5 Suu Kyi Associates Arrested

[ausgeo@xxxxxxx]

5 Suu Kyi Associates Arrested 

Friday, June 20, 1997; 

RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- Five close associates of Burmese democracy activist 
Aung San Suu Kyi have been arrested, an aide to the Nobel Peace Prize winner 
said today. 

Some members of her party linked the arrests to Suu Kyi's international appeal 
not to let Burma's military government into the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations. 

The five arrested include her personal secretary Cho Aung Than, her 
photographer Ko Sunny, Cho Aung Than's sister and her husband, and Ohn Myint, 
an elderly politician. 

All of them except for the photographer are relatives of Suu Kyi, who has been 
under limited house arrest since September, when the military blocked off her 
home. 

Cho Aung Than was arrested last Friday and the rest were picked up this week, 
according to an aide at Suu Kyi's home, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

He said he didn't know the reasons for the arrests, but other members of Suu 
Kyi's party said they believed the arrests had to do with a videotape smuggled 
out of Burma. 

In the tape, Suu Kyi appealed to ASEAN leaders not to admit Burma into the 
regional bloc until the military restored democracy. ASEAN leaders ignored the 
plea by the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner and voted to admit Burma this July. 

A member of ALTASEAN, the group that made the smuggled tape, said on condition 
of anonymity that the group was not helped by any of the people arrested by 
the government.