A state-controlled newspaper in Burma says the country's military rulers are breaking no laws by holding pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for a sixth straight year.
The junta's recent decision to extend Suu Kyi's detention by one year sparked international outrage, with the Nobel Peace laureate's party and foreign defence lawyers arguing the junta could legally only hold her for five years.
But a commentary in the New Light of Burma newspaper said detentions are permissible for as long as six years under a 1975 "Law Safeguarding the State from Dangers of Subversive Elements."
Yearly extensions must be approved by the Council of Ministers and then by the Central Body, which includes the home, defence and foreign affairs ministers, the newspaper said.
The military regime extended Suu Kyi's house arrest on May 27, despite international pressure to set her free. She has been detained for more than 12 of the last 18 years at her home in Burma, also known as Burma.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party denounced the extension as illegal and urged the regime to open a public hearing on the case. An American lawyer hired by Suu Kyi's family to push for her release also condemned her continued detention as illegal.
"The Burmese junta's extension of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest in clear violation of its own law comes as no surprise," Jared Genser, the lawyer, said at the time. "Adherence to the rule of law is not their forte, and the junta remains deeply concerned about her appeal to the Burmese people."
How the opposing sides interpreted the same 1975 law differently could not be immediately explained.
The junta also came under fire from the international community for initially refusing to allow urgently needed foreign aid workers to enter areas of Burma to assist in relief and recovery in areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis.
