Demands to release Suu Kyi intensify

Myanmar's military government said on Tuesday her detention was temporary and a UN envoy, allowed to meet Suu Kyi earlier that day, said two of the country's top generals had assured him they would release her "as soon as possible."

Her whereabouts since meeting envoy Razali Ismail are unknown.

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Suu Kyi and about two dozen senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) have been held at undisclosed locations in the capital since they were taken into custody on May 30, sources in the party say.

Razali was the first outsider to see the Nobel laureate since her detention following clashes between her supporters and members of a pro-military group during a tour to the north.

Her detention after the May 30 clash, which the United States said it suspected was staged by "government-affiliated thugs," has raised fresh international concern. Several leaders from across the world have condemned the Myanmar junta for detaining Suu Kyi and the United States, Britain and the European Union have threatened more economic sanctions to further isolate the impoverished country.

A drive in the US Congress toward imposing a ban on all imports from Myanmar advanced on Tuesday.

At a White House meeting on Tuesday, President Bush enlisted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's help in pressing Myanmar to immediately release Suu Kyi.

Next week Myanmar joins partners in the Association of South East Asian Nations and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) for meetings in Cambodia, when pressure is almost certain to be applied -- at least quietly.