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BURMA/SUU KYI'S RETURN TO BURMA
- Subject: BURMA/SUU KYI'S RETURN TO BURMA
- From: moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 20:39:00
World: Asia-Pacific
Suu Kyi 'can return after UK
visit'
Aung San Suu Kyi: Fears leaving Burma
The military government of Burma has said it sees "no
difficulty" in prominent opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi returning to the country after visiting her dying
husband in the UK.
Ms Suu Kyi is believed to be unwilling to leave Burma,
because of fears that she would not be allowed to come
back.
This is the first time the
authorities have expressly
stated that they are not
opposed to her return.
Her British husband, Michael
Aris, was diagnosed as
terminally ill with cancer
several months ago and is
anxious to see his wife
before he dies.
A Burmese Government
spokesman said her visit
would be acceptable as long as it was not used for
political purposes.
"The government of Myanmar [Burma] sees no difficulty
for Ms Suu Kyi in returning back to Myanmar after her
visit to see her husband, believing that the trip be purely
humanitarian and one of a family affair in nature," he
said.
'Pawn of Western imperialism'
But the spokesman said that a military officer who
delivered the message to Ms Suu Kyi had been cut short
and she had not allowed him to finish the message.
The government will reportedly deliver a full statement on
the decision later.
Aung San Suu Kyi - the
daughter of the man who led
Burma to independence - is
the leader of the country's
main opposition party, the
National League for
Democracy.
Although the NLD
overwhelmingly won the 1990
general elections, the
country's military leaders
ignored the results.
Ms Suu Kyi remains the
military government's major
political opponent, despite
spending almost six years
under house arrest. She was
released in 1995.
The military authorities have
often accused her of being a
pawn of Western imperialism
because of her marriage to a British citizen.
Mr Aris has made repeated applications to visit Burma -
backed by appeals from the United States, Japan,
Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the United Nations.
Burma is "reviewing" his visa request, but argues that it
would be more sensible for Ms Suu Kyi to visit him.