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NLD Update, Dozens of Activists Rel



Subject: NLD Update, Dozens of Activists Released

31May96 DOZENS OF PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS RELEASED IN BURMA. 09:33 GMT  

(Recasts with reports of release)
By Deborah Charles
RANGOON, May 31 (Reuter) - Burma's pro-democracy movement said on Friday
military rulers have freed dozens of the more than 260 anti-government
activists they detained in a crackdown last week.
But the authorities showed no let-up in a propaganda drive against political
opponents.
"They have been released, about 54 so far, but we are expecting more," said
an official of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
He said the released activists were expected to gather at Suu Kyi's house.
Radio Rangoon said that the authorities had "have sent back those who were
temporarily called in for questioning to their respective residences." It
did not elaborate.
Last week the military government detained about 261 pro-democracy
politicians ahead of a three-day congress of NLD members, which ended on
Tuesday.
The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) said it had not
arrested the NLD members, but only detained them for questioning temporarily
in an effort to prevent anarchy or unrest that might result from the meeting.
Most of those arrested were representatives who won seats in a 1990 election
which the NLD won by a landslide. But the SLORC, which took power after
crushing 1988 pro-democracy uprisings, did not recognise the result of the poll.
The NLD defied the arrests and verbal intimidation by the SLORC and held the
party congress anyway. But since most of the elected representatives who
were to attend had been arrested, the meeting became one of a series of NLD
conferences to plan party strategy.
Earlier this week, Suu Kyi said at least nine of the detained politicians
had been charged under emergency laws. Another source said on Thursday Suu
Kyi's personal assistant Win Htein had been charged and was at Insein
Prison.  No information was available on the fate of those people or whether
they were among those released.  Official media on Friday reported fresh
government-staged mass rallies across the country, which they said were
attended by tens of thousands of people supporting the government and
denouncing the pro-democracy camp.  The government said a total of 119,000
people gathered at rallies in Mandalay and outside Rangoon on Thursday.
Diplomats say the military forces people to attend the rallies which have
been staged since Tuesday when the NLD conference ended.
Speakers have attacked the democracy movement and derided its foreign
influence, describing its members as "minions of colonial masters."  Lu Ni,
Mandalay Institute of Education Rector, told a rally said to have been
attended by 42,000: "The aliens' lackeys with a negative and destructive
outlook are criticising everything with pessimism and inciting riots."  The
government also continued written attacks on foreign journalists in
state-run newspapers, saying Western media was ignoring developments in the
country and only reporting "lies" abroad.  It also said the West, which has
condemned human rights abuses and forced labour practices in Burma, was
hypocritical.  "The West is accusing that people are being forced to
work....Had they forgotten that poor Chinese people were brought to San
Francisco...and forced to work as slaves in building a railroad during the
time the United States was being established?" it asked.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996, REUTER NEWS SERVICE
31May96 BURMA: BURMA KYATS FALL FOR VARIETY OF REASONS. 08:44 GMT  
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, May 31 (Reuter) - Burma's kyat currency has fallen nearly 10
percent against the dollar in recent weeks, and traders and analysts on
Friday blamed everything from good border trade and a higher money supply to
telephone bills.
Economists and currency traders could not agree on a single factor for the
currency's fall to about 136 kyats to the dollar on Friday from about 125
kyats in the first week of May.
"Nobody really knows exactly why it's dropped," said one foreign analyst.
"There are probably a variety of reasons."
He and other economists said that is not unusual in a country with an
immature money market that has only let the currency move freely for a short
while.
The government, which has set the official exchange rate at 5.8 kyat to the
dollar, in December legalised the exchange of foreign exchange certificates
(FECs) for kyats.
Previously the FECs, which were introduced as a parallel currency in 1993
mainly so foreign tourists would not have to deal at the overvalued official
rate, could only be exchanged for dollars.
Now, 10 exchange counters swap kyats for FECs at roughly the dollar-FEC rate.
"The dollar rate has been pretty stable for the past year or so at about
125," said Thet Tun, a member of the board of Tun Foundation Bank. "But all
of a sudden it's gone down."
Thet Tun attributes the drop to an increased money supply, noting the
government recently added to the already-large amount of kyats in
circulation with a programme to make about 20 billion kyat in loans to
public sector employees.
"So the injection of all this money is responsible for the fall," he said.
Others said it was the growing demand for dollars and FECs that caused the
kyat to fall.
"The dollar's value depends on border trade," said one currency trader,
speaking anonymously. "When things are normal and peaceful and trade is very
good, dollars are in higher demand as goods come in."
Ships also are clogging Rangoon's port now, waiting to unload what industry
sources say are construction supplies for various buildings and
infrastructure projects.
But the most popular answer for why the kyat has dropped was the recent wave
of telephone installations and, consequently, the need of more people to pay
monthly phone bills.
The government began installing more telephones about two months ago to meet
a demand that is about double the supply.
Residents pay $1,500 in FECs to have a telephone installed. Monthly bills
also are paid in FECs since Burmese are not supposed to have dollars.
FECs also have lucrative bargaining power, traders said. FECs can be used to
buy an unlimited amount of normally-rationed gasoline and give people
priority in buying airline tickets and other goods.
Whatever the reason, traders and analysts say the kyat will continue to drop
against the dollar as the economy grows, hitting about 150 to the dollar
within a few weeks.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


31May96 BURMA: BURMA RADIO SAYS GOVERNMENT RELEASES ACTIVISTS. 07:40 GMT  

RANGOON, May 31 (Reuter) - Burmese official radio said on Friday the
military government had released those people taken into detention last week
for questioning.
"The authorities concerned have sent back those who were temporarily called
in for questioning to their respective residences," said Radio Rangoon,
without elaborating further.  
A National League for Democracy (NLD) party official at the house of
dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi said he had heard that 54 people had been
released so far.
"They have been released, about 54 so far, but we are expecting more," the
NLD official told Reuters. He said the released activists were expected to
gather at Suu Kyi's house later on Friday.
Last week the military government detained about 261 pro-democracy
politicians and activists ahead of a controversial three-day congress of NLD
members which ended on Tuesday.
The government said it had not arrested the NLD members, but only detained
them for questioning temporarily in an effort to prevent "anarchy" or unrest
that might have resulted from the meeting.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE




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