Activists concerned over "major crackdown" on democracy in Myanmar.

(From Agence France Presse)

Activists in the United States expressed concern over what they termed a "major crackdown" on the democracy movement in Myanmar and a possible attempt to assassinate opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

According to the military rulers, she was put under "protective custody" in northern Myanmar along with 18 members of her entourage after clashes between her supporters and a pro-junta mob Friday left four dead and 50 injured.

The opposition leader had been on a month-long political tour of Myanmar's north during which she had been subject to "intensifying attacks perpetrated by the political arm of the regime," the US-based activists said.

"Throughout her trip she's been consistently harassed by members of the USDA," the junta-sponsored Union Solidarity Development Association, said Jeremy Woodrum, Washington director of the Free Burma Coalition (FBC).

Aung San Suu Kyi and her followers "don't ever, ever use violence," he insisted, challenging the government's characterization of the incident Friday.

"The military regime is trying to make it seem as if there are people inside the country who oppose Aung San Suu Kyi. In their official version of events they'll state that there was a clash between Suu Kyi and people who don't like her," he said.