Bush condemns Burma crackdown

NLD offices in Rangoon have been shut down

US President George W Bush has joined a growing list of world leaders criticising the detention of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

He issued a statement saying he was "deeply concerned" by reports of action against members of Burma's pro-democracy party.

Officials put Aung San Suu Kyi in "protective custody" on Friday after clashes between members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and government supporters left several people dead.

The United Nations, European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Japan, Sweden and Thailand have also expressed alarm over her treatment.

The military authorities should release Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters immediately

US President George W Bush

The exact whereabouts of the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize are not known, though Burma's ruling junta says she is in a military guesthouse in the capital, Rangoon.

Correspondents say Aung San Suu Kyi's month-long political tour of the north of Burma had become increasingly tense, with repeated clashes between NLD supporters and members of the government-sponsored Union Solidarity Development Association.

'Opportunity for regime'

Mr Bush said: "The military authorities should release Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters immediately, and permit her party headquarters to re-open."

His statement said the US had long been concerned by the situation in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, but that it had welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest more than a year ago.

This repressive behaviour confirms the regime's lack of interest in the return to democracy

Javier Solana,
EU foreign policy chief

"This step gave the military regime an opportunity to enter into a substantive dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all political groups to promote national reconciliation and democracy," the president said.

"This is still the only path to peace and prosperity for all of Burma's people."

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said that if Aung San Suu Kyi had been taken off the streets for her own protection during protests, as Burma says, then it should be possible to release her promptly.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, also issued a strongly worded statement calling for the democracy leader to be released.

"This repressive behaviour confirms the regime's lack of interest in the return to democracy," he said.

TENSIONS MOUNT

6 May - Aung San Suu Kyi begins tour of North

24 May - 10 NLD members jailed

26May - NLD complains of government 'harassment'

30 May - Clashes between NLD and pro-government supporters leave several dead

1 June - Aung San Suu Kyi taken to Rangoon for 'protective custody'

"It will most certainly reinforce the European Union's resolve to stick to the current policy of sanctions against the military regime," he added.

Elsewhere, Britain summoned Burma's ambassador in London to hear the government's "fundamental concerns" about the situation and similar action was taken in Australia.

But a UN envoy, Razali Ismail, who helped to end a long deadlock between the regime and the NLD will continue with a planned visit on Friday despite the detention, an aide said.

Human rights groups spoke out against the detention, with Amnesty International saying the claim of "protective custody" begged the question of who was being protected from what.

Student concerns

In Burma itself, university campuses have been closed indefinitely.

The BBC's Larry Jagan says students have been at the centre of previous protests and the authorities may be worried about new demonstrations.

Hardliners like General Than Shwe are convinced there is no need to talk to the opposition leader

The BBC's Larry Jagan

Hardliners winning debate

Phone lines are said to have been cut, and it is extremely difficult to verify independently what is happening.

NLD offices have been shut and one Burmese pro-democracy group said it had heard reports that up to 200 other NLD members had been arrested.

The military said four people were killed and 50 injured in Friday's clashes in the town of Yaway Oo, about 560 kilometres (400 miles) from Rangoon.

But separate reports estimate that up to 70 people died, including several monks who had joined Aung San Suu Kyi's entourage, but were unconnected with the NLD.