AP: Americans Warned on Burma Visit

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Subject: AP: Americans Warned on Burma Visits

                         Americans Warned on
                         Burma Visits

                         Monday, March 24, 1997 1:11 pm EST

                         WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department warned
                         Americans Monday against going to Burma and urged
those in the
                         country to avoid travel after Buddhist rioters
attacked mosques
                         over the weekend.

                         Religious tensions erupted last week, when
Buddhist monks in
                         Mandalay broke into mosques in retaliation for the
 alleged rape of
                         a young Buddhist woman by two Muslim men. The
unrest spread
                         to other cities, including the capital of Rangoon,
 as Buddhists
                         ransacked other mosques.

                         Tensions eased Monday after a show of force by
Burmese
                         security forces.

                         ``Because of popular unrest ... widespread
presence of army and
                         police troops, and the resulting potential for
violence, the
                         Department of State recommends that U.S. citizens
exercise all
                         due caution in traveling in Burma and should for
the time being
                         curtail travel to Burma without a compelling
reason,'' the travel
                         advisory said.

                                   © Copyright 1997 The Associated Press

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