Suu Kyi marks 6 years of continuous detention

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked six years of continuous detention by Myanmar’s military regime today, as she defends herself in court on charges that she violated the law by sheltering an uninvited American at her home.

Suu Kyi testified Tuesday that she did not violate the law. The trial, which opened Monday and is expected to end in a guilty verdict, has continued despite international outcry.

President Obama said Suu Kyi’s continued detention, isolation and “show trial based on spurious charges” cast serious doubt on the Myanmar government’s willingness to be a responsible member of the international community.

Asian and European ministers, meeting in Hanoi, called for a lifting of restrictions on political parties in Myanmar, also known as Burma, preparation for a free election in 2010, and Suu Kyi’s release. Thailand has said it has “grave concerns” about the trial.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 63, has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years in detention without trial, most at her dilapidated Yangon home.

Suu Kyi looked pale and weak as she answered judges’ questions, giving terse replies about the incident this month that could lead to her being sent to prison for five years.

The charge that Suu Kyi violated the terms of her detention is widely considered a pretext to keep her detained during elections the military government has planned for next year. She pleaded not guilty.

Suu Kyi acknowledges that she allowed John William Yettaw, 53, to stay at her home for two days this month after he swam across a lake to enter uninvited and then said he was too ill to leave immediately.