Dozens of Myanmar riot police deplo

[tinkyi@xxxxxxx]

Dozens of Myanmar riot police deployed at opposition headquarters

       Sun 13 Sep 98 - 13:17 GMT

       YANGON, Sept 13 (AFP) - Dozens of riot police were deployed
around the headquarters of Myanmar's opposition
       National League for Democracy partySunday, witnesses said.

       The police, carrying shields and batons, stayed in the shadows of
other buildings near the Yangon NLD complex.

       Witnesses said they were also equipped with mobile barriers which
could be used to quickly seal off the downtown
       road.

       At least 200 riot police were also stationed around the Hlaing
university campus, where students have been staging
       anti-government demonstrations over the past two weeks, but no
incidents were reported.

       "Obviously they are prepared to deal with any developments, but
nothing seems to be happening," one Western
       diplomat said.

       Foreign diplomats said they were unable to confirm a claim by an
exiled student group that 15 officers of the ruling
       junta had been arrested for planning to meet with NLD leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.

       The All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) said the officers
-- six colonels and a lieutenant-colonel from
       the army, three navy majors and five air force colonels -- were
detained in Yangon on September 5.

       The ABSDF, in a statement issued in Bangkok, said its information
came from junta sources.

       Junta officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

       "We praise these 15 officers for having the courage to stand up
for their beliefs and hope that many of the other
       members of the armed forces will now step forward and show their
desire for change and restore the tainted image
       of Burma's military," the statement quoted ABSDF vice chairman
Moe Thee Zun as saying.

       "We know that these officers were planning to discuss the
political situation with Daw (eds: honorific) Aung San
       Suu Kyi, and their actions show the growing desire by soldiers
and officers alike for genuine political reform in
       Burma."

       The official Mirror daily meanwhile turned its guns from the
"pseudo-citizen" Aung San Suu Kyi to NLD vice
       chairman Tin Oo, a former army general.

       The junta frequently targets Aung San Suu Kyi's marriage to a
Briton as evidence she is not committed to Myanmar.

       "U (eds: honorific) Tin Oo, who says one thing and does something
else, has now conveniently forgotten about his
       pledge and is instigating unrest with the backing of external
elements," a commentary in the newspaper said.

       "Defiantly and blatantly breaking the law and instigating
instability with the support of the foreign media is not
       something one ought to forgive," it added, in apparent reference
to Tin Oo's recent interviews with foreign radio
       broadcasters.

       The junta has effectively thwarted plans by the opposition to
convene a parliament this month by detaining most of
       its members, according to foreign diplomats here.

       The NLD claims 700 members and supporters have been detained over
the last week, but foreign envoys put the
       number at only 157 at the most.

       The opposition won 1990 polls by a landslide, with the NLD alone
taking 382 of the 485 seats. But the junta, which
       won only 10 seats, has refused to relinquish power, saying it is
gradually moving towards democracy.

       The number of NLD and other opposition members of parliament has
since declined by an unknown level due to
       deaths and resignations.

       The NLD has vowed to convene the parliament elected in 1990 but
the junta has said the move would be illegal.

       The detained opposition members were being treated well and were
in no apparent danger, diplomats said.