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France condemns restrictions on mov



France condemns restrictions on movement of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi
Mon 17 Aug 98 - 05:58 GMT 

YANGON, Aug 17 (AFP) - France Monday condemned restrictions imposed by
Myanmar's junta on the movements of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"France condemns the unacceptable behavious of the Myanmar authorities, who
have blocked, once more, Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi while she was on her way
outside the capital," the French embassy here said in a statement, adding
it was "deeply concerned about the health and safety" of the Nobel peace
laureate.



France called on the junta to allow Aung San Suu Kyi freedom of movement
and to enter into dialogue with her National League for Democracy (NLD) and
other opposition groups.



Aung San Suu Kyi began the sixth day of a roadside standoff with the
country's junta Monday as tensions rose ahead of her demand for parliament
to be convened by August 21, diplomats said.



"She's still sitting there and they are all healthy," said one western
diplomat, referring to Suu Kyi, two drivers and an NLD official
accompanying her.



"I have heard of journalists and some other foreigners who tried to
approach the area but were turned back at a checkpoint.



"But some reports are still getting through," he added, saying the
country's junta was probably the original source of the latest information
on the stand-off as it was keen to show Aung San Suu Kyi was not being
mistreated.



A foreign correspondent visiting Myanmar told AFP he had been stopped at
the checkpoint near the site of the stand-off, a small bridge linking a
highway to adjacent rice paddies about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from
Yangon.



He said security officials had told him that the military was conducting
exercises in the area and that he should return in about two weeks.



The junta has said it was doing everything possible to maintain Aung San
Suu Kyi's health and security after barring her from travelling to meet
supporters in a provincial centre last Wednesday.



A similiar standoff at the same bridge last month ended when she was
forcibly driven back to Yangon.



The NLD won 1990 elections by a landslide but the junta has refused to give
up power. It has demanded the junta convene the parliament elected in 1990
by August 21 or face unspecified consequences.