Suu Kyi denies violating Burmese regime's house arrest rules

Yangon (Myanmar), May 18 (ANI): Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to deny breaking the terms of her house arrest as imposed by the country's military junta.

Suu Kyi, 63, who has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest, faces up to five years in jail after an American man swam across a lake to reach her house.

"She asked me to tell her friends and everyone that she is quite well," The Telegraph quoted her lawyer, Kyi Win, after meeting her on Saturday.

"She is ready to tell the truth that she never broke the law," Win added.

According to the lawyer, Suu Kyi demanded that John Yettaw, 53, leave her home when he appeared there uninvited earlier this month but eventually took pity on him and allowed him to rest.

He was detected and arrested as he swam away again two days later.

Last week, Suu Kyi was transferred from her home to Rangoon's Insein prison.

Yettaw appears to be an eccentric acting at his own initiative but his actions handed Burma's ruling junta a pretext to prosecute Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi's current term of detention was due to expire later this month but analysts say the military regime, which has ruled since 1962, is determined to keep her in detention ahead of elections planned for next year.

Suu Kyi won a sweeping election victory in 1990 but the generals ignored the result and jailed her.

Next year's polls have been widely dismissed as a sham. (ANI)