — as an abettor — and could be sent to prison for five years. He also faces a municipal charge of swimming in a non-swimming area and is accused of immigration violations.

Yettaw’s lawyer had planned to argue that the American only committed criminal trespass, since he entered the house late at night. That charge carries a maximum jail term of three months.

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.

“I will try my best to defend my client. I will argue that he did not violate the restriction order and I will try my utmost to get him lesser punishment,” Khin Maung Oo, Yettaw’s lawyer, said over the weekend.

Tried on the same charges as Suu Kyi are Khin Khin Win and her daughter Win Ma Ma, who have long been Suu Kyi’s companions during her house arrest. Both are members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.

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 last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered Myanmar the prospect of better relations with the United States, but said that depended in part on the fate of Suu Kyi.

Myanmar state media accused Clinton and others calling for Suu Kyi’s release of “interference.” Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962.

In Dublin, human rights watchdog Amnesty International said Monday it was giving Suu Kyi its Ambassador of Conscience Award, hoping its highest honor will help deter the Myanmar regime from imposing any harsh new punishments on her.

Irish band U2 was to publicly announce the award Monday night at a Dublin concert.