Can Cecilia Sarkozy, wife of the French President, follow up her spectacular mission to Libya with a trip to Burma to persuade the junta to free the world's most famous political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi?
The possibility was raised by a French government minister after Mme Sarkozy returned to Europe from Libya with the 'Benghazi Six' - five Bulgarians and a Palestinian threatened with the death sentence.
The fact that President Sarkozy made good his promise to push for the release of the six nurses (and that his wife evidently used her charms on Colonel Gadaffi when diplomacy stalled) has fired Burma's pro-democracy activists with hope that their beloved 'Lady' may soon be among them again.
French Deputy Minister of Human Rights Rama Yade told France's LCI television that, following the Libya
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Can Cecilia charm the Burmese into freeing Aung San Suu Kyi, asks edward loxton |
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mission, the Elysee would now concentrate on getting Aung San Suu Kyi freed from house detention.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, has spent 11 of the last 17 years intermittently either in prison or confined to her lakeside home in Rangoon, held incommunicado by the regime because of her huge popularity and iconic status in military-ruled Burma.
Pro-democracy activists, denigrated by the official media and sometimes beaten and humiliated by pro-government thugs, dismiss as 'men in suits' the parade of Western politicians and diplomats who visit Rangoon, have tea with Aung San Suu Kyi then go off for inconclusive meetings with the generals.
The United Nations envoy gave up his job in sheer frustration. His successor, the Nigerian Ibrahim Gambari, visited Aung San Suu Kyi and the generals earlier this year in a mood of optimism that was 
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