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YANGON — A Myanmar junta official said Sunday there is "no indication" that detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is on a hunger strike but implied the government has not sent anyone to make sure.
The 63-year-old Suu Kyi has refused daily food deliveries to her home for about three weeks to protest her ongoing detention, according to her political party, which has evaded questions of whether she is on a hunger strike.
Over the past month, Suu Kyi has been allowed to meet with her lawyer on three occasions and once with her personal physician, said Myanmar police chief Maj. Gen. Khin Yi.
"During these four meetings and according to information given to the authorities by the lawyer and her physician, there is no indication that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is on a hunger strike," Khin Yi told reporters in the capital, Naypyitaw. Daw is an honorific title.
He did not address an appeal made Friday by her National League for Democracy party for the junta to ensure Suu Kyi's safety and well-being.
In that statement, the party "expressed concern" for Suu Kyi. It said she was protesting her detention and the restricted movement of two female companions who live with her and help take care of her lakeside home. They are currently not allowed to leave the compound.
One of the women, 45-year-old Win Ma Ma, was hospitalized on Friday for stomach problems, NLD spokesman Nyan Win said Sunday.
Suu Kyi's lawyer, Kyi Win, met with her for 30 minutes on Sept. 1. He emerged from the meeting, saying Suu Kyi told him, "I am well but I have lost some weight."
The detained Nobel Peace Prize winner has been locked away by the ruling military junta for 13 of the past 19 years, mostly under house arrest, and relies on food delivered by her party for sustenance.
