AFP-Pressure mounts on Myanmar junt

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Pressure mounts on Myanmar junta, as families hope to visit detainees
Fri 14 Aug 98 - 04:31 GMT 

YANGON, Aug 14 (AFP) - Pressure was building on Myanmar's junta Friday to
free 18 foreign activists detained for allegedly trying to incite unrest,
as Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi settled in for a long stand-off
with military authorities outside Yangon.

Sources outside the junta said they had received indications the
foreigners, detained by security forces since Sunday for distributing
leaflets promoting democracy and human rights, were to be charged later
Friday.

A senior western diplomat declined to comment, but indicated the
information was correct.

"Things are moving," they said. "I would advise you to follow that rumour."

Junta officials had previously said the 18 activists could face charges
under three laws carrying hefty sentences but it remained unclear whether
the charges were a formality and they would be immediately deported after
trial or whether they would go to prison.

Families of some of the detainees, along with a US congressman who has
embarked on a mission to free the six US nationals amonmg them, were to
hold a press conference in Bangkok later Friday.

The families were expected to be allowed to travel to Myamar to see their
detained relatives but diplomats said it was unlikely Republican Chris
Smith would be granted a visa.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi meanwhile was blocked in her car on a
rural highway for the third day -- in the fourth such standoff with the
junta.

"It seems she is still there and they have plenty of supplies. It is
basically the same situation as before," a western embassy official said.

He was referring to a six-day roadside standoff which ended when the junta
forcibly drove her home on July 29.

She had been blocked from travelling to meet supporters outside Yangon but
refused to budge from a roadside 25 kilometres (15 miles) outside the
capital.

Although she is now in almost the same spot, diplomats said this time she
was in a mini-van rather than a sedan and had brought extra supplies.

A junta spokesman said an ambulance was on standby at the site and security
personnel had been deployed to protect her.

Washington and Britain on Thursday warned the junta to ensure she was
looked after and called for the two sides to hold talks.

"We are gravely concerned about the health and safety of Aung San Suu Kyi
and hold the Burmese authorities responsible for ensuring her health and
welfare," said State Department deputy spokesman James Foley.

The US embassy in Yangon has asked for permission for officials to travel
to the site "to observe the situation and speak with Aung San Suu Kyi,"
said Foley.

But authorities have yet to respond to the request, he said.

"We support her right to travel freely in Burma and urge the government to
address the situation through dialogue," Foley added.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright issued a similar warning last
month during the previous standoff.

Britain's Foreign Office minister Derek Fatchett echoed the call saying the
travel restrictions imposed on her should be lifted.

"I deeply regret that the Burmese regime should, instead of opening
dialogue with the National League for Democracy (NLD) and other democratic
leaders, yet again have chosen to stop Aung San Suu Kyi freely travelling
around Burma," Fatchett said in a statement.

"We and others have repeatedly made clear that interference is totally
unacceptable.

"Until the regime takes notice, it will only continue to do Burma harm in
the eyes of the world."

Some diplomats said the van, also carrying two drivers and an official of
her National League for Democracy (NLFD), had been towed to the bridge
where she was stopped last month.

Others reported troops had manually lifted the vehicle and carried it to a
nearby riot police compound.

The NLD won 1990 polls by a landslide but the junta has refused to
relinquish power. The NLD has set the junta an August 21 deadline for
convening parliament or face unspecified consequences.