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Opposition: Myanmar government deta



Opposition: Myanmar government detains more than 300

The Associated Press
09/09/98 8:39 AM Eastern

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- In a strike against the opposition's plan to convene
a parliament elected in 1990, Myanmar's military government has arrested 303
members of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party, the
party said today.

Among those arrested in the crackdown that began Sunday were 129 members of
parliament, said Tin Oo, vice chairman of Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy.

Party leaders asked for a meeting with generals from the ruling military
council today to discuss the arrests, the party said in a statement. There
was no response from the  government.

"The National League for Democracy calls for the unconditional release of
its members and strongly condemns the arbitrary arrests by the authorities,"
the party said.

Since May, 187 elected members of parliament plus 334other National League
for Democracy members have been imprisoned by the military, the party said.

Several Western governments, including the United States, and international
human rights groups have issued sharp condemnations of the crackdown in
Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Tin Oo said that not only National League for Democracy  members had been
arrested but also members of political  parties representing some ethnic
groups, such as the Chins, the Mon and the Rakhines.

Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since the arrests began. Her movements
have been sharply restricted by the military.

A commentary in state-run newspapers, meanwhile, suggested that Suu Kyi had
been conspiring with Western countries to create disturbances and should be
deported for allegedly concealing that she was a British citizen.

Personal attacks on Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel  Peace Prize and was
under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, are common in the state press but in
recent weeks there has been more mention than usual of deporting her.

Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the military
has never allowed Parliament to meet. The military had warned the party that
convening Parliament on its own would result in arrests.