Clinton calls Kasit on Suu Kyi case

  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Saturday after President Barack Obama renewed sanctions against the regime to mount pressure on the junta.

In the five-minute conversation from Washington, Clinton did not ask Thailand to make any moves against Burma, said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the Thai foreign minister.

Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial yesterday for the violation of her house arrest after allowing American John Yettaw, who swam across the Inya Lake, to stay at her residence for two days.

Suu Kyi, whose 2003 term of detention expires on May 27, faces a five-year imprisonment, if convicted. She is being held in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison, under tight security.

Representatives from the US embassy in Rangoon were allowed to attend the court for the military's show trial.

Some 100 members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party gathered in front of the prison while security forces were deployed in the area.

The international community has expressed concern over the case, fearing the junta would use it as a pretext to continue Suu Kyi's detention to keep her away from a general election next year.

Senior officials of Asean will meet today in Phuket to seek a common stance on Suu Kyi's case, but the group is unlikely to pressure Burma which is an Asean member.

Drastic action and pressure do not fit the situation and would not secure Suu Kyi's release, said Chavanond.