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Dissidents appeal for UN force in M



Subject: Dissidents appeal for UN force in Myanmar

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<font face="arial" size=4 color="#800000"><b>Dissidents appeal for UN
force in Myanmar<br>
</font></b><font size=3 color="#000000">BANGKOK, Sept 18 (AFP) - Exiled
dissidents called Saturday for the United Nations to send an
international force into Myanmar, similar to the multinational contingent
bound for East Timor. <br>
&quot;We don't believe that it would be interfering in another country's
internal affairs... because there are also wide abuses of human rights in
both countries,&quot; said Thailand-based dissident Maung Maung Aye.
<br>
The Myanmar junta has voiced sympathy for its Indonesian
&quot;brothers&quot; and hinted at uneasiness that some member states of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had joined the East
Timor force. <br>
Maung Maung Aye said: &quot;Perhaps they (the junta) are afraid of
another international force being sent into Myanmar... we would welcome
the UN to take similar action in Myanmar like East Timor.&quot; <br>
The call came on the anniversary of a 1988 bloody coup which cemented the
military's control over Myanmar's political life. <br>
At a demonstration outside the Myanmar embassy here Saturday, the Burmese
Students Association (BSA) called on ASEAN to fulfill its mandate of
ensuring regional stability and help bring democracy to Myanmar. <br>
&quot;ASEAN governments are giving economic and diplomatic support to the
junta,&quot; a BSA statement said. <br>
ASEAN cannot protect the region's economic and political stability by
turning a blind eye to growing social conflicts in Myanmar, it said.
<br>
The dissidents reiterated demands for the government to hand over power
to a civilian government elected in 1990 polls, which were ignored by the
junta. <br>
The National League for Democracy, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, won the vast majority of seats in that election. <br>
The junta is widely accused of gross human rights abuses, including rape
and torture. <br>
It rejects all the allegations and maintains that it intends to make
democratic changes.<br>
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