Reuters-Garlands in Bangkok for Mya

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Garlands in Bangkok for Myanmar activists 
06:39 a.m. Aug 15, 1998 Eastern 

By Phisanu Phromchanya 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Garlands of yellow jasmine and pink roses greeted 18
activists at Bangkok's Don Muang airport on Saturday after they were
deported from Myanmar for handing out pro-democracy leaflets. 

About 200 cheering supporters and relatives waved red and white banners at
the airport's VIP terminal in an emotional celebration of the activists'
trip to Myanmar in defiance of the ruling military government. 

The 18 -- six Americans, three Thais, three Malaysians, three Indonesians,
two Filipinos and an Australian -- appeared happy and well and relieved to
be back on friendly soil. 

``I want to applaud the bravery, the grace under pressure of these 18
activists,'' said U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, who had traveled to Bangkok
to try to help release the detainees. ``We are proud of them and just so
happy to have (them) back.'' 

The activists were detained by police in Yangon after handing out thousands
of palm-sized red leaflets in the capital calling on the people of Myanmar
(formerly Burma) to remember an uprising against the military 10 years ago.


Opposition supporters say thousands of people were killed in the crackdown
that followed the uprising on August 8, 1988. The government says the death
toll was only a few dozen. 

The activists were sentenced to five years jail with hard labor on Friday
but then, in a dramatic turnaround, the court suspended the sentences and
ordered them to be deported in the interest of ``good relations'' with
their respective countries. 

The activists said they had been treated well during their six-day
incarceration but were told little of their fate. 

``They never told us anything the whole time we were there. We did not know
we were being charged until we went to the trial which was yesterday,''
said Tyler Giannini, a U.S. activist. 

The detention of the activists had sparked strong international
condemnation and led the United States, among others, to call for their
release. 

It also focused world attention on the campaign by opposition leader and
1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi for democracy and human
rights in the country. 

A U.S. official welcomed Myanmar's decision to let the activists leave, but
said the incident had demonstrated the ruling military's disregard of basic
human rights. 

``The trials and convictions demonstrated the absence of protection of
basic human rights in Burma and the failure of the Burmese government to
allow freedom of expression,'' said the official, who declined to be
identified. 

Australian activist Alison Vicary told a news conference that before the
group's arrest, they had asked people in Yangon whether they supported the
military regime. 

``They said 'No we don't, but we are scared','' she said. 

``Before I went to Burma I was quite familiar with the situation in that I
had read a lot about it. But nothing prepared me for the level of fear that
permeates Burmese society,'' she added. 

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in Washington on Friday a
``moment of truth'' was approaching for the Myanmar military and it was
vital to push for democratic dialogue in the coming days. 

Albright backed the efforts of Suu Kyi, who is trying to travel outside
Yangon in defiance of government restrictions. 

``Aung San Suu Kyi is again today asserting her basic right to move freely
in her own country and she is calling for the parliament the Burmese people
elected eight years ago to convene by August 21.'' 

The military authorities in Yangon called a democratic election in 1990
after two years of sometimes violent unrest but ignored the poll when it
resulted in a big win for Suu Kyi. 

Myanmar sources said Suu Kyi, a member of her National League for Democracy
(NLD) and two drivers were still in a mini-van on a country road on
Saturday, at the place they were stopped on Wednesday when traveling to see
supporters. 

Suu Kyi had set out to visit Pathein township, 120 miles (190 km) west of
Yangon but was stopped by police at Anyarsu, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of
the capital. 

The trip was a repeat of one that led to a six-day standoff last month and
was forcibly ended by the military on July 29.