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UA0482 4 I 0227 USA /AFP-EL39
USA-Birmanie   
Washington appelle Rangoon =E0 lib=E9rer tous les opposants politiques
   
   WASHINGTON, 25 juin (AFP) - Les Etats-Unis ont appel=E9 mardi la 
junte militaire au pouvoir en Birmanie =E0 lib=E9rer tous les opposants =

politiques emprisonn=E9s, apr=E8s le d=E9c=E8s samedi dernier en prison =
de 
l'homme d'affaires anglo-birman James Leander Nichols.
   M. Nichols, consul honoraire de Norv=E8ge, =E2g=E9 de 64 ans, =E9tait =

un ami proche du chef de l'opposition d=E9mocratique birmane et prix 
Nobel de la Paix Aung San Suu Kyi. Il avait =E9t=E9 reconnu coupable de =

violation de la loi birmane sur les t=E9l=E9communications pour 
utilisation ill=E9gale de t=E9l=E9copie et de lignes t=E9l=E9phoniques, =

arr=EAt=E9 en avril, puis condamn=E9 en mai =E0 trois ans de prison.
   "Nous pensons que sa mort rend plus urgente encore la 
lib=E9ration de toutes les personnes emprisonn=E9es en Birmanie sur la =

seule base de l'exercice pacifique de leurs droits politiques 
fondamentaux", a d=E9clar=E9 un porte-parole du d=E9partement d'Etat, =

Glyn Davies.
   "Il n'y avait aucune raison justifiant sa d=E9tention", a ajout=E9 =

le porte-parole, qui a expliqu=E9 que "son emprisonnement selon des 
accusations douteuses, les difficiles conditions de vie dans les 
prisons, y compris son isolement, ont sans doute contribu=E9 =E0 sa 
mort".
   Plusieurs pays europ=E9ens ont demand=E9 des explications 
officielles =E0 Rangoon =E0 ce sujet.
   cml-lb/et/mr       t
AFP 252022 GMT JUN 96

VVV2635 5 III 00559 -----
AP- BC-Burma
 BC-Burma
 Denmark Urges E.U. Initiative on Burma After Consul's Death 
   BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Denmark has urged the European Union to
take a stand on Burma following the death in prison of a former
honorary consul who was a close friend of pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.
   The death of James Leander Nichols of a reported stroke last
Saturday appears to be slowly brewing into a diplomatic incident
pitting Scandinavian countries against Burma's military regime.
   Nichols, 65, a businessmen of Greek and Burmese origins, had
served Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland as honorary
consul until 1978. He had worked for several of the countries in an
unofficial capacity in recent years.
   He was arrested in April and sentenced to three years in prison
for illegally possessing two fax machines and a telephone
switchboard, but analysts believe he was actually punished for his
links to Suu Kyi, who has stepped up her campaign to bring
democracy to the country.
   Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen said Tuesday in
Copenhagen that Denmark, a member of the 15-nation European Union,
had launched an initiative to discuss the EU's position toward the
Southeast Asian country.
   Danish diplomatic sources said a meeting would be held July 2.
Helveg Petersen gave no details, but noted that his ``government is
very critical toward the military regime in Burma.''
   ``Again and again, we have demanded real progress toward
democratization and dialogue with all representatives of political
opinion in the country,'' Helveg Petersen said in a statement.
   Denmark has dispatched a diplomat from its embassy in Bangkok to
Rangoon in an attempt to meet Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel
Peace Prize, ``in order to have her view on recent events.''
   Nordic ambassadors in Southeast Asia plan to attend a memorial
service for Nichols this weekend.
   Nichols was jailed in Rangoon's Insein Prison, notorious for
deplorable conditions and torture, despite protests from countries
he once represented for his release due to well-known poor health.
He suffered heart trouble and diabetes.
   The countries have demanded an investigation and full medical
report into Nichols' death, while Nichols' son has said his father
``died at the hands of the military dictatorship in Burma.''
   Prison officials have said Nichols was found unconscious in his
cell Saturday and died an hour later of a stroke at Rangoon General
Hospital. He was buried Sunday.
   William Nichols, a university lecturer in Australia,
acknowledged that his father suffered poor health but told Radio
National in Australia that the unusually quick burial raised
questions about the circumstances of his death.
   Nichols said he telephoned the woman who had been looking after
his father to ask about the funeral and whether she had seen the
body, but she had only seen part of his head and face.
   ``He had a number of stitches on his head and his face which
could have been quite normal with reference with an autopsy being
done, but just the fact that they were unwilling to release the
body to the family leaves much to be desired,'' Nichols said.
   An honorary consul performs low-level diplomatic functions, like
receiving visa applications, for countries that would not otherwise
have diplomatic representation.
   
260527 Jun GMT

VVV2505 5 III 00205 -----
AP- BC-US-Burma
 BC-US-Burma
 US Says Prison Conditions May Have Killed Dissident in Burma 
 With BC-Burma 
   WASHINGTON (AP) _ Harsh conditions in his Burmese prison may

have contributed to the death of a former Scandinavian consul and
pro-democracy activist, the State Department said Tuesday.
   James Leander Nichols, of Greek and Burmese ancestry, was
pronounced dead Saturday in Rangoon General Hospital shortly after
officials said they found him unconscious in his cell.
   Nichols, 65, was a close friend of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader
of Burma's pro-democracy movement. Nichols represented as honorary
consul Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
   ``Certainly his imprisonment on a questionable charge and the
harsh prison conditions, which included being kept in isolation,
may well have contributed to his death,'' State Department
spokesman Glyn Davies said.
   Davies said the death of Nichols heightens the urgency for the
Burmese authorities to release all those who are being held solely
for peaceful exercise of their basic political rights.
   Nichols was convicted of illegally possessing two fax machines
and a telephone switchboard, equipment tightly controlled by the
ruling military junta.
   
252107 Jun GMT

a0082KYODOkoko-
d x BC-Myanmar-Drugs   26-06 0206
BC-Myanmar-Drugs
Myanmar junta vows to fight drugs without foreign aid+
     YANGON, June 26 Kyodo - Myanmar will carry on the fight against
drug menace with or without foreign assistance, a member of the
ruling military junta said Wednesday.
     Home Minister Lt. Gen. Mya Thinn, chairman of the committee for
drug abuse control, made the remark at a ceremony in Yangon to mark
an international day against drug abuse.
     He said Myanmar has been engaged in supply reduction, demand
reduction and law enforcement for drug eradication, and is trying to
gradually eliminate poppy cultivation by promoting the living
standards of ethnic groups in border areas.
     Government troops have taken over areas along the Thai border
formerly controlled by the Mong Tai Army of Khun Sa, which
surrendered to the government in early 1995, he said.
     '' Deterrent legislation has been introduced for effective
prevention and control.  However, due to high profit, trafficking
continues even at great risk,'' he said.
     The general said that despite Myanmar's efforts, ''a senior
official of a major power openly stated that they do not recognize
and would not aid drug-eradication efforts in Myanmar...''
=3D=3DKyodo
KWS-14:03-26-06-96

a0074KYODOkoko-
d i BC-US-Myanmar   26-06 0289
BC-US-Myanmar
U.S., Myanmar to hold high-level talks in Jakarta+
     WASHINGTON, June 25 Kyodo - The United States will hold
high-level talks with Myanmar next month in a bid to defuse growing
confrontation between Myanmar's ruling junta and pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.
     He said the meeting, most likely to involve U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Winston Lord
and a Myanmar deputy foreign minister, will be held in Jakarta on the
sidelines of the July 23 session of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.
     The official, who requested anonymity, did not rule out the
talks being held between the foreign ministers, who will also be in
Jakarta.
     The official revealed that after mass arrests of members of Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) in May, Washington warned
the junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), that ''there would indeed be additional steps'' taken by the
U.S. if the situation deteriorated further.
     At the same time, Washington had direct contact with Suu Kyi to
urge ''a certain degree of moderation to avoid the possibility of
direct confrontation and bloodshed,'' the official said.
     He said two U.S. envoys were also sent to Japan and the seven
ASEAN countries, which pursue a policy of constructive engagement
with Myanmar, to explain that the ''chief goal'' of U.S. diplomatic
efforts is to prevent a worsening of the situation in Myanmar.
     The envoys did not campaign for sanctions against Yangon, but
asked the ASEAN governments to voice their concerns to SLORC over the
crackdown in Myanmar, he added.
=3D=3DMore
KWS-13:24-26-06-96

REU2817 3 OVR 376 ( RWS ) N25168353
BC-BURMA-USA
U.S. warns Burma on detainees after prisoner dies
    WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuter) - The United States,
responding to the death in jail of an honorary consul in
Rangoon, called on Burma's military rulers on Tuesday to free
all those being held for exercising their political rights.
    State Departmnent spokesman Glyn Davies told reporters
that Washington had no way of verifying the official Burmese
account of the death of Leo Nichols, 65, who represented the
interests of Norway and three other European countries.
    Davies quoted reports from Burma saying Nichols, a
businessman and friend of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
suffered a cerebral haemorrhage in his cell on June 22.
    The London-based human rights group Amnesty International
said it had obtained credible reports that Nichols, who had a
history of medical problems, had been deprived of sleep during
long interrogations prior to his death.
    Nichols was jailed for three years by the Burmese
authorities for operating telephones and fax machines at his
house without permission.
    At the time of his arrest in April, diplomats from Norway,
Finland, Swizerland and Denmark said they were worried about
his health and questioned whether he could endure harsh prison
life because he had diabetes and high blood pressure.
    Davies said: "We can't say whether or not the reports
we're getting from the Burmese regime are correct or incorrect
about his cause of death. But certainly his imprisonment on a
questionable charge and the harsh prison conditions, which
included being kept in isolation, may well have contributed to
his death."
    He added: "We think that his death heightens the urgency
for the SLORC, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, to
release all those persons in Burma who are being held solely
for their peaceful exercise of their basic political rights."
    Diplomats and opposition sources in Rangoon said Nichols
was arrested because of his long friendship with Suu Kyi and
his financial assistance to her National League for Democracy
(NLD), which is at odds with the Burmese authorities.
    Davies accused the military of "playing games".
    "They'll arrest a couple of hundred people, they'll
release 100 of them, they'll keep others. We believe that kind
of arbitrary action is not at all warranted, and ought to
cease," he said.
 REUTER
2303 250696 GMT

Mass. Gov. Weld Signs Bill Banning Purchases From Burma

   NEW YORK (AP-Dow Jones)--Massachusetts Gov. William Weld signed a bill=
 to
prohibit the state from buying goods and services from firms that do busi=
ness
in Burma. 
   Massachusetts is the first state to enact a selective purchasing law =
against
the Southeast Asian nation, which is also known as Myanmar. The nation =
is ruled
by a military regime and has been cited for human-rights violations. 
   Various human-rights groups have cited Burma for numerous violations,
including forced labor, torture and murder. 
   The 140 or so companies affected by the Massachusetts ban include such=
 big
names as Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL), Texaco Inc. (TX), Arco Chemical Corp=