AFP-Myanmar junta thwarts oppositio

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Myanmar junta thwarts opposition plan to convene parliament: diplomats
Fri 11 Sep 98 - 11:56 GMT 

BANGKOK, Sept 11 (AFP) - Myanmar's junta has effectively thwarted plans by
the opposition to convene a parliament this month by detaining most of its
members, foreign diplomats in Yangon said Friday.

"They really can't carry on with it now," said one Western diplomat.

"A parliament of 12 people is about as representative as the government."

The diplomats also disputed opposition claims about the number of activists
detained since last weekend, with the highest estimate put by envoys at
157.

"There is great confusion over the numbers under detention," said another
Western diplomat.

"But it certainly isn't as high as the opposition claims. Other people were
detained in recent months, but that does not tally with the figure for this
week."

The National League for Democracy (NLD) on Wednesday said 108 of its
supporters had been detained on that day alone, bring the total for the
week to 328.

The NLD, led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, said 521 party
members, including 187 members of parliament, had been arrested since May
following the commemoration of the eighth anniversary of 1990 polls.

The opposition won the polls by a landslide, with the NLD alone taking 382
of the 485 seats. The junta, which won only 10 seats, has refused to
relinquish power, saying it is gradually moving towards democracy.

The number of NLD and other opposition members of parliament has since
declined by an unknown level due to deaths and resignations.

The NLD has vowed to convene the parliament elected in 1990 this month but
the junta has said the move would be illegal.

"They only need to hold the NLD members till the end of the month and then
the party has broken its promises," said another Western diplomat in
Yangon, speaking by telephone.

The detained opposition members were being treated well and were in no
apparent danger, diplomats said Thursday.

Foreign criticism of the detentions has intensified but the junta said in a
statement Tuesday the party members had merely been invited for a political
discussion and had not been arrested. 

Before being held at government guesthouses in recent days, they had been
allowed to gather clothes, toiletries and any necessary medication, added
the diplomats, including envoys from Western states hostile to the junta.

The diplomats said Yangon was quiet Friday and there was no evidence of the
student unrest which has occurred in recent weeks.

Junta officials could not be immediately reached for comment.