AUNG SAN SUU KYI SHOULD BE RELEASED AND PROPERLY TREATED

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Bernama) -- The European Union Special Envoy for
Burma/Myanmar, Piero Fassino has called on the Myanmar government to release and
provide proper treatment on the leader of the National League of Democracy in
the country, Aung San Suu Kyi.

According to Fassino,: "In the light of the reports on the ailing health of
Aung San Suu Kyi, I believe that it is urgent that Myanmar's opposition leader
be properly treated."

"To this end, we request that her doctor be immediately released, the house
arrest placed on the Nobel Peace Prize laureate be lifted and the prisoners of
conscience be released," he said in a statement mailed to Bernama here.

Fassino said it was indeed essential that the conditions of isolation to
which Suu Kyi had been submitted for a very long time be urgently put to an end.

"The whole international community expects such steps from the Myanmar
authorities, so that a new phase based on dialogue among the military
authorities, the democratic opposition and the ethnic communities can finally
start," he said.

Earlier, Council of the European Union said that the European Union (EU)
deeply regretted that Suu Kyi, and members of her household had been arrested
and charged with breaching the terms of her detention, which the United Nations
had determined to have violated international and national law.

It was especially striking that these events practically coincided with the
expiry of her house arrest.

The EU strongly urges Myanmar's authorities to release Suu Kyi and engage in
an inclusive process of national reconciliation, which is essential for setting
Myanmar on a genuine path to stability and prosperity and initiate a new phase
in the development of the country.
-- BERNAMA