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Myanmar junta gives cakes to opposi



       Myanmar junta gives cakes to opposition leader in roadside standoff

       Sun 16 Aug 98 - 05:53 GMT 

       BANGKOK, Aug 16 (AFP) - Myanmar's junta Sunday gave cakes to
opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung
       San Suu Kyi to help her "pass the time" on the fifth day of her
roadside standoff with security forces outside Yangon.

       Diplomats in the Myanmar capital said the National League for
Democracy (NLD) leader was still in her van near a
       bridge just 25 kilometres (15 miles) outside Yangon after being
blocked from visiting provincial supporters on
       Wednesday last week.

       They said the van, also carrying two drivers and an NLD official,
had been towed Saturday to the bridge where she
       spent six days in a similar confrontation last month.

       "As far as I know she's in good health and she's in the same
position," one diplomat told AFP.

       Although the standoff is widely interpreted as a protest against the
military regime's restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi's
       movements, a junta spokesman on Sunday said the opposition leader
was in a "camping vehicle" and was "visiting
       Anyarsu, a small but picturesque village outside Yangon."

       "Ms Suu Kyi left Yangon on August 12 on her way to the city of
Pathein, but regrettably, recent threats of violence
       have made travel there by prominent persons inadvisable at this
time," the junta spokesman said in a statement
       received here.

       "Until safety conditions improve, Ms Suu Kyi is visiting Anyarsu, a
small but picturesque village outside Yangon, while
       the government of Myanmar continues to make every effort to ensure
their comfort and safety."

       The junta earlier said it had supplied musical cassettes including
religious songs and recordings by Madonna and
       Michael Jackson for Aung San Suu Kyi's enjoyment, as well as an
ambulance in case of an emergency.

       "In addition to the amenities and entertainment provided by the
government to Ms Suu Kyi in helping her pass the time
       comfortably, government officials provided imported cakes, cookies
and soft drinks this morning," the statement said.

       "(It) is also in the process of setting up a mobile bathroom near
her camping vehicle to ensure her maximum comfort
       and welfare."

       US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Friday the
confrontation with Aung San Suu Kyi had reached its
       "moment of truth" and the international community needed to step up
pressure on the junta.

       "Aung San Suu Kyi is again asserting her basic right to move freely
in her country," Albright said in Washington.

       The NLD won 1990 elections with a vast majority but the junta has
refused to give up power.