Detained Myanmar opposition leader Suu Kyi on IV drip

05/10/2009 | 10:12 PM

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar's detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has difficulty eating and has been taking fluids intravenously, her party said Sunday, calling for the military government to allow a doctor to see the Nobel laureate.

Suu Kyi's primary physician was detained for questioning by the authorities Thursday after an American was arrested after allegedly sneaking into her closely guarded home and staying there for more than two days. Another doctor was permitted Friday to see the 63-year-old Suu Kyi, who is rarely allowed to leave the compound where she is under house arrest.

But the doctor's request for a follow-up visit on Saturday was rejected, said a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.



"We are worried about Daw Suu's health. Authorities should allow free access of her doctor to give Daw Suu the required medical treatment," said the spokesman, Nyan Win. "Daw" is an honorific used for older women.

Nyan Win said that according to the doctor, Suu Kyi had lost her appetite and had not eaten properly for three or four days. He did not specify her illness.

Suu Kyi, whose nonviolent advocacy for democracy won her the Nobel Peace Prize, is one of the world's most prominent political prisoners, and her release has long been sought by the United Nations and many Western nations.

Her party won Myanmar's last elections in 1990, but the result was not recognized by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962.

Suu Kyi's primary doctor, Tin Myo Win, was detained for questioning by the authorities Thursday evening after an American man was arrested after allegedly swimming across a lake to reach Suu Kyi's compound and sneaking inside.

Tin Myo Win had gone to Suu Kyi's home earlier that day to give her a routine monthly check up but was barred from entering by the police, who increased security there after the intrusion.

State-run media said the American confessed that he swam 1¼ miles (2 kilometers) across Inya Lake to Suu Kyi's compound and "secretly entered the house," where he stayed from Sunday night to Tuesday night. He was arrested when authorities spotted him swimming back.

The US Embassy – which said the man's name is John William Yettaw – has been asking the government for access to the arrested man, but communications have been complicated because Friday through Sunday were public holidays.

Suu Kyi – who has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years, including the past six, in detention without trial – is allowed virtually no visitors aside from her doctor. Her home is tightly guarded by police checkpoints and barbed-wire barricades. On infrequent occasions she is allowed to leave under tight guard to meet with fellow party leaders and visiting UN representatives. - AP