Australia Says Suu Kyi De

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/* Written  2:36 PM  Jul 25, 1994 by wov.central@xxxxxxx in igc:soc.cult.burma */
/* ---------- "Australia Says Suu Kyi De" ---------- */
Subject : Australia Says Suu Kyi Detention Indefensible

   BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuter) - Australian Foreign Minister
Gareth Evans told his Burmese counterpart Sunday that the
continued detention of Burma's dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi
was indefensible.
   Evans, speaking to reporters after talks with Ohn Gyaw, said
the detenion of Suu Kyi, now in her sixth year of house arrest,
was a breach of universal human rights principles.
   Ohn Gyaw declined to answer reporters' questions after their
meeting.
   Evans was in Bangkok for annual talks with the six-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which invited Ohn Gyaw
to attend its ministerial meeting as a guest of host Thailand.
   ASEAN is pursuing a policy of "constructive engagement"
with Burma while western countries, led by the United States,
have opted for isolation. Australia has said it is considering
all options to encourage change.
   Suu Kyi's continued detention was utterly unhelpful for
Burma's international acceptance, Evans added.
   "I have made it absolutely clear ... that we regard the
continued detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as absolutely
indefensible," he said.


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