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Burma resumes Aung Suu Kyi trial Suu Kyi back on trial after delay
(about 2 hours later)
The trial of the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is resuming after a six week break. The trial of the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has resumed after a six-week break for a defence appeal over allowing more witnesses.
Ms Suu Kyi has been charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest after an American well-wisher swam to her home in Rangoon across a lake. Ms Suu Kyi has been charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest after a US man eluded guards to visit her lakeside home in Rangoon.
Last week the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon visited Burma to make a personal appeal for all political prisoners to be freed. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was refused permission by Burma's military rulers to meet Ms Suu Kyi last week.
But the military government would not allow him even to meet Ms Suu Kyi. A guilty verdict and further detention are widely expected.
Having seen off the UN Secretary General last week without making any significant concessions, Burma's military rulers can now get on with the business of neutralising their main political opponent. Security was tight around Insein prison in Rangoon, where Ms Suu Kyi has been held since May and where the trial is being conducted.
The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi has been repeatedly delayed over the last six weeks, while the UN negotiated the terms of Ban Ki-moon's visit. About 100 of her supporters gathered as close to the prison gates as the riot police would allow, the Associated Press news agency said.
Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer now expects it to conclude quickly, with a guilty verdict and continued incarceration for the opposition leader a near-certainty. Neutralising opposition
That would mean she and her party will play no role in the election planned by the military government next year - so that election is unlikely to be recognised as legitimate by much of the world. The trial, held behind closed doors, began on 18 May, but has been repeatedly delayed while another court heard an appeal from Ms Suu Kyi's lawyers over allowing more defence witnesses.
Still, the thinking of the senior generals shut off in their fortress-like capital is hard to fathom - there is always the possibility of a surprise decision. One witness was originally allowed for the defence and 22 for the prosecution, but on appeal one further defence witness was allowed.
What happens in Burma now depends entirely on what they do - 20 years of sustained international pressure has achieved almost nothing. Last week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Burma to make a personal appeal for all political prisoners, including Ms Suu Kyi, to be freed.
But the military government would not allow him even to meet her.
Having seen off Mr Ban last week without making any significant concessions, Burma's military rulers can now get on with the business of neutralising their main political opponent, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.
A guilty verdict would mean Ms Suu Kyi and her party will play no role in the election planned by the military government next year - so that election is unlikely to be recognised as legitimate by much of the world, says our correspondent.
But the thinking of the senior generals shut off in their fortress-like capital of Nay Pyi Taw is hard to fathom - there is always the possibility of a surprise decision, our correspondent adds.
Ms Suu Kyi has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years in detention, much of it at her Rangoon home.