Analysis: Frustration of Burmese military

Ms Suu Kyi is the daughter of late General Aung San

By South East Asia Correspondent Simon Ingram

Frustration and embarrassment appear to be the overriding emotions that led the ruling military authorities in Burma to force an end to the roadside protest by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her companions.

Hardliners within the military would dearly love to crush the opposition once and for all

From the moment the stand-off on a dirt track outside Rangoon began, the regime sought to belittle the actions of the leader of the National League for Democracy through its propaganda.

It pointed to the undisputed fact that there was no visible evidence of public support for Ms Suu Kyi, whose party won elections in May 1990 but was prevented from taking office.

But what the military could not stop was the growing volume of international censure of the restrictions it was placing on Ms Suu Kyi's freedom of movement.

Government pressure

As the days passed, it became clear that Ms Suu Kyi - an increasingly marginalised figure in recent months - was successfully using the same form of protest she employed two years ago to boost her profile abroad and to highlight her long battle to bring Burma to democracy.

The stand-off attracted international attention

Not for the first time, the regime's patience snapped.

It remains unclear how far the government plans to go in punishing the NLD.

Reports of the seizure of documents from the party's Rangoon headquarters could presage an attempt to substantiate the regime's accusation that the NLD is a stooge of western governments.

Hardliners within the military would dearly love to crush the opposition once and for all; indeed that process has been underway for some time at a local level, where lower-level members of the NLD have been put under enormous pressure to resign their membership.