Newswires on the Nichols case

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bas313 4 pl 132  vvvvb  dpa 0283
D=E4nemark/Birma/
D=E4nemark will Tod von inhaftiertem Konsul in Birma aufkl=E4ren =3D
   Kopenhagen (dpa) - D=E4nemarks Regierung will Aufkl=E4rung von Birma
=FCber den Tod des Honorarkonsuls James Leander Nichols verlangen. Das
k=FCndigte Au=DFenminister Niels Helveg Petersen am Montag im Rundfunk =
in
Kopenhagen an. Nichols, der neben D=E4nemark auch die Schweiz, Finnland
und Norwegen als Konsul vertritt, war im April in Rangun verhaftet
worden und erhielt sp=E4ter eine dreij=E4hrige Haftstrafe wegen
`illegalen Besitzes" mehrerer nicht angemeldeter Faxmaschinen.
   Nichols selbst, der birmanisischer Staatsb=FCrger war, nannte als
eigentlichen Grund der Inhaftierung seine pers=F6nliche Beziehung zur
F=FChrerin der Opposition gegen das Milit=E4rregime in Rangun, Aung San
Suu Kyi.
   Nach offiziellen birmanischen Angaben ist Nichols am Sonntag nach
einem Herzinfarkt gestorben. D=E4nemarks Botschafter in Thailand,
J=F6rgen Reimers, erkl=E4rte von Bangkok aus, man k=F6nne nicht
ausschlie=DFen, da=DF die `harte Behandlung" im Gef=E4ngnis den Tod
verursacht haben k=F6nnte.
dpa tb st
241328 Jun 96 

REU1252 3 OVR 398 ( RWS ) H24115624
BC-BURMA-DEATH 1STLD
Burma asked to explain European consul's death
    (Recasts with letter to government)
    BANGKOK, June 24 (Reuter) - At least one European nation
sent Burma's military government a letter on Monday requesting
full details of the fate of its Burmese diplomatic
representative who died in a Rangoon jail at the weekend.
    James Leander (Leo) Nichols, a 65-year-old businessman who
represented four European nations, died in jail on Saturday of a
heart attack, diplomats said.
    "We sent a note requesting detailed information on his
death," a Bangkok-based diplomat for one of the four told
Reuters. "I think the other three countries will do the same
thing. We are all closely monitoring the situation."
    There was no official confirmation of Nichols' death by the
ruling Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
    Nichols served as honorary consul for Norway and represented
Denmark, Finland and Switzerland.
    A long-time friend of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
Nichols was arrested by Burmese military authorities in April
and sentenced to three years in prison for operating telephones
and fax machines at his house without permission.
    Diplomats and opposition sources believe he was arrested
because of his friendship with Suu Kyi and his financial
assistance to her National League for Democracy (NLD), which is
at odds with the SLORC.
    Nichols' funeral was held in Rangoon on Sunday, and a
memorial service is planned for next Saturday, the diplomat
said. He said the Bangkok-based ambassador for his country
planned to attend, and the other three countries would all be
represented.
    At the time of Nichols' arrest, diplomats from the four
nations said they were worried about his health and questioned
whether he could endure harsh prison life because he had
diabetes and high blood pressure.
    "We don't doubt that he did die from a heart attack," a
Bangkok-based diplomat said. "He was in poor health when he was
arrested, and we were worried about that."
    He and other diplomats who worked with Nichols visited Burma
several times since April but the government refused to meet
them or hear their pleas to release Nichols.
    A Norwegian embassy official in Singapore said he heard the
news of Nichols from an embassy official who was sent to Rangoon
last week to check rumours that Suu Kyi might be re-arrested by
the SLORC.
    The government has cracked down on the democracy movement
over the past few months.
 REUTER
1310 240696 GMT

REU1248 3 OVR 530 ( RWS DK NORD BU NO FI CH POL SE NEWS ) SX2400490
BC-BURMA-NORDIC (SCHEDULED)
Scandinavian envoys to probe Burma consul death
    By Steve Weizman
    COPENHAGEN, June 24 (Reuter) - Denmark and Norway said on
Monday they were sending envoys to Burma to seek a full
explanation for the death in prison of their shared consul, Leo
Nichols, a friend of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
    Foreign ministry sources in Copenhagen said Denmark's
resident ambassador in Thailand would leave for Rangoon "as soon
as possible" to study the full circumstances of Nichols' death
on Saturday, reportedly of a heart attack.
    Norway's Singapore charge d'affaires, Anne Thalmann, sent to
Burma on Friday to offer support and protection to Suu Kyi,
returned on Monday to Singapore to consult with colleagues over
Nichols' death but was due to fly straight back to Rangoon.
    "Our diplomat will return to Rangoon immediately, I hope
tomorrow," Junior Foreign Minister Jan Egeland told Reuters in
Oslo.
    James Leander "Leo" Nichols, a 65-year-old businessman of
Burmese and British descent, was arrested by Burmese military
authorities in April and jailed for three years for operating
telephones and fax machines at his house without permission.
    But diplomats and opposition sources believe he was jailed
because of his close friendship with Suu Kyi and his financial
assistance for her National League for Democracy.
    In addition to Denmark and Norway, he also represented
Switzerland and while he was not officially Finland's consul he
performed consular functions, a foreign ministry official in
Helsinki said.
    Stockholm said he had once served as Swedish consul but not
in recent years.
    Diplomats in Bangkok said Nichols suffered from diabetes and
high blood pressure and that they had been concerned about his
wellbeing in the harsh prison regime since his arrest.
    His funeral took place on Sunday, hours after his death, and
a memorial service was planned for Saturday, diplomats said.
    Egeland said Norway would thoroughly investigate the
circumstances leading to Nichols' death, although there was no
reason to doubt that he died of natural causes.
    "We have no reason, for the moment, to believe that he did
not die from a heart condition. On the other hand we regard
Nichols as a prisoner of conscience," he said.
    "He was arrested for his support of the democracy movement
and a heavy burden of responsibility lies on the Burmese
government for the pressures he was exposed to connected with
his arrest, trial and sentence," Egeland said.
    Egeland said Thalmann over the weekend had talked to Suu
Kyi, who was very distressed by the death of her friend but
heartened by western support.
    Danish officials said Copenhagen's next step depended on
their ambassador's report. "In the first place we are trying to
get a picture of what exactly has taken place," a source said.
    Finnish officials had no immediate response to Nichols'
death but said a statement might be issued later.
    Egeland did not know how long Thalmann would remain in
Rangoon. "It depends on the situation," he said.
    Oslo originally sent Thalmann to Rangoon over fears that
Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council was
preparing to re-arrest Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi,
released from six years of house arrest last July.
 REUTER
1309 240696 GMT

REU0135 3 OVR 363 ( RWS ) H2444678
BC-BURMA-DEATH
Funeral held for dead European consul in Burma
    BANGKOK, June 24 (Reuter) - The funeral of a Burmese
businessman, who represented several European nations and died
in a Rangoon jail, was held on Sunday, diplomats said on Monday.
    James Leander (Leo) Nichols, 65, died in jail on Saturday of
a heart attack, they said.
    There was no official confirmation of his death by the
ruling Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
    Nichols, a friend of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
was arrested by Burmese military authorities in April and
sentenced to three years in prison for operating telephones and
fax machines at his house without permission.
    He served as honorary consul for Norway and represented
Denmark, Finland and Switzerland.
    Diplomats and opposition sources believe Nichols was
arrested because of his close friendship with Suu Kyi and his
financial assistance to her National League for Democracy (NLD),
which is at odds with the SLORC.
    "Leo Nichols died on Saturday. We were told that the funeral
took place on Sunday in Rangoon," a Norwegian Embassy official
in Singapore told Reuters.
    He and Bangkok-based diplomats said their governments had
not been formally notified of Nichols' death.
    At the time of Nichols' arrest, diplomats from the
Scandinavian countries and Switzerland said they were worried
about his health and questioned whether he could endure harsh
prison life because he had diabetes and high blood pressure.
    "We don't doubt that he did die from a heart attack," a
Bangkok-based diplomat said. "He was in poor health when he was
arrested, and we were worried about that."
    He and other diplomats who worked with Nichols went to Burma
several times since April but the government refused to meet
them or hear their pleas to release Nichols.
    The Norwegian diplomat said he heard the news of Nichols
from an embassy official who was sent to Rangoon late last week
to check rumours that Suu Kyi might be re-arrested by the SLORC.
    Over the weekend Suu Kyi made her regular speeches to
supporters outside the front gates of her Rangoon home, without
any interruption from officials.
    The government has cracked down on the democracy movement
over the past few months.
 REUTER
0520 240696 GMT

a0169KYODOkoko-
d x BC-Myanmar-Consul   24-06 0176
BC-Myanmar-Consul
Jailed ex-honorary consul of Norway dies+
     YANGON, June 24 Kyodo - Former Norwegian honorary consul James
Leander (Leo) Nichols, who was sentenced May 17 to three years
imprisonment for using an unauthorized fax and telephone setup, died
Saturday after collapsing in his cell in Insein Prison, prison
sources said Monday.  He was 65.
     Nichols was given a church funeral service and buried Sunday in
the Christian cemetery at Sawbwagyigone, in Insein township.
     An Anglo-Burmese man and Myanmar citizen, Nichols was being
treated at the prison hospital for high blood pressure and diabetes
since his detention in early April.
     After falling unconscious Saturday morning, he was taken to
Yangon General Hospital where he died the same afternoon, the sources
said.
     Nichols was arrested April 5 for using unauthorized facsimile
and telephone equipment at his house, and later convicted under the
1933 telegraphic law.
     He was survived by his wife and two children who live in
Australia.
=3D=3DKyodo
KWS-19:17-24-06-96

VVV1801 5 III 00602 -----
AP- BC-Burma 
 BC-Burma 
 Denmark Says Doctor Was Demanded for Consul Who Died in Prison 
 Eds: James Leander Nicholas, 2nd graf, is correct 
 By AYE AYE WIN=3D
 Associated Press Writer=3D
   RANGOON, Burma (AP) _ Burmese prison authorities insisted Monday
that a former Nordic consul and good friend of pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi was in good health before dying in prison of a
reported stroke.
   But Denmark's foreign minister, speaking in Copenhagen, said the
poor health of James Leander Nicholas was well known and that the
governments of Denmark, Sweden and Norway had demanded he be given
medical treatment.
   Nicholas, who once served as honorary consul for the three
Scandinavian countries, was found unconscious in his cell at Insein
Prison Saturday, just over a month after he was sentenced to three
years imprisonment for having two unauthorized fax machines and a
telephone switchboard at his home.
   The sentencing of the 65-year-old Anglo-Burmese businessman May
17, days before a mass roundup of Suu Kyi supporters, was seen as a
sign that the military regime intended to keep a tight rein over
Suu Kyi's political activities.
   Suu Kyi, the 1991 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her
non-violent promotion of democracy, has been testing the limits of
her freedom to maneuver since she was freed from six years of house
arrest last July. The regime has responded with tough new laws that
could lead to the banning of her party at any time.
   The three Nordic countries Nicholas served had pleaded in vain
with the State Law and Order Restoration Council to free Nicholas,
also known as Leo Nichols, said Danish Foreign Minister Niels
Helveg.
   A prison official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
Nicholas was rushed to Rangoon General Hospital after he was found
unconscious but died Saturday afternoon.
   The official insisted that Nicholas, who had heart disease and
diabetes, was frequently seen by the prison doctor and had been in
good health when his housekeeper visited him last Thursday.
   Conditions at Insein, where many political prisoners are
detained, have been described by former inmates and human-rights
organizations as deplorable. The prison is notorious for torture.
   Helveg, contacted by The Associated Press in Copenhagen, cast
doubt on the official version of events.
   ``We'll do everything to bring the circumstances to light,''
Helveg said. ``It was notorious he had bad health.''
   In Burma, government permission is needed to own and operate a
fax machine or extra phone lines. The policy discourages unofficial
contacts between citizens and foreigners. But Nicholas was believed
to have run afoul of the regime because of his friendship with Suu
Kyi.
   Nicholas had lent Suu Kyi a car after she was released last
July, but her aides said he provided no other financial backing and
was not a member of her National League for Democracy.
   Nicholas was cremated at a Christian cemetery near Insein Prison
after a funeral service Sunday. He is survived by his wife and two
sons, who live in Australia.
   Suu Kyi has not commented on Nicholas' death. In her weekly
syndicated newspaper column Monday, written before he died, she
said authorities had been pressuring landlords not to rent office
space to her party.
   ``The NLD was obliged to move its office several times because
of pressure exerted on landlords,'' she said.
   The military has ruled Burma since 1962. Suu Kyi, daughter of
independence hero Aung San, emerged as leader of the pro-democracy
movement in 1988 during street protests crushed by the army.
   
241145 Jun GMT