3. Suu Kyi on Hunger Strike?
Yangon (Myanmar) - Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed to retrieve food delivered to her home amid speculation she may have launched a hunger strike.
Mr Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy, said on Tuesday he could not confirm whether Ms Suu Kyi was refusing to eat, but said bags of food delivered on Monday to a checkpoint outside her heavily guarded house were not picked up.
Myanmar's ruling junta denied on Tuesday that detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had gone on hunger strike, but rumours persisted after she apparently refused to receive food deliveries.
Exiled Myanmar dissidents in India and Thailand reported that the Nobel Peace Prize winner last accepted fresh food supplies on Aug 15.
'It is just rumours, it is not true,' said a Myanmar government official who refused to be named. 'We have not got any (political) demands from her.'
Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said they were unable to confirm or deny the report as they were not allowed to keep in regular touch with their leader, who is under house arrest in Yangon.
'We haven't heard anything about it. So we cannot confirm these rumours as we have no contact with her at all,' said NLD spokesman Win Naing.
The rumours were persistent enough to spread to Western diplomatic circles, with one diplomat who refused to be named telling AFP: 'We are trying to know more. The only person who has seen her is the doctor.'
Aung San Suu Kyi's doctor and lawyer were permitted to visit her on Aug 17 when she was given a medical checkup, her first since February.
One exiled opposition party based on the Thai-Myanmar border said it had heard Aung San Suu Kyi's weekly food supplies were last accepted on Aug 15, but were turned away on Aug 22.
Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years, and she relies on the NLD's food deliveries for survival. It remains unclear whether she has launched a hunger strike since her supporters are barred from meeting her.
Burmese dissident groups based in neighbouring Thailand began suggesting on Monday that she had begun a hunger strike.
The news comes after Ms Suu Kyi repeatedly cancelled meetings with UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari during his six-day visit to Myanmar that ended Saturday. He left without seeing her.
Since refusing to see Mr Gambari, supporters have speculated that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has grown more frustrated with the United Nations' failure to bring about change in the military-ruled nation.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been in a political deadlock since 1990, when Ms Suu Kyi's party overwhelmingly won general elections, but was not allowed to take power by the military.
On Sunday, Mr Nyan Win said Mr Gambari had wasted his time in Myanmar.
He also criticised the UN envoy for failing to meet the country's leader, Gen Than Shwe, and for being unable to get any commitment from the junta to start talks with the opposition on national reconciliation.
Mr Nyan Win also castigated Mr Gambari for offering to help the junta prepare for planned 2010 elections.
Ms Suu Kyi's NLD has criticised the planned polls, which follow a constitutional referendum earlier this year that critics say was neither free nor fair.
The new constitution guarantees 25 per cent of parliamentary seats to the military, and allows the president to hand over all power to the military in a state of emergency. - AP
Mr Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy, said on Tuesday he could not confirm whether Ms Suu Kyi was refusing to eat, but said bags of food delivered on Monday to a checkpoint outside her heavily guarded house were not picked up.
Myanmar's ruling junta denied on Tuesday that detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had gone on hunger strike, but rumours persisted after she apparently refused to receive food deliveries.
Exiled Myanmar dissidents in India and Thailand reported that the Nobel Peace Prize winner last accepted fresh food supplies on Aug 15.
'It is just rumours, it is not true,' said a Myanmar government official who refused to be named. 'We have not got any (political) demands from her.'
Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said they were unable to confirm or deny the report as they were not allowed to keep in regular touch with their leader, who is under house arrest in Yangon.
'We haven't heard anything about it. So we cannot confirm these rumours as we have no contact with her at all,' said NLD spokesman Win Naing.
The rumours were persistent enough to spread to Western diplomatic circles, with one diplomat who refused to be named telling AFP: 'We are trying to know more. The only person who has seen her is the doctor.'
Aung San Suu Kyi's doctor and lawyer were permitted to visit her on Aug 17 when she was given a medical checkup, her first since February.
One exiled opposition party based on the Thai-Myanmar border said it had heard Aung San Suu Kyi's weekly food supplies were last accepted on Aug 15, but were turned away on Aug 22.
Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years, and she relies on the NLD's food deliveries for survival. It remains unclear whether she has launched a hunger strike since her supporters are barred from meeting her.
Burmese dissident groups based in neighbouring Thailand began suggesting on Monday that she had begun a hunger strike.
The news comes after Ms Suu Kyi repeatedly cancelled meetings with UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari during his six-day visit to Myanmar that ended Saturday. He left without seeing her.
Since refusing to see Mr Gambari, supporters have speculated that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has grown more frustrated with the United Nations' failure to bring about change in the military-ruled nation.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been in a political deadlock since 1990, when Ms Suu Kyi's party overwhelmingly won general elections, but was not allowed to take power by the military.
On Sunday, Mr Nyan Win said Mr Gambari had wasted his time in Myanmar.
He also criticised the UN envoy for failing to meet the country's leader, Gen Than Shwe, and for being unable to get any commitment from the junta to start talks with the opposition on national reconciliation.
Mr Nyan Win also castigated Mr Gambari for offering to help the junta prepare for planned 2010 elections.
Ms Suu Kyi's NLD has criticised the planned polls, which follow a constitutional referendum earlier this year that critics say was neither free nor fair.
The new constitution guarantees 25 per cent of parliamentary seats to the military, and allows the president to hand over all power to the military in a state of emergency. - AP
