Burmese and Red Cross officials say Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is not on a hunger strike, after U.S. officials said they believed she was refusing food.
A Red Cross Spokesman (Jean Pascal Moret) in Yangon said today (Saturday) that a two-person team met with Aung San Suu Kyi for an hour to deliver family messages, and found her to be in good health. He also said she was aware of the reports about her alleged hunger strike.
Burma's military government said in a statement that the ICRC officials found her well when they visited her this afternoon.
On Sunday, the United States said Aung San Suu Kyi had begun a hunger strike, and on Thursday, called on Burma to allow international access to her.
The European Union and another Nobel Peace Prize winner, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, expressed concern for her well-being on Friday.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who heads Burma's National League for Democracy, has been in and out of detention for the past 14 years. Burmese authorities most detained her May 30th during an outbreak of violence between her supporters and a group backed by the military government. She has not been seen in public since then.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.