Aung San Suu Kyi allowed repairing her home

by Nem Davies
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 20:20

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Aung San Suu Kyi, detained Burmese opposition leader has been permitted to repair her lakeside home on Rangoon’s University Avenue, Nyan Win her party spokesperson said.

The Rangoon municipality has granted the Nobel Peace Laureate permission to repair the balcony of her lakeside home, following a request about three months ago, Nyan Win told Mizzima on Wednesday.

“The permission was granted about two weeks ago. Now Daw Suu is in discussions with engineers and the Special Branch of the police about bringing in workers to repair her house,” Nyan Win said.

“The repair work will start by this week. Daw Suu is also scheduled to meet her [engineer] friend and other engineers who will oversee the work,” Nyan Win added.

Authorities, according to Nyan Win, have set February 2010 as the deadline to complete the repair work.

But Nyan Win, the spokesperson of the National League for Democracy, said he does not believe that the permission to repair the house, where Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of her 14 years in solitary confinement, is an indication of relaxation of her house arrest.

Following the devastating Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, authorities allowed the Burmese pro-democracy leader to repair the roof of her house, which was blown off and damaged.

The Burmese democracy icon is currently under house arrest serving an 18 months suspended sentence. She was convicted by a special court in the notorious Insein prison in August, on charges of allowing an American, John William Yettaw, who paid a secret visit to her lakeside home and stayed for two nights in May.