- guardian.co.uk, Sunday June 1 2003 11.31 BST
Suu Kyi was taken into custody after fighting erupted late on Friday night near the town of Dipeyin, about 400 miles north of Rangoon. According to the military, the clashes were caused by 'inflammatory speeches' made by Suu Kyi that were critical of the military government.
Suu Kyi, who was on a month-long political tour, was arrested along with 19 members of her National League for Democracy party.
One report said that her car had been shot at during the clashes: 'For their own security, they are now under temporary protective custody,' Brigadier Than Tun told a press conference.
He added that the Rangoon headquarters of Suu Kyi's NLD - which won 1990 general elections, but was barred by the military from taking power - had been temporarily closed and some leaders of the party had been placed under house arrest.
Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Prize for her much publicised peaceful struggle for democracy, was making her seventh such trip to the provinces since being freed last May after being held under house arrest for 19 months.
Her release had provoked hopes of an end to Burma's long political stalemate, but the latest violence, which followed weeks of rising tensions throughout the region, appear to have shattered any illusions that her party and the country's military rulers could soon overcome their differences and negotiate a return to civilian rule.
Suu Kyi had been expected to return on Wednesday, two days before the scheduled arrival of special UN envoy Razali Ismail on a visit aimed at rekindling the reconciliation process he helped to initiate after 40 years of military rule.
Friday's incident occurred after complaints by Suu Kyi's party workers that a pro-junta group had been intimidating her supporters and threatened to run over people who were waiting to greet her near Mandalay last Sunday.
