NLD will go ahead with its plan to

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Subject: NLD will go ahead with its plan to hold party's congress

21May96 THAILAND: BURMA'S SUU KYI SAYS MEETING ON DESPITE ARRESTS. 12:05 GMT  

BANGKOK, May 21 (Reuter) - Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on
Tuesday she would hold a congress of her National League for Democracy (NLD)
party despite the arrest of 44 party representatives who were due to attend.
"Yes, of course," she told Reuters by telephone from Rangoon when asked if
she would still hold the meeting, which is due to begin on Sunday.  
"To date we know that 46 people have been arrested, 44 elected
representatives and two wives who were arrested because their husbands were
not at home," she said.
The planned NLD congress is being held to mark the sixth anniversary of the
1990 election in which the party won more than 80 percent of the seats but
was denied power by the ruling military.
"I think it's because they know we have the support of the people and
they're not confident in their own position," Suu Kyi said when asked if she
knew the reason behind the arrests, which began in the provinces on Monday.
The ruling military body, the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), has yet to officially announce any arrests but earlier on Tuesday
issued a stiff warning against "destructionist groups" and "traitors"
endangering the stability of the state.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE

 21May96 BURMA DETAINS 44 DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS. 11:50 GMT  
(Updates number arrested, adds details, quotes, background)
By Robert Birsel
BANGKOK, May 21 (Reuter) - Burma's military rulers have detained 44
democracy activists who were planning to attend a Sunday meeting at
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's Rangoon home, an opposition source said
on Tuesday.
"They have already detained 44 representatives from the districts," a source
close to the opposition leader said by telephone from Rangoon.
Residents in Rangoon said the city appeared calm and there were no police
roadblocks or signs of heavy security on the streets.
The source close to the opposition leader said the activists, all of whom
won seats for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in a 1990
election, were picked up at their homes throughout the country.
"In two cases, because the elected representatives were not at home it was
said the authorities detained their wives," he said. "I think the figure
will grow as time passes, it will increase by the hour."
Suu Kyi and the NLD are planning a congress starting on Sunday to mark the
sixth anniversary of the 1990 election in which the NLD won more than 80
percent of the seats but was denied power by the ruling military.
"It is obvious," the opposition source said when asked if the arrests were
linked to the planned weekend meeting.  "As far as I know I think they will
proceed with the meeting," he said.  A diplomat speaking from the Burmese
capital said the arrests appeared to be a "pre-emptive containment" of the
NLD ahead of their planned weekend congress. "It's fairly clear that both
sides are heading for a show down on Sunday," the diplomat said.
The ruling generals issued a blunt warning to Suu Kyi earlier on Tuesday,
threatening to take action against "destructionist groups" and "traitors"
endangering the stability of the state.
Military intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, in a speech
reported in state-run newspapers, said "lackeys of the colonialists and
traitors are disrupting efforts to implement political, economic and social
objectives".
"A circle of traitorous minions of the colonialists is found to be
obstructing the government's constructive endeavours," Khin Nyunt said in a
speech to a state-organised re-training session for teachers on Monday.
The diplomat said the ruling military body, the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC), was apparently determined to prevent the
congress of representatives who won seats in the 1990 election.  "It's the
idea of a parallel government of the 1990 elected parliament which rivals
their own national convention, that's what's so threatening to the SLORC,"
he said, referring to an ongoing constitutional convention organised by the
military.
Suu Kyi, the daughter of the architect of Burma's independence from Britain,
General Aung San, was released from six years' house arrest last July.  Upon
her release she said she was still dedicated to restoring democracy in Burma
and called for dialogue with the SLORC.
While repeatedly urging her supporters to be patient, last November she
withdrew the NLD from the constitutional convention. She has also urged
foreign businessmen considering investing in Burma to wait until democracy
is restored.  "What's really annoyed the SLORC is that the NLD hasn't given
them any credit for anything they've done and the NLD has also sought to
stymie foreign trade and investment," the diplomat said.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996, REUTER NEWS SERVICE

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