New Delhi –The extension of democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest invited widespread criticism of the Burmese military junta on Wednesday amidst efforts by the international community in persuading the generals to allow access to cyclone hit regions.

The United Nations Secretary General said the Burmese government's decision to extend the house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is regrettable.

"I regret the decision of the government of Myanmar [Burma] to extend for a sixth consecutive year the under house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Ban Ki-moon said in a statement.

The United States President George W. Bush in a statement said he is 'deeply troubled' by the Burmese junta's decision to extend the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and called on the regime to free her and other political prisoners in the country.

"I am deeply troubled by the Burmese regime's extension of National League for Democracy General Secretary and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest on May 27," Bush said.

Bush, however, said the United States will continue to help the people of Burma recover from the devastation of Cyclone Nargis and will continue to support the Burmese people's long term struggle for freedom.

"Laura and I look forward to the day when the people of Burma know true liberty and democracy," Bush added.

The two powerful statements came following the Burmese junta's supposedly secret extension of the house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday.

The Burmese military junta on Tuesday secretly read out a statement to Aung San Suu Kyi stating that her house arrest has been extended for another six months, both government and opposition sources told Mizzima.

"A vehicle came into her compound, at about 3 p.m. [on Tuesday] and an official read out to Daw Suu that her house arrest term was extended by another six months," said an opposition source, who closely monitors Aung San Suu Kyi's residence in Rangoon's University Avenue.

However, the Burmese junta on Wednesday maintained secrecy on the extension of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest with none of the state-run media including the MRTV channels announcing it.

Leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi's party – National League for Democracy – said they are unaware of the extension and came to know through media reports.

But opposition groups in exile said the secrecy maintained by the junta could be because of Than Shwe's fear that the information might stir emotions in an already tense situation after the junta's foot dragging process that delayed aid for victims of Cyclone Nargis.

Nyo Ohn Myint, Foreign affairs in-charge of the National League for Democracy – Liberated Area (NLD-LA) in exile said while the junta is holding Aung San Suu Kyi in detention, military Supremo Than Shwe seems to be having difficulty in announcing it publicly.

"I think than Shwe must be having various difficulties in announcing the extension," said, Nyo Ohn Myint, saying that the difficulties might be fear that the information could worsen the situation.

A Thailand based Burmese independent analyst, Aung Naing Oo said, it is clear that the junta, in anyway, was unlikely to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

"They know that if they release her, things will get stirred up and will spin out of control," said Aung Naing Oo, adding that the cyclone's impact had already caused enough damage to the people.

But the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi's party said they would challenge the regime for illegally continuing to detain their party leader.

According to Burmese law, a person in Burma cannot be detained for more than five years without trial. The law permits a maximum of five years detention for persons deemed as a 'threat to national security and peace' but is only renewable one year at a time.

The NLD said this continued detention is a pure act of violating the law and would file an appeal demanding an explanation from the government for continuing to detain Aung San Suu Kyi.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate has spent more than 12 of the past 18 years in solitary confinement and her latest arrest was in May 2003. According to her lawyer, Jared Genser from the US based advocacy group 'Freedom Now', Aung San Suu Kyi completed five consecutive years of detention on May 24, 2008.

But with Burma struggling to recover from the impact of Cyclone Nargis that swept through the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon division on May 2 and 3, the international community including the United Nations has had to divert attention from politics.

Ban Ki-moon, who on Friday met Than Shwe, told reporters in New York, that his discussion with Burma's military Supremo was focused on humanitarian issues.

But Ban said he urged the military junta to immediately implement the seven-point democratization programme.

"I was clearly aware of when this house arrest would expire, and I was concerned whether this house arrest would be extended, but for sensitive reasons, I am not going to make any further comment," Ban said.

"Believe me I am very much committed to work very hard for the democratization of Myanmar [Burma]," Ban added.