Myanmar junta trying to speed up Suu Kyi trial: party

YANGON – Myanmar’s ruling junta is apparently rushing the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, a party spokesman said yesterday as police told the court how they arrested a US man who swam to the democracy icon’s home.

The claim came as Asian neighbours finally joined the west in condemning the charges against the 63-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who faces up to five years in jail if convicted of violating her house arrest.Five witnesses gave evidence yesterday to the closed-door trial at the notorious Insein prison, including four police officers who said they had arrested American John Yettaw after he spent two days at her lakeside house.’It indicates that they are trying to finish as soon as possible’ by calling many witnesses, Nyan Win, the spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, told reporters.’If it continues like this, we guess it can be finished by next week.’Nyan Win said the prosecution was expected to call 22 witnesses, all but one of them policemen. The senior officer who filed the original complaint against Aung San Suu Kyi testified on Monday.Yettaw, a former army veteran who was held on May 6, and two female political aides who live with Aung San Suu Kyi are also on trial at the jail near Yangon.’The witnesses described the situation when they arrested him. They said they watched him as he swam and at first they thought he was a thief,’ Nyan Win said, recounting the testimony by the four policemen yesterday.’But they said that they knew as soon as he came to the bank of the lake that he was a foreigner. Then they took him to special branch,’ said Nyan Win, who was allowed to be in the court as part of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team. – Nampa-AFP