Yangon, Sept 21: An Indonesian envoy arrived in Myanmar today in a fresh effort to seek the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi is currently recovering in a private Yangon hospital after being admitted last week for what has been described as major surgery, but has not been allowed visitors. Doctors have declined to give details about her operation.

Her personal physician, Tin Myo Win, said today that she was well, and able to eat solid food for the first time since surgery. Former Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas told reporters he had been sent to Myanmar as a special envoy by President Megawati Sukarnoputri. He declined to provide details about his visit.

But Alatas is expected to convey the growing concerns among the 10-nation association of Southeast Asian nations about Suu Kyi's detention. Myanmar's fellow Asean members have previously been reluctant to criticize the military regime.

Myanmar's ruling Junta, already shunned by many western nations because of its poor human rights record, was further isolated when it detained Suu Kyi in late May after she and her followers were caught in a violent clash in northern Myanmar with a pro-government mob. Since then, Suu Kyi who won the 1991 Nobel peace prize has been held at an undisclosed location, despite appeals from world leaders for her release. The junta has said she will be freed, but have refused to specify when.

Bureau Report