Burma warned over Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in detention since May

An Indonesian envoy to Burma has called the detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi "increasingly counterproductive".

Ali Alatas said the ruling military junta had given him no indication of when the pro-democracy leader would be freed, which could affect next month's regional summit in Bali.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since 30 May, following violent clashes between her supporters and a government-backed mob. She is currently recuperating from an operation at a private hospital in the Burmese capital Rangoon.

Despite international outrage and Western sanctions, Burma has still not announced any definite plans for her release.

Mr Alatas, a former Indonesian foreign minister, said that although he had hoped to meet Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit, he was prevented because of "the circumstances concerning her health".

The 58-year-old opposition leader's condition remains difficult to verify, but her personal doctor Tin Myo Win said on Tuesday that she was making a rapid recovery.

Asean summit

During his four-day trip, Mr Alatas met Burma's top leader, General Than Shwe, and the new prime minister General Khin Nyunt.

He gave them letters conveying Indonesian concerns over Aung San Suu Kyi's continued detention.

Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of Asean (the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which includes Burma.

As host to the forthcoming Asean summit beginning on 7 October, Indonesia is anxious that Aung San Suu Kyi's detention does not dominate the agenda.

"We would like to believe that it is in the interest of Asean and (Burma) that no extraneous issue such as the problem of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would mar the deliberations of Asean," Mr Alatas said.

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 group's long-standing policy of non-interference in members' internal affairs.

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