AFP: Dissidents appeal for UN force

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Subject: AFP: Dissidents appeal for UN force in Myanmar

Dissidents appeal for UN force in Myanmar

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.

"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.

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.

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."

The call came on the anniversary of a 1988 bloody coup which cemented
the military's control over Myanmar's political life.

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.

"ASEAN governments are giving economic and diplomatic support to the
junta," a BSA statement said.

ASEAN cannot protect the region's economic and political stability by
turning a blind eye to growing social conflicts in Myanmar, it said.

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.

The National League for Democracy, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, won the vast majority of seats in that election.

The junta is widely accused of gross human rights abuses, including rape
and torture.

It rejects all the allegations and maintains that it intends to make
democratic changes.