BKKPOST:Jul13 Burmese students thre

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/* Written 10:07 AM  Jul 13, 1994 by kamol@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx in igc:soc.culture.th */
/* ---------- "BKKPOST:Jul13 Burmese students thre" ---------- */

BURMESE students have vowed to stage a hunger strike during the 
forthcoming meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers unless host country 
Thailand withdraws its invitation to Rangoon's military junta.
"It is obvious that ASEAN, like the SLORC (State Law and Order 
Restoration Council), has so far refused to honour the mandate 
given by the Burmese people to the legitimate representatives 
elected in 1990," said an edited version of a letter released 
yesterday from eight students.
"Although SLORC's attendance at the opening and closing ceremonies 
is largely ceremonial, we strongly reject this Thai initiative to 
accord enhanced international acceptance to this illegitimate 
regime," the letter, circulated by the Student Committee for Human 
Rights in Burma (SCHRB), said.
Host country Thailand formally extended an invitation in April for 
Burma to attend the 27th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM).
Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw is expected to represent the ruling 
SLORC at the meeting, which begins two days after the fifth 
anniversary of Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi's detention 
under house arrest in Rangoon.
Under SLORC's own law, five years is the limit for detaining any 
political prisoner without trial.
"We believe that Thailand should demonstrate the attributes of a 
good neighbour by helping to restore peace, democracy and 
prosperity for the entire populace of Burma, instead of supporting 
only the SLORC and the Burmese military," the Burmese students 
said.
"We hope that ASEAN's vital political and economic role in the 
Asia-Pacific region will be accompanied by a moral obligation 
towards the long-suffering Burmese people who continue to 
restlessly struggle for national liberation from military 
dictatorship."
The students, who have been under detention for seven months in 
Bangkok's Special Detention Centre (SDC), called on the Thai 
Government to cancel the invitation to the SLORC and offer 
"legitimate representatives" of the Burmese people the opportunity 
to participate in the ASEAN meeting.
They also urged removal of a ban on the political activities of 
fellow students, other students and ethnic minority groups 
currently residing in Thailand.
"If these demands are not met, we will stage a hunger strike in 
the SDC during the AMM," the letter said.
The SDC is located at the Bang Khen Police Training Academy in 
northern Bangkok.
This year's meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers is drawing special 
attention as it will be followed, on July 25, by the first meeting 
of the ASEAN Regional Forum which will be attended by foreign 
ministers from 17 countries and one organisation, including the 
United States, China, Russia and the European Union.