Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Aung San Suu Kyi “may be freed" after the elections on November 7. This has been informally suggested by Burmese Foreign Minister, Nyan Win, to his colleagues of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). "He told us that the release of Aung San Suu Kyi could take place after the elections," said an Asian diplomat on condition of anonymity. The foreign ministers of several countries in the region are from yesterday in the Vietnamese capital to attend the Association summit, which opens today.
Two Burmese leaders had indicated in recent days and on condition of anonymity, that the democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate could regain freedom November 13, the date of expiry of her current sentence. Aung San Suu Kyi has spent more than 15 of the last 21 years in detention and has not experienced freedom since 2003.
The Burmese Minister Nyan Win met yesterday evening with his counterparts for dinner. ''He said Aung San Suu Kyi will perhaps be released after the elections”, the diplomatic sourced however stated that the minister did not indicate any specific date. Recently Myanmar’s Supreme Court agreed to consider a new appeal from Aung San Suu Kyi against her house arrest, this according to one of the dissident’s lawyers. This "special appeal" will be considered by three judges of the Court of Naypyidaw, north of Yangon. The hearing date has not yet been announced. "We always hope for the best," said the lawyer Khin Htay Kywe.
A junta official, under cover of anonymity, has confirmed that the Supreme Court agreed yesterday to consider this appeal. Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced in August 2009 to eighteen additional months under house arrest for having briefly hosted an American who had managed to swim to her home, located on the banks of a lake.