Burma's Activist Praises Military

[RANGOONP@xxxxxxx]

c The Associated Press  

RANGOON, Burma (AP) - Burma's leading democracy activist praised her
country's military rulers Sunday for permitting the biggest opposition
gathering in years and asked them to follow up with negotiations and the
release of political prisoners. 

Wearing a traditional sarong and with her hair tied up in roses, a cheerful
Aung San Suu Kyi expressed hope that the gathering of 700 members of her
National League for Democracy would mark a first step in the government
lifting a crackdown on her movement. 

``Our people are happy because we were able to hold a congress, and I think
the country and the international observers will take due note of the fact
that the authorities have tried to be cooperative,'' Suu Kyi said in a short
speech. 

Previous NLD attempts to hold large meetings were prevented by mass roundups.
Suu Kyi, freed from six years of house arrest in 1995, has been largely
confined to her home for the past year. 

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was frequently interrupted by applause and
cheers from the delegates, who had traveled from around Burma for the
congress, which opened Saturday. It marked the ninth anniversary of the NLD's
founding in 1988 after the military crushed an uprising, killing thousands of
demonstrators. 

Military intelligence agents took pictures of the delegates as they came and
left Suu Kyi's residence - blocked off to the general public for more than a
year by police barricades - but otherwise kept a low profile. 

The meeting was the largest the democratic opposition had been allowed to
hold since shortly after 1990 elections. The opposition won overwhelmingly,
but the ruling party, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, never
allowed Parliament to convene. 

In a resolution passed Sunday, the NLD urged the council to negotiate with
it, honor the 1990 election results and convene Parliament, and free
political prisoners. 

``We will not go in for vindictiveness or revenge,'' Suu Kyi said. ``We will
not bear grudges. Our aim is to create a truly united Burma in which human
rights and democratic rights are guaranteed.'' 

The council's motives are unclear. The government is believed to have come
under discreet pressure from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to
break Burma's political deadlock as a condition for becoming an ASEAN member
in July. Burma also is suffering from severe inflation and its rice crop was
hurt by recent flooding. 

Suu Kyi estimated that Burma has about 1,000 political prisoners.
Human-rights groups have said they are subject to routine abuse and poor diet
and health care. 

The NLD is wary that the government's apparent recent softening may be aimed
at splitting and weakening the party, and Suu Kyi urged supporters Saturday
to strive for unity. 

The gathering follows an attempt two weeks ago by Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, one of
the regime's top four officials, to arrange a meeting with NLD Chairman Aung
Shwe to discuss national problems. 

The meeting excluded Suu Kyi and popular NLD vice chairmen Tin Oo and Kyi
Maung. The NLD refused to attend because the meeting didn't include all the
leaders, handing the State Law and Order Restoration Council a rare public
relations victory. 

AP-NY-09-28-97 1518EDT