BURMA/INTERNAL AFFAIRS/US

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Myanmar Says U.S. Is Interfering


 .c The Associated Press 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Myanmar's military government accused Washington on
Friday of interfering in its internal affairs under the pretext of human
rights and relying on ``unfounded facts from unscrupulous sources.'' 

It was a response to the annual State Department report on human rights
issued a week earlier that included harsh criticism of Myanmar, accusing it
of civil and human rights abuses. 

The introduction to the report says Myanmar's ``military junta ... continued
its highly repressive policies, targeting all forms of dissent and
intensifying its restriction of free assembly and association.'' 

The report goes on to detail a wide range of other abuses against dissidents
and minorities in the country, which is also known as Burma. 

A press release issued Friday by Myanmar's Foreign Ministry said the
government ``categorically rejects the one-sided assessment of the United
States on the human rights situations in Myanmar since it is based on
unfounded facts and is nothing more than a politically motivated document
aimed at interfering in the internal affairs of Myanmar.'' 

It said the latest U.S. human rights report neglects ``the positive
developments taking place in the country and does not reflect the true
situation of Myanmar.'' 

AP-NY-03-05-99 1105EST