NEWS - Myanmar government, oppositi

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Tuesday August 18 10:31 AM EDT 

Myanmar government, opposition leaders meet

By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON, Myanmar (Reuters) - Senior members of Myanmar's military
government and the pro-democracy opposition met for the first time in
more than a year Tuesday while opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi kept
up a weeklong roadside protest.

The head of Myanmar's military intelligence arm, Secretary One Khin
Nyunt, met Aung Shwe, the chairman of the opposition National League
for Democracy (NLD), for 45 minutes in the afternoon, government
officials said.

``We hope that this is the first in a series of confidence-building
talks between the government and the NLD,'' a government statement
quoted
Khin Nyunt as saying.

``We have had a fruitful meeting and we have also appreciated the NLD's
acceptance of our offer of a meeting.''

The statement did not say what was discussed at the meeting, which comes
ahead of a Friday deadline set by the NLD for the convening of a
parliament of members elected at a general election in 1990.

The NLD won the poll by a landslide but the government ignored the
result.

During the meeting, Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate,
remained stuck in a minivan on a country bridge 20 miles southwest of
Yangon for a seventh day, having been prevented from driving to see
supporters in western Myanmar.

She has refused government demands for her to return to Yangon and
diplomats say the protest has highlighted both her lack of freedom of
movement and the NLD's deadline.

The government offered talks with the NLD on August 7 but the party
turned them down as they would have excluded Suu Kyi.

The NLD, described by Myanmar's government-run newspapers Monday as the
``Number One Enemy,'' confirmed that the meeting with the
government had taken place but gave no details.

Diplomats said it was not clear why the opposition had changed its
position.

The NLD said authorities permitted Suu Kyi's doctor to see her Tuesday
to check on her health. It said she required a daily check up and
arrangements were being made for this.

After a similar six-day stand off last month, which was forcibly ended
by the military, Aung San Suu Kyi suffered from dehydration and had to
rest for several days.

A commentary published in three government-run newspapers Tuesday
accused foreign governments and news organizations of colluding in
Suu Kyi's protest.

It accused the Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corp and Radio
Free Asia, of interfering in Myanmar's internal affairs by ``profusely
advocating the demand of the lady.''

``Some so-called diplomats and foreign correspondents, making
arrangements beforehand with so-called NLD leaders, spread invented and
exaggerated news, a pack of lies...,'' it said.

``Some Western governments, with their eyes shut, shouted at the top of
their voice, protested and meddled,'' it said.

The government has so far ignored the NLD's call for a parliament and
has ridiculed Suu Kyi's protest by sending gifts, including a beach
umbrella.

Diplomats say it appears to be trying to minimize Suu Kyi's impact by
making her protest look like a camping holiday.

The government has accused the NLD of staging the protest to provoke
unrest among university students, who led a nationwide pro-democracy
movement crushed by the military 10 years ago.

Tuesday, more than 96,000 students, whose universities and colleges have
been closed since protests in late 1996, sat final examinations.
Diplomats and university officials said there were no signs of trouble.