Reuters : Suu Kyi asks Myanmar guar

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Suu Kyi asks Myanmar guards to leave her home 
08:20 a.m. Aug 06, 1998 Eastern 

YANGON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
demanded on Thursday that the military government remove its guards from
the grounds of her Yangon residence, but the authorities have refused,
opposition officials said. 

The guards, said by the opposition to be working for military intelligence,
have been stationed in her suburban lakeside compound since Suu Kyi was
released from six years of house arrest in July 1995. 

At the time the Nobel laureate said she wanted the guards on the premises
to guarantee her safety and to maintain good relations with the military. 

But her National League for Democracy (NLD) said in a statement on Thursday
Suu Kyi had officially asked at the end of July that the guards be removed.


The statement gave no reason for the request said but it was made on July
31, just two days after a six-day car protest by Suu Kyi was forcibly ended
by security men acting on behalf of the military. 

The guards had not left by the morning of August 6 so Suu Kyi issued an
ultimatum ordering them to leave within 20 minutes. 

``She went on telling them, that unless they withdraw within the designated
period, it would be trespassing and an unlawful restriction as (they were)
staying on without permission,'' the NLD statement said. 

Witnesses said the guards were still in Suu Kyis residence by late
afternoon and showed no sign of departing. 

A government spokesman said the guards were in the grounds to protect Suu
Kyi and declined to say if the military had plans to remove them. 

``She is more than a politician. She is the daughter of our national hero
and there are some organisations that are out to create instability and the
government leaders dont want anything to happen to her,'' he said. 

Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, considered the father of the modern
state, who led the countrys independence struggle from Britain in the
1940s. 

Although Suu Kyi was officially released from house arrest three years ago,
her movements are closely watched and all her visitors must sign in with
the guards at the gate before meeting her. 

Suu Kyi has used her lack of freedom as a weapon against the government,
escaping from the militarys security cordon around her house three times in
recent weeks. 

In her latest foray on July 24, Suu Kyi and three others were en route to
meet with supporters in Pathein township, west of Yangon when she was
stopped by security officials at a bridge near Anyarsu Village about 64 km
(40 miles) from the capital. 

The officials ordered her to return to Yangon but she refused and began a
six-day sit-in which the authorities ended forcibly on July 29. The sit-in
got worldwide coverage and prompted criticism of the Myanmar government
from leading nations. 

Suu Kyi became ill during the protest but has vowed to venture out again to
meet supporters as soon as she is well. 

The request to remove the guards comes before the 10-year anniversary of an
uprising of pro-democracy activists which was bloodily suppressed on August
8, 1988. 

The NLD is widely expected to try to mark the anniversary and use it as a
platform to campaign for the government to convene a parliament of members
elected at a poll in May 1990. 

The NLD won the election by an overwhelming margin but the result was
ignored by the miltary government.