NEWS - Manila Says Myanmar Junta Ta

[TheTruth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Manila Says Myanmar Junta Talking to Opponents

               Reuters
               18-FEB-98
               By Ruben Alabastro 

               MANILA, Feb 18 (Reuters) -
               Philippine President Fidel Ramos
               said on Wednesday Myanmar's
               (Burma's) ruling military junta was
               holding low-level meetings with the
               opposition which could lead to talks
               between leaders of the two sides. 

               ``What we are seeing now is the
               dialogues are taking place at lower
               levels building up to the very top of
               the leadership,'' he told reporters
               after a round of golf with visiting
               Myanmar Prime Minister Than Shwe.

               ``I think these are very good
               developments,'' Ramos added, but
               he gave no details. 

               There have been no reports recently
               of any meeting between Myanmar's
               ruling State Peace and Development
               Council (SPDC) and the main
               opposition National League for
               Democracy (NLD). It was not clear
               what talks Ramos was referring to. 

               Yangon's military rulers late last year
               invited the NLD for talks but refused
               to allow opposition leader and Nobel
               laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to
               participate. NLD rejected the offer. 

               Ramos and Than Shwe, who is
               chairman of the SPDC, have met
               three times since the Myanmar
               leader arrived on Tuesday for a
               three-day visit but no details have
               been released on what they
               discussed. 

               Philippine Foreign Secretary
               Domingo Siazon said on Tuesday
               Manila would try to encourage
               Myanmar to pursue national
               reconciliation. 

               Than Shwe's visit coincided with
               reports from Yangon that the military
               rulers had jailed four opposition
               members, including a
               parliamentarian, in two townships. 

               Manila has privately expressed
               concern about arrests of opposition
               members in Myanmar, saying such
               incidents could strain the relations of
               the Association of South East Asian
               Nations (ASEAN) with other
               countries. 

               ASEAN accepted Myanmar as a
               member last year, against opposition
               from the United States and the
               European Union. 

               A handful of demonstrators unfurled
               banners condemning human rights
               violations in Myanmar when Than
               Shwe on Wednesday laid a wreath at
               the monument to Philippine freedom
               hero Jose Rizal. 

               Police seized the streamers and
               shooed away the protesters. ((Ruben
               Alabastro, Manila newsroom +632
               841 8913 fax 817 8967,
               manila.newsroom+reuters.com))