Sources close to the Burmese Nobel Laureate confirm that for the past 11 days she has not taken ”fresh food supplies”, but it still remains unclear whether she has started a hunger strike. Criticism of UN special envoy Gambari’s mission for failing to produce “tangible results”.

Yangon (AsiaNews) – Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, icon of the battle for human rights in Myanmar, may have begun a hunger strike, Burmese daily The Irrawaddy reports, quoting sources close to the exiled leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD). The news has yet to be confirmed, but it is known for certain that supplies of fresh food delivered yesterday to her tightly controlled home were not taken in.

According to rights activists in Myanmar, a week ago Suu Kyi also refused fresh food supplies and for over 11 days now has refused all offers of food from her party members.  NDL leaders confirm these reports from the former capital Yangon.

Suu Kyi told an NLD member, Myint Soe, who regularly delivers her food not to bring any more after the middle of this month, according to her family lawyer, Kyi Win, who was allowed to meet her twice on August 8 and 17 to discuss legal issues surrounding her continued detention. One senior NLD member in Yangon also said that Suu Kyi had a plan to “cut food supplies” unless her demands to meet her lawyer for “further discussions were met by the military authorities”. She is concerned with restrictions imposed on her by the regime, such as: not being allowed to meet and hold talks with diplomats or political organizations and not being allowed to leave her house where she has been held under arrest for some time, now a mandate which is renewed year after year .

Last week Aung San Suu Kyi refused to meet UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari; a visit that revealed itself to be a total farce given the UN diplomats failure to meet with the activist or the junta chief, general Than Shwe. “I think she sent the message not only to Gambari” said Win Naing, spokesperson for the NLD– but also to the UN and the Burmese people that there is no tangible consequence from the last meetings”.

The United Nations has defended its efforts affirming that their envoy’s mission to Myanmar is part of a “process” and is not itself an “event”.  The creation of lasting relations with the military junta need to be analysed from a global viewpoint, and not just “every single visit”.

• aung
• san
• ssu
• ki
• myanmar
• burma
• nobel
• laureate
• hunger
• strike
• human
• rights
• detention
• un
• special
• envoy
• ibrahim
• gambari
• junta
• chief
• Than
• Shwe