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AFP- Myanmar rebels threaten new mi



Myanmar rebels threaten new military operations 
06:24 a.m. Aug 12, 1998 Eastern 

TAK, Thailand, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Karen National Union rebels threatened on
Wednesday to step up military operations if the Myanmar government ignores
demands by pro-democracy activists to convene the nation's elected
parliament. 

KNU leader General Bo Mya told reporters at his military command post in
the jungle on the Thai-Myanmar border that Myanmar's ruling generals should
convene parliament urgently. 

The main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by 1991 Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has set August 21 as the deadline for the
government to convene parliament with the members elected in May 1990. 

The NLD won those elections by a big margin but the government ignored the
result, sying the country first needed to draft a new constitution. 

Bo Mya said the situation in Myanmar was quite tense. 

``We will step up military operations if they ignore the plea of democratic
forces,'' he said. ``I don't think the military government will last
long.'' 

Guerrillas belonging to the KNU have been fighting for an autonomous state
since just after the British left the country half a century ago.