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NEWS - Suu Kyi May Have to Pay Pric



Suu Kyi May Have to Pay Price for Latest Protest

            Reuters
            30-JUL-98

            BANGKOK, July 30 (Reuters)- The Myanmar military could make
            opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi pay a high price for her
car
            protest, diplomats and analysts said on Thursday. 

            Payment could be in the form of more restrictions on her
already
            curbed movements, closer surveillance of her activities and
a tougher
            line on her National League for Democracy (NLD) and its
supporters. 

            The Nobel Peace Prize winner was forcibly removed by the
military
            from a car on Wednesday at a bridge in Anyarsu village on
the
            outskirts Yangon and sent home, ending her six-day sit-in
protest. 

            She had been stopped from travelling to western Pathein
township on
            Friday to meet party supporters and was ordered to return to
Yangon,
            but she refused. 

            Her unique protest drew international condemnation of the
Myanmar
            government by the United States and Japan, who slammed the
            authorities abuse of her right to travel freely in her own
country. 

            While embarrassing the ruling State Peace and Development
Council
            (SPDC), Suu Kyis protest also exposed flaws in the militarys
hitherto
            iron-fisted handling of her and the opposition, analysts
said. 

            As a result of this latest protest, there is a probability
they could restrict
            her movements further, said a Yangon-based diplomat. It has
done the
            cause of reconciliation no good. 

            But other analysts said there was only a slim chance the
military would
            throw Suu Kyi, who was released from six years of house
arrest in
            mid-1995, back into detention. 

            She and the opposition have said she may be put back in
prison by
            the authorities. But I doubt that will happen as the stakes
may be too
            high for the government and its image if they did that, said
a
            Bangkok-based analyst who declined to be named. 

            It appears as if the authorities were panicked by her car
protest and
            their handling of the issue was a little messy this time, he
added. 

            The Alternative ASEAN Network, a rights group critical of
the military,
            said Suu Kyi had made her point to the world that she could
not travel
            freely in her own country. 

            This supported opposition claims that the military was
restricting
            political activities and curbing human rights. 

            But more trouble lay in store for the government and the NLD
in the
            immediate future because of two important dates: August 8
and
            August 21. 

            August 8 is the 10th anniversary of a major student
pro-democracy
            uprising in 1998 that the military crushed. August 21 is the
deadline
            set by the NLD for the government to convene parliament with
the
            winners of the May 1990 election, which the NLD swept but
the military
            ignored. 

            The opposition and its allies abroad have predicted more
political
            agitation in Myanmar at or around that time. Suu Kyi had
demanded
            during her sit-in that jailed NLD members be freed and a
date be set
            for a dialogue about reconciliation. But the governments
spokesman
            said these were matters had yet to be addressed. 

            The pot is boiling in Myanmar. There are still those dates
and that
            could lead to more standoffs and political hurdles, one
analyst said. 

            A senior government official said he could not say if Suu
Kyis
            movements would be further restricted. 

            But there is always a saying, once bitten, twice shy, he
told Reuters.
            We have to be very cautious about those two dates (August 8
and 21)
            and ensure nobody rocks the boat. 

            The official said it would be quite difficult for the
government to
            completely stop all agitation. 

            But there are limits in every country as to what people can
do, and they
            can be dealt with according to the law of the country, he
said. 

            For the government, it is important that no party disrupts
the planned
            August 18 reopening of institutions of higher learning,
closed after
            widespread student unrest in December 1996. 

            More than 100,000 students are set to take their
examinations during
            the planned reopening. The kids are their (oppositions) soft
target and
            we want to make sure the institutions reopen, the official
said.