EBO BURMA NEWS, 2 JULY 2003

 

News Summary:

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1. Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi transferred from Insein prison: source

2. Top Myanmar junta aide to visit Japan for talks

3. ASEAN urged to review Myanmar membership over Suu Kyi detention

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Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi transferred from Insein prison: source

by Pascale Trouillaud

 

BANGKOK, July 2 (AFP) - Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has

been transferred from the notorious Insein prison following UN criticism that

she was being held under "absolutely deplorable" conditions, an informed

source said Wednesday.

 

The gesture was too minor to calm the international community's outrage

over her detention and could signify that the ruling military government

intended to keep the leader detained for a long period, diplomats said.

 

Aung San Suu Kyi "has been transferred, probably at the end of last week,

and is now being held at an undisclosed location," the source told AFP.

 

He said the junta had "many military camps and guesthouses where it can

detain its opponents incommunicado.

 

"One possible option is that Suu Kyi could have been brought to the military

camp of Yemon, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside Yangon, where

political prisoners have been held in the past," the source said.

 

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Top Myanmar junta aide to visit Japan for talks

02 July 2003

By George Nishiyama

 

TOKYO (Reuters) - A top Myanmar official will visit Japan soon with a message

from the head of the nation's ruling junta as Tokyo keeps up pressure for the

release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Japanese Foreign Ministry

official said on Wednesday.

 

Japanese media said Khin Maung Win, a top aide to junta leader Than Shwe,

could arrive in Japan as early as Friday, but the official said the schedule was

not yet finalised.

 

"We are seeking a swift settlement of the situation and we will demand that

when he comes here," the official said, referring to the detention of Suu Kyi

since May 30.

 

Khin Maung Win will be carrying a letter from Than Shwe, and Tokyo will look

at what the junta leader has to say before deciding on its future relations with

Yangon, the official said.

 

The message is believed to be a reply to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro

Koizumi who sent a letter to Myanmar's leaders through Tokyo's deputy foreign

minister last month.

 

Japanese media said Khin Maung Win may arrive in Japan as early as Friday.

 

The minister's trip to Tokyo -- following a visit to Thailand on Tuesday and

ahead of planned trips to Singapore, Indonesia and India -- is seen as part

of a diplomatic drive by Yangon to counter international criticism of its detention

of Suu Kyi.

 

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ASEAN urged to review Myanmar membership over Suu Kyi detention

 

MANILA, July 2 (AFP) - Myanmar's membership in the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be reviewed because of its detention of Nobel

Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, a human rights monitor said Wednesday.

 

The Altsean-Burma, a regional network of rights organizations and

activists, said the 10-member ASEAN should "develop a time-frame" within which

the ruling junta should release Aung San Suu Kyi, detained for more than a

month following deadly clashes involving her supporters.

 

The grouping should "review the status of Burma's (Myanmar's) membership,"

as well as "redeem itself" by actively demanding Aung San Suu Kyi's release,

it said.

 

ASEAN should also immediately dispatch a high-level delegation to check on

the democracy leader's situation in Myanmar and "include Burma as a priority

agenda item at the ASEAN summit in October," Altsean-Burma said.

 

ASEAN members demanded the Nobel laureate's release during its annual

ministerial meeting in Cambodia last month. The group also announced plans to

send a delegation to Yangon.

 

The rights monitor meanwhile urged the ruling junta to declare a nationwide

ceasefire and stop its crackdown against democracy activists.

 

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