Myanmar Junta Arrests 81 More...

[RANGOONP@xxxxxxx]

Myanmar Military Arrests 81


 .c The Associated Press 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Myanmar's military government has arrested 81 more
opposition members, the political party led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung
San Suu Kyi said today. 

The government, meanwhile, strongly denied reports that 17 officers had been
arrested for planning to open a dialogue with Suu Kyi and her colleagues,
something military leaders have refused to do. 

Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy said the arrests came in
the last 24 hours and brought the number of government opponents rounded up
since May to at least 783. Those detainees include 196 elected members of
parliament. 

``The authorities have been detaining members of the NLD who have not
committed any offense or violated any law,'' the party said in a statement.
``We strongly condemn these unlawful arrests and call for the earliest
unconditional release of the members.'' 

The sweep is the largest crackdown against democracy activists since the early
1990s. The military has ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1962. 

Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since the latest wave of arrests began.
Troops have reportedly been stationed near her home and the office of her
party in Yangon, the capital. 

Reports have circulated in Yangon and Bangkok, Thailand, that 17 senior
officers were arrested for planning to meet with Suu Kyi. 

``It is absolutely groundless,'' a government spokesman said, speaking on
customary condition of anonymity. He said the report was part of a campaign by
the Suu Kyi's party to make people believe the military is about to split and
support the party. 

In the 1990 election, districts populated heavily by military families voted
overwhelmingly for the National League for Democracy. 

Commentaries in state-run newspapers have threatened to deport Suu Kyi and
arrest her party's vice chairman, Tin Oo, a former defense minister and
Buddhist monk. 

Most of the arrests have taken place during the last two weeks as the military
tried to foil the National League for Democracy's attempt to convene the
parliament elected in 1990. 

Suu Kyi's party won 82 percent of the seats in that assembly, but the military
refused to honor the results of that election. 

The military government has denied arresting anybody. Instead, it insists
those under detention have been ``invited'' to exchange their views at
military guest houses. 

The National League for Democracy said some party members were taken away in
handcuffs and had hoods put over their heads by the squads of soldiers that
picked them up. 

AP-NY-09-15-98 0812EDT