The pro-democracy Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was under police guard yesterday after her nine-day protest against travel restrictions in a Rangoon suburb had been forcibly ended.
Foreign diplomats were unable to contact Ms Suu Kyi in her home, which was surrounded by troops and police.
The US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, joined EU leaders over the weekend in condemning the action by the Burmese military junta.
She said the US was outraged and strongly condemned the violation of the human rights of Ms Suu Kyi and members of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
The junta's official propaganda put out a mocking statement claiming that Ms Suu Kyi had "arrived home safe and sound". The government, it said, had taken into consideration "the adverse weather factor" and complaints from the NLD about living conditions in her roadside camp.
She and her travel companions had been "escorted" home on Saturday "in a motorcade facilitated by the government for their safe and convenient return".
Burmese security officials raided the NLD headquarters after Ms Suu Kyi was forced home. Members of the party going to the building to seek information were denied entry. Foreign diplomats were also turned away by military intelligence officials.
One security official claimed that "incriminatory material and documents" had been seized. Diplomats said that at least three senior members of the NLD had also been detained and had their telephone lines cut.
The regime said that no NLD executive committee members were under arrest, but their movement was being "restricted".
NLD members were apprehensive last night that the junta was preparing to suppress the party, which has survived in spite of years of harassment.
Ms Suu Kyi was stopped on the road when she tested the regime's restrictions on August 24th by leaving the capital in an attempt to visit the NLD's youth wing in the countryside.
"This is a careful, insincere, premeditated move [by Ms Suu Kyi] to attract international attention and to coincide with the upcoming Millennium Summit," the Foreign Minister, Mr Win Aung, said shortly before the camp was broken up.