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Reuters- Myanmar says Suu Kyi can g



Subject: Reuters- Myanmar says Suu Kyi can go to England for funeral 

Myanmar says Suu Kyi can go to England for funeral
04:03 a.m. Mar 28, 1999 Eastern
YANGON, March 28 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government on Sunday said it
would let democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi travel to England if she wished
to attend the funeral of her husband, Michael Aris.

The military government also said in a statement it would help the Nobel
laureate carry out her husband's funeral and religious rites in Yangon.

``The government of Myanmar is deeply saddened to hear of Mr. Michael Aris'
demise and sends its sincerest condolences and sumpathy to the bereaved
family in the time of grief,'' the statement said.

``While the government is assisting Ms. Suu Kyi in enabling her to carry out
her husband's funeral and religious rites in Yangon, the government
continues its offer and stands ready in providing (her) with all possible
assistance if she desires travelling to England to attend the funeral,'' it
said.

The statement set no conditions for her travel to England but did not
guarantee that Suu Kyi could return to Myanmar.

Myanmar's government-controlled newspapers did not report the death of Aris,
a specialist in Tibetan studies who died of prostate cancer in a British
hospital on Saturday, his 53rd birthday.

Aris' repeated requests to see his wife in Yangon one last time were turned
down by the government, which instead offered to let Suu Kyi visit Aris in
Britain and then return home -- on condition that she not politicise the
trip.

Suu Kyi, who has been a thorn in the side of the military government for
years, rejected the offer, fearing she would not be allowed back into
Myanmar. She has not left the country since 1988.