AP: The Desire of Burmese People fo

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Subject: AP: The Desire of Burmese People for Change

The Desire of Burmese People for Change

   By DENIS D. GRAY
 Associated Press Writer
   RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- "The Lady" made herself perfectly clear: She'll
stay in Burma, open a dialogue with its ruling generals and eventually the
country will come around to her democratic way of thinking.
   Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's 51-year-old pro-democracy leader, said Friday
she believes a very different Burma will emerge within her lifetime,
despite the military regime that crushed the uprising she led in 1988.
   "It's not a matter of hope," she said in an interview with The
Associated Press. "That's how problems are resolved in the end -- through
dialogue. But as I keep repeating ad nauseum, intelligent people get to
dialogue quickly whereas the stupid guys take longer."
   Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner widely known as "The Lady"
has not said much about her next move against the military regime. After
two months of tension, she and the junta -- the State Law and Order
Restoration Council -- appear to have reached a stalemate.
   "We never announce our next move.... But we have to carry on with our
party work," she said. "It's not as if we sit and wait to see what's
happening with SLORC."
   Although repressing dissent, the military has allowed Suu Kyi to hold
weekend rallies outside her lakeside home and voice criticism that would
earn other Burmese long jail terms.
   The generals -- who call the country Myanmar -- have arrested and
intimidated many of Suu Kyi's followers. Her international stature and
widespread domestic support probably account for the liberties she's been
allowed, but that could change if the generals feel threatened.
   She wondered if she would be imprisoned next: "Perhaps they are waiting
for the right time."
   After the 1988 uprising, the military council placed Suu Kyi under a
six-year house arrest. Since her release a year ago, the council has
refused to meet with her. But she has no plans to leave Burma.
   Of official media reports last week that the military would compromise
with democratic forces if Suu Kyi left Burma, she said: "When you consider
the number of promises SLORC has made and broken, we're not interested.
It's just a ploy."
   In May, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy announced -- and later
held -- a conference to bring together candidates who won the 1990 election
that had been annulled by the military.
   The regime countered by arresting 273 of her followers and reportedly
intimidating at least 14 party members into resigning. Many of those
arrested since have been released, but Suu Kyi said 45 of the 1990 election
winners remained behind bars.
   Defections, she said, are "inevitable in any kind of revolution. You
cannot achieve great changes without some casualties."
   Still, she's convinced that through dialogue and "the desire of the
people for change," a democratic Burma will emerge.
   "What is eight years in the life of a nation?" she asked, referring to
the regime's period in power. "Yes, of course it's long for those who have
suffered. But change always takes place sooner or later."
   
KT
ISBDA