Burma Extends House Arrest of Nobel-Winning Pro-Democracy Leader

RANGOON, Burma, May 25 -- Burma's military government on Friday extended the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for another year, defying an outpouring of international appeals for the Nobel Peace Prize winner's freedom.

Suu Kyi, 61, has spent more than 11 of the past 17 years in detention. She has been continuously detained for the past four years, spending most of it confined to her residence in Rangoon, Burma's largest city.

Her current one-year detention order was due to expire Sunday, and the extension had been widely expected despite calls by international groups and world leaders for Suu Kyi's freedom.

The government's action was not officially announced but was privately confirmed by security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The United Nations, the European Union and the U.S. government repeated their previous calls for the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, as well as for moves toward democracy in Burma.

The first sign of the extension came when neighbors saw a car with tinted windows enter Suu Kyi's compound at 3:55 p.m. The car's occupants were assumed to be government officials because she is allowed no visitors. They stayed for about 10 minutes.

One official confirmed that the car carried officials who presented Suu Kyi with a new detention order. The detention order takes effect when it is read to the person concerned. The official asked that neither he nor his agency, which is concerned with security affairs, be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Suu Kyi, the head of Burma's National League for Democracy party and daughter of Burma's martyred founding father, has been held continuously since May 30, 2003, when her motorcade was attacked by a pro-junta mob during a political tour of northern Burma. The government considers her a threat to public order, and she is not allowed any telephone contact with the outside world.

The junta took power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations in Burma. It refused to hand over power when, on May 27, 1990, Suu Kyi's party won a general election by a landslide, insisting that the country first needed a new constitution. Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

Worldwide supporters of Suu Kyi expressed disappointment, but not surprise, at her continued detention.

In Washington, the White House sharply criticized the junta.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon "deeply regrets" the government's decision to extend Suu Kyi's detention "despite his direct appeal . . . and the many public calls worldwide for her release," U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said in New York.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's party, said the organization had not yet been able to confirm the decision. "However, if the detention is extended despite demands by the international community, this is a very uncivilized action," he said.