Junta chief urged to free The Lady
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan made a personal appeal yesterday to Burmese junta chief Than Shwe to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
"I'm relying on you General Than Shwe to do the right thing," Annan said in a statement."I believe her release will facilitate national dialogue and allow the National League for Democracy to participate in that dialogue. I think it would be in the interest of Myanmar [Burma], the region and the world at large," he said. The UN chief, currently visiting Thailand, said the Burmese government was due to review Suu Kyi's status "within 24 hours". Suu Kyi, who has spent 10 of the past 16 years in detention or under house arrest, recently met under secretary general for political affairs Ibrahim Gambari. He was the first foreigner to see her in two years - a development Annan described as positive. Releasing the NLD leader would allow the government and Burmese people, not only to build the nation together, but focus on the essential issue of economic and social development, Annan said. For the democratic and the reconciliation process to be truly successful, it had to be inclusive. And she has a role to play, he said.
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