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ncgub hails visa ban, calls for tot



Subject:       ncgub hails visa ban, calls for total sanctions

NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA
815 15th St, N.W,  Suite 910,  Washington, DC 20005

Tel: (202)393-7342 (202)393 4312  Fax (202)393-7342

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PRESS RELEASE       PRESS RELEASE      PRESS RELEASE
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VISA RESTRICTIONS WELCOMED, U.S.URGED TO APPLY SANCTIONS


The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma 
welcomes the proclamation suspending the entry into the 
United States of "persons formulating, implementing or 
benefiting from policies that are impeding the transition 
to democracy in Burma, and their immediate family members."

The decision is long overdue because the military junta 
that runs Burma has been imposing visa restrictions against 
government and UN officials, ministers and others, 
including Nobel Laureates, whom it believes will be meeting 
with the leaders of the democracy movement or if the visits 
will benefit the movement for democracy.

The military junta, however, has not stopped at that. It 
has already stepped up its repression in the country.  The 
most glaring example is the latest round up of elected 
representatives and leading members of the National League 
for Democracy (NLD).  Supporters of the NLD were also 
beaten and arrested when they came to listen to the weekend 
speeches by the leader of the democracy movement, Daw Aung 
San Suu Kyi.

Today, she is for all practical purposes under house arrest 
with troops stationed at her house and on her street. 
Elected NLD members are being coerced by the military 
intelligence to resign and the military junta is making 
every effort to  systematically decimate and incapacitate 
the NLD.

As Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said in her TV interview, "Do 
we literally have to die on the streets before people start 
saying there is a repression in Burma?"

There is a large scale repression in Burma and the United 
States should take immediate action to impose sanctions, as 
denoted in Section 570 (a) (3) (b) of the FY'97 Foreign 
Operations Appropriations bill.

The people of Burma need to know that the U.S. stands 
firmly with them and their democratically elected leader, 
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, at this critical moment in our 
struggle for democracy.

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