Burmese FM Says Yettaw Visit Part of Opposition Plot

John W Yettaw’s visit to the home of Aung San Suu Kyi was part of a Burmese opposition plot to intensify international pressure on the government, according to Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win.

The state-own daily newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported on the fifth day of Suu Kyi’s trial on Friday that Nyan Win made the claim in a telephone conversation on Monday with his counterpart in Japan, Hirofumi Nakasone.

Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win reads a document during a ministerial retreat at the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Singapore in 2008. (Photo: AP)

The report said Nyan Win believed the incident was probably "trumped up to intensify international pressure on Myanmar [Burma], by internal and external anti-government elements" at a time when the US, Japan and some European countries were reviewing their policies toward the military-ruled country.

Hirofumi told Nyan Win that his government was concerned about the legal action now being taken against Suu Kyi, saying it may impact international views on Burma as well as the general election in 2010.

Political observers are now asking whether the Burmese regime is trying to make up its own story, depicting Yettaw as a foreign spy for domestic and foreign opposition groups.

The Associated Press said that at Wednesday's hearing before the special court in Insein Prison, two black cloaks or robes described as being of a type worn by Muslim women, along with scarves to cover the face, two long skirts, and sunglasses, were presented as evidence.

Implying that they could be used in an escape attempt, the prosecutor asked the police officer who seized the items: "If a person wears this woman's Muslim dress and sunglasses, will you be able to identify the person?" The officer replied "No," the AP reported.

Yettaw also asked his lawyer to question a policeman who was testifying whether the officer had been told by Suu Kyi that he said to her, "In my vision, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be assassinated, so I came here." The lawyer asked permission to pose that question, but the court declined to allow it.

Meanwhile Burma’s Consul-General in Hong Kong, Ye Myint Aung, suggested in a letter posted on the consulate’s Web site that Yettaw could have been "a secret agent" or Suu Kyi’s "boyfriend."

Many Burmese political observers believe the bizarre case of the American intruder who managed to enter the highly restricted property of Suu Kyi was the work of Burmese regime and that security authorities were definitely involved.

Aung Lin Htut, a former military intelligence officer and deputy ambassador to the US who is currently living in Washington, told The Irrawaddy that it was unlikely that Yettaw simply outwitted security personnel by swimming to Suu Kyi’s lakeside home.

"There’s always tight security around Inya Lake," he said, pointing out that the area is also home to many other VIPs. "Without help from security personnel, there’s no way you could just swim across the lake."

One Burmese opposition blog site, www.niknayman-niknayman.co.cc, posted a video clip of an interview with a taxi driver in Rangoon, saying he drove Yettaw from Rangoon's airport and contending that the American in fact walked into Suu Kyi’s compound after he dropped him in front of Suu Kyi’s home.

According to the video clip, the taxi driver alleges that Yettaw walked into the compound after he showed a red card to the guards in front of the democracy leader’s house.

Yettaw, a Mormon, reportedly does not hold strong political views. He receives disability payments from the US Veteran’s Affairs office for Vietnam War-related injuries and has pursued studies in psychology.