SCMP-Join us, dissident implores so

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

South China Morning Post

Wednesday  September 2  1998

Join us, dissident implores soldiers 
by William Barnes in Bangkok 

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has urged soldiers to break ranks with
their leaders and support the convening of parliament.

She used foreign radio broadcasts to ask "ordinary soldiers" over the
weekend to remember that they had a higher duty than merely to serve their
superiors.

Ms Aung San Suu Kyi reminded the military members of her audience that the
army was founded by her father, the independence hero Aung San, "to protect
the country, rather than to dominate politics".

The ruling junta is bound to see her speech, taped in Rangoon and
rebroadcast into the country, as highly provocative. Further antagonising
the generals will be her scheduled meetings today with foreign diplomats.

Her broadcast strikes at the heart of the ruling junta's power, which is
its control of a tight-knit military.

The army runs on fear, but rewards loyalty with perks not available to
civilians.

Nevertheless, there have been rumours that many middle-ranking officers are
unhappy over the country's continued slide into poverty.

Deserters who have reached the Thai border have reported that many units
have been forced to live off the land after their pay and rations did not
arrive.

Analysts point out that from the beginning of her involvement in the
opposition movement 10 years ago, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi has sought to remind
Burmese of the army's "democratic" roots.

Her frequent reminders that her father founded the modern Burmese military
are unlikely to endear her to the ruling generals, who remain loyal to
their octogenarian godfather, General Ne Win.

Yet Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) was clearly
favoured even in many military-dominated districts when it won the 1990
general election by a landslide.

The State Peace and Development Council - the junta - has so far refused to
allow its hugely popular rival to attend political negotiations.

But Philippine sources said yesterday Ms Aung San Suu Kyi would be allowed
to sit in during talks between the NLD and the junta.

?Three foreign journalists were detained in Rangoon yesterday as they
prepared to interview Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, foreign diplomats said.

The three - an Australian, a Canadian and a Japanese - all believed to be
cameramen, were held near her house by intelligence agents, they added.
They were to be deported to Bangkok later yesterday.