breaking news

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Security was stepped up around detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house Tuesday, as Myanmar's military junta faced a deadline to decide whether to release her or extend her house arrest for another year.
art.suukyi.afp.jpg

A poster of Aung San Suu Kyi stands outside the National League for Democracy offices in Yangon in early May.
more photos »

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained continuously since May 2003, has long been the symbol of the regime's brutality and the focus of a worldwide campaign that has lobbied for her release.

Her house arrest -- which has been renewed annually -- is believed to expire at midnight Tuesday, said Nyan Win, spokesman for her National League for Democracy party. With the regime saying nothing, there has been uncertainly about the exact expiration.

The ruling generals have given no sign they will release Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been confined for more than 12 of the past 18 years. Her latest period of arrest began in 2003.

The decision comes at a delicate time for the junta.

It already is facing international condemnation for the way it failed the relief effort, with more than half of the 2.4 million survivors of Cyclone Nargis still desperately needing food, clean water and shelter more than three weeks after the disaster.

And the law would seem to be on Aung San Suu Kyi's side. No one can be held longer than five years without being released or put on trial, said U.S. lawyer Jared Genser, hired by Aung San Suu Kyi's family to push for her release. But few expect her to be released, despite urging by both the United Nations and some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Don't Miss

* Disease fears loom over Myanmar
* Junta allows U.N. aid workers into Myanmar
* U.N. chief: Turning point in cyclone crisis
* Special report: Myanmar cyclone
Impact Your World
o See how you can make a difference

"Their failure to abide by their own law by refusing to release (Aung San Suu Kyi) ... is a clear slap in the face to (U.N. Secretary-General) Ban Ki-moon and the ASEAN diplomats," Genser said earlier this week. "They are out of time to hold her under their own law."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda called Tuesday for her release, saying it would be a way of thanking the international community for its generosity after the cyclone, which killed at least 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.

"I hope for the best but to be frank I'm not optimistic," he said.

About 20 plain clothes police officers stood guard outside Aung San Suu Kyi's lakeside house, while six truckloads of riot police were on guard near her National League for Democracy headquarters.

Standing in front of the dilapidated headquarters, about 30 supporters held a banner calling for her release and chanted, "Aung San Suu Kyi. Release her immediately."

Nearby, plainclothes police videotaped and photographed the participants.