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The BurmaNet News: August 3, 1998



------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News: August 3, 1998
Issue #1061

Noted in Passing: " I shall continue to go out of Yangon (Rangoon) again
and again as soon as I recover until these conditions are met." - Aung San
Suu Kyi (see THE BANGKOK POST: JUNTA DRAGS SUU KYI BACK TO RANGOON") 

HEADLINES:
==========
BKK POST: JUNTA DRAGS SUU KYI BACK TO RANGOON 
AP: MYANMAR ACCUSED OF STARVING SUU KYI 
AFP: POLICE DEPLOYED AROUND RANGOON AS TENSIONS RISE 
REUTERS: MYANMAR EASES BLOCKADE NEAR SUU KYI'S HOUSE 
AFP: NLD MEMBERS ALLOWED TO SEE THEIR LEADER 
BBC: INTERVIEW WITH BURMESE AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN 
THE ECONOMIC TIMES OF INDIA: PROTEST LEAFLETS 
DVB: PROBLEMS FACING THE MILITARY 
REUTERS: UN HELP SOUGHT ON MYANMAR DEADLOCK
REUTERS: U.S. SAYS NEW ZEALAND JOINS IN PRESSING MYANMAR
THE WASHINGTON POST (EDITORIAL): MORE THAN AN ICON
****************************************************************

THE BANGKOK POST: JUNTA DRAGS SUU KYI BACK TO RANGOON 
31 July, 1998 

NLD leader vows to leave capital again

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was dragged back to Rangoon by
the military junta after a six-day standoff but vowed yesterday to keep up
efforts to meet supporters outside the capital.

The United States led international condemnation of the junta, with the US
embassy accusing the authorities of lying over the standoff.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) leader was blocked last Friday on a
country bridge some 26 kilometres from Rangoon while trying to get to a
meeting with supporters in a provincial town.

Ms Suu Kyi's own food supplies had run out and fears had been expressed for
her health when the junta acted late on Wednesday.

NLD officials told a press conference Ms Suu Kyi had been led into the back
of her car late on Wednesday when two female government officials entered
the vehicle.

Her two drivers and an NLD official accompanying her were led away to be
driven to Rangoon separately.

Ms Suu Kyi was sandwiched between the women as two male officials entered
the car and drove her to the capital, they added.

NLD officials said Ms Suu Kyi was unable to attend the press conference
because she was under "constant medical care".

The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who supporters said was suffering from
dehydration and a fever, was quoted by an NLD spokesman as demanding the
release of jailed supporters and a date for direct talks with the junta.

"I shall continue to go out of Yangon (Rangoon) again and again as soon as
I recover until these conditions are met," she said.

Ms Suu Kyi urged supporters to remain strong, the spokesman told the press
conference, which was packed with foreign ambassadors and other diplomats.

"I am as strong as ever," she added.

She blasted the junta for ending her protest by forcibly driving her car
back to her Rangoon residence, a manoeuvre she called "an abduction" and "a
criminal assault", according to NLD chairman Aung Shwe.

NLD deputy chairman Tin Oo said the party was considering legal charges, as
junta intelligence agents outside his home photographed those entering and
leaving the press conference.

The military said it had "no choice" but to force Ms Suu Kyi back to
Rangoon because she had ignored "gentle persuasion".

"The action was taken in the interests of both parties," an intelligence
official said. "She stubbornly refused gentle persuasion."

"We did a good thing which will be appreciated later," said junta spokesman
Lt-Col Hla Min. "We did it in the interests of both parties, not for our
gain but to save a human life."

The junta accused Ms Suu Kyi of taking an "uncompromising stance" and
"acting like a dictator".

It added she had achieved her objective by prompting "international
criticism" at a meeting of foreign ministers from Southeast Asia and their
international allies in Manila this week.

The United States launched an outspoken attack on the junta.

"The Burmese authorities lied to the international community, they lied to
the diplomatic community in Rangoon," said a US embassy spokesman in the
Burmese capital.

"They clearly chose to starve her into going home, to the point her doctor
said it had brought her to brink of causing serious harm to her health and
could even have been fatal."

Speaking in Sydney, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described it
as an "unacceptable violation of her human rights" and said it "will only
contribute to the further isolation of Burma."

"They wilfully withheld food and water from her to make her as
uncomfortable as possible and to endanger her health.

"This deprivation took place in extreme environmental conditions and she
was further subjected to the indignity of authorities video-taping her when
she was bathing in the rain."

Late on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced he hoped to
send an envoy to Burma and his aides had contacted the authorities.

He had requested a visit by envoy Alvaro de Soto of Peru "at an appropriate
date in the not-too-distant future", Mr Annan said in a statement.

In London, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook yesterday announced he had
called the British ambassador to Burma back to London for talks over the
junta's, decision to forcibly end Ms Suu Kyi's protest.

"I want to make clear that the Burmese regime's interference in Aung San
Suu Kyi's freedom of movement and association is unacceptable," Mr Cook
said in a statement.

In Brussels, European Commissioner Emma Bonino yesterday strongly denounced
the junta.

"The Burmese authorities treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi confirms in my eyes
the ruling junta's profound contempt for human rights, democratic values
and the entire international community," she said in a statement.

In Paris, France urged the junta yesterday to open talks with the NLD and
to give Ms Suu Kyi greater freedom of movement and expression.

"France ... deplores that the Myanmar (Burmese) authorities have not
responded to calls from the international community, and notably the
European Union, to open dialogue," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Alternative Asean Network, a Bangkok-based human rights group, welcomed
Ms Suu Kyi's return home and said she had made her point to the world about
the military's curbs on her and the NLD's movements and, activities.

Meanwhile, some 20 Thai and exiled Burmese students rallied at the Burmese
embassy in Bangkok in support of Ms Suu Kyi.

The protesters issued a set of demands, including that the opposition
leader be allowed to travel freely. 

[BurmaNet Editor's Note: Excerpt from a related article follows]

DANISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: MEDIA STATEMENT
31 July, 1998 From: pdburma@xxxxxxxxx

Copenhagen

By Helle Degn, Former Danish Minister of International Development
Co-operation, President of OSCE-PA, Chairman of the Foreign Policy
Committee in the Danish Parliament, Member of the Council of Europe,
Chairperson PD Burma,

The reports from Burma regarding the six-day car sit in by Aung San Suu Kyi
at a police roadblock give cause for great concern. This event, where the
opposition leader was stopped while going to visit supporters, follows
other critical incidents in Burma the last month. The human rights
situation in Burma is deteriorating rapidly. Over 40 MPs have been arrested
in recent weeks. Further restrictions of the rights to freedom of movement
and association of Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the National League for
Democracy have been implemented.

- I call on the State Peace and Development Council to guarantee the rights
of freedom of movement and association of all citizens.

- I urge the Burmese government to enter into a dialogue without
preconditions with the opposition.

- I support the UNGA Resolution on Burma and endorse the call by the NLD
for the convening of parliament to be allowed on or before the 21st of August.

****************************************************************

ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP): MYANMAR ACCUSED OF STARVING SUU KYI
31 July, 1998 

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - U.S. diplomats and leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi's
political party have accused Myanmar's military government of lying when it
said it provided the Nobel laureate with water and food during her six-day
roadside standoff.

``They willfully withheld food and water from her to endanger her health,''
a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Yangon said today on condition of anonymity.
``The Burmese authorities lied to the international community, they lied to
the diplomatic community.'' Myanmar is also known as Burma.

After a six-day stalemate about 20 miles west of the capital, the military
government ordered police on Wednesday to restrain Suu Kyi, take the wheel
of her car and drive her back to Yangon against her will.

Today, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner again tried to drive to Bassein to
meet members of her political party, but was blocked - as she has been on
each of her four attempts this month.

Suu Kyi refused to return to Yangon today and the military refused to let
her proceed, accusing her of trying to foment unrest.

In Sydney, Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer emerged from a
meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Defense
Secretary William Cohen to condemn Myanmar's crackdown on dissent.

``Both Australia and the United States share the view that the treatment of
Aung San Suu Kyi over the last few days has been unacceptable,'' he said.

Downer said the stifling of dissent could lead to social chaos.

``We are now very concerned that the internal security environment in Burma
could deteriorate rapidly. That could, in turn, lead to a big increase in
refugee flows into Thailand and perhaps have broader regional implications.

During the nearly weeklong standoff with Suu Kyi, the military government
spokesman issued several press releases accusing Western news agencies of
fabricating details about the impasse to exaggerate the danger to Suu Kyi.

He claimed the military was supplying Suu Kyi with water and had food ready
for her if she needed it, but her own supplies had not run out.

Leaders of Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy,
and diplomats in Yangon said the government lied. They said the military
refused to provide her with food or water and prevented her from purchasing
it from a nearby village.

Government spokesman, Col. Hla Min, said at a press conference Wednesday
attended by diplomats that the military had decided to forcibly return Suu
Kyi to Yangon on the advice of her doctors.

``We do not wish to see anyone's life wasted for no good reason,'' Hla Min
said.

But members of Suu Kyi's party ridiculed that explanation. ``If they really
wanted to save her life, why didn't they let us bring her food and
vitamins?'' said NLD Chairman Aung Shwe, one of several party leaders who
attempted to bring food to Suu Kyi during the tense standoff but was
stopped by the authorities.

Aung Shwe vehemently denied that Suu Kyi's doctors had advised the
government to force her to return home.

Furthermore, one of Suu Kyi's two personal physicians was prevented from
examining the democracy campaigner after police found she had hidden food
in her clothing to give to Suu Kyi, an NLD official said.

The U.S. Embassy spokesman also said that authorities harassed Suu Kyi in
other ways, including videotaping her while she was bathing in the rain. 

****************************************************************

AFP: POLICE DEPLOYED AROUND RANGOON AS TENSIONS RISE 
31 July, 1998 

YANGON, July 31 (AFP) - Hundreds of police including anti-riot officers
carrying assault rifles and heavy machine-guns fanned out through the
Myanmar capital Friday as tensions rose between the country's junta and its
opponents.

Police were deployed at strategic locations throughout Yangon, including
around the headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the
home of its chief, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, witnesses said.

Supporters were allowed to visit the NLD headquarters but most were turned
away from the Nobel laureate's home, witnesses added, saying party chiefs
gained admission without incident.

Senior foreign diplomats were refused access to the home of Aung San Suu
Kyi, who was forced back to Yangon by officials Wednesday after a six-day
roadside stand-off outside the capital.

Police were also deployed at key intersections and bridges but there was no
noticeable increase in troop movements. Myanmar's police fall under the
command of the military.

The move came ahead of the 10th anniversary on August 8 of a massacre of
pro-democracy protestors.

Officials said they were on heightened alert because students planned a
demonstration to mark the anniversary of a 1988 crackdown which saw
thousands of protestors killed, according to the opposition.

The NLD, which won 1990 polls by a landslide but has been blocked from
taking power, has jacked up tensions by warning the junta faces unspecified
consequences unless the elected parliament is convened by August 21.

Western powers meanwhile slammed the military leadership for their
"callous" treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi.

International concern at deteriorating conditions here has mounted since
the NLD chief was blocked from travelling to meet supporters in a
provincial town last Friday.

She remained in her car on a rural highway until being forced back to
Yangon late Wednesday. It was the third time in three weeks she had
attempted to leave Yangon for talks with supporters.

The United States condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the forcible
end to her six-day protest by Myanmar's generals.

State department spokesman James Rubin critized the junta's "callous
disregard for her safety, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms of
movement and association," which he termed "unacceptable violations of her
human rights."

Britain and the European Union also condemned the action.

[ ... ]

****************************************************************

REUTERS: MYANMAR EASES BLOCKADE NEAR SUU KYI'S HOUSE 
1 August, 1998 

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling military lifted a road blockade that
stopped supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from seeing her
Friday and early Saturday, witnesses said.

The witnesses said a small group of members of Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy (NLD) was allowed access to the compound of her lakeside
residence in central Yangon but they could not estimate the number of
people seeing her.

Suu Kyi was recovering from dehydration after a six-day sit-in protest in
her car at a village on the outskirts of Yangon. On Wednesday night,
security personnel forcibly removed the opposition leader from the car and
sent her back home, a move the NLD called a criminal act.

[ ... ]

A government statement on Friday said Myanmar was not ready yet to meet Suu
Kyi's demand for freedom to exercise political rights until the unity of
the 135 ethnic groups in the nation became stronger and people's basic
needs were met.

The United States and Australia on Friday asked the United Nations to push
Myanmar's military government to start dialogue with Suu Kyi.

Commuters passing an intersection near the University Avenue leading to Suu
Kyi's house said about 10 anti-riot policemen deployed in the area earlier
in the morning had pulled out.

Witnesses said a previous no-entry signpost near the junction was also
relocated deeper on the University Avenue to a spot closer to her
residence. They said the change gave the area a more relaxed atmosphere.

``The traffic at the intersection was smooth with only one traffic
policeman seen there,'' a local resident said, adding that public buses
resuming making regular stops near the junction.

Witnesses said up to 100 NLD members had been turned back at a checkpoint
near the junction on Friday as they tried to pass it on their way to meet
Suu Kyi.

Local residents said on Saturday they saw no signs that the government had
tightened security enforcement around the NLD headquarters about a
five-minute drive from Suu Kyi's house.

****************************************************************

AFP: NLD MEMBERS ALLOWED TO SEE THEIR LEADER 
1 August, 1998 

YANGON, Aug 1 (AFP) - More than one hundred supporters of Myanmar's leading
dissident Aung San Suu Kyi and several opposition politicians were allowed
to visit her Saturday, opposition and junta officials said.

They were concerned for the Nobel peace laureate's health after she spent
six days in her car in a stand-off with security forces on a rural highway
26 kilometres (15 miles) from Yangon, the officials said.

She was forced back to her residence late Wednesday having failed to reach
supporters in a provincial town.

The military authorities said on Saturday she was slowly recovering.

Only members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and opposition
politicians were allowed in to see Aung San Suu Kyi, the officials said.

On Friday, police prevented some senior foreign diplomats from visiting the
opposition leader.

Hundreds of riot police have been deployed across Yangon, including at the
home of Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD headquarters, and at key bridges and
other strategic locations, residents said.

The move came ahead of the August 8 anniversary of a massacre of
pro-democracy protestors 10 years ago and a deadline set by the NLD for
parliament to be convened by August 21.

The NLD-led opposition won 1990 polls by a landslide but Myanmar's military
junta has refused to relinquish power. The parliament elected in 1990 has
never been allowed to convene.

****************************************************************

BBC: INTERVIEW WITH BURMESE AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN 
31 July, 1998 

Transcript of interview with U Win Aung, Burmese Ambassador to Britain,
from 7/31/98 13:30 GMT edition of BBC's "The World Today":

Peter Dobbie:  Here with us now is U Win Aung, the Burmese Ambassador to
the United Kingdom.  Did your country forcibly make this woman leave her
car and go back to her home?

U Win Aung:  You know, let me reply on this.  On the 29th of July
afternoon, NLD leadership, and with Chairman U Aung Shwe, they have a
meeting, and they went to U Aung -- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to persuade her to
go back, to return to Yangon.  And but she didn't listen.  We learned from
her own physician that she had some fever, and if she remain in this car
for a long more -- other more days, then she might suffer.  And you can see
a scenario, looking back from another side of scenario -- she could become
ill, she could become dehydrated, and maybe there could be something happen
to her life.  And if that happens, you know, our government will be blamed!

Peter Dobbie:  But did you forcibly make her leave that car -- yes or no?

U Win Aung:  No, we didn't make her leave the car.  We just asked the
driver to vacate and then we drove back --

Peter Dobbie:  So Madeleine Albright, the U.S. Secretary of State speaking
in Australia there, Madeleine Albright has got her facts completely wrong.
The Burmese military did not make Aung San Suu Kyi go back to her home.

U Win Aung:  We make her to go back home, yes.  We admit that.  But looking
back that, if she remained in that motor car for more two days, say, what
would happen to her?  And then who would blame us for everything.  And what
happened to her, we would be blamed.  Now we took that action, really
understanding that we might be blamed for this action.  But this is the
thing which we have to choose.  Otherwise why our people would like to see
her die in that motorcar?  No.

Peter Dobbie:  The United States says this is, and I quote, "an
unacceptable violation of human rights."  Are they right?

U Win Aung:  Madame Albright has been using every opportunity to berate our
country.  This is also --

Peter Dobbie:  She's not berating the country, though, Mr. Ambassador, is
she?  We're talking here about a woman who in effect won elections.  We are
talking here a Nobel laureate.  She's not berating the country.  She's just
saying go back to what should have become the status quo.

U Win Aung:  Okay, let me answer you like this.  This episode was really
synchronized and added drama from both outside and inside.  It's just like
a volleyball game --

Peter Dobbie:  By whom?

U Win Aung:  You know, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi putting up the ball and Daw --
and Madame Albright smashing down the ball.

Peter Dobbie:  Who synchronized it?

U Win Aung:  I don't know.  Maybe that's a powers.  That's a powers outside
which are synchronizing everything.

Peter Dobbie:  Why is your country apparently so worried by this woman?
Why does she consistently appear to be a thorn in the flesh of the Burmese
administration?

U Win Aung:  It's not a thorn in the flesh, in a way.  What we are trying
to do, our vision, her vision are quite different now.  I think her vision
is, she might thought she could build democracy in our country based on a
security situation like back in 1988.  It is not the same vision with us.
Our vision is, number one thing, to build a durable and everlasting
democracy we need a solid foundation.

Peter Dobbie:  But the people of your country voted for a durable
democracy. They have patently, or what would appear to be, a durable
democratic leader. Her name's Aung San Suu Kyi.  She spent six days sitting
in a car.  Why don't the authorities just say, "Fine, you won the election;
you take over"?

U Win Aung:  Don't you think that there still we need a constitution?
There are a lot of problems.  You know, our situation is, our problems are
not very simple problems, just to have elections and change of power to a
new government.  Our problems existed for 50 years.  We have been in our
country fighting among each other for more than 50 years.  And we have 135
national races and we were always divided.  The fundamental problem is not
an election of government, but fundamental problem is national unity.
Based on the national unity, we could build.  If there is no national
unity, we cannot build.

Peter Dobbie:  But surely Mr. Ambassador, you talk about national unity,
what is happening here is that you are nationally dividing your country,
because that woman is who she is.  And if you carry on the way you're
going, and if your country carries on the way it's going, you are going to
turn her into some sort of icon, the likes of which you haven't seen before.

U Win Aung:  That I disagree with you.  In our own eyes, for the first time
in our lives, for me personally also, for the first time in our life we are
seeing peace and tranquility in our country.  Before --

Peter Dobbie:  Wouldn't your country be more peaceful, or wouldn't it be
more tranquil is you actually spoke to her, if you actually said, "Yes, you
got the Nobel Prize, yes, you won the elections, we need to have
negotiations, we need to have a discussion"?

U Win Aung:  We need to have common ground.  The common ground we are
laying, common ground.  You know, if there's a dialogue to be taken place,
first we need a contact, then better understanding.  Based on this better
understanding and contact, we can develop more dialogue.  If there is no
contact and no better understanding amongst each other, and also if there
is no common ground -- she has been opposing us in whatever action we are
taking, and then that is the thing:  how can we create a common ground
where based together, talk together.  That's also, on her side also, it
needs to be done, not only on our side.

Peter Dobbie:  Mr. Ambassador, thank you for coming in.

****************************************************************

THE ECONOMIC TIMES OF INDIA: PROTEST LEAFLETS CIRCULATING IN YANGON 
1 August, 1998 

YANGON (Myanmar): Anti-government and pro-democracy groups have been
distributing leaflets in the Myanmar capital of Yangon calling for an
uprising against military rule, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported
on Friday. The paper warned citizens to beware of the instigations by the
``axe-handles,'' the government's term for traitors.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. Opposition groups in
exile in Thailand and other countries have said they will try to agitate
against the military as the 10th anniversary of a nationwide democracy
uprising approaches.

The military crushed the August 8, 1988 uprising by gunning down thousands
of protesters. The military claims hundreds of its intelligence officers
and policemen were killed by angry mobs. The underground cells in Yangon in
collusion with the exiled All Burma Students Democratic Front terrorist
groups have been distributing anti-government pamphlets through mail,
telephone and dropping leaflets from commuter buses in Yangon recently,''
the paper said.

[ ... ]

****************************************************************

DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA (DVB): PROBLEMS FACING THE MILITARY 
27 July, 1998 

It has been learned that the SPDC [State Peace and Development Council], is
about to cease selling rice to organizations it has signed cease-fire
agreements with since 1989--with the exception of the DKBO [Democratic
Karen Buddhist Organization].  According to a statement made at the
Thai-Burma border by a commander from one of the organizations which signed
a cease-fire agreement, this development is causing much concern and some
major organizations are openly saying that the SPDC has repeatedly broken
its pledge.

The 30,000-strong Wa State Army [WSA], which signed a cease-fire agreement
with the SPDC, was given 34,000 sacks of rice in the year it signed the
agreement.  However, in the following year it was given only 8,000 sacks.
The supply of rice has dwindled and now they face the prospect of a total
cut in the rice supply.  The commander said other organizations face
similar problems and conflict is likely to develop between the SPDC and the
organizations which signed cease-fire agreements. It is also reported that
the SPDC army is about to cut its main ration of rice, beans, and chili to
its troops.  The SPDC generals, who have been bragging about economic
development and the high standard of living, while claiming that the Asian
financial crisis and U.S. sanctions have not affected Burma, are now
struggling and the SPDC can no longer provide rations to its army and rice
to organizations.  The people are suffering as they try to cope with the
ever rising price of commodities. It is said that an uncontrollable
explosion is waiting to happen.

****************************************************************

REUTERS: UN CHIEF OFFERS TO SEND ENVOY TO EASE MYANMAR STRIFE 
31 July, 1998 

YANGON, July 31 (Reuters) - The United States and Australia asked U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday to push Myanmar's military to begin
a dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as state media accused
her of being a trouble-making foreign agent.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Reuters that the two
countries had asked Kofi Annan to personally intervene in Myanmar after the
military forcibly ended a sit-in protest by Suu Kyi.

Albright said she and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer had
``urged'' Annan to become ``personally involved'' in the effort to persuade
the country's military leaders to open a dialogue with Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy party.

Annan had agreed to ``take a very careful look'' at the proposal and talk
with the two ministers again shortly, she added. ``We think increasing
international pressure...and our pushing for a dialogue is a way to
proceed,'' she said.

A government statement said Myanmar would not be ready to meet Suu Kyi's
demand for freedom to exercise political rights until the unity of the 135
ethnic groups in the nation became stronger and people's basic needs were met.

``It is unrealistic for other nations to force Myanmar to be at par with
them in giving their citizens political rights...,'' the statement obtained
by Reuters added.

In Yangon, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper accused Suu Kyi of being paid
by Britain and the United States to destroy the country with her campaigns.

``Have the people noticed that the daughter of (independence leader) Thakin
Aung San is doing paid jobs as assigned by the British and the U.S.?,'' it
said in a front-page commentary entitled ``Hands off our nation.''

``It is totally unacceptable to us. We cannot allow the entire people to be
enslaved.''

[ ... ]

Diplomats and analysts said they were waiting for [Aung San Suu Kyi's] next
move, although some believed that the military would tighten control over
her movements after the latest incident.

They said that with the approach of the tenth anniversary of the August 8
1988 pro-democracy student uprising which the military crushed, the
government would tighten the net around Suu Kyi.

``They have completely sealed off entry to University Avenue (where Suu Kyi
lives) which was only partially closed before,'' said a Yangon-based diplomat.

Witnesses said earlier on Friday that about 100 Suu Kyi supporters had gone
to University Avenue and sought permission at a check point to visit her.
But security men refused permission and they later left the area.

Although there was speculation that the military had increased security
presence in the capital, witnesses and some diplomats said Yangon streets
appeared normal.

``But we heard that barricades have been placed on sides of streets away
from public eye for use in emergency,'' another diplomat said.

Diplomats said they also expected tension to escalate in advance of the
August 21 deadline set by the NLD for convening of a parliament comprising
elected representatives from the May 1990 election, which the NLD swept but
was ignored by the military.

The government has rejected the demand to convene parliament and said that
the drafting of a new national constitution, which has already been delayed
for some time, must be completed first.

``We don't think anything untoward will happen, but the military is
cautious and will take steps to maintain order,'' said a diplomat.

Another diplomat said: ``Suu Kyi will keep momentum as long as the
government rejects her call to convene parliament. I think she may rest for
some weeks in her house before making another moves.''

The commentary in the state media said that ``the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) from Britain is giving signals to Myanmar people to start
nation-wide riots and uprisings.''

``The people of Myanmar are no longer naive these days. They are well aware
of the fact that commodity prices will skyrocket once riots break out,'' it
said.

``Hence nothing will happen on 8-8-98,'' it added.

Separately, the powerful Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, scolded the
opposition and foreign media for what he said was false news being floated
to create disturbances in Myanmar.

****************************************************************

REUTERS: U.S. SAYS NEW ZEALAND JOINS IN PRESSING MYANMAR 
1 August, 1998 

AUCKLAND, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said
on Saturday New Zealand's foreign minister had agreed to join her in
pressing U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan for ``urgent'' intervention on
Myanmar.

Albright said the minister, Donald McKinnon, ``and I are going to be in
touch with the secretary-general later in order to discuss the urgency of
the situation'' in the South Asian country after military rulers forcibly
ended a protest by democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her comments, at a news conference, seemed intended to keep the pressure on
Annan for action amid hints he may not be moving fast enough for the U.S.
secretary of state.

Albright said in Sydney on Friday that she and Australian Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer had asked Annan ``to become personally involved'' in
persuading the country's military government to open a dialogue with Suu Kyi.

She said Annan agreed to ``take a very careful look'' at the proposal.

At the news conference on Saturday, Albright said that in the Friday
conversation she and Downer ``made clear that we felt that the situation
(in Myanmar) was one that was increasingly dangerous and that needs his
personal attention.''

``I'm very glad that Foreign Minister McKinnon feels the same way,'' she said.

Annan spoke by telephone on Friday to Michael Aris, the husband of Suu Kyi,
a Nobel Peace Prize winner and head of Myanmar's opposition National League
for Democracy.

Earlier this week, Annan announced he would send Alvaro De Soto, assistant
secretary-general for political affairs, to Myanmar if the government would
set a date. U.N. officials said there had been no response from Yangon.

De Soto has made several trips to Myanmar but has made little progress with
the government, which has been shunned by the West for almost a decade.

U.N. officials do not expect Annan to visit the country. The military has
so far failed to respond to appeals to move toward democracy by the U.N.
General Assembly or in negotiations with senior U.N. officials.

Earlier this week, in a move that drew sharp international criticism,
Myanmar's military authorities forced Suu Kyi to end a six-day sit-in
protest in a car outside the capital Yangon after she and three associates
were prevented from travelling to a meeting with her supporters.

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THE WASHINGTON POST: MORE THAN AN ICON 
1 August, 1998 

Editorial

BURMA'S MILITARY dictators ended their latest standoff with democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi by the only means they know: force. She had driven
from her home in the capital toward a provincial city to meet political
colleagues, and troops had blocked her way. For six days, she waited in her
sun-baked car, peaceful but resolute. Then soldiers pinned her to the back
seat, ejected her companions and drove her back to Rangoon.

The regime's heavy-handedness, and its denial of Aung San Suu Kyi's basic
right to travel and meet with whom she chooses, drew condemnation from many
governments, as well it should. But to a large extent, even while seeking
to support Aung San Suu Kyi, these foreign ministers largely missed the
point. "Aung San Suu Kyi is an icon, whether you like it or not," New
Zealand's foreign minister warned Burma's junta, speaking for the United
States, Europe and others. "You've really got to give her a lot more
freedom, whether you like it or not."

An icon is an image, a symbol, a saintly or Christ-like figure. Aung San
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate and undoubtedly a profile in courage, has
become a symbol of democracy. But to treat her only, or primarily, as an
icon is to diminish her. For Aung San Suu Kyi, 53, is a political leader;
she heads the National League for Democracy, which won four out of every
five seats in a 1990 parliamentary election that the military regime still
refuses to honor.

The six-day standoff, and whatever comes next in this unfinished story,
needs to be understood in that context. Aung San Suu Kyi did not set out to
stage a protest or win world sympathy. She set out to do what political
leaders do: consult with colleagues. Burma's dictators have arrested many
of her associates, and they refuse to let others come to her, so she was
trying to reach them. No doubt she will try to do so again.

Treating Aung San Suu Kyi as an icon lets Burma's dictators off the hook of
negotiating with her as the legitimate political leader that she is. It
lets other nations express admiration and concern while ignoring the
substantive ways they are keeping her tormentors in power. For it is
contracts with America's Unocal Corp., France's Total, Singapore's and
China's arms merchants and other companies from Europe, Asia and North
America that allow the unpopular generals to hold on.

Recognizing that fact, the United States at least has banned new
investments. The European Union has yet to follow suit, and Southeast Asian
nations continue to advocate engagement. But engagement has produced
nothing, whereas multilateral sanctions -- as advocated by Aung San Suu Kyi
herself -- could have a real effect. Not only is Burma's regime one of the
world's most odious, profiting from press-ganged labor and the heroin
trade; but, unlike in most such cases, a legitimate, democratically
anointed alternative already exists.

Aung San Suu Kyi has called for Burma's elected parliament to convene by
Aug. 21. That is the pragmatic goal of a flesh-and-blood politician. The
Clinton administration and its allies should back it in pragmatic, concrete
ways.

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