Burma News in Indian paper.

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NLD Member Dies in Custody
The Asian Age
29 October 1998

Bangkok, Oct. 28: A member of Burma's leading Opposition party has died in
custody after being detained along with hundreds of his colleagues for
"discussions" with the junta, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The junta said it regretted the death of Aung Min, a 52-year-old member of
the National League for Democracy, from lymph cancer last week.

"The government regtret this sad and unexpected event and has expressed its
sincere condolences to the family. The government has been contributing
towards the family's welfare," the junta statement received here said.

Diplomats in Rangoon said the NLD, had complained of the severityof
conditions in government "guesthouses" where hundreds of its members have
been detained since May.

"The NLD has mentioned Aung Min's death to us and that the level of care in
the guesthouses is insufficient," one western diplomat said.

"They are concerned generally about the prisoners," he added.

Opposition groups say more than 1,000 Opposition supporters and members
have been detained in recent months as part of the biggest crackdown on
dissent since the brutal crushing of student demonstrations in 1988.

The ruling military council says the detainees are comfortably housed in
guesthouses and well cared for. It denies making any arrests, saying the
people concerned have been detained for a frank "exchange of views"on
democracy.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy to Burma, Alvaro
de Soto, met Burma junta generals and Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as
pressure bulit up for Rangoon to improve its human rights record, UN
officials said on Wednesday. (AFP)

Burma Info
New Delhi.