[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

AFP-Aung San Suu Kyi maintains stan



Aung San Suu Kyi maintains stand-off on eve of D-day with Myanmar junta
Thu 20 Aug 98 - 12:01 GMT 

YANGON, Aug 20 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent a
ninth day Thursday in a stand-off with the country's junta on the eve of a
day of reckoning between the bitter foes and amid warnings of unrest.

"It's fairly precarious," said one western diplomat, ahead of the Nobel
peace laureate's Friday deadline for the junta to convene parliament or
face unspecified consequences.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has demanded the
parliament elected in 1990 be convened by Friday. The opposition won the
polls by a landslide but the junta has refused to relinquish power.

Violence was not expected after the deadline expired, but diplomats said
the NLD would lose credibility both domestically and internationally if it
failed to follow through on its ultimatum.

"Unless the stand-off with Aung San Suu Kyi is resolved by August 21, any
plans already in train will proceed and we conclude that will mean
distrubances or events of some kind," another western diplomat said.

"They have emphasised this deadline to such a degree that they cannot
afford to let it pass."

Yangon markets are abuzz with rumours that unrest will erupt if the junta
fails to convene parliament. There have also been widespread rumours of the
impending release of key political prisoners following the meeting.

But officials from both the government and the NLD say the role of Aung San
Suu Kyi remains a sticking point.

"She is not officially recognised as a political figure," said an Asian
diplomat. "So even if they bring the NLD into a new government, they can't
accept her without losing face."

Aung San Suu Kyi was Thursday spending her ninth day in a minibus parked on
a small bridge 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Yangon after being blocked
from travelling to meet provincial supporters.

"She is not moving but we think she will be back before the deadline," said
one of the foreign envoys.

The NLD on Wednesday urged the public to support the convening of
parliament, saying democracy was in the interests of the country's 45
million people.

"A democratic parliament is aware of all citizens," it said in an open
letter. "The NLD and other elected members of parliament have a duty to
fulfill the people's desire. The officially elected MPs need public support
to carry out their duties."

In Bangkok, some 30 exiled Myanmar students maintained their vigil outside
the Myanmar embassy to support the call for parliament to be convened.

Myanmar's currency has hit new lows amid the rising political tensions.

The kyat was trading around 380 to the dollar in Yangon on Thursday but had
crashed through the 400 mark in some parts of the country, dealers added.

The black market rate was around 150 to the dollar before Asia became
embroiled in an economic crisis last July. The official rate is six kyat to
the dollar but is almost totally ignored.

Several money changers, who are licensed by the country's junta in a de
facto endorsement of the black market trade, have been detained this week
and intelligence agents were posted at several exchanges.

"I went to change some dollars but a Burmese guy I know said there were
intel people out the back of the shop and that we should go away," said one
foreigner visiting the capital.

A foreign diplomat said the government was trying to reign in the currency
by force but forecast it would fall further.

"They can't really control it," the diplomat added

"The detentions and putting intelligence agents into the exchanges is meant
to stop the trade. But they can't stop it forever.

"With the kyat at this level, no-one can afford to buy dollars anyway."

The junta was also becoming more cautious of foreign journalists, quizzing
applicants for tourist visas in Bangkok about possible links with the media
and forcing some to sign declarations they were not journalists, applicants
and other sources said.

"They are telling people they know they are journalists, asking all sorts
of questions and making them sign these documents if they want to get
visas," said one Bangkok executive whose associate was attempting to travel
to Myanmar.

One applicant said they had been told by embassy officials that they knew
they were a journalist because they had been seen on television.

Foreign diplomats in Yangon said scores of foreign journalists had
descended on the city amid escalating political tensions, with all but a
few arriving on tourist visas. Journalists who have applied for official
visas in recent weeks have been refused.

Some journalists had also been briefly detained in Yangon and forced to
sign documents saying they did not work for news organisations, the
diplomats added.

The junta has separately expelled two journalists this week -- one French
and one Italian -- saying the pair had broken the law by declaring
themselves as tourists.