Myanmar activists pray for release of South Korean hostages in Afghanistan

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Pro-democracy activists in military-ruled Myanmar yesterday held prayers for the safe release of the remaining 21 South Koreans held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan, an activist said.

Some 20 Myanmar activists prayed for the hostages in their weekly meeting at the famous Shwedagon pagoda, where they normally gather to call for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners in Myanmar. Two South Korean hostages have already been killed.

"Apart from praying for the release of ... Aung San Suu Kyi, we prayed for the earliest release of the South Korean hostages," said Naw Ohn Hla, a former member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

Naw Ohn Hla said it was the 161st weekly gathering to call for Suu Kyi's release.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi has been detained by the government for 12 of the past 18 years. Suu Kyi's party won a 1990 election, but the ruling generals refused to let it take power.

The Taliban on July 19 kidnapped 23 South Koreans riding on a bus on a highway, the largest group of foreign hostages taken in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. The body of the second slain South Korean hostage was discovered yesterday.