NEWS FOCUS-Myanmar Says Foreign Act

[TheTruth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Focus-Myanmar Says Foreign Activists Broke Laws

            Reuters
            10-AUG-98

            YANGON, Aug 10 (Reuters)- Myanmar's military government said
on
            Monday that 18 foreign activists detained in the country had
broken at
            least two laws by distributing pro-democracy leaflets in
Yangon. 

            A government spokesman said the activists, detained in
Yangon on
            Sunday after handing out thousands of leaflets urging people
to
            remember a pro-democracy uprising 10 years ago, were being
held
            for questioning. 

            He declined to say if they would be charged or deported. 

            ``At the moment, I can't say the extent of legal action that
will be taken
            against them.'' 

            He said the activists had broken at least two Myanmar laws,
including
            the Registration of Printers and Publishers Act. 

            Police detained six Americans, an Australian and Thais,
Malaysians,
            Indonesians and Philipinos after pro-democracy supporters
distributed
            leaflets at eight points in the capital. 

            Activists said they handed out about 10,000 of the red,
palm-sized
            leaflets throughout Yangon with the message ``8888-- Don't
forget--
            Don't give up.'' 

            On August 8, 1988, soldiers fired on a pro-democracy
demonstration
            near Yangon city hall, killing many civilians. Opposition
supporters say
            thousands of people were killed in the unrest that followed,
but the
            government says the death toll was only a few dozen. 

            Australian and Thai embassy officials in Yangon said they
had no word
            on whether their nationals would be deported or charged. 

            ``The gut feeling is that they probably will be deported,''
said one
            Australian diplomat. 

            But an Asian diplomat said he would be surprised if Myanmar
            released the activists without some sort of punishment. 

            ``I think they will get at least a year's jail,'' he said. 

            The government said the activists, who had been ``attempting
to incite
            unrest,'' were being held at two locations in Yangon. 

            The government spokesman said the activists had been
organised by
            the Alternative ASEAN (Association of South East Asian
Nations)
            Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma), which supports Myanmar's
            democracy movement. 

            Altsean-Burma issued a statement in Bangkok on Monday giving
the
            names of those detained. It said they included lawyers,
academics,
            business people and students and had gone to Myanmar to
            commemorate Saturday's anniversary with a ``goodwill
message.'' 

            The human rights group Amnesty International also expressed
            concern. 

            ``We are shocked to learn of the detentions. We condemn the
action
            and urge the Myanmar government to release those detained
            immediately,'' Somsri Hananantasuk, Amnesty's representative
in
            Thailand, told reporters in Bangkok. 

            Yangon was quieter than normal quiet on Saturday's
anniversary of the
            1988 crackdown as many people stayed off the streets for
fear of
            trouble. 

            Tension between the government and the opposition National
League
            for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi has risen ahead of an
NLD
            deadline for the government to convene by August 21 a
parliament of
            members elected in May 1990. The NLD won that election but
the
            government has ignored the result. 

            Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar's
            national hero and founding father Aung San, promised last
week she
            would not be intimidated by the military and vowed to bring
democracy
            to Burma.