Myanmar Urges Dissident Leader to End Standoff

Myanmar’s military government on Saturday urged pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end a three-day roadside standoff with security forces and signaled that it may force her to leave.

Suu Kyi’s car has been blocked by police outside the capital, Yangon, since Thursday, when she and 12 members of her National League for Democracy party tried to drive out to the countryside for party organizational work.

It was the first time in two years that she had tried to leave Yangon. The security action she provoked indicated that the military government, which has ruled Myanmar with an iron fist since 1988, is in no mood to allow opposition activity.

Suu Kyi has refused to go back to the capital and has spent the last two nights in the car in the suburb of Dala. She appeared ready to spend a third night there.

Suu Kyi and her companions “remain free to return to their homes at any time, or to continue staying by the roadside as long as the conditions remain safe,” said a government statement released Saturday in Yangon. The statement indicated that the government was keeping open the option of sending her back to Yangon forcibly, using her safety as a pretext.

Suu Kyi tried to leave Yangon four times in 1998 but was stopped each time. On one occasion, she remained in her car for nearly six days and on another for 13 days.

On Friday, London-based Amnesty International urged Myanmar to let Suu Kyi travel unhindered.