The trial of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been adjourned until June 26.
The
court ordered the two-week postponement during a brief hearing Friday
at the notorious Insein prison near the main city of Rangoon.
Aung
San Suu Kyi is on trial for violating the terms of her house arrest
after allowing an American man to stay at her lakeside Rangoon house
after he swam there uninvited last month. She faces five years in
prison if convicted.
Lawyers for the Nobel Peace laureate
filed an appeal Thursday with Burma's Supreme Court to allow two more
defense witnesses to testify at her trial. The court hearing her case
barred three of her four witnesses from testifying, while the
prosecution was allowed 14 witnesses.
An appeals court this
week reinstated one of the witnesses, but upheld the ban on two others,
who are senior members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy.
The international community has condemned the trial,
calling it a pretext for Burma's ruling military junta to keep her in
detention through next year's elections.
Speaking to reporters
in Singapore Friday, former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is also urging
Burma to allow the opposition leader to participate in next year's
elections. Mr. Goh made the comments after ending a four-day visit to
Burma.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he tried to telephone Aung San Suu Kyi but was prevented by Burma's military government.
Mr.
Sarkozy made the statement Thursday in Paris at a joint news conference
with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The French president says the
two leaders have asked China and India for help in pressing their
concerns about the Nobel Peace laureate.
The 63-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi already has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest.
Burma
has been under military rule since 1962. Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy won elections in 1990, but the military refused to
recognize the results.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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