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Myanmar GOvernment Slams Opposition



Myanmar government slams opposition, democracy

By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government launched a scathing
attack on the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) on Saturday,
calling them traitors controlled by Western powers. 

Already strained relations between the administration and the NLD have soured
further since the first talks in more than a year between the party and the
government failed to stop anti-military protests this month. 

Local media reported a speech by Secretary Number One of the ruling State
Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt attacking recent
opposition tactics and protests. 

Newspapers quoted Khin Nyunt as saying the opposition were traitors controlled
by Western powers attempting to recolonise the country. 

``The traitors within the country, with the support of big nations, are
defying laws. These are tactics dictated by the neo-colonialists and the
traitors are following their subversive schemes,'' he said. 

The newspapers also carried articles attacking NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
and said Western-style democracy was an inappropriate form of government for
Myanmar. 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi and the NLD, which won a landslide election
victory in 1990 which was never recognised by the government, have recently
increased pressure on the Myanmar government with a series of high publicity
protests. 

This culminated in an August 18 meeting between leaders of the ruling
government and high-ranking opposition members, the first such talks in more
than a year. 

The government described the meeting as fruitful but progress has stalled as
the administration refuses to hold talks with Suu Kyi, a condition the NLD
says is a pre-requisite for genuine dialogue. 

The opposition has further irked the authorities by saying it will shortly
convene a ``people's parliament,'' a move the government says is illegal. 

The government is under further pressure following last week's student
protests in the capital Yangon, the first since 1996. 

Khin Nyunt said the government's gentle handling of recent pro-democracy
protests had weakened the opposition but hinted the government was prepared to
take a harder line if necessary. 

A pro-democracy uprising in 1988 was crushed by the military, with most
independent estimates putting the deathtoll in the thousands. 

``The government is softly and carefully handling the matter to avoid
confrontation to restore national stability,'' Khin Nyunt said. 

``The destructionists should know that it is the responsibility of every
government to defend the nation and people from dangers resulting from
destructionists' activities.'' 

A group of exiled dissidents, the All Burma Students Democractic Front, said
in a statement on Saturday that government military intelligence officers
arrested two sixteen-year-old students on August 22 for distributing pro-
democracy literature. 

It said Maung Kan Myint and Maung Htay Aung were detained at midnight in
southeastern Mon state after handing out leaflets in Ye town. Myanmar
Government officials could not be reached for confirmation.