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SLORC releases 88 activists, but op



Subject: SLORC releases 88 activists, but oppression continues..

01Oct96 BURMA: US DENIES BURMA CLAIMS OF COLLUSION, INTIMIDATION. 12:54 GMT  

By Deborah Charles
RANGOON, Oct 1 (Reuter) - The United States on Tuesday denied Burmese
charges it had colluded with Aung San Suu Kyi's democracy movement, and said
it had not threatened the military government with reprisals if it acted
against her.
U.S. charge d'affaires Marilyn Meyers told reporters she and other U.S.
Embassy officials had nothing to do with a planned three-day congress by Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Burma's military government has said the United States urged Suu Kyi to
organise the NLD conference from September 27-29 to coincide with the United
Nations General Assembly and a sanctions bill being discussed in the U.S.
Congress.
It arrested 559 NLD members or supporters and blocked the road to Suu Kyi's
home to prevent the meeting from taking place.
"We're certainly not giving any instructions or colluding with Suu Kyi,"
Meyers told reporters. "It's a baseless, unfortunate and rather silly charge."
Describing U.S.-Burmese relations as "quite strained", Meyers said they
became even more tense after the government accused her of colluding with
the NLD and trying to intimidate the ruling State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC).
"I think this has continued to strain an already tense relationship," she said.
Kin Maung Win, a senior official in Burma's Foreign Ministry, told a monthly
news conference on Tuesday that Meyers recently warned him any SLORC action
against Suu Kyi or her party could spark a negative reaction from the United
States.
"She remarked the NLD should be allowed to hold their meeting without
disturbance," he said. "She also intimated that if any action was taken
against the NLD or the holding of the meeting it would have negative
implications."
Kin Maung Win said such comments went beyond the norms of regular diplomacy
and were regarded as unwanted interference by the Burmese government.
"I don't think that's a fair way to characterise the meeting," Meyers said.
"I basically wanted to share things with him and tell him the status of
legislation in Washington that could affect our relationship."
The U.S. Congress is expected to pass a Foreign Operations Appropriations
bill which includes an amendment allowing for possible sanctions against Burma.
The amendment, which is supported by the Clinton administration and welcomed
by Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, urges Burma to improve its human rights record.
It would also allow the president to prohibit U.S. investment in Burma if
Suu Kyi is re-arrested or exiled or if there is large-scale repression
against the opposition.
Asked if the current situation could warrant such sanctions, Meyers would
only say the United States was closely monitoring events in Burma.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE




01Oct96 BURMA: BURMA RELEASES 88 OF 559 DETAINED ACTIVISTS. 12:48 GMT  
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, Oct 1 (Reuter) - Burma's military government said on Tuesday it had
released 88 of the 559 supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) party held since Thursday, but roadblocks around her house
remained in place.
"Eighty-eight of the persons called for questioning at the Guest House have
returned home by this evening," a brief statement issued by the Burmese
embassy in Bangkok said.
Officials of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) told
a news conference earlier on Tuesday that roadblocks on the road to Suu
Kyi's house would remain in place until the government was sure the party
had no plans to meet or create any disturbance.
Senior officials had said activists detained were only being held
temporarily to prevent unrest and would be released soon.
Senior Defence Ministry official Colonel Kyaw Thein said 159 NLD members who
were planning to attend a three-day party congress from September 27-29 at
Suu Kyi's home were brought in for questioning to prevent the gathering from
taking place.
"Altogether 159 persons...were detained. All of them were accommodated at
guest houses. As I speak to you, some are now on their way back home," Kyaw
Thein told reporters. He said police detained an additional 400 NLD
supporters on Saturday night.
"We have got information from the people's police force that about 400
persons were taken in temporarily on the night of September 27. This has
been done in accord with the rules and procedures in a bid to prevent crime
likely to harm law and peace and tranquility of the state," he said.
The government says the party meeting aimed to incite instability and
rioting. The NLD says it was to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the
founding of the party, born in 1988 after unprecedented protests against
years of military rule.
"So long as it is necessary for peace and tranquility the blockades will be
there," said another senior Defence Ministry official, Colonel Thein Swe.
Kyaw Thein and other officials at the news conference could not say when the
roadblocks would be removed, saying this would depend on the circumstances.
Officials also claimed Suu Kyi had been trying to cause unrest and
confrontation with the government since she was released from six years of
house arrest in July 1995.
Kyaw Thein said weekly speeches given by Suu Kyi and other top party
officials were illegal, and the government might decide to take action
against them.
"The government has repeatedly acknowledged that holding these kind of
weekend meetings violated existing laws," he said. "I don't know what lies
ahead but anything that violates existing laws will have measure taken
against (it)."
The Saturday and Sunday speeches, which attract thousands of supporters, are
the NLD's only real forum for disseminating information.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE




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