Myanmar extends house arrest of democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar's military junta Tuesday extended the house arrest of Nobel Peace Prize-winning democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi for another year, drawing softer criticism than usual from foreign governments that are now focused on aiding survivors of Tropical Cyclone Nargis.

The news came as foreign-aid workers began reaching remote areas hardest hit by the May 3 cyclone, relief agencies said. But the numbers reaching the remote areas — apparently fewer than 20 — are still small, the permissions uneven and the procedures still uncertain.

The admissions represent a significant opening by the country's military rulers, which for three weeks have delayed delivery of supplies to more than a million people in the remote Irrawaddy Delta.

As many as 135,000 people are dead or missing, and the United Nations estimates that 1.5 million survivors have not yet received any aid.

Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's revered independence hero, Aung San, and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, which won a 1990 election but has not been permitted to take power.

She has spent about 12 of the past 18 years under house arrest, including an unbroken stretch since May 2003.

Western governments have traditionally been vociferous in calling for Suu Kyi's freedom. But since Nargis, many of those governments and the United Nations have been preoccupied with the struggle to help survivors.

Among aid workers reaching the delta region were teams from U.N. World Food Program, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders. The medical-aid group said its teams had reached remote delta areas where people had not eaten for three days.

Helicopters also began shuttling high-energy biscuits and ready-to-eat meals into the area Tuesday, Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian effort, said in Bangkok, Thailand.

While opening its door to international donors, the military government has refused to let in United States, French and British warships loaded with supplies just outside its territorial waters.

However, it has allowed more than 60 U.S. Air Force flights to bring supplies to the Yangon airport.

Compiled from The New York Times, The Associated Press and The Washington Post