AP 5/28 04:58

[mcs@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

05-28-96 0458EDT =


                                               Burma Dissident Asks For Tal=
ks

                                                       By AYE AYE WIN=3D As=
sociated Press Writer=3D =


                                               =A0=A0RANGOON, Burma (AP) No=
bel Peace laureate Aung San Suu
                                               Kyi closed a landmark pro-de=
mocracy congress today by
                                               urging Burma's military regi=
me to free the hundreds of
                                               delegates it arrested in an =
attempt to prevent the
                                               gathering. =


                                               =A0=A0Reading from resolutio=
ns adopted by the congress, Suu
                                               Kyi appealed to the junta to=
 open a dialogue with the
                                               opposition and said a civili=
an Parliament was needed to
                                               keep the powerful military i=
n check. =


                                               =A0=A0The three-day conferen=
ce was the most significant
                                               opposition meeting since Jul=
y, when Suu Kyi pronounced Soo
                                               Chee was freed from six year=
s of house arrest. =


                                               =A0=A0The government arreste=
d 238 conference delegates and
                                               24 other party members to tr=
y to block Suu Kyi's National
                                               League for Democracy from op=
ening its conference on
                                               Sunday. Only 18 delegates sh=
owed up, but the meeting
                                               proceeded as scheduled. =


                                               =A0=A0Burmese music played a=
s Suu Kyi took the podium today
                                               to read the congress' resolu=
tions before about 200
                                               supporters under a bamboo-an=
d-thatch meeting hall built
                                               specially at her home. The h=
all was draped with banners
                                               bearing her party's symbol, =
the fighting peacock. =


                                               =A0=A0The resolutions demand=
 that the ruling State Law and
                                               Order Restoration Council, o=
r SLORC, call into session the
                                               Burmese Parliament elected i=
n 1990. Pro-democracy
                                               candidates won 392 of 485 co=
ntested seats, but the
                                               government of Burma, also ca=
lled Myanmar, has not allowed
                                               the Parliament to convene. =


                                               =A0=A0An article in the stat=
e-run newspaper New Light of
                                               Myanmar today said the oppos=
ition should cease its
                                               agitation over the election =
issue because the four-year
                                               terms they won in 1990 would=
 have expired by now. Another
                                               article in the paper called =
the elections the result of
                                               ``stooges of external elemen=
ts making noises.'' =


                                               =A0=A0The opposition meeting=
, held on the anniversary of the
                                               1990 vote, was intended to b=
ring together the elected
                                               pro-democracy candidates who=
 hadn't been killed, jailed or
                                               driven into exile. =


                                               =A0=A0Despite the crackdown,=
 the congress resolutions include
                                               an olive branch to the milit=
ary. They call the armed forces
                                               ``a necessary institution in=
 this country.'' =


                                               =A0=A0``We endorse the view =
that the armed forces should be an
                                               honorable institution which =
will take care of the defense of
                                               the nation and help bring ab=
out democracy,'' the resolutions
                                               said. =


                                               =A0=A0Trying to counter perc=
eptions of public support for Suu
                                               Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobe=
l Peace Prize for her
                                               pro-democracy efforts, the g=
overnment mobilized tens of
                                               thousands of state workers f=
or a pro-junta rally Monday
                                               night. State-run media claim=
ed 90,000 people attended,
                                               though pictures of the event=
 suggested numbers far short of
                                               that. =


                                               =A0=A0Government propaganda =
trucks cruised the streets of
                                               Rangoon's poor neighborhoods=
 Monday, urging people to turn
                                               out for a similar protest to=
day. Pro-military gatherings
                                               also were expected in other =
parts of the country. =


                                               =A0=A0Suu Kyi pledged in her=
 opening speech Sunday to step up
                                               opposition activities and to=
 hold more congresses
                                               implicitly daring the regime=
 to attempt another crackdown
                                               and suffer the same internat=
ional condemnation. =


                                               =A0=A0The United States, Jap=
an, Britain, Germany, France and
                                               Australia have denounced the=
 arrests that preceded the
                                               congress. Burma's Southeast =
Asian neighbors, eager to trade
                                               with Burma, have been more c=
ircumspect. =


                                               =A0=A0The cheers and chants =
of ``Suu Kyi'' from some 10,000
                                               ordinary Burmese who braved =
pervasive fear of the secret
                                               police to hear her speech Su=
nday contrasted sharply with
                                               the glum faces and polite cl=
apping at the junta-organized
                                               rally. =


                                               =A0=A0It was unknown where t=
he people detained last week
                                               were being held, though some=
 were believed to be at Insein
                                               Prison near Rangoon, which h=
uman rights groups have said
                                               is notorious for its torture=
=2E =


                                               =A0=A0Some of the delegates =
apparently have been charged with
                                               violating emergency powers l=
aws, which allow the military
                                               to hold a detainee indefinit=
ely for reasons of national
                                               security.