Philippine leader calls on Myanmar to release Suu Kyi

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, seen here on April 11, 2009, called on Myanmar to release detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a recent meeting with Prime Minister Thein Sein, the foreign department said Friday.(AFP/POOL/File/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Fri Apr 17

MANILA (AFP) – Philippine President Gloria Arroyo called on Myanmar to release detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a recent meeting with Prime Minister Thein Sein, the foreign department said Friday.

Arroyo asked Myanmar?s ruling junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi once the extension of her house arrest expires next month, urging it to reach out to political opponents for the sake of national unity.

The foreign department said Arroyo made her appeal when she met with the Myanmar leader on the sidelines of the planned ASEAN summit in Pattaya, Thailand, on April 10 at the request of Thein Sein.

Releasing Aung San Suu Kyi would result in "tremendous goodwill for Myanmar from the international community," the department quoted Arroyo as saying.

"We only have your country and your people's welfare at heart. This is the single, most concrete piece of advice and experience I can share with you," Arroyo said.

In response, Thein Sein expressed "appreciation for the president's valuable suggestions and said that his government would take them into account," the department added.

He also reiterated his government's firm commitment to take steps towards democratisation and reconciliation through the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of general elections in 2010.

He added that Myanmar "considers its cooperation with the United Nations as the cornerstone of its foreign policy, along with the desire to improve relations with the United States under the Obama administration."

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the junta never allowed it to take office. She has been under house arrest for most of the past 19 years.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.

ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.