AFP-Aung San Suu Kyi in fifth day o

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Aung San Suu Kyi in fifth day of dealock with junta
Sun 16 Aug 98 - 07:25 GMT 

YANGON, Aug 16 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent
Sunday in a roadside stand-off with the country's junta for a fifth
consecutive day as tension mounted ahead of her demand for parliament to be
convened, dipplomats said.

"I wouldn't say it is really tense here by any means, but things are
certainly building up," one western embassy official said.

Aung San Suu Kyi remained on a small bridge linking a highway to adjacent
rice paddies Sunday 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Yangon.

The junta stressed it was doing everything possible to maintain her health
and security after blocking her there from travelling on to meet supporters
in a provincial centre last Wednesday.

A similiar stand-off at the same bridge last month ended when the Nobel
peace laureate was forcibly driven back to Yangon. Her supporters said her
health had suffered and blamed the junta.

"As far as I know she's in good health and she's in the same position," one
diplomat told AFP.

Although the standoff is widely interpreted as a protest against the
military regime's restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi's movements, a junta
spokesman on Sunday said the opposition leader was in a "camping vehicle"
and was "visiting Anyarsu, a small but picturesque village outside Yangon."

"Ms Suu Kyi left Yangon on August 12 on her way to the city of Pathein, but
regrettably, recent threats of violence have made travel there by prominent
persons inadvisable at this time," a junta spokesman said in a statement.

"Until safety conditions improve, Ms Suu Kyi is visiting Anyarsu, a small
but picturesque village outside Yangon, while the government of Myanmar
continues to make every effort to ensure their comfort and safety."

The junta said it had supplied musical cassettes including religious songs
and recordings by Madonna and Michael Jackson for Aung San Suu Kyi's
enjoyment, as well as an ambulance in case of an emergency. A "beach
umbrella" and "garden chairs" had also been provided.

"In addition to the amenities and entertainment provided by the government
to Ms Suu Kyi in helping her pass the time comfortably, government
officials provided imported cakes, cookies and soft drinks this morning,"
the statement said.

"(It) is also in the process of setting up a mobile bathroom near her
camping vehicle to ensure her maximum comfort and welfare."

A western diplomat here said there was no indictaion Aung San Suu Kyi had
been mistreated in any way.

"She can come back to Yangon any time," they added.

"She knew she wouldn't be allowed to make the trip but she also knows that
by doing this you guys (journalists) will give her international exposure."

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Friday the confrontation with
Aung San Suu Kyi had reached a "moment of truth" and the international
community needed to step up pressure on the junta.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is again asserting her basic right to move freely in her
country," Albright said in Washington.

The NLD won 1990 elections by a landslide but the junta has refused to give
up power.

The junta Saturday deported 18 foreign activists who were detained six days
earlier for distributing leaflets promoting democracy and human rights.

They were sentenced to five years hard labour by a court in Myanmar Friday
for attempting to incite unrest, but the penalties were immediately
suspended and they were ordered to be deported, diplomats said.

Aung San Suu Kyi is accompanied in her standoff by an NLD official and two
drivers for the mini-van.

It is her fourth failed attempt to travel to meet provincial supporters in
little over a month.

Diplomats said she had taken extra supplies on the latest trip.

The NLD-led opposition has demanded the junta convene parliament by August
21 or face unspecified consequences.