NEWS - Door for Dialogue with Myanm

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: NEWS - Door for Dialogue with Myanmar Govt Always Open: Nld

Door for Dialogue with Myanmar Govt Always Open: Nld

            Xinhua
            23-NOV-98

            YANGON (Nov. 23) XINHUA - The National League for
            Democracy (NLD) will always open its door for dialogue with
            the Myanmar military government, but will not accept
            preconditions especially in the absence of her, said Aung
            San Suu Kyi, general secretary of the NLD, Monday. 

            Aung San Suu Kyi made the remarks at a press conference
            given at the NLD Headquarters here Monday. 

            Among those present were nine of the 10 members of the
            "Committee Representing the People's Parliament Elected in
            the 1990 Multi-Party Democracy General Election" formed in
            September. The remaining one is said to have been
            detained by the authorities. 

            The committee reiterated that it will continue to work for
the
            convening of the "People's Parliament" and draw up the new
            "state constitution". 

            Distributed at the press conference was also a letter sent
to
            Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the Myanmar State
            Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and U Ba Htay,
            chairman of the Multi-Party Democracy General Elections
            Commission. 

            The letter covered the matter of the recent disbandment of
            NLD's township organizational committees, saying that the
            dissolution is illegal. 

            The letter recalled that the former State Law and Order
            Restoration Council (now SPDC) passed the Political Parties
            Registration Act on September 27, 1988, pointing out that "a
            body that has passed a law must itself abide by the
            provisions of the said law, if the law is to have beneficial
            effect and gain public respectability. Law makers should not
            be law breakers". 

            The letter also said that "the NLD continues to pursue the
            high ideals of democracy and human rights amidst the
            myriad difficulties created by the authorities. The NLD
            protests strongly against the coercive actions taken by the
            intelligence services to bring about the illegal disbandment
of
            the township committees and urges the authorities to bring
            an end forthwith to such activities." 

            However, the government had said in a statement that "it has
            not been unwilling to extend the olive branch to the NLD. It
is
            the NLD that has spurned the government's offer to meet
            and it is Aung San Suu Kyi who seeks to confront the
            authorities at every turn." 

            The government's statement added that "the NLD could face
            serious action if it tried to convene the People's
Parliament
            unilaterally," and "if such an action is to be implemented
by
            an individual political party, it can lead to the NLD making
            itself the parallel government which no government in the
            world would accept." 

            The press conference was also attended by foreign
            diplomats and correspondents.