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Dissidents appeal for UN force in M
- Subject: Dissidents appeal for UN force in M
- From: freedom@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 06:09:00
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>
"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," said Thailand-based dissident Maung Maung Aye.
<br>
The Myanmar junta has voiced sympathy for its Indonesian
"brothers" 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: "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." <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>
"ASEAN governments are giving economic and diplomatic support to the
junta," 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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