Edition: U.S. / Global

Nobelist's Villa Contested

Published: December 29, 2000

Arguments are to begin on Jan. 5 in a lawsuit filed against the pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by her estranged brother, who is claiming half her lakeside property, court officials said today.

The brother, Aung San Oo, who is an American citizen, is demanding half of the Yangon compound inherited from their mother, who died two years ago.

Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, has lived there for 12 years, including the years 1989 to 1995 under house arrest without trial.

The law prohibits foreigners from purchasing or transferring property, but the government has granted Mr. Aung San Oo an exemption. Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers, in a written statement to the court, questioned the legality of the exemption.