SECRETARY-GENERAL GRAVELY CONCERNED AT REPORT CONCERNING

DETENTION OF DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI IN MYANMAR

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about a report he received recently that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), is being held in Insein Jail outside Yangon.  He considers the conditions under which she is being held -- incommunicado and without charge -- to be truly deplorable.

The Secretary General has also been informed through his Special Envoy that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is being held under Section 10-A of Myanmar Law No.3 (1975) designed to “safeguard the State against the Dangers of Subversive Elements”.

The Secretary General urges the Government of Myanmar again to heed the repeated calls of the United Nations and the international community, including the member nations of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), to immediately release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the NLD detained on 30 May; to acknowledge that the people of Myanmar are overwhelmingly in favour of change; and to join hands with all parties, including the NLD, to bring about national reconciliation in Myanmar as soon as possible.

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