Bandung, July 30: Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi may be released from detention before October, Indonesia's foreign minister said today. "We have an assurance from Myanmar that the Suu Kyi case will be finished before the Asean summit," Hasan Wirayuda said on the sidelines of an Asian and African ministerial meeting in the city of Bandung in west Java province. Wirayuda did not elaborate, but the Indonesian government has been seeking to coax Myanmar's military junta into releasing the nobel peace prize laureate. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations - or Asean - will hold its annual summit in Bali at the start of October. The 10-member regional grouping which includes Myanmar and Indonesia has been under pressure to help broker a solution to the crisis. Myanmar's foreign minister win Aung - who also is attending the Bandung conference - said yesterday that Suu Kyi's release could trigger unrest in the country.

On Monday, win Aung met Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri to discuss the Suu Kyi's fate.

The military detained Suu Kyi after a deadly May 30 clash between her supporters and junta backers. Authorities said she was detained for her own protection.


Myanmar, also known as Burma, has sent envoys to several Asian countries, including Thailand and Japan, to explain Suu Kyi's detention.

Suu Kyi's national league for democracy party won general elections in 1990, but was barred by the military from taking power.

Bureau Report