Suu Kyi's associates detained by military

Suu Kyi's associates detained by military

BANGKOK (Reuter): At least five close associates of Myanmar's
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have been detained by
authorities for allegedly smuggling her videotaped speeches
abroad, opposition sources said yesterday.

The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was
upset when non-governmental organizations obtained and used a
smuggled videotaped speech by Suu Kyi opposing Myanmar's
inclusion as a member of the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN), they told Reuters.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The block recently agreed to
accept Myanmar as a new member in late July, despite Suu Kyi's
opposition. Cambodia and Laos are to be admitted at the same
time.

Relatives and her personal photographer were among those held,
a source from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party (NLD)
said.

There was no SLORC comment on the opposition's statement.
Cho Aung Than, a cousin of the Nobel Peace laureate, was picked
up for interrogation last Friday, while his sister and her
husband were arrested a few days later on the same charge, the
NLD source added.

Photographer Ko Suny and Hon Myint, an aging politician who is
related to Suu Kyi, were arrested two days ago.

"They interrogated Ko Sunny on what kind of pictures he took
and how he managed to ship some video out of the country," a
close Suu Kyi aide said.

The NLD source blamed ASEAN for the new round of detentions.
"ASEAN will have to bear full responsibility for this because
they accepted Burma (Myanmar) into the grouping that gives
activists nothing but disservice in Burma," the source said.

Suu Kyi has said that if Myanmar became an ASEAN member it
would give the ruling military government a license to repress
the opposition movement and suppress human rights further in the
country.