Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi plans to repair her dilapidated two-storey home to improve security, after an American’s high-profile intrusion led to her house arrest being extended, lawyers said on Tuesday.
Suu Kyi wants to reinforce two balconies on the upper floor, which have only glass doors, and meet with an architect to discuss other renovations, said lawyer Nyan Win.
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is “very keen to have her house repaired, mainly for security reasons,” Mr. Nyan Win said.
American John Yettaw had sneaked into her lakeside compound in May this year, even though she was under house arrest and the home was under round-the-clock police guard.
While Ms. Suu Kyi was imprisoned at Myanmar’s Insein Prison, authorities put up barbed wire at the back of her compound to prevent future lakeside entries. A section of University Avenue, where her house is located, is totally blocked by a barbed-wire barricade, with no traffic allowed.
Ms. Suu Kyi had minor repairs carried out on the home in her absence and an architect visited to begin evaluations for future renovations, said Mr. Nyan Win.
She has not yet met with the architect, Mr. Nyan Win said, and it was not immediately known if such a visit would be allowed by the junta.
Ms. Suu Kyi, who is an avid reader, is also considering changes to the home’s interior such as converting one room into a library and reading room, said Mr. Nyan Win.
