The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Yangon

A state-controlled newspaper said Wednesday that Myanmar's military rulers were 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 defense lawyers arguing the junta could legally only hold her for five years.

But a commentary in the New Light of Myanmar 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, defense and foreign affairs ministers, the newspaper said.

The military regime extended Suu Kyi's house arrest 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 Myanmar, 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.

Party spokesman Nyan Win said he usually doesn't comment on articles published in state-run newspapers, which constantly attack the country's pro-democracy movement without allowing a response.

But he said the article's explanation of how it was not illegal to hold Suu Kyi for another year "is legally wrong. The law says that detention period should be a total of five years."