UN ENVOY TO HOLD TALKS IN BURMA

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Dear Netters,
                      The following report is on UNOCAL/Labour abuses/U.S.
Peace.

Sincerely,

Julien Moe
----
UN Envoy To Hold Talks in Myanmar
26 October 1998

 .c The Associated Press 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A special United Nations envoy is coming to Myanmar
for talks this week with the military government. 

Alvaro de Soto, an assistant U.N. secretary-general, will make a four-day
visit beginning Tuesday. The office of the U.N. Development Program, which
coordinates the agency's activities in Myanmar, did not release details. 

De Soto last visited Myanmar, also known as Burma, in January in a failed
effort to facilitate a dialogue between the ruling State Peace and
Development Council and Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National
League for Democracy. 

Relations between the government and the opposition deteriorated afterward,
with the military increasing its repression of the pro-democracy movement
and Suu Kyi's party increasing its challenges to the government's legitimacy. 

The junta seized power in 1988 after violently suppressing demonstrations.
Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in 1990 parliamentary elections but
the military refused to yield power. 

The United States, other Western counties and groups such as Amnesty
International say the junta is responsible for human rights abuses. The U.N.
Human Rights Commission has sought to encourage reforms in Myanmar. 

AP-NY-10-26-98 1143EST