Buddhist monks chanted prayers to mark the 61st birthday of detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday while pro-democracy activists around the world planned protests against Myanmar’s military junta.

Rallies were due to be held in more than 25 countries across Asia, Europe and North America to demand the freedom of the Nobel Peace Laureate, who has spent 10 of the past 17 years in some form of detention.

But their protests are likely to fall on deaf ears in Yangon, where the military, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, clamped tight security on the road outside Suu Kyi’s home.

Armed security officers manned metal barricades and stopped traffic from passing in what appeared to be a move to prevent supporters of “The Lady” from gathering near the lakeside villa where she is under house arrest.

At the ramshackle headquarters of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), party officials gave morning offerings to Buddhist monks and hosted a gathering of 200 supporters where nine doves were released amid prayers for her freedom.

“Let us pray for her good health and for her immediate release and the release of all other political prisoners,” said Aung Shwe, chairman of NLD which won an election landslide in 1990 only to be denied power by the military.

Suu Kyi’s house arrest was extended for another year on May 27 despite international pressure and a direct appeal from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to junta leader Than Shwe to “do the right thing”. The United States has since called for the UN Security Council to put pressure on Yangon, saying the “regime’s activities and repression of political rights now poses a threat to stability, peace and security in the region”.

But the US initiative is likely to be strongly opposed by veto-wielding council members China and Russia, as well as by Japan, an elected member that lacks veto power. Suu Kyi’s latest stretch of detention began on May 30, 2003 after clashes between her supporters and pro-junta demonstrators.

Since then, she has been held virtually incommunicado, with her telephone line cut, her mail intercepted and visitors restricted to her house maid and doctor. A recent stomach ailment raised concerns about her limited access to regular medical care.

But whatever the gestures, and whatever their volume, yesterday’s protests are unlikely to make any difference to a government that appears immune to international pressure and insists her detention is a “domestic issue”.