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| Southeast Asia |
| Suu Kyi removed from Insein Jail, but still not free |
| 2003-07-01 |
| Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from Burma's notorious Insein Central Jail to a new location 40 km northeast of the capital, informed sources in Rangoon said yesterday. The secret shifting of Asia's most famous political prisoner took place on Saturday amid worldwide outrage over the harsh and filthy conditions she was reported to have endured for the past month. The location of her new place of confinement was believed to be on the Rangoon-Bago Road, but further details of the place were unknown. Suu Kyi, 48, was arrested following a violent clash in northern Burma between supporters of her National League for Democracy and an armed mob backed by the ruling junta on the night of May 30. Since then she has been held in a small two-room hut within the grounds of Insein Jail, and has not even been allowed a change of clothing. The only outsider allowed to visit her during the past month was United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail, who reported she appeared to be uninjured and in good spirits. After his visit, Razali described the conditions under which Suu Kyi was being held as "absolutely deplorable". Suu Kyi's supporters and friends said they feared the harsh conditions at Insein Jail, which has been the military rulers' main political prison and torture chamber for decades, may have aggravated Suu Kyi's chronic stomach ailment. She may have a stomach ailment, but it's not lack of guts. Her hut at Insein Jail reportedly was located between the prison's gallows and the facility's woman's prison, with the gallows in clear view. Hint, hint. |
| Posted by:Steve |