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NEWS - Myanmar Opposition Says 882



Myanmar Opposition Says 882 Nld Members Detained

            Reuters
            21-SEP-98

            YANGON, Sept 21 (Reuters)- Myanmar's opposition National
League
            for Democracy (NLD) said on Monday 882 of its members had
been
            detained by the military government since the end of May. 

            The NLD, led by charismatic 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner
Aung
            San Suu Kyi, said in a statement that 196 of the total
detainees were
            elected representatives and 686 were other members from
across the
            country. 

            The government has cracked down hard on the party over the
last
            month since it promised to convene a "People's Parliament." 

            The NLD won Myanmar's only recent democratic election in May
1990
            by a landslide but its members never took their seats after
the
            government refused to recognise the results of the poll. 

            The government said Myanmar was not ready for democracy and
            needed a constitution before a parliament could be convened. 

            It has said it is holding an unspecified number of "invited
guests" from
            the NLD in government guest houses in response to the NLD's
threat
            to call parliament, which is says is illegal. 

            The NLD said last Thursday that a 10-person committee it
formed last
            week would act for the parliament elected in 1990. 

            It named a "chairman" of parliament and declared laws
introduced
            since the military seized direct control on September 18,
1988, illegal
            unless approved by the body. 

            Political analysts say the step, apparently bold and defiant
and
            well-timed ahead of a U.N. session this week, was
essentially a
            symbolic gesture. 

            The military has reacted coolly to the NLD move, saying it
was another
            ploy by the NLD to force the government into harsh measures
ahead of
            the U.N. assembly.