Britain Condemns Burmese Opposition

[FreeBurma@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Britain Condemns Burmese Opposition Jailings

LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuter) - Britain's Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on Wednesday
joined international condemnation of jail terms for four Burmese opposition
figures and called on Burma's military rulers to free political prisoners. 

Burma's military government announced on Sunday that three relatives of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been jailed for 10 years each for
breaching the country's Unlawful Associations and Emergency Provisions Acts. 

A fourth person, former sailor Myo Aung Thant, was jailed for life for high
treason and allegedly attempting to smuggle explosives into Burma. The United
States on Tuesday strongly condemned the sentences. 

``I strongly deplore the harsh sentences passed on four members of the
National League for Democracy (NLD) on 15 August,'' Cook said in a statement.


``I call yet again on the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) to ensure full respect for human rights in Burma, including right to
a fair trial, and to release political prisoners immediately and
unconditionally.'' 

Cook said Britain's ambassador in Rangoon called on the Burmese Foreign
Ministry on Wednesday to convey Britain's dismay at the sentences and to
protest at the secretive nature of the trials. 

The NLD, led by Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, won a landslide election
victory in 1990, but the military rulers in Rangoon refused to recognise the
result. 
 REUTER 

03:59 08-21-97