Bangkok, June 24: Myanmar's detained pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is not being held at the infamous Insein prison as stated by the British government, the ruling military Junta has told a Japanese envoy. Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister Tetsuro Yano said military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt had made it clear to him during talks yesterday that Aung San Suu Kyi was not being held in the jail.
Britain's assertion last week that the Nobel peace laureate was being held at Insein under a draconian internal security act, after the Junta said she was in "protective custody", drew widespread international outrage.
Asked if Aung San Suu Kyi was being held at Insein, Yano said, "secretary Khin Nyunt made it clear that he is aware of this kind of information, however, (he said) it is not a fact."
Yano, speaking to reporters in Bangkok late yesterday upon arrival from a one-day mission in Yangon, did not say whether Khin Nyunt specified where Aung San Suu Kyi was being held.
Yano met briefly with Khin Nyunt, the third-ranking leader in the country, to deliver a letter from Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi demanding the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The letter also demanded an "accountable and transparent" explanation for deadly clashes which erupted may 30, when the democracy leader was arrested.
Aung San Suu Kyi and several of her supporters were arrested during a political tour of northern Myanmar after a brutal attack on her entourage by a Junta-backed mob.
Bureau Report