Fresh talks on Suu Kyi's release

Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in detention since May

A senior Indonesian diplomat is in Burma to try to secure the release of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ali Alatas, a former foreign minister, is visiting Burma as a special envoy of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Indonesia is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which has been pressing Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of the bloc's summit in October.

Mr Alatas, who is reported to have met Burma's Prime Minister Khin Nyunt on Monday, hopes to meet the country's other top military rulers and Aung San Suu Kyi.

But the opposition leader has just undergone major surgery and may not be fit enough to see any visitors in the next few days.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained by the Burmese military government since 30 May, when a pro-democracy rally led to violent clashes between her supporters and a government-backed mob.

The 58-year-old opposition leader has been allowed to receive only a few visitors since her detention, and her condition remains difficult to verify.

Last Wednesday, she was admitted to a hospital in Rangoon for an operation to remove her uterus.

Military sources in Rangoon have hinted that a meeting might be arranged while she is still in hospital recuperating from her operation.

The BBC's Burma analyst, Larry Jagan, says that if that happens it is likely to be a courtesy call, rather than a significant political meeting. Aung San Suu Kyi's personal physician has told reporters that he feels the opposition leader is not ready to see any visitors, because of fears that she might contract an infection.

Diplomats in Rangoon believe she may be moved to her residence after she is discharged from hospital, and placed under house arrest, after Mr Alatas leaves.

International pressure

The international community has repeatedly asked for Aung San Suu Kyi to be freed, with both the United States and the European Union imposing sanctions on Burma in an effort to pressure it into compliance.

But Burma's ruling junta says the opposition leader is being held for her own protection, and will only be freed when political tensions cool.

Asean called for the early release of Aung San Suu Kyi after its June meeting in Phnom Penh, in a move that was seen as a departure from the bloc's long-standing policy of non-interference in internal affairs of its matters.

Analysts say her continued detention during the block's summit next month in Bali could further embarrass Asean, which came under strong international criticism for admitting Burma as a member in 1997.

Asean groups Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.