Leading Burmese Democracy Advocate Faces Military Trial

By THOMAS FULLER and SETH MYDANS
NYT

BANGKOK — Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, was taken to prison by security officials Thursday morning and will stand trial for allowing an American man to stay overnight in her home, an apparent violation of her long-term house arrest, her lawyers said.

In a bizarre case that may have significant ramifications for the country, the man, John William Yettaw, swam across a lake in central Yangon and sneaked into Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s heavily guarded compound earlier this month.

Political tensions in Myanmar are increasing as the authoritarian military government prepares for the first nationwide elections since the junta swept aside the results from the 1990 election that would have brought Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi to power. A prison term would keep her isolated during the elections, which are planned for next year.

Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, 63, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy work in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years, including the past six.

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