Myanmar's democracy leader Suu Kyi turns 64 in prison (Roundup)

Yangon - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated her 64th birthday Friday in Yangon's Insein prison where she is being held to stand trial for allegedly breaking her terms of detention. About 300 members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party, which she leads, released doves outside the party's headquarters in Yangon, wishing for her quick release. Mostly wearing yellow, many also shouted; 'Free Daw (Mrs) Aung San Suu Kyi.' The NLD won the 1990 general election by a landslide but has been blocked from power by Myanmar's junta for the past 19 years. Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar independence hero Aung San, has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest in Yangon. Her latest stint of detention ended May 27, after she was moved to Insein prison to stand trial. If found guilty of allowing US national John William Yettaw to swim to her home on May 3 and stay there till the night of May 5, she faces another three to five years in jail. NLD executive committee member Hla Pe on Friday blasted the ruling junta for its latest legal move against Suu Kyi. 'The junta was preparing the trial while she was still under house arrest,' he added. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi was transferred to Insein prison on May 9 to stand trial for breaking the terms of that detention. Many believe the regime deliberately allowed Yettaw to swim to Suu Kyi's well-guarded residence, to provide an excuse to keep her in prison while the junta pushes through a general election next year. The court case against Suu Kyi is scheduled to resume on June 26 to hear the testimony of defence witness Khin Moh Moh. Yettaw, a Mormon who claims to have wanted to warn Suu Kyi of an assassination attempt he had dreamt of, faces several charges, including immigration violations for visiting a prisoner while on a tourist visa and local laws for swimming illegally in Inya Lake. Myanmar's judiciary has little independence from the country's ruling military junta, observers note. The country has been under military rule since 1962. Many people around the world spoke out in Suu Kyi's defence on her birthday and condemned the junta in small protests and concerts. The European Union's leaders issued a 64-word statement in her honour and projected an image of her face on to a key EU building. The EU message called for her 'immediate unconditional release' and said the credibility of the 2010 elections would be undermined if she remains imprisoned. The EU statement is one of many posted as part of the global internet-based campaign to highlight the Nobel Peace Prize winner's plight and honour her birthday with a 64-word message. The campaign, www.64forsuu.org, has statements from international names such as the Irish rock group U2, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, David Beckham and United Nations human rights commissioner Mary Robinson. Other celebrities that have sent messages include George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Daniel Craig and Richard Branson.