[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

She was dehydrated, her skin was be



South China Morning Post
Wednesday  July 29  1998
 
Rangoon's repression condemned 

IAN STEWART in Manila 
Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw was at the receiving end of another
barrage of criticism over his country's policies yesterday following the
blast he received from the United States Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright at the Asean Regional Forum in Manila.

This time, the representatives of six non-Asean countries expressed their
concern to the Burmese Foreign Minister over the action taken by the
military regime to stop opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from going to a
meeting of supporters outside Rangoon.

Ms Albright, the foreign ministers of Austria, representing the European
Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and Japan's Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs confronted Mr Ohn Gyaw with their displeasure at the
treatment of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi.

The leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) has been in a
stand-off with police since being stopped on Friday west of the Burmese
capital as she tried to visit party members. Foreign diplomats said
yesterday Ms Aung San Suu Kyi had run out of food.

The NLD said she had been examined by two doctors yesterday and that her
health had deteriorated. "She was dehydrated, her skin was becoming dry.
She needs check-ups twice a day," an NLD statement said.

The NLD said doctors had asked the authorities both verbally and in writing
for Ms Aung San Suu Kyi to be given access to a "mobile bathroom" for
washing.

The NLD statement said she "gave no signs of giving up" her vigil.

The Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said he and his
colleagues made it clear to to Mr Ohn Gyaw that they were concerned about
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's situation.

"We said to him that first of all she should have freedom of movement
around Burma like citizens normally can have in any country of the world
and we were very unhappy that she did not have freedom of movement." They
told Mr Ohn Gyaw that the impasse "needed to be resolved and resolved
quickly".

"I suggested that a couple of the ambassadors should be able to meet with
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi at her car and discuss a possible resolution," Mr
Downer said.

Mr Ohn Gyaw said that as far as he was concerned there was no problem with
ambassadors meeting Ms Aung San Suu Kyi and he would convey this message to
Rangoon.

Mr Downer said the ambassadors would see if they could contribute to a
resolution of the impasse. "The simplest resolution would be to allow Ms
Aung San Suu Kyi to go to her destination."

Mr Downer said he and his colleagues wanted to ensure that she was safe.

Responding to Ms Albright's attack on Monday, a junta official in Rangoon
said Burma was being "hypocritically criticised, unfairly treated and
unjustly demonised".