Myanmar Denies UN Chief's Request to See Suu Kyi

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waves upon his arrival at a hotel Friday, July 3, 2009 in Yangon,...

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waves upon his arrival at a hotel Friday, July 3, 2009 in Yangon, Myanmar. Ban said he would lobby Myanmar's junta chief directly Friday for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, acknowledging that his high-profile mission will be "very difficult." (AP Photo/Khin Mang Win)

(AP)

In May, she was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her lakeside home in May and stayed for two days. She has pleaded not guilty and faces five years in prison if convicted.

Suu Kyi is being detained at the compound surrounding Myanmar's Insein Prison, where 53-year-old John William Yettaw of Falcon, Missouri, the intruder who is charged with trespassing, also is being held.

The trial has sparked outrage from world leaders, other Nobel laureates, human rights groups and Hollywood celebrities who say the military-controlled government is using the bizarre incident as an excuse to keep Suu Kyi behind bars through elections scheduled for 2010.

The elections are part of the junta's "roadmap to democracy," which critics say is a sham designed to cement the military's four-decade grip on power.

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Ban said he also urged Than Shwe (pronounced TAHN SHWAY) to "accelerate the process of democratization."

"I was assured that the Myanmar authorities will make sure that this election will be held in a fair and free and transparent manner," he said, without elaborating.

Senior U.N. officials who participated in Friday's talks described them as far-ranging, with "a lot of back and forth" between the world's top diplomat and the military rulers.

Than Shwe was accompanied by four other generals and the foreign minister, among others in his entourage. Ban kept a few aides by his side, though he prefers one-on-one talks with world leaders in contrast to Than Shwe — who also refuses to take Ban's phone calls.

Suu Kyi's opposition party won national elections in 1990, but Myanmar's generals refused to relinquish power. Her latest six-year round of house arrest was to expire last month.

Her supporters fear that Suu Kyi will be found guilty because the courts are under the influence of the ruling junta and usually mete out harsh punishment for political dissidents.