U.S. Support for Human Rights and D (r)

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

May 4 1998

        The United States condemns in the strongest terms efforts by the
State Law and Order Restoration
      Council (SLORC), recently renamed the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC), to prevent the
       citizens of Burma from exercising their basic political rights. The
United States wants an end to human
       rights abuses and the installation of a democratically elected
government in Rangoon, and supports the
       aspirations of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the people
of Burma, who desire what so
       many others around the world now take for granted: the chance to
freely express their views and to be
                                represented by leaders of their choosing.

      Burma cannot fully rejoin the international community and gain the
assistance it needs until fundamental
      changes are made. The United States maintains its position that a
meaningful political dialogue between
      the Burmese authorities and the democratic opposition leaders and
representatives of the ethnic groups
                              is the only path to a solution of Burma's crisis.

Source:U.S. Department of State