Chinese whispers

To my knowledge - could be wrong - this is the first comment from Chinese state media on the trial. What's interesting of course is what it doesnt say. Note also an earlier post about Beijing's negotiations with the SPDC, so read into this what you will.

Trial against Aung San Suu Kyi to continue for third day
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-20 13:42:05

YANGON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Trial against Aung San Suu Kyi underhouse arrest is due to continue Wednesday afternoon for the third day at a special court in Yangon's Insein Prison with the Myanmar authorities to grant some foreign diplomats and five foreign mediapersons based in Myanmar to be present as observers.

This is the first time that the authorities allowed such presence for the limited number of foreign media persons who obtained their lots to enter the court out of more than 20 through drawing under the arrangement of the Foreign Correspondents' Club.

The granted media persons will be allowed to enter into the court only empty-handed with no cameras, recorders and mobile phones permitted to bring along.

The two female housemates of Aung San Suu Kyi -- Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, and American citizen John William Yettaw are also under trial.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 63, General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (ND), was charged with breaching the authorities' "Security Law Safeguarding the State Against the Dangers of Subversive Elements" by accommodating the American tourist and speaking to him who sneaked into her restricted house for three days from May 3 to 5.

Aung San Suu Kyi's two maids and Yettaw were also charged with supporting her acts.
Moreover, Yettaw was also separately charged with breaking immigration rule and Yangon Municipal Acts for swimming across the Inya Lake.

Yettaw, 53, holding American passport and tourist visa, arrived in Yangon on May 2 and stayed at the Beauty Land Hotel-2. He swam through the Inya Lake and secretly entered Aung San Suu Kyi's Yangon lake-side house on May 3 night and left the house on May 5 night.

Yettaw was only arrested on May 6 dawn by Myanmar's security force while he was swimming back across Inya Lake out of Aung San Suu Kyi's house after three days' sneaking, according to the authorities.

He was seized with a torch, a pair of folding pliers, a Cannon camera and some foreign and local currency notes among others.

Yettaw had also once swum across the Inya Lake and entered the barred residential compound of Aung San Suu Kyi on Nov. 30 last year and passed a book titled "Book of Mormon" to Aung San Suu Kyi through her two maids.

Yettaw, who is a student of Clinical Psychology of Forest Institute attending Ph.D, discharged duty as military serviceman for two years.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 63, had been put under detention and later house arrest at her lake-side residence in Yangon for the third time since the Dabayin incident in northwestern Sagaing division on May 30, 2003.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the last 19 years under house arrest since July 1989. She was restricted under the authorities' four orders -- "Restriction Order Against Her Fundamental Rights under Section-7 of the Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts", "Arrest Order under Section 10-A, "Prohibition Order under Section 10-B/11" and "Continued Prohibition Order under Section 13/14".