Military Blocks Myanmar Celebration

Military police blocked 100 supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from visiting her Rangoon home Thursday to celebrate her 52nd birthday.

Myanmar’s junta allowed 20 of Suu Kyi’s relatives and aides were allowed into her compound for a quiet ceremony in which she offered food to five Buddhist monks, a traditional ritual.

Suu Kyi has been under limited house arrest since September 1996, when the military blocked off her home to prevent a meeting of her political party and stop her from giving weekend speeches to supporters.

Since then, authorities have granted little access to the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner.