Burma Net News May 26, 1996 ##420

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------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: May 26  , 1996
Issue #420

HEADLINES:
==========

THE NATION : US DIPLOMAT WILL ATTEND BESIEGED
 SUU KYI CONGRESS
THE NATION : ANOTHER STOCK ASEAN RESPONSE ON BURMA
BANGKOK POST : SUU KYI DEFIANT IN FACE OF ARRESTS
BANGKOK POST : JUNTA ADOPTS NEW METHODS IN DEALING 
WITH SUU KYI
BANGKOK POST : ANOTHER AMERICAN COMPANY DECIDES 
TO PULL OUT OF BURMA
OUNG MYINT TUN : UK HAS PLANNED TO STAGE A DEMONSTRATION
REUTER : REVIVED BURMESE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT FORGES AHEAD. 
REUTER : BURMA DISSIDENTS PROMISE ACTION IN 
DEMOCRACY STRUGGLE. 
REUTER : BURMESE DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS CALL FOR CHANGE.
REUTER : KEY FACTS ON BURMA.   
REUTER : BURMA DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS TO MEET DESPITE ARRESTS.   
REUTER : DEMOCRACY HOPES ALIVE IN BURMA DESPITE CRACKDOWN.  


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

US DIPLOMAT WILL ATTEND BESIEGED SUU KYI CONGRESS
26.5.96/The Nation

IN OPEN defiance against a crackdown on its members, Aung San Suu
Kyi's Burmese National League for Democracy (NLD) remained
determined to hold its first party congress today, and has sent
official invitations to Rangoon-based diplomats.

It is not known how many embassy officials are invited to the
conference, but a United States Embassy diplomat in Rangoon
confirmed last night that a US official would attend the forum.

"Yes, some [diplomats] will be attending by official invitation
[by the NLD]," he responded when asked if foreign missions in
Rangoon were invited to attend the congress.

The diplomat could not confirm the starting time for today's
conference, nor how many NLD activists had already arrived at the
lakeside compound of leader Suu Kyi, where the forum will be
held.

However, he said that "about 50 per cent more than usual" turned
up yesterday afternoon in front of Suu Kyi's residence on
University Avenue to listen to her weekend address despite the
poor weather. Suu Kyi has held an address every Saturday and
Sunday since her release from house arrest last July.
     
The most vocal critic of Burma's military leadership and winner
of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, Suu Kyi told about 5,000 people
that 256 NLD activists have been arrested or detained by the
ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) since last
Monday.

"The NLD has decided to hold this anniversary meeting and we will
go on with this meeting in one form or another," Suu Kyi declared
to enthusiastic applause.

The US diplomat said he could not, confirm a report that elected
NLD MP U Mya Hlaing, who was rounded up in the current Slorc
crackdown, had died while in custody.

"I heard [about the death] from one person this morning, but I
don't have any confirmation," he said.

A statement released yesterday by the exiled Burmese government
said Mya Hlaing from Twante township, who was elected in the May
1990 general election, had died while in detention. He is the
second MP "to die while in the hands of the Burmese military",
the statement said.

Expectations of a showdown between the NLD and the Slorc have
been high in the Burmese capital ahead of the meeting today, and
analysts said Suu Kyi's remarks showed "she had taken her gloves
off'.


They said her speech, in which she said the opposition could no
longer afford to wait for the government to offer it an olive
branch was her most defiant in recent months.

"We have done nothing for six years but now we must try to reach
our objectives and not sit down and wait for dialogue," she said.

"With the support of the people, we will march on towards our
goal of democracy, and that goal is not as far away as it seems
to be," she added.

Suu Kyi said that of the detained, 232 were elected
representatives, while the others were members of NLD youth
groups or affiliated in other ways with the party.

However, she added that the number was expected to be much higher
as news had yet to filter in from NLD posts in more distant
states.

Several NLD activists are said to be already taking shelter in
Suu Kyi's compound where the conference is to take place.

Suu Kyi has said that no NLD central committee members have been
picked up for questioning yet, but added that all, including
herself, were prepared for that eventuality.

Analysts say the military junta has been put in a very difficult
position. Allowing the NLD to meet would enhance the party's
legitimacy, while a crackdown would have serious international
repercussions for a government desperately trying to attract
investment from abroad.

Fears that the junta would barricade the road outside her house
yesterday proved unfounded. But the junta has tried to put the
best face on the detentiOIIS by pressing ahead with-an
international business conference in Rangoon and plastering
accounts of deals signed with foreign companies across the front
pages of the official press.

However, the state-run media has also run a long string of
diatribes against Suu Kyi and the NLD in the past few days,
accusing them of being "power crazy" and bent on destroying the
stability of the country.

"If the democracy sorceress and her gangsters succeed in their
bid, urban and rural tranquility, peaceful pursuit of education,
commercial dealings ... all peaceful social life of the people
would be spoilt," the English-language New Light of Myanmar said
in an editorial yesterday.

The military authorities have acknowledged the detentions, which
they have called a "pre-emptive" strike against the conference
aimed at preventing a breakdown in law and order.

The wave of detentions has brought strong condemnations from
Australia Britain, Japan and the United States, as well as more
cautious criticism from some Asian countries.

*****************************************************************

ANOTHER STOCK ASEAN RESPONSE ON BURMA
26.5.96/The Nation

A confrontation is looming between the military junta in Burma
and the opposition National League for Democracy over a planned
conference today scheduled to coincide with the sixth anniversary
of the abortive 1990 national elections.

The regime, calling itself the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (Slorc), has detained for "questioning" over 200 NLD
members and supporters ahead of today's conference. Many were
seized in their homes in the middle of the night or plucked off
the street.

But the Slorc's moves have not dented the resolve of opposition
leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi said
today's conference would go on even without the majority of its
invited participants.

"I think the intention is to try and make it impossible for us to
hold our conference," she said. "But we are still going to go
ahead with our plans unless they make it physically impossible
for us to do so."

Suu Kyi, who was released from six years of house arrest last
July, also did not rule out the possibility that she and other
top NLD members might be ~arrested before the start of the
conference.

The arrests over the past three days in Rangoon, are a clear
indication that the NLD has the backing of the Burmese people.

As Suu Kyi told a press conference on Friday: "We don't need to
say anything to the outside world now. The outside world can see
for itself that the Slorc is nervous. Two hundred to three
hundred holding a conference, that's not even as big as a Slorc
faction, and yet they got so nervous that they started rounding
people up. They are nervous because they know they do not have
the support of the people of Burma."

The Slorc is showing its true colours and it comes as no surprise
to us. Many people, however, thought that once Suu Kyi was
released from house arrest Slorc would create some sort of
situation where compromises could be worked out and perhaps there
could be a transition to democracy. They were proved wrong over
the past few days, with the military junta showing that under no
circumstances is it going to recognise the results of the 1990
elections in which the NLD won the majority of seats.

This crackdown is the straw that breaks the camel's back and the
international community is not going to bend over to give the
benefit of the doubt to the military regime anymore. The world is
watching, and little do the Burmese generals realise that by
arresting the prodemocracy NLD members they have alienated many
who were willing to give them a second chance. If Aung San Suu
Kyi is re-arrested today the Slorc might as well write off its
chances of dealing with the West, in particular the United
States.

There is a piece of legislation pending in the US Congress called
the Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 1995 which would prohibit
American companies from investing in Burma and developing their
infrastructure. If Suu Kyi is re-arrested, without doubt, the
Burma Freedom and Democracy Act will sail through Congress.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell in moving the bill said:
"Foreign investment in Burma is directly supporting and
strengthening the military junta. Each dollar that foreign
companies bring into Burma serves to buy the guns, buy the
bullets and pay the soldiers that are killing the Burmese people
and keeping the rest of Burma oppressed."

"In Burma millions of people turned out to vote for Aung San Suu
Kyi and the National League for Democracy. The NLD claimed 82 per
cent of the vote. The fact that they were robbed of the reward of
free and fair elections . defines America's opportunity and
obligation," Senator McConnell added.

The Burma Freedom and Democracy Act is going to be taken up in
the next few weeks in the Senate International Relations
Committee before moving on to Congress and it is still
being debated at the Senate subcommittee level.

On Thursday, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the
United States would explore further sanctions against Burma with
Congress.

"We do not rule out further US sanctions against Burma and we are
ready to explore various measures with the Congress. What we want
to do is to have an effective US response," Burns said when
issuing a travel advisory urging Americans not to go to Burma
Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of because of the crackdown.

US that Burma is a place where its  politicians can make a stand
because it is not a country that is tied in with the American
economy. So making a stand for democracy, on the part of the
United States, would not injure tie interests of many American
citizens involved in trade with the Slorc regime unlike China or
Indonesia.

The response of Asian so far, to the on-going arrests in Burma,
has been pathetic. Asean officials at a recent meeting, at the
resort island of Langkawi in Malaysia, to develop the
resource-rich Mekong basin - which includes part of Burma - said
the recent arrests were "internal politics" "I don't think it is
our business t question," Ahmad Kamil Jaafar, secretary-general
of Malaysia's foreign ministry said on Thursday.

This was also echoed by Thailand Burma's immediate neighbour. The
arrest of NLD members was an internal affair, Thai Foreign
Minister spokesman Surapong Jayanama said.

But can we expect anything out of the regional grouping, whose
leaders just see the country with dollar signs in front of their
eyes, and view Aung San Suu Kyi as a thorn in their side to bleed
Burma dry. Perhaps a cue can be taken, when in 1991 Indonesian
troops fired upon unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators in East
Timor's capital of Dili. The stock Asean response was: "It was an
internal affair.

There needs to be a brave admission by Asean that their so-called
constructive engagement policy has failed to draw Burma back into
the main stream of the international civil community, and other
means need to be explored to find a just and peaceful _ solution
for the country.

Unless and until this is tone, Burma will always be engulfed in a
climate of fear perpetuated by an illegal government.

*****************************************************************

SUU KYI DEFIANT IN FACE OF ARRESTS
26.5.96/Bangkok Post
Agence France Presse, Rangoon

A DEFIANT Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to
cheering supporters yesterday that a key pro-democracy meeting
would press on despite a wave of detentions of activists from her
National League for Democracy (NLD).

Speaking to some 5,000 enthusiastic supporters waiting outside
her lakeside compound despite a drizzle, the charismatic
opposition leader said 256 NLD activists had been detained since
Monday.

The detentions came ahead of a meeting of NLD candidates who won
seats in elections six years ago swept by the NLD but which were
not honored by the ruling military junta.

"The NLD has decided to hold this anniversary meeting and we will
go on with this meeting in one form or another," Aung San Suu Kyi
said to enthusiastic applause.

Expectations of a showdown between the opposition and junta have
been high in the Burmese capital ahead of the meeting today, and
analysts said Aung San Suu Kyi's remarks showed "she had taken
her gloves off."

They said Aung San Suu Kyi's speech, in which she said the
opposition could no longer afford to wait for the government to
offer it an olive branch was her most defiant in recent months.

"We have done nothing for six years but now we must try to reach
our objectives and not sit down and wait for dialogue," she said.

"With the support of the people, we will march on towards our
goal of democracy, and that goal is not as far away as it seems
to be."

Aung San Suu Kyi said that of the detained, 232 were elected
representatives, while the others were members of NLD youth
groups or affiliated in other ways with the party.

However, she added that the number was expected to be much higher
as news had yet to filter in from NLD posts in more distant
states.

Several NLD activists are said to be already taking shelter in
Aung San Suu Kyi's lakeside compound where the conference is to
take place.

Analysts here say the military junta has been put in a very
difficult position. Allowing the NLD to meet showed "she had
taken her gloves  would enhance the party's legitimacy, while a
crackdown would have serious international repercussions for a
government desperately trying to attract investment from abroad.

Fears that the junta would barricade the road outside her house
proved unfounded, and regulars at her weekend addresses said this
was perhaps one of the largest since her release from house
arrest in July.

The junta has tried to put the best face on the detentions by
pressing ahead with an international business conference here and
plastering accounts of deals signed with foreign companies across
the front pages of the official press.

However, the state-run media has also run a long string of
diatribes against Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD in the past few
days, accusing them of being "power crazy" and bent on detroying
the stability of the country.

Aung San Suu Kyi has said that no NLD central committee members
have been picked up for questioning yet, but added that all,
including herself, were prepared for that eventuality.

The military authorities have acknowledged the detentions, which
they have called a "pre-emptive" strike against the conference
aimed at preventing a breakdown in law and order.

The wave of detentions has brought strong condemnation from
Australia, Britain, Japan and the United States, as well as more
cautious criticism from some Asian countries.

France appealed for calm and dialogue.

"(France) urges moderation...It appeals to the State Law and
Order Restoration Council and the democratic opposition to open a
genuine dialogue which is the only way of leading to national
reconciliation," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel condemned the arrests,
demanding that the military government release the prisoners
immediately.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Kinkel said the
arrests showed ominous developments m Burma's human rights
situation and internal politics. 

"Substantial dialogue with the democratic opposition" would be
Germany's guage for future cooperation with Burma, Kinkel said.

*****************************************************************

JUNTA ADOPTS NEW METHODS IN DEALING WITH SUU KYI
26.5.96/Bangkok Post

WHEN the military council that rules Burma freed pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi last July from six years of house arrest
they told her no restrictions would be placed on her activities.

That's not what happened.

The generals and colonels have adopted new methods, boxing in the
charismatic woman known simply as "The Lady" by erecting
roadblocks cancelling trains, and jailing more than 200 of her
followers this week to prevent a major pro-democracy meeting.

Suu Kyi remains free for now but largely powerless.

She seldom goes far from the ram-shackle lakeside compound where
she spent six years in confinement. Any time a trip even hints of
politics like visiting Rangoon's most sacred pagoda on a national
holiday she finds soldiers blocking the road or the train she is
supposed to take cancelled.

The military regime opens a small window of opportunity each week
when up to 2,000 supporters gather at her house to hear her
speak. Suu Kyi avoids confrontation on these occasions, but the
poise and courage she showed in staring down armed soldiers eight
years ago still come through.

So does her charm. Petite and attractive, Suu Kyi is just
beginning to show her 50 years. Even hard-bitten journalists
report being smitten during interviews as she articulates her
views with understated humour.

Unfortunately for Suu Kyi, her charm doesn't seem to affect the
State Law and Order Restoration Council.

The military has ruled Burma since 1962, and few people remember
life under civilian rule.

Critics call the recent crackdown evidence of paranoia. Yet it
also seems to demonstrate that the regime can attract foreign
investment even as it crushes the democratic opposition.

Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent
promotion of democracy, likened the arrest of her followers to
the regime lopping off branches of a tree to leave the trunk to
die.

"Anything can happen in a country ruled by an authoritarian
regime," Suu Kyi said. "I expect there will probably be more
arrests. This shows the SLORC's true colours."

Those colours are more subtle than they once were. In 1988, the
military regime gunned down hundreds of prodemocracy supporters
in Rangoon. In 1989, the SLORC placed Suu Kyi under house arrest.
In 1990, the regime allowed democratic elections, but ignored the
results when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy captured 392
of 485 contested seats.

The new SLORC is more skilled at repression and smarter at
gauging how far it can go. So it permits Suu Kyi her freedom at
least in name, to appease governments and businesses eager to do
business with Burma but concerned about their reputations.

Under Gen Than Shwe, who became SLORC chairman in 1992, the
generals have shown a new pragmatism arresting party members and
supporters in an effort to destroy Suu Kyi's support. With
Burmese afraid to associate openly with her, the generals can
declare she has no support, eventually eroding her stature
abroad.

Meanwhile, the regime finds new business partners.

While the US State Department was deploring the recent arrests,
Roger Truitt, president of Atlantic Richfield Co, was pictured on
Friday in state-run newspapers negotiating deals with Lt- Gen
Khin Nyunt, head of the secret police.

Shown with them was SLORC member Gen Maung Aye  who threatened
last week to "annihilate" Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi believes Burma's economy once the richest in Southeast
Asia will falter under the generals' management. Inflation runs
at 35 percent, and a steady worsening, she believes, will
eventually spark new resistance to the regime.

What form would it take? On Thursday, a land mine derailed a
train heading from Rangoon to Mandalay killing nine people.
State-run media blamed ethnic Karen rebels but they don't hold
the area.

*****************************************************************

ANOTHER AMERICAN COMPANY DECIDES TO PULL OUT OF BURMA

26.5.96/Bangkok Post
Associate Press, Washington

ANOTHER American company, clothing manufacturer Oshkosh B'Gosh
Inc, has decided to cease operations in Burma.

A spokeswoman for Wisconsin based Oshkosh, a leading manufacturer
of upscale children's clothing, attributed the decision to
financial considerations and concern about "unknowns" in Burma.

"It didn't make a lot of business sense," spokeswoman Rani Quirk
said from her office in Oshkosh, noting that the Burmese
supplier, Myanmar Segye, accounted for a tiny fraction of Oshkosh
products.

"We're not going to be utilising that agent or any other in Burma
in the future," she said. Quirk was unable to specify the exact
value of Oshkosh's contract with Myanmar Segye or say when it was
signed.

American companies operating in Burma have come under increasing
civic pressure in the last year to pull out of the country.

PepsiCo Inc last month became the largest US company yet to cease
operations in Burma, selling its 40 percent stake in a local
bottling plant to its local partner.

Larry Dohrs, an activist in Seattle with the Free Burma
Coalition, welcomed Oshkosh's decision, citing the junta's latest
crackdown on its critics  in Rangoon.

"I think this is very good and consistent with their reputation
as a good company," he said by telephone from  Seattle.

Earlier in Rangoon, pro-democracy  leader Aung San Suu Kyi told
reporters that at least 216 activists from her main opposition
National League for ' Democracy had been rounded up  since
Monday.

Dohrs also predicted that the crackdown would, expedite passage
of anti- Burma sanctions legislation in US states and cities.

Tough sanctions legislation is also pending in both houses of the
US f Congress, which would ban or restrict US trade with and
investment in Burma.

Six US cities have passed "selective purchasing" laws that ban or
restrict contracts with companies that do business in Burma, with
New York City  expected to pass a similar resolution soon

Garment retailers Eddie Bauer Levi-Strauss, Macy's, and Columbia
Sportswear have already pulled out of Burma.

US oil companies Unocal, ARCO and Texaco have meanwhile vowed to
continue operations there, arguing that Asian and European
competitors would simply fill the void that exiting US firms
leave behind.

******************************************************

UK HAS PLANNED TO STAGE A DEMONSTRATION
(Oung Myint Tun)

A Report From London
23/05/96.

The Burmese community in the UK has planned to 
stage a demonstration in front of the Burmese 
Embassy in London on 27 May, 1996,from 12:00
noon to 2:00 p.m., to commemorate the 6th 
anniversary of the landslide victory of the National
League for Democracy (NLD) led by Daw Aung San 
Suu Kyi at the May 1990 multi-party general elections
held by the SLORC.

The demonstration is also to protest against the latest
dictatorial actions of the SLORC arresting arbitrarily
the elected members and supporters of NLD who have
planned to attend the Sunday NLD national conference
to be held at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's home and the
University students who have been helping them.

The supporters of the Solidarity for Democracy in 
Burma (SDB), the NLD (LA), the Burma Action Group, 
Tourism Concern and  private individuals, 
including the Buddhist monk U Uttara, will take
part in the demonstration. The people belonging to
the international community have planned to join 
hands with the Burmese in the demonstration.

The NLD(LA) and the SDB have issued statements 
demanding the SLORC military regime promptly 
transfer power to the legitimate winners of 
the people's mandate at the May 1990 elections;
to immediately release all political prisoners 
and detainees; to cease violations of human rights
in every form; to allow the Burmese citizens to 
fully enjoy freedom of speech, assembly and 
association; and to conduct substantial dialogue 
with the democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi 
and the leaders of ethnic groups. The statements
have also appealed to the international community 
to give more support to the movement and to give 
various forms of pressure on the Slorc to put Burma 
back on the democratic path.

The commemoration of the anniversaries of the NLD
election victory have been celebrated every year
by the Burmese and international communities in 
many countries outside Burma. But it could not have
celebrated so openly and defiantly inside Rangoon 
before. It appears that this is going to happen in 
Rangoon this year despite the SLORC's unlawful
actions to prevent that from happening. So, this is 
going to be the year which will clearly make tremendous 
impact on the movement for the restoration of democracy 
and freedom in Burma.

Burmese democracy lovers and international supporters
would, as in the past, commemorate the anniversary
in different countries in their own ways. However, all of
us, this year, would want to show more of our strength 
of purpose and political will and to demonstrate the 
efficacy and tenacity of our overwhelming support to 
the pro-democracy movement inside Burma which has been 
led courageously by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other
patriots. So, let's do every thing we can to show our strength 
of conviction and the unity of purpose to the SLORC in Burma, 
by staging demonstrations and protests in front of the SLORC's
embassies in various countries through out the world.

Some people would say that one drop of water does not make
an ocean. But, some others would say that an ocean is made up 
of those drops of water! Things may seem hard to overcome.
But in the end "the strength of purpose and the political will of
the people" shall prevail.

********************************************
THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL SEND ITS REPRESENTATIVE

Burma Centrum Netherlands news

AMSTERDAM - The European Union will send its representative in Burma to
protest at the current wave of arrests. This is claimed by the Dutch
ministery of Foreign Affairs. "The French Ambassador will read out a strong
statement from the European Union," stated the high-official by telephone.
"The text has been finalised.

The spokesperson could not provide the full text of the statement: "It has
to be read first." However, one remark hints that the EU has become
inpatient with the current "Critical Dialogue". The spokesperson said the EU
will call for the recognition of the election results of 1990. If it is
true, this is news. The EU has sofar asked for progress on the National
Convention, and has not yet pointed to the 1990 election results.

***********************************************************

REVIVED BURMESE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT FORGES AHEAD. 
14:12 GMT  
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, May 26 (Reuter) - A reinvigorated Burmese opposition vowed on
Sunday to increase the pace of its struggle for democracy as thousands
turned out to support it on the first day of a controversial party meeting.
Ebullient National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi told a
cheering crowd of about 10,000 people outside her Rangoon home that the
party would not bend to pressure from the military government, but would
push ahead towards its goal of democracy for Burma.

"Giving into bullying is not good for...the bully or those who are bullied,"
she told a chanting crowd that lined both sides of University Avenue. "We
must have the courage to face the bully's challenge. I am very pleased and
satisfied to see the people have real courage."

Suu Kyi spoke after the first day of a three-day party meeting which the
ruling military-led State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) tried to
scuttle by arresting most of the elected politicians due to attend.
Instead of being cowed by 258 arrests, including 238 elected NLD
representatives, Suu Kyi announced at the opening ceremony that the meeting
was only the first in a series of party gatherings to chart the course of
their campaign.

She told a news conference later the party hoped to hold a meeting of all
the NLD members elected in the May 27, 1990, polls, once they were freed
from detention.

The SLORC says it has not arrested NLD activists but only detained them for
questioning in order to avoid "anarchy".

Most Southeast Asian states have kept an official silence on Burma's
crackdown in contrast to protests voiced by the United States, Britian,
Australia and Japan.

The U.S. said on Saturday it was "deeply concerned" about the arrests and
had sent a special envoy to discuss a coordinated response with European and
Asian allies.

Suu Kyi said the NLD, formed in September 1988 but later intimidated into
silence after the detention of its leaders and hundreds of its supporters,
plans a more active future.

"Our party work must increase in momentum. We need to do more, we need to
have the right to do more. We'll have to create opportunities and do more as
a political party.

"As you all know, the authorities tried very hard to prevent us from holding
this conference, but we were determined to go ahead with it," she said.
Suu Kyi, 1991 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent campaign,
has stressed patience and moderation since her release in July from six
years' house arrest.

She said the campaign must now be stepped up, although that decision was not
made to test the SLORC's tolerance.

"We do what we feel we ought to do as a political party. We have to have
patience to a certain degree...but patience does not mean sitting and taking
everything that they do to us. We have a responsibility to the members of
our party, we have a responsibility to the people who elected us in ... 1990."
The NLD was co-founded by Suu Kyi just days after the SLORC finally crushed
a 1988 uprising against military rule in which thousands were killed or
imprisoned.

The party went on to sweep 82 percent of the 485 seats up for grabs in the
1990 poll which was called by the miitary government.
But the SLORC never recognised the election outcome and instead launched a
major crackdown against the opposition.

NLD leaders said they were not intimidated by the SLORC's latest moves and
they were prepared to be re-arrested.
"We have to go ahead with our political work, whether or not it pleases the
SLORC," Suu Kyi said.  

(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE

********************************************************
	 
BURMA: BURMA DISSIDENTS PROMISE ACTION IN 
DEMOCRACY STRUGGLE. 
09:55GMT  
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, May 26 (Reuter) - Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi opened
a conference of her pro-democracy party on Sunday despite widespread
detentions by the military government in an attempt to scuttle the meeting.
Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy (NLD), told some 400
party members packed into a bamboo and thatch meeting hall that more action
would be taken to press the ruling military to recognise the NLD's 1990
election victory. "Since the 1990 election, the people of Burma have
suffered greatly from lack of democratic rights. That is why their desire
for democracy is stronger now than it was six years ago," she said. "For
that reason the National League for Democracy has decided to increase its
actions to fulfill the will of the people and bring about national
reconciliation." Rather than being cowed by a sweeping crackdown against the
party, with 238 of the elected politicians who were due to attend picked up
by police in the past week, the NLD announced that Sunday's gathering would
be the first of many. "This meeting was originally intended to have been a
meeting of elected representatives of the NLD but since 238 of them have
been detained, and probably more from whom we've not yet heard, we are not
able to carry on with our original plan," NLD chairman Aung Shwe told the
opening session. "This is not a meeting of elected representatives of the
NLD but the first of a series of NLD conferences which we shall be holding,"
he said. Suu Kyu was expected to give more details about her plans later at
a news conference. The ruling military body, the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC), says it has not arrested the NLD members but
only detained them for questioning in order to avoid unrest and "anarchy"
that may result from the congress. Most Southeast Asian governments have
officially remained silent on Burma's crackdown, in sharp contrast to strong
protests voiced by the United States, Australia and Japan. The United States
said on Saturday it was "deeply concerned" about the arrests and had sent a
special envoy to discuss a coordinated response with European and Asian allies.
Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent campaign for
democracy, has stressed patience and moderation since her release from six
years of house arrest last July. But she told a weekend crowd outside her
house that patience did not mean doing nothing. "After I was released from
house arrest I told everyone to be patient but I don't  ean you should sit
down and wait for things to happen," she said. "Patience doesn't mean you
sit down and do nothing. Even if the gains are very little you should still
do something." "In our increased activities we invite not only the people of
the country but also the authorities to join us because that is the only way
we can bring peace and happiness to our land," she told some 5,000
supporters outside her home on Saturday. The NLD, co-founded by Suu Kyi in
September 1988, swept 82 percent of the 485 seats up for grabs in the 1990
poll which was called by the military government. The SLORC never recognised
the election outcome and instead launched a major crackdown against the
opposition. NLD deputy secretary general, Tin Oo, declined to give details
of the party's plans saying he did not want to reveal strategy but said the
party would meet again. "Our NLD is a political party, we will continue to
meet as we need to meet," he told reporters. By Sunday a total of about 258
NLD members, including 238 elected representatives, had been arrested, the
party said. The SLORC was formed in September 1988 after troops crushed a
nationwide pro-democracy uprising.  

(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE

*******************************************************

BURMA: BURMESE DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS CALL FOR CHANGE.
 08:40 GMT 
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, May 26 (Reuter) - Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi opened
a conference of her pro-democracy party on Sunday despite widespread
detentions by the military government in an attempt to scuttle the meeting.
During the opening ceremony, Suu Kyi urged the military regime to recognise
the result of a 1990 election won by her National League for Democracy
(NLD). She said the military could never "annihilate" the Burmese peoples'
desire for democracy. Despite fears the ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) might try to block the meeting, there was no
uniformed military or police presence visible outside Suu Kyi's house,
although security agents monitored all those going in. The conference was to
have been the first meeting of hundreds of NLD politicians, who won seats
during the party's landslide victory in a May 1990 election. Only about 20
elected representatives attended the congress following the detention of
more than 200 of their political colleagues, who were detained this week in
a sweeping crackdown. But they and about 400 party supporters gave Suu Kyi
and senior NLD members a standing ovation as the conference began. "Tomorrow
marks the sixth anniversary of the day the Burmese people went to the polls
for the first democratic election in 30 years," Suu Kyi told the crowd
packed into a bamboo and thatch meeting hall erected in the grounds of her
Rangoon home. "In those elections the Burmese people made it manifestly
clear they wanted to replace dictatorship with democracy. These results
cannot be cast aside because they reflect the will of the people," the 1991
Nobel Peace laureate said. The NLD, co-founded by Suu Kyi in September 1988,
swept 82 percent of the 485 seats up for grabs in the 1990 poll which was
called by the military government. The SLORC never recognised the outcome.
Political analysts say the SLORC called the poll in the hope that no single
party would win a majority and that it would only further divide the Burmese
people following two years of anti-military unrest. The SLORC assumed power
in September 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy uprising, leaving thousands
dead or in prison. Dozens of elected NLD members were imprisoned, killed or
fled the country during that crackdown. Suu Kyi, who was released last July
after being held under house arrest since 1989 for her outspoken attacks on
the military, told the meeting the NLD planned to step up its efforts to
bring democracy to Burma. "Since the 1990 election, the people of Burma have
suffered greatly from lack of democratic rights," she said to applause.
"That is why their desire for democracy is stronger now than it was six
years ago." "For that reason the National League for Democracy has decided
to increase its actions to fulfill the will of the people and bring about
national reconciliation." Party chairman Aung Shwe told the assembly that
because so many elected representatives had been detained, the nature of the
meeting had changed slightly. It was no longer to be a congress of elected
members only, but instead the first in a series of NLD conferences, he said.
By Sunday a total of about 258 NLD members, including 238 elected
representatives, had been arrested, he said. The SLORC says it has not
arrested the NLD members but has only detained them for questioning in order
to avoid unrest and "anarchy" that may result from the congress. Party
officials said the meeting would discuss politics, economics and human
rights and was not intended to incite demonstrations.  

(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE

************************************************

BURMA: KEY FACTS ON BURMA.   

RANGOON, May 26 (Reuter) - These are the key facts about Burma, which the
military government calls Myanmar: Population: 45 million of whom
approximately 65 percent are Burman and the remainder Karen, Shan, Kachin,
Chin, Kayah, Mon, Arakanese, Indian and Chinese. Area: 678,576 sq km
(262,000 sq miles) of which 15 percent is cultivated and 40 percent forest.
Bordered by Bangladesh to the west, India to the northwest, China and Laos
to the northeast and Thailand to the east. Burma has coastline on the
Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Capital: Rangoon (Yangon), population
three million.
Armed forces: (estimated 1995) 286,000, of which 265,000 army, 12,000 navy
and 9,000 air force. Economy: annual per capita income: 255 dollars (1995).
GDP 65 billion kyat (1995) ($11 billion at the official rate of 5.75 kyat to
US$1. Black market rate of exchange is approximately 120 kyat to US$1). Main
industries: agriculture, minerals, forestry and light industries. Main
exports: agricultural products, animal and marine products, forest products,
minerals and gems. Main imports: consumer goods, raw materials and spare
parts for industry.
History: Burma was annexed to British India in the 19th century and became
fully independent on January 4, 1948. In 1962 armed forces chief of staff
General Ne Win staged a coup and ruled the country with an iron hand until
officially resigning on July 23, 1988, after the rise of a democracy
movement, which was suppressed two months later. Soon after the 1962 coup,
Ne Win established the "Burmese Way to Socialism", nationalising key sectors
of the economy and almost sealing the country off from the outside world. He
set up a single party system and muzzled the press. Burma was one of Asia's
richest countries when Ne Win took over, but the economy suffered from state
control and low world prices for rice and other exports. In 1987 Burma was
granted least-developed-nation status by the United Nations. The country has
been plagued by rebellious autonomy-seeking ethnic minorities along its
borders since independence from Britain. Rangoon kept the rebels confined
mostly to their mountainous native regions but at the cost of loss of
control of those regions and jade, teak and other raw materials. Occasional
internal dissent against Ne Win's government was always brutally crushed by
the military-backed government but grew nevertheless, especially among
students. The democracy movement continued to grow through 1988, bringing
hundreds of thousands of students, ordinary citizens and even military men
onto the streets to protest against autocratic rule. The military, after
several attempts to mollify the demonstrators, suppressed the movement in
September 1988, killing and jailing thousands, and established a ruling body
called the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Many diplomats
believe that Ne Win has continued to oversee rule through the SLORC. The
most prominent dissident, 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
was detained in July 1989, but nevertheless managed to lead her National
League for Democracy (NLD) party to an overwhelming victory in a May 1990
election. SLORC refused to turn over power to the NLD and arrested many of
its leaders, driving others along with student activists and dissident monks
into the jungle where they linked up with ethnic minority guerrillas. The
SLORC called for a National Convention to draw up guidelines for a new
constitution and almost 700 delegates, the majority of them chosen by the
SLORC, began meeting in January 1993. The military has demanded that it be
constitutionally guaranteed a "leading role" in politics. Dissidents have
condemned the convention as a sham. Suu Kyi was released from house arrest
in July 1995 and said she was still dedicated to the restoration of
democracy in her country and called for dialogue on political reform between
the SLORC, the democracy movement and ethnic minority groups. She also urged
foreign businessmen to refrain from investing in Burma and in November
withdrew the NLD from the National Convention, saying it was not
representative of the wishes of the people. The NLD later called on the
SLORC to convene the assembly voted for in the 1990 election, in which the
party won more than 80 percent of the seats, and planned its first party
congress coinciding with the sixth anniversary of the poll. While
maintaining a firm grip on political power and suppressing opposition to its
rule, the SLORC saw economic failures as the main reason for the 1988
uprising and abandoned rigid central planning soon after it took power that
year, liberalising the economy and opening many sectors to foreign
investment. The SLORC has managed to strike ceasefire agreements with most
of the guerrilla armies that have battled the central government for
decades. Opium warlord Khun Sa, seen as responsible for about half of
Burma's annual opium crop of more than 2,000 tonnes, surrendered to the
government in January 1996 along with thousands of his Mong Tai (Shan State)
Army fighters. Burma rejoined the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1992. It had
left the grouping in 1979 because of perceived Soviet manipulation. Burma
attended for the first time a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok, as a guest of host country Thailand, in July
1994 and in July 1995 took the first step to membership of the grouping by
acceeding to its founding treaty.  

***********************************************

BURMA DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS TO MEET DESPITE ARRESTS.   
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, May 26 (Reuter) - Politicians from Burma's National League for
Democracy (NLD) prepared to meet on Sunday, despite sweeping detentions by
the military government, for the first time since they won a 1990 election
About 300 NLD members who won seats in the poll were originally scheduled to
attend the three-day party congress beginning on Sunday at the home of NLD
leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The congress was due to
start around 0230 GMT despite the detention of more than 250 NLD members by
the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) in the past week.
Suu Kyi said at least 256 NLD members had been arrested by late Saturday,
232 of whom were elected representatives planning to attend the congress.
The United States said on Saturday it was "deeply concerned" about the
arrests and had sent a special envoy to discuss a coordinated response with
European and Asian allies. "The United States is deeply concerned by reports
that the military regime in Burma is detaining hundreds of members of the
democratic government," White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said.
McCurry said the situation was "reviewed on Friday at a senior-level White
House meeting, where a decision was made to dispatch an envoy to consult
with European, Asian and other friends and allies on a coordinated response."
Suu Kyi told a cheering crowd gathered outside her home on Saturday that the
meeting would go ahead, despite the arrests. "We are going to go ahead with
the meeting," Suu Kyi told about 5,000 people who stood outside her front
gates in the rain to hear her regular weekly speech. She has said the SLORC
was trying to disrupt the congress because it feared the NLD had the support
of the people.
"The results of the election of 1990 remain valid and will remain valid
until such time the elected representatives meet and decide on a period of
office," she said.
The SLORC has said it has not arrested the NLD members, but only brought
them in for questioning to avoid "anarchy" or unrest that might occur as a
result of the party meeting. The congress coincides with the anniversary of
the NLD's May 27, 1990 victory in a general election, when the party won 392
or 82 percent of the 485 seats up for grabs. The SLORC called the poll in
hopes that no single party would win a majority, analysts say. The SLORC
assumed power in 1988 after suppressing bloody pro-democracy uprisings that
left thousands dead or in jail. Dozens of elected NLD members were
imprisoned, killed or fled the country during that period. Suu Kyi, who was
released from house arrest last July after being detained in 1989 for her
outspoken attacks on the government, has repeatedly called for dialogue and
urged her supporters to be patient in their desire for democracy. Over the
past week, the government has attacked Suu Kyi and top leaders of the NLD
for trying to incite unrest. On Saturday a commentary in state-run
newspapers labelled Suu Kyi a sorceress who wanted to destabiise the
country. Suu Kyi and other NLD officials have not divulged the agenda of the
meeting. "We were just planning a conference, because this is the sort of
thing that political parties do. It is within the rights of a political
party to hold conferences whenever necessary," Suu Kyi said earlier this week. 

******************************************************* 

 DEMOCRACY HOPES ALIVE IN BURMA DESPITE CRACKDOWN.  
 
By Deborah Charles

RANGOON, May 26 (Reuter) - Despite a widespread military crackdown on
pro-democracy activists, many Burmese who wait for hours in rain or shine to
see their heroine Aung San Suu Kyi are hopeful democracy will come to their
country. Every weekend, thousands of citizens seek a place to sit outside
the front gates of Suu Kyi's University Avenue residence, hours before she
begins her regular speeches. On Sunday, as rain fell, people began staking
their claims to prime space as early as 11:00 a.m -- five hours before Suu
Kyi was due to speak. Young and old, they come from all walks of life and
say they listen to Suu Kyi speak to foster their hopes that democracy will
return to Burma. "We are believers of democracy. We believe we will be
victorious because we are right," said Khin Nyo, who arrived several hours
before Suu Kyi's Saturday speech to get a good seat before the first set of
barbed wire road blocks that stop the people from spilling into and blocking
University Avenue. "She answers our questions. She tells us not to make
confrontation," he added. "We want to change our country peacefully, we
don't want to make any strikes or protests." The government's brutal
supression of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising is still fresh in the minds of
many. Thousands of people were killed or imprisoned during the
demonstrations. Many people said this weekend's attendance at the speeches
was particularly important as a show of support for Suu Kyi and her National
League for Democracy (NLD) party. "I came here at 9:00 a.m.," a 65-year old
woman said on Saturday when about 5,000 people endured pouring rain to hear
Suu Kyi speak. "I had not planned to come today but since I heard the
government was trying to prevent their meeting I purposely made sure I would
come." On Sunday, the NLD began a three-day party meeting which was
originally meant to unite party members elected in a 1990 election. But
after the military government detained most of the 300 representatives due
to attend, the meeting became a party conference to discuss policy. The NLD
won a landslide victory in the 1990 election, but never assumed power
because the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) refused to
recognise the results of the vote. The weekend speeches at Suu Kyi's house
are the only real show of public support for the democracy movement in
Burma, where it is forbidden to hold public gatherings without approval.
Some Burmese people said they were afraid to attend Suu Kyi's weekly
meetings, or publicly support the party, because they feared military
reprisals. "I want to have democracy, but I am afraid to go to the
speeches," one man said. "I do not want to go to jail. I have an old mother
and an old father. "But nobody likes this military government," he added,
echoing the opinions of many interviewed recently. "They are very bad." Many
Burmese fear talking to foreigners, since the omni- present military
intelligence often picks people up for questioning if they are seen
conversing with a foreigner. But those attending the weekend speeches, which
are monitored by dozens of camera-toting plain-clothes intelligence
officers, do not show their fear. "Long live Aung San Suu Kyi," the crowd
chanted as she appeared at her traditional speaking position, peering over
the top of her front gate. 
		
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