Reuters - Myanmar junta blocks Suu

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Myanmar junta blocks Suu Kyi trip to township 
07:26 a.m. Jul 20, 1998 Eastern 

BANGKOK, July 20 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta said it had stopped
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from going to southern Pantanaw Township
on Monday to meet an official of her National League for Democracy (NLD)
party. 

It was the second time this month the 1993 Nobel peace prize winner has
been kept from leaving Yangon. On July 7, she was prevented from travelling
to a northern township to meet party officials. 

A government statement obtained by Reuters said local security officials
stopped Suu Kyi and an elected NLD representative from Ayarwaddy Division,
as they and two drivers travelled by car near southern Anyarsu village. 

``Local security officials noticing the absence of Mrs. Aris' (Suu Kyi's
married name) security team on this trip similar to the incident of July 7
made an enquiry and requested the party not to proceed with their planned
trip,'' it said. 

It added that the military had later made arrangements for Suu Kyi to meet
Tin Min Htut, an NLD member of Pantanaw Township, at Anyarsu village. 

``Tin Min Htut arrived and met with the party and left together for Yangon
later,'' the statement said. 

An NLD official and witnesses said Suu Kyi had returned to her Yangon home
later on Monday. 

The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has said in the past
it feared anti-government elements might exploit local political tensions
and harm Suu Kyi, and then blame it on the government. 

The SPDC said it regretted the NLD leadership had again flouted government
calls to refrain from disturbing the peace with its latest action. 

``In recent weeks the NLD leadership has upped the ante by adopting a
confrontational stance,'' the statement said. 

It said the NLD agitation had been timed to coincide with the planned
reopening next month of some institutions of higher learning that were
closed in December 1996 after widespread student unrest. 

Confrontation between the NLD and the SPDC has escalated in recent weeks
with the opposition demanding the government convene parliament by August
21. The NLD swept the last general election in May 1990, but the military
ignored the results and has refused to convene parliament. 

Instead, the SPDC has clamped down on the movements of opposition MPs in
the townships, confining them there and requiring them to report twice
daily to security officials. 

The SPDC statement also said the exiled, Bangkok-based All Burma Students
Democratic Front (ABSDF) and other anti-government groups had spread
rumours of possible political unrest in Myanmar on August 8. 

August 8 is the anniversary of the date in 1988 when the military opened
fire on pro-democracy demonstrators in Yangon, killing hundreds of people.
The events were considered the beginning of a nationwide pro-democracy
uprising that the military crushed a month later. 

``Time to time, for propaganda purposes, these groups will create an
isolated minor incident somewhere in the country,'' the SPDC said. ``This
year those groups are expected to do the same with the only difference of
having an additional August 21 date (for the convening of Parliament) for
their rumour milling.''