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J. Times: 5/27 Rally in Tokyo



MYANMAR DISSIDENTS HOLD TOKYO RALLY FOR AUNG SAN SUU KYI

	Myanmarese dissidents in Tokyo expressed their support Monday for democracy
champion Aung San Suu Kyi and called for the immediate release of arrested
members of her National League for Democracy.
	They also renewed calls for Japan to suspend its official development
assistance to their country.
	On the sixth anniversary of the NLD's landslide victory in the May 27,
1990, general elections, more than 90 Myanmar dissidents and supporters
rallied outside their embassy in Tokyo, shouting slogans calling for the
immediate release of detained NLD members, most of whom were elected to
parliament.
	Their banners expressed support for Suu Kyi and the NLD, and denounced the
ruling military junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council.
	The demonstrators also enacted a mock ballot, placing votes in an NLD box
but shunning a box for a military-backed party.
	Muneharu Wada, deputy head of the Tokyo chapter of New Party Sakigake, the
smallest component in Japan's ruling coalition, said, "Having participated
in the rally, I believe the message of the slogans got through to the
onlookers."
	Wada has met with Suu Kyi in Rangoon and is also familiar with the Myanmar
dissident movement in Tokyo.
	ODA to Myanmar is now limited to what Japan calls small-scale humanitarian aid.

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Typist's Note: The rally also got coverage in the Mainichi Daily News, as
well as on NHK and Reuters TV.