NEWS - Myanmar Media Warn Deputy Nl

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Myanmar Media Warn Deputy Nld Leader Faces Arrest

            Reuters
            13-SEP-98

            YANGON, Sept 13 (Reuters)- Myanmar's state media warned on
            Sunday that deputy opposition leader Tin Oo faced possible
arrest for
            trying to split the country's powerful armed forces. 

            A commentary in two state-owned Myanmar language newspapers
            said Tin Oo, vice chairman of the opposition National League
for
            Democracy (NLD), had been involved in distributing leaflets
aimed at
            sowing discord within the military. 

            "These days the NLD is sowing the seeds of discord among the
            Tatmadaw (armed forces) by distributing the so called 'An
appeal to
            the Tatmadaw men'...it is quite clear that U Tin Oo
masterminded
            these plots," it said. 

            The commentary, by a newspaper columnist who normally echoed
the
            military government's views, said the deputy NLD chairman
was
            privileged to have had his jail term shortened to three
years by the
            government after he pledged not to breach laws. 

            "His defiant violations of the laws, despite a full
knowledge of them,
            can no longer be forgiven or forgotten...state leaders out
of pity
            released him on March 15, 1995, to let him serve his
remaining
            sentence outside on bail...he is liable to the rest of his
sentence for
            what he is doing now," the commentary said. 

            It was not clear from the commentary if the deputy of NLD
leader Aung
            San Suu Kyi would be arrested by the authorities. 

            A phone call to Tin Oo's house in central Yangon was not
answered.
            The deputy NLD leader had served various jail terms since
the 1970s
            mostly on charges of plotting against Myanmar military
governments. 

            He was last convicted in 1992 and given a seven-year jail
term for
            disrupting peace and security but he was freed in 1995. 

            The newspaper commentary said the offending written
statements,
            calling on the military to help the NLD convene parliament,
were written
            by Tin Oo who was also accused of getting them broadcast on
foreign
            radio media last week. 

            An exiled anti-military opposition front said on Sunday that
15 senior
            military officers had been arrested early this month for
planning to
            meet Aung San Suu Kyi. 

            The All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) said in a
            statement received by Reuters that the arrested officers
were accused
            by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of
            deviating from official policy. 

            "We know that these officers were planning to discuss the
political
            situation with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and their actions show
the
            growing desire by soldiers and officers alike for genuine
political
            reform in Burma (Myanmar)," said ABSDF vice chairman Moe
Thee
            Zun. 

            He said the arrests were not supported by the rank and file
in the
            military. 

            ABSDF, an exiled government based on the Thai-Myanmar
border,
            said it was told by military sources in Yangon that the 15
officers
            included six army colonels, five air force colonels and
three naval
            majors.