The United Nations Secretary General promised to go to Burma to demand the release of political prisoners as the authorities resumed their closed trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning democracy leader, a day after briefly admitting journalists and foreign diplomats.

“I’m deeply concerned about what has been happening in Myanmar, in terms of democratisation and I’m going to urge again the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi,” Ban Ki Moon said, using the new name for Burma, favoured by the country’s military dictatorship. “I’m going to visit Myanmar as soon as possible.”

A visit by Mr Ban would counter claims by opponents of the military regime that the UN has done too little to put pressure on the country’s leader, Than Shwe, and his junta.

“When I go there in person, I’ll discuss with senior General Than Shwe and other government officials on this matter,” Mr Ban promised. “We are again deeply concerned about the detention. She’s a democracy believer. We have a full support and trust in her. And also, she is an indispensable patron for reconsidering the dialogue in Myanmar.”

Ms Suu Kyi appeared in the court inside Insein Prison in Rangoon for a fourth day today, charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by giving shelter to John Yettaw, an eccentric American well wisher who secretly swam to her heavily guarded house across a lake.

On Wednesday 30 diplomats and ten Burmese journalists were unexpectedly allowed to attend the hour-long afternoon session, apparently as a sop to domestic and international sympathy for Ms Suu Kyi. But today they were excluded, as usual in trials of political prisoners.

In Wednesday’s hearing the lawyer for Mr Yettaw, 54, suggested that his client had experienced a “vision” of the assassination of Ms Suu Kyi, which motivated him to make his visit to the house where she has spent a total of 13 years under house arrest.

It emerged in court testimony that he has told police during his interrogation: “In my vision, Daw [Madam[ Aung San Suu Kyi will be assassinated, so I came here.”

A report published by Harvard Law School recommended that the UN Security Council establish a special tribunal for prosecuting human rights abuses in Burma, like those set up for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

“With Burma, there has been no such action from the UN Security Council despite being similarly aware of the widespread and systematic nature of the violations,” the report said.

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