U.S. says Suu Kyi should be free to travel

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, June 30 (UPI) -- Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi should be free to travel and take part in her country's political activities, the U.S. State Department said.

Spokesman Mark Toner was responding to whether the government in Myanmar, formerly Burma, had through its state media warned Suu Kyi against traveling in the country as that might cause riots.

"Yeah. No -- well, we would just call on the Burmese authorities to allow -- in fact, to ensure that Aung San Suu Kyi is free to travel, free to express her views, and to fully participate in political activities, and just that we remain concerned for her safety and security, and it's the responsibility of the Burmese authorities, in fact, to ensure both her safety and that of Burma's citizens," Toner said.

Myanmar state media said this week the planned trip in the country by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate could cause "chaos and riots." There were also criticisms of Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy, which boycotted the November elections widely condemned as a sham, for involving her in political activities.

The Wall Street Journal reported the warnings have come as the country since the elections faces growing tensions as most of the candidates who won are associated with the military, which has ruled the country for years.

Suu Kyi was released after years of house arrest following the November elections, but her party remains dissolved.

The BBC reported Suu Kyi, in a BBC lecture aired on the same day she received the warning, said the recent events in the Middle East and North Africa had renewed her movement's commitment to freedom.