EU urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi

 

Aung San Suu Kyi has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating conditions of her house arrest [AFP]

The European Union has repeated calls for Myanmar's military government to free Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's opposition leader who is standing trial on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest.

The call came on Monday at the start of two days of talks in Vietnam between foreign ministers from Asia and Europe.

The Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Hanoi had been called to discuss ways of tackling the global economic slowdown and boosting economic cooperation.

But it is expected to be overshadowed both by the Aung San Suu Kyi trial and Monday's surprise nuclear weapon test by North Korea.

Representatives from 45 nations are taking part in the two-day meeting with brings together representatives of the European Union (EU), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), as well as China, Japan, South Korea, India and Pakistan.

"It is obvious that the key is in Asia. I fundamentally believe that our Asian partners can incite the junta to evolve" Rama Yade, French human rights minister

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting Jan Kohout, the Czech foreign minister, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said he had passed on a message to his Myanmar counterpart calling for Aung San Suu Kyi's immediate release.

Kohout however acknowledged "I don't have a positive feeling" about the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained by Myanmar's military rulers for most of the past 19 years.

Aung San Suu Kyi's resumed in Yangon on Monday behind closed doors in the notorious Insein jail.

She has been pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the conditions of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder to stay at her home without official permission.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/05/200952534743336495.html