Several foreign diplomats were prevented from entering the court where Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi faced charges that could bring a prison term of up to five years,
It is not clear how long the trial might last, but opposition leaders in exile expect it to be over in a week. This assumption is based on official orders to close the roads leading to the trail venue for a week.
An American, John Yettaw, (53), who swam across a lake this month and spent a night in Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s house was a co-accused in the case. He appears to have acted without her knowledge but his adventure has led to charges that she violated the terms of the house arrest that has limited her outside contact for 13 of the past 19 years.
Analysts see the trial and the charges as a ploy to extend her latest six-year term of house arrest and to order a major crackdown on political dissent as Myanmar is scheduled to go for elections next spring. The mioitary junta has planned the election to formalise the military dominance in the national affairs under the new constitution.
