US condemns continued detention of Suu Kyi

Myanmar's military rulers extended the house arrest of the opposition leader by another year.

The United States on Saturday condemned the Myanmar government's continued detention of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and called on the military regime to release all political prisoners.

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"The United States condemns the extension of Aung San Suu Kyi's detention, yet another sign of the regime's intransigence and brutal repression," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack in a statement.

"We reiterate our call on the Burmese regime to release her and all other political prisoners, and engage in the genuine and inclusive dialogue needed to bring about national reconciliation and the establishment of democracy."

Myanmar's military rulers on Saturday extended by another year the house arrest of the opposition leader, defying an international outcry demanding her freedom.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 60, who has spent 10 of the past 17 years in detention, is being confined to her rambling lakeside residence in central Yangon.

Hope had swelled for her release in the past week after the Myanmar government unexpectedly allowed UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.

It was her first contact with the international community in more than two years.