NEWS - Myanmar media targets foreig

[TheTruth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

NOTICE: The news says their diplomats do not incite people.  In
Washington, D.C. on the 18th and 19th, they were trying to incite the
demonstrators.


       Myanmar media targets foreign diplomats

       Fri 28 Aug 98 - 12:25 GMT 

       YANGON, Aug 28 (AFP) - Myanmar's state-run media on Friday lashed
out at foreign diplomats here, accusing them of inciting
       unrest and lending support to opposition parties.

       "The code of conduct does not state that diplomats should make
contacts with or give support to organisations opposing, criticising
       and attacking the government," a commentary in the New Light of
Myanmar said.

       "Some embassies are one sidedly favouring the National League for
Democracy (NLD)," it added, referring to the main opposition
       party led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

       A separate newsletter from the junta's embassy in Canada
distributed by officials in Yangon also attacked foreign governments for
       attempting to destabilise the country by supporting the NLD
leader.

       It said the junta was willing to tolerate Aung San Suu Kyi's
"defiance and political antics" only up to a "certain limit."

       "But it has been made clear that anything beyond that limit will
have to be dealt with firmly," the embassy's letter said.

       The newspaper commentary Friday urged diplomats to cease meddling
in the military state's internal affairs, saying the junta's own
       foreign envoys set a good example for them to follow.

       "They always stay away from places where people of (the) host
nation are starting to gather for some political reason," the column,
       generally seen as officially inspired, said.

       "They never mingle with such crowds or gather information or
instigate them," it added.

       On Monday police dispersed student demonstrators in the first
street protests in Yangon for almost two years. Some protesters and
       bystanders were detained but no injuries were reported.

       The United States has stepped up efforts to highlight human
rights abuses in Myanmar, with US Secretary of State Madeleine
       Albright calling regional leaders to express concern about Aung
San Suu Kyi.

       Albright telephoned the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Japan,
the Philippines and Thailand over the weekend to discuss the situation
       in Myanmar, where Aung San Suu Kyi has been barred from
travelling outside the capital.

       A Thai spokesman Thursday said Albright had spoken with Foreign
Minister Surin Pitsuwan and urged Association of Southeast
       Asian Nationsmembers to pressure the junta into talks with the
opposition.

       A frail Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Yangon on Monday after a
13-day standoff outside the capital with security forces who
       prevented her from meeting supporters.