Yangon, May 21
The American man at the centre of the trial against Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said he swam to her house after having a vision that her life was in danger, Suu Kyi’s lawyers said today.

It is the first indication of Yettaw’s motives for the stunt that could see Suu Kyi jailed for up to five years if she is found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi’s party and a member of her defence team, said Yettaw made the comment as the court heard testimony on Tuesday from a police officer who questioned him.

“Do you remember that I told you at the interrogation that I had a vision that her life would be in danger?” Yettaw told his lawyer to ask the officer. The court refused to allow the question.

“I had come to Myanmar to warn Myanmar authorities and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi against that danger,” Nyan Win quoted Yettaw as saying.

The 53-year-old American, who state media said used homemade flippers and flotation devices to swim to Suu Kyi’s home on May 4, did not discuss his motives in a meeting with US diplomats after his arrest.

He is charged with immigration violations, trespassing into a restricted area and violating a security law protecting the state from “those desiring to cause subversive acts”.

Suu Kyi and two female assistants who also live in her home were charged under the same draconian security law a week ago.

Her lawyers say she did not invite Yettaw and should not be held responsible for the actions of a troubled man.

Meanwhile, diplomats were again barred from the special court at Insein Central Prison today, a day after they were allowed inside in a rare concession to growing international outrage at the regime.

“We are happy that the Myanmar authorities let our people see Daw Suu Kyi, but it’s not the end,” Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said in Bangkok.

“Our main objective is the release of all political prisoners that will lead to national reconciliation,” he said.

Critics say the “scripted” trial is aimed at silencing the charismatic leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) until after a multi-party election in the former Burma in 2010. Her current detention order expires on May 27 after a spell of six years.

She appeared healthy and confident during the 45-minute hearing on Wednesday attended by 29 diplomats and 10 Burmese journalists. She said she hoped to see them “in better days”.

State-run MRTV broadcast footage of her talks after the hearing with diplomats from Thailand, Singapore and Russia. Singapore ambassador Robert Chua said she told themnational reconciliation was still possible “if all parties so wished” and “it was not too late for something good to come out of this unfortunate incident”.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the upcoming election would be illegitimate because of the treatment of the charismatic leader of the National League for Democracy. “It is outrageous that they are trying her and that they continue to hold her because of her political popularity,” Clinton told a congressional hearing.

“It’s our hope that this baseless trial will end with a quick release of her and ... a return to some political involvement, eventually, by her and her party,” she added. — Reuters

London, May 21
In a major victory for some 36,000 Gurkhas, the British Government today announced that those veterans, who retired before July 1997 from the army, would be allowed to settle down in the UK.

Announcing the new policy in the House of Commons, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said all Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 with at least four years’ service will be allowed to settle in the UK.

Smith told MPs that she was “proud to offer this country’s welcome to all who have served in the brigade of Gurkhas”.

This announcement, which came after a campaign by actress Joanna Lumley and other supporters of Gurkha rights, were greeted by cheers and victory cries by the campaigners gathered outside Parliament.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has “made a brave decision on behalf of the bravest of the brave,” Lumley, who has spearheaded the campaign for more rights for Gurkha veterans, said.

“This will be received in Nepal today with the greatest joy and gratitude,” Lumley, whose father was a British major in the 6th Gurkha Rifles during World War II, added.

In her statement, the Home Secretary said: “I’m delighted that we have now been able to agree- across government, across the House and with the Gurkhas’ representatives, new settlement rights that all those who have served us so well, so highly deserve”.

Under the new policy, some 36,000 Gurkhas who left before 1997, will be allowed to settle in the UK with their spouses and dependent children under 18.

Some 1,400 outstanding applications for settlement currently before the UK Border Agency would be processed on the basis of the new policy “as a matter of urgency” before 11 June, Smith said.

The Gurkhas had served the UK “with great courage, sacrifice and distinction and they continue to make a vital and valued contribution to our operations around the world”, she said, adding that they were expecting to welcome 10,000 to 15,000 applications from Gurkhas over the next two years. — PTI

The Swat operation may last two or more months, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said at a meeting here as country’s top civilian and military leadership reaffirmed resolve to take the operation to its logical end.

“Victory is the only option in the ongoing military operation against the Taliban in Swat and Malakand, President Asif Ali Zardari said while presiding over a top-level meeting to review the progress of the operation.

“Defeat is no option. We must win the fight and we will,” he said while addressing the meeting that approved Rs 8 billion for relief for the internally displaced persons.

Gilani also presided over a donors’ conference here on Thursday in which representatives of about 80 nations pledged $224 million about half of which includes commitment by the United States to provide $110 million.

These fell far short of over $650 million estimated by UN and Pakistani officials. Gilani urged international community to extend help in averting a humanitarian disaster threatened by the unending stream of IDPs reaching relief camps and private homes.

Everybody has talked about recycling water in a closed-loop system, but nobody has ever done it before,” US astronaut Barratt said. — PTI