NY Times Article 3 SEPT 96, p. A3

[Zaliwin@xxxxxxx]

BURMESE JUNTA SAYS DEMOCRACY LEADER AIDS SUBVERSION

By Seth Mydans

YANGON, Myanmar, Sept. 2 -- The military Government today accused the leader
of the democratic opposition, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, of collaborating with
subversives, including American citizens.  Steps will be taken against her
"if and when required," officials of the junta said.

Addressing foreign reporters for the first time since they released Mrs. ASSK
from house arrest 13 months ago, a panel of high-ranking officials accused
her of having secret contacts with illegal groups abroad that were trying to
overthrow the Government, coordinating activities with them and accepting
subversive materials from them.

The officials dismissed as unimportant a threat by the United States to
impose economic sanctions against Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, if strong
measures were taken against Mrs. ASSK or her followers.

"That's not the concern of our country, but of the United States citizens,"
said the Foreign Minister, U Ohn Gyaw.

Today's news conference was a departure for the secretive military
leadership, which has until now left the public relations field open to the
articulate and charismatic opposition leader, who won the Nobel Peace Price
in 1991 for her defiance of them.

A newly formed five-member information committee of military officers and
ministers gave little ground as they faced sometimes harsh questions about
their Government's record on human rights and the limitations it places on
personal freedoms.

Col. Kyaw Thein, a high-ranking military intelligence official, indentified
three Americans who he said had conducted workships in "political defiance"
for insurgents and expatriate groups in Thailand and India.

He said they had been teaching "techniques of civil disobedience, civil
unrest and political education and sedition."  He said he did not know
whether these involved violent or nonviolent activities, but he said
underground Burmese groups were working to topple the Government.

"Suu Kyi and her party, knowing full well that what these people are doing is
unlawful, have held negotiations, discussions and consultations and have
cooperated with them in their activities,"  the colonel said, "sometimes
openly and sometimes through secret contacts, and have been a party to the
transgressions of these people."

Asked if the Government was planning to take action against Mrs. ASSK, he
said, "Necessary or appropriate measures will be taken if and when required."

Colonel Kyaw Thein said the subversive materials she had received included an
outline for creating a parallel government as well as a videotape of the
movie "Beyond Rangoon," which depicts the terror and bloodshed of the
military crackdown in 1988 against a widespread pro-democracy uprising.

He asserted that continuing arrests of her supporters -- which Mrs. ASSK
described at her own news conference on Saturday -- were connected to these
foreign-based subversive activities.  He said 20 to 30 people were still
being held from a roundup of more than 250 of her supporters in May; Mrs.
ASSK said 61 more people had been arrested since that time.

Democratic freedoms including political opposition can cause instability,
Col. Kyaw Thein said, and must be put on hold while Myanmar focuses on
economic progresss.

"What happened in 1988 started with just a simple demonstration and reached
to nearly utter devastation of our country," he said.  "We have learned that
lesson, and we don't want these things to come up again.  Sometimes, with the
pretense of human rights and democracy, things can go bad for our country..
 We cannot allow this to happen."

Mrs. ASSK's political party, the National League for Democracy, won 85
percent of the seats in parliament in a free election in 1990.  Caught off
guard by the results, the military leadership refused to convene the newly
elected parliament and instead created a convention to draw up a new
constitution.  The convention has been in an extended recess since April.

Co. Kyaw Thein said the convention had completed the bulk of its work, but he
would not say when it might convene and said no date had been set for the
completion of the constitution or for the new elections that the junta has
promised.

Last November, Mrs. ASSK's party withdrew from the constitutional convention,
saying it was clear that the document would not represent the interests of
the people.  In May she announced that her party would draw up its own draft
constitution, an act the Government declared would be illegal.

Reports about the work of the constitutional convention suggest that it will
enshrine a continued dominant role for the military and may ban people who
are married to foreigners from holding Government office.  Mrs. ASSK is
married to a British professor, Michael Aris.

Col. Kyaw Thein said the "subversive activities" of the Americans --
including a former member of the United States Embassy here -- constituted an
"outright infringement of our sovereignty."  But Mr. Ohn Gyaw said no protest
had been lodged with the American Government because no Burmese citizen had
made a formal complaint with the police.

Col. Kyaw Thein said, "These aliens and mercenaries are trying to create
chaos and confusion in Myanmar in order to destabilize the situation in the
country on the one hand, while lining their pockets and getting rich from
donations they obtain on the pretext of working for a good cause."

Coffee and cake were served after the news conference, which was billed as a
monthly briefing, and the atmosphere was cordial despite the Government's
frequent attacks on the Western press in the past and the sometimes sharp
questioning today.

At one point, a reporter asked whether the military leaders were prepared to
face trial under a future democratic government, recalling the recent death
sentence handed down in South Korea to former President Chun Doo Hwan for his
role in Kwangju.

"I think your question is not relevant either at this grouping or as a matter
of your personal speculation,"  Mr. Ohn Gyaw said.  "I don't need to answer
it."