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Myanmar opposition party says 783 m



Myanmar opposition party says 783 members detained

YANGON, Sept 15  - Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)
said on Tuesday
that 783 of its members had been detained by the military government since
late May.

"Two elected representatives and 79...members of the NLD were detained
between September 11 and September 14, bringing the total number to 783,"
the NLD's central executive committee said in a statement obtained by
Reuters.

The statement said the 783 detainees consisted of "196 elected
representatives and 587 other members".

Yangon's military government has cracked down hard on its pro-democracy
opposition since the NLD promised at the end of August to convene a
"People's Parliament".

The party, led by charismatic 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu
Kyi, had been demanding for several months that the ruling generals call a
parliament of members elected at the country's last democratic polls in May
1990.

The NLD won those elections by a huge margin but the military government
ignored the result, saying the country was not yet ready for democracy and
needed a constitution before parliament could be called.

The government has said the detained NLD members are "invited guests" who
are staying at government guest
houses at the authorities' request to promote peace and stability in the
country.

But the NLD rejected this and condemned the military's treatment of its
members.

"The authorities are unlawfully detaining NLD members but they do not admit
doing so," the NLD statement said.
"Some authorities who use the word "discuss" used harsh words in dealing
with the detainees."

"Saying they would like to discuss, the authorities picked up the detainees
at night," it said. "The detainees were
handcuffed and their eyes were covered when they were picked up."

The NLD demanded the release of the detainees and said the authorities were
entirely responsible for their health, food and shelter "especially those
who are ill and old".

It said the detentions were contrary to the rule of law and violated the
United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, to which Myanmar was a
signatory.