Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Remains in Rangoon Residence

An Asian diplomat told The Associated Press on Thursday that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains in her Rangoon home, contrary to rumors that she had been imprisoned.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the opposition leader was not taken to the city's notorious Insein prison—as some had feared—but remains in the house where she has been detained for nearly 12 years.

The diplomat said that junta had deployed more security forces around Suu Kyi's house and on the road leading to her residential compound and that more than 100 soldiers were now inside the compound.

"The sign of increasing security forces make me confident that she is still there," the diplomat said. He said others told him that they had seen the diminutive opposition leader in her home Wednesday night.

The diplomat also said flyers were spreading around the nation's largest city of Rangoon on Thursday morning encouraging more civilians to join the protest.

There was a fleeting appearance on Saturday of Suu Kyi at the gate of her residence when she appeared to pay respect to the thousands of monks who marched past her home, demanding her release and protesting against increased fuel and food prices.

Suu Kyi, 62, is the leader of the National League for Democracy party, which won a 1990 general election but was not allowed to take power by the military. She has been under detention continuously since May 2003.