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Myanmar opposition reports more arr



Myanmar opposition reports more arrests, overseas condemnation grows

 Wed 09 Sep 98 - 15:22 GMT

YANGON, Sept 9 (AFP) - Myanmar's opposition said Wednesday the military had
arrested 108 more of its members as international condemnation of the
detentions increased.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) said in a statement
the latest arrests brought the numberof members detained since Sunday to
328.

"These are innocent people who have not broken any laws and the NLD, which
condemns these unlawful arrests, urges the government to desist and release
them," the statement said.

It said that eight of those arrested in the past 24 hours were members of
parliament elected in 1990 polls which were won in a landslide by the
NLD-led political oppposition.

The military refused to hand over power after the election and has rejected
repeated demands that the 1990 parliament be convened.

The opposition statement said 521 party members, including 187 members of
parliament, had been arrested since May this year following the
commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the 1990 polls.

A separate statement from the NLD said the party had called on the junta to
meet its representatives to discuss the detentions and work out a solution.

"But the authorities have not responded to the overture until this time of
reporting," it said.

Overseas criticism of the arrests intensified. The United States said it
"deplores in the strongest of terms" the detentions while Britain said it
"wholly condemns" the arrests.

Foreign Office Minister Derek Fatchett said Britain and its European Union
allies were considering a visit by an EU
ministerial troika to Yangon to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.

London also urged its EU partners to adopt its position of discouraging
tourism, trade or investment in Myanmar.

Germany condemned "the fresh wave of repression and intimidation" by the
junta while Japan called for the
detainees to be freed.

Observers in Yangon said the arrests appeared to be a pre-emptive strike
following the NLD's announcement that it intends unilaterally to convene by
the end of September the parliament elected in 1990.

The junta said in a statement Tuesday the party members had merely been
invited for a political discussion, were being housed in government guest
houes and had not been arrested.

But the US embassy in Yangon said military officials had admitted they were
being detained to thwart the convening of parliament.

US charge d'affaires Kent Wiedemann held high-level talks with military
officials in Yangon on Monday to demand the detainees be freed.

 The junta Wednesday repeated its denials that anyone had been arrested and
lashed out at Washington for criticising  the detentions.

"No member of the National League for Democracy has been arrested or charged
with any crime," a statement said.

Meanwhile, state-run media on Wednesday accused the opposition of supporting
"terrorists" and hiding weapons and ammunition.

A commentary in the official New Light of Myanmar said such activities
called into question whether the NLD was a legitimate political party.

"Why is it receiving, feeding and assisting the terrorists?" said the
newspaper commentary, believed to be officially inspired.

"Why were arms, ammunition and explosives found in the hands of its party
members?" it said, without giving any details.

"In fact the National League for Democracy and the lady (Aung San Suu Kyi)
so-called secretary general are engaged in organisational activities in
their attempt to foolishly follow the path of confrontation."

A commentary calling for the deportation of Aung San Suu Kyi was also
repeated in the English-language edition of  the New Light of Myanmar after
being printed a day earlier in Burmese-language papers.


)AFP 1998