Myanmar charges Suu Kyi over visitor

YANGON, Myanmar - Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was charged yesterday with breaking the terms of her house arrest just two weeks before she was to go free, a move seen as an attempt by the military junta to silence its chief opponent ahead of next year's election.

The charges follow a mysterious visit to her home by John William Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Mo., who swam across a lake and sneaked into her home seeking food and a place to rest.

Suu Kyi, who was scheduled to be freed May 27 after six years of house arrest, now faces up to five years in prison if convicted of violating the terms of her detention, lawyer Hla Myo Myint said.

The trial of the Nobel Peace laureate is set for Monday at a special court at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison, where she was arraigned and then held yesterday.

Supporters accused the military government of using the incident to keep her in detention ahead of general elections scheduled for next year.

She is accused of breaking the terms of her detention by harboring the visitor for two days, even though another of Suu Kyi's attorneys said she told the man to leave her home.

"Everyone is very angry with this wretched American," lawyer Kyi Win told reporters.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Washington that she was deeply troubled by Myanmar's "baseless charge" against Suu Kyi and urged her immediate release.

The junta appears eager to ensure that next year's general elections are carried out without any significant opposition from pro-democracy groups that say the balloting will merely perpetuate military rule under a democratic guise.

The 63-year-old Peace Prize laureate has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years - including the last six - in detention without trial for her nonviolent promotion of democracy in Myanmar.

Yettaw was charged yesterday at a court hearing with entering a restricted zone, and he remained in custody.