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U.N. Studies Burma Human Rights




U.N. Studies Burma Human Rights 

Wednesday, May 7, 1997 
RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- A U.N. special envoy arrived Wednesday in Rangoon to 
study Burma's human rights situation and to urge dialogue between the military 
junta and the pro-democracy opposition led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. 

Alvaro de Soto, special envoy of the U.N. secretary-general, is to meet with 
Daw Suu Kyi and Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw during his four-day stay, according 
to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

De Soto met with both sides during his most recent visit to Burma in August 
1995, shortly after Daw Suu Kyi's release from six years of house arrest. 

The junta seized power in 1988 after violently suppressing pro-democracy 
demonstrations. Daw Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in 1990 
parliamentary elections, but the military refused to yield power. 

Western nations, including the United States, and private groups such as 
Amnesty International say the junta is responsible for substantial human 
rights abuses. The U.N. Human Rights Commission also has reported abuses and 
sought to encourage governmental reforms in Burma, which the junta calls 
Myanmar.