BBC-East Asia Today.January 13th 19

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Subject: BBC-East Asia Today.January 13th 1999 

East Asia Today.January 13th 1999

Aung San Suu Kyi Speaks Out Against Arbitrary Arrests of NLD Members

With a continuing political stalemate in Burma between the military junta
and the National League for Democracy - which won the l990 elections - the
NLD has started legal against against one of the junta's leaders Lieutenant
General Khin Nyunt. The party says he is responsible for arbitrarily
arresting its members and forcing them to resign from the NLD.

Last weekend the Burmese press reported that the authorities were
considering whether to arrest NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of
making contact with illegal groups, including Karen guerrillas. East Asia
Today's Larry Jagan spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon - and
he asked her first what the state of play was in terms of resignations from
the party:

Aung San Suu Kyi: The business about the resignations from the party is in
one way a hilarious business. In abother of course, itâ??s a reflection of how
much oppression there is in this country. Itâ??s hilarious because some of the
people who resigned, or who were supposed to have resigned, are people who
have hardly had anything to do with the NLD for years and years. Also, I
understand that in some townships they are forcing people who have never
been members of the NLD to resign as members of the NLD.

Larry Jagan: So are you saying that this is a publicity stunt as far as the
government is concerned and that most of the NLD members are still very
strongly committed to the party?

Aung San Suu Kyi: Itâ??s not entirely a publicity stunt on their part. Iâ??m
sure they would like the members of the NLD to really resign, but if they
canâ??t get members of the NLD to resign - and in most cases they canâ??t -
they
simply trump up these resignations. Itâ??s a real farce because if you
consider the fact that we had literally membership in the millions in 1989
and now they announce things like twelve members of the NLD from such and
such a township resigned, you can see how farcical the whole thing is.

Larry Jagan: But this must still be putting pressure on you and the central
committee and making it harder for the NLD to operate as a legal party?


Aung San Suu Kyi: No, because these so-called members of the NLD who
resigned - as I said Iâ??m not even sure that some of them are really members
of the NLD - are not only few but also those who are not doing anything in
the line of party organisational work. So their so-called resignations donâ??t
affect us in anyway.

Larry Jagan: I understand that the NLD has issued legal action against the
Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt because of the pressure that is being brought
to bear on the NLD and the arrests that have happened.

Aung San Suu Kyi: I donâ??t know that itâ??s actually addressed against
Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt but itâ??s addressed against the military
intelligence because they have been exercising undue influence to force
members of the NLD party to resign and to destroy township committees of the
NLD. This is against the law. Everything we do is within the bounds of the
law as it stands today.

Larry Jagan: What do you think is actually going to happen to this writ? Is
the government going to take it seriously?

Aung San Suu Kyi: We have to wait and see. This is not the first time weâ??ve
brought out a writ against the government.

Larry Jagan: What happened to the previous ones?

Aung San Suu Kyi: Weâ??ve heard nothing about those so weâ??ll have to see
what
the next step is because in accordance with the law you canâ??t just ignore
something like that when it is put up.

Larry Jagan: Apart from the pressure on NLD members to resign, what other
actions is the government taking to try and curtail NLD activity?

Aung San Suu Kyi: The usual things. Theyâ??re making it difficult for our
township committees to carry on with their everyday party organisational
work. Itâ??s just pressure and arrests. Theyâ?? donâ??t seem to know any
other way
of dealing with the party.

Larry Jagan: What effect is that having on the party?

Aung San Suu Kyi: A lot of our people are under detention - members of
parliament as well as active members of the NLD - and in some ways, of
course, that means that those who are left outside have to work harder. But
another effect of this is that we gain a lot of sympathy from the public
because it is so obvious the unfairness of the tactics of the authorities,
that we find that weâ??ve had a lot of public sympathy. This is expressed not
just in words, but also in the form of donations etc.

Larry Jagan: This impasse between the NLD and the military authorities has
been going on for many years now. Is there any way it can be broken?

Aung San Suu Kyi: Yes of course. Impasses have always existed between
dictatorships and those opposed to dictatorships. But they do get broken.

Larry Jagan: Is there anything that you can see in the near future that
might actually lead to some kind of dialogue between yourself and the NLD
and the military government?

Aung San Suu Kyi: No particular event, but as Iâ??ve always said, thereâ??s no
other way except dialogue, and weâ??ll get there in the end, in spite of the
intransigence of the military authorities.

Larry Jagan: When the UN representative de Soto was in Burma last year, I
understand there was some discussion about ways in which the international

community might help to broker some kinds of talks, and part of that might
have been World Bank funding for projects. Has that got anywhere?

Aung San Suu Kyi: I donâ??t know. That is something youâ??ll have to ask Mr de
Soto about.

Larry Jagan: What is the NLD position as far as the â??carrots and sticksâ??
type strategy that the UN might be trying to adopt, is concerned?

Aung San Suu Kyi: I think weâ??ll need to know more about the particulars of
the carrots and sticks, if such a tactic exists, before we decide what stand
we want to take on it.