------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News: May 29,1996
Issue # 426

        Asean countries have taken the view that constructive engagement
        is the best way to bring about change, I think it is now time to
        admit that change in the right direction has not taken place.
        -Aung San Suu Kyi
        (See SUU KYI SAYS SOFT LINE ON JUNTA A FLOP)

HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION:SUU KYI STEPS UP CHALLENGE AGAINST SLORC
THE NATION:SLORC HOLDS MASS RALLIES AS NLD CONGRESS ENDS
THE NATION:SUU KYI SAYS SOFT LINE ON JUNTA A FLOP
BKK POST: KHUN SA'S ASSOCIATES ORDERED TO HALT LOGGING
BKK POST: BOMB BLASTS WOUND SEVERAL AT KAREN REFUGEE CAMP
UPI : BURMA'S MILITARY JUNTA CRITICIZED
VOA : BURMESE REPRESSION
VOA: WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL
CNN : BURMESE OPPOSITION PROPOSALS STING GOVERNMENT
HOUSTON CHRONICLE : SUU KYI TAPES CIRCULATED
AUSTRALIA : PROTEST SLAMS BURMA.
ISBDA : HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS IN BURMA BESIDES THE NLD MEMBERS
PAUL J. WILLIAMSONS : IS IMPOSING ONES VALUES &
CONCEPTS ON OTHERS - DEMOCRATIC.
LOS ANGELES TIMES : MYANMAR LEADERS DENOUNCE PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS


-----------------------------------------------------------

THE NATION: SUU KYI STEPS UP CHALLENGE AGAINST SLORC
May 29,1996
AP

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi stepped up her challenge to the
Burmese military regime yesterday, announcing plans by the pro-
democracy opposition to draft a constitution separate from the one
being debated by a government-stacked panel.

The declaration on the closing day of an opposition congress
opened a new front against the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (Slorc) and signalled that Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy would not return to the constitutional conference it
walked out of last November.

The three-day party conference marked the biggest step against the
junta for Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her
non-violent promotion of democracy, since she was released from
six years of house arrest last July.

Taking her battle into the constitutional arena would allow Suu
Kyi a long-term vehicle to build on the victory she scored over
the weekend by defiantly carrying on with the congress despite the
arrest of 238 delegates and 24 party members.

An opposition-drafted constitution _ even with no means of
enforcing it _ would provide Burma's people with a clear contrast
between s system emphasising democracy and human rights versus one
weighted toward a paramount military.

Asked how ordinary Burmese, armed only with courage, could prevail
against the military, Suu Kyi replied, "That's exactly why there
will be change, because all they have is guns. They regard
everything we do as confrontational, but there's nothing in the
law that says you have no right to draft a constitution."

With Burmese music playing in the background, Suu Kyi closed the
session by reading resolutions adopted by the 18 conference
delegates who eluded arrest. The resolutions demanded the
immediate release of all the detainees by Slorc.

The resolutions called for the sitting of Parliament, a dialogue
with the junta and said only elected representatives should sit in
Parliament, with the military under civilian control.

The resolutions stated that the military was "a necessary
institution" that should become an "honourable" one by sticking to
national defence and helping bring about democracy. (TN)

***************

THE NATION: SLORC HOLDS MASS RALLIES AS NLD CONGRESS ENDS
May 29,1996
Agencies

As pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi prepared to wrap up an
arrest-depleted opposition congress yesterday, Burma's military
junta staged mass rallies of government employees in a bid to
demonstrate popular support.

The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) also
stepped up its denunciation of Suu Kyi and said some 100,000
people had turned out in rallies across the country in support of
the regime.

Government sound-trucks cruised the streets of poor Rangoon
neighbourhoods on Monday night, urging people to turn out early
yesterday to a rally at a playground. Similar rallies were
expected to be held in other parts of the country.

The rallies tried to counter perceptions of public support for Suu
Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), which closed a
dramatic three-day congress yesterday by adopting resolutions
which included a call for Slorc to free the more than 260 NLD MPs
and members who were arrested and detained since last Monday.

The congress marked the sixth anniversary of the May 1990 general
elections in which the NLD won 392 of 485 seats. It posed a
symbolic challenge to Slorc, which refused to honour the vote.

The meeting was to bring together the winning candidates not
already killed, jailed or driven into exile. Only 18 delegates
eluded arrest and were able to attend the meeting.

Though the regime detained 238 delegates and 24 other party
supporters to derail the meeting, Suu Kyi scored a triumph on
Sunday by pledging in her opening speech to step up opposition
activities and hold more congresses.

Suu Kyi implicitly dared the regime to crack down again and reap a
new whirlwind of international condemnation that has thrown a
negative spotlight on its attempts to crush dissent while quietly
cutting deals with international corporations.

The speech marked the most defiant challenge yet offered by Suu
Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, since her release
from six years of house arrest last July.

State controlled newspapers reported yesterday that 90,000 people
_ far higher numbers than visible on government television reports
_ attended government-orchestrated rallies to denounce the
opposition as "destructionists" bent on causing anarchy.

They added that mass rallies have been held in various areas
including Rangoon since Monday. The media, however, has not
mentioned the NLD congress. The newspapers said rallies had taken
place in Dagon township in Rangoon and in Pegu, 80 kilometres
north of Rangoon.

Speaking at the Dagon rally on Monday, Kaung Nyunt, chairman of
the rally, praised Slorc's achievements in social, economic and
security sectors and said progress has also been made in
reconciliation with armed groups in the jungle and in development
of border areas.

Kaung Nyunt said the "destructionists" under foreign sponsorship
were trying to disrupt developments in the country and also called
for the annihilation of such groups that were trying to bring the
country back into anarchy.

The rally then passed a resolution supporting the government's
development works and condemning the "distructionists". Similar
resolutions were passed other rallies as well.

Suu Kyi said that both rallies were organised by the authorities,
and said their messages were "awash with hatred and vindictiveness
". Most in attendance at the rallies were state employees.

Their glum faces and polite clapping contrasted with the cheers
and chants Suu Kyi drew on Sunday when 10,000 ordinary Burmese
braved pervasive fear of the secret police to hear her speak
outside her home.

The size of that crowd _ four times larger than usual for her
weekend addresses _ marked a swell in overt support. Far more of
Rangoon's 4 million people heard her on clandestine tapes, and
many expressed approval.

Suu Kyi predicted on Monday that the regime would detain some of
her jailed supporters indefinitely and said her personal
assistant, Win Htein, had been thrown into Insein Prison near
Rangoon, notorious for torture.

Some of the delegates had apparently been charged with violating
emergency powers laws, which give the military authority to hold a
detainee indefinitely for reasons of national security, she said.
The location of the detainees is unknown.

The regime claimed last week that they were only being "questioned
... as guests of the government". None are known to have been
released.

The crackdown brought new criticism of foreign companies eager to
profit by helping the junta develop Burma's economy, destroyed
during nearly 34 years of military rule.

The newspaper quoted organisers as saying that unidentified
"minions ... with foreign masters" were trying to destabilise the
country and destroy the government's development efforts.

The organisers urged the Burmese people to "unitedly crush
destructionists ... who are trying to destabilise the nation and
create riots under the influence of foreign masters". (TN)

***************

THE NATION: SUU KYI SAYS SOFT LINE ON JUNTA A FLOP
May 29,1996
Agencies

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday that a
wave of detentions of pro-democracy activists pointed to the
failure of the soft-line approaches to the junta taken by
neighbouring countries.

"Asean countries have taken the view that constructive engagement
is the best way to bring about change," she said at her lakeside
compound. "I think it is now time to admit that change in the
right direction has not taken place," she said.

Despite Western pressure to isolate Burma, Asean has adopted the
policy of constructive engagement based on the idea that gradually
drawing Burma into the international fold was the best way of
bringing about democratic reform.

At least 262 activists of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
(NLD) were arrested and detained since last Monday in the run up
to one of the most important pro-democracy meetings since the
abortive 1990 elections in a measure the junta said was taken to
prevent a breakdown of law and order.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate, said the situation in
Burma also represented a threat to stability in other countries,
making it all the more necessary for foreign governments to exert
pressure on the junta.

"We believe threats to justice anywhere and threats to justice
everywhere and as long as there is injustice and instability in
Burma, it will constitute a threat to justice and stability in the
whole region," she said.

The Asean countries _ Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam _ have tried to avoid
any comments on the internal affairs of other countries.

But the Philippines yesterday became the second Asean country
after Thailand to express concern about the political situation in
Burma.

In a press statement, the Philippine Foreign Department called for
restraint by both the junta and the opposition forces, warning
that a showdown could undermine stability in Southeast Asia.

Manila urged both sides to "step up their efforts at national
reconciliation in order to avoid the already tense situation from
destabilising the situation in Myanmar [Burma]."

The statement "also expressed concern over its possible disruptive
effect on the peace and stability in the Southeast Asian region."
In an interview with Singapore television on Monday, Suu Kyi
likened her country to the Philippines under late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos.

The Philippine statement, however, went with the official line of
the ruling Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc)
that the detained NLD members were only "invited by the government
for questioning."

In Jakarta, Asean Secretary-General Ajit Singh said yesterday that
officials were discussing the timing of a visit Burma had invited
him to pay to Rangoon. "The government of Myanmar [Burma] has
invited me to pay an official visit to Yangon [Rangoon]. We are
currently working out the details," he told an Indonesian
Executive Circle lunch of diplomats and business leaders.

The Asean chief executive later said he expected to make the trip
"In the latter part of the year". An Asean official said the
Burmese government had extended the invitation last year. Singh
declined to comment on the current confrontation in Burma other
than to say: "As far as Asean is concerned, we do not interfere in
each other's internal affairs ... that is a basic tenet of Asean."

He said Burma was expected to get observer status in the 19-nation
Asean Regional Forum (ARF) _ set up to promote regional security _
at a ministerial meeting in Jakarta in July. (TN)

***************

BKK POST: KHUN SA'S ASSOCIATES ORDERED TO HALT LOGGING
May 29,1996

The Burmese government has ordered associates of drug warlord Khun
Sa to cease logging operations in Ho Mong, according to a source
in the Mong Tai Army.

The Slorc has also told them to stop trading in lumber directly
with Thai businessmen, the source said.

Slorc Second Secretary-General Gen Tin Oo and Trade Minister Lt-
Gen Tun Kyi visited the former MTA headquarters on May 21-24, a
source in Ho Mong said. After talks with Khun Sa's son Chao Cham
Huang, they ordered MTA members to wind up their logging business.

The Burmese junta is thought to have formed the view that it had
not getting any benefit from the sale of logs by MTA people to
Thai merchants. They must sell all existing logs to the Burmese
government. (BP)

***************

BKK POST: BOMB BLASTS WOUND SEVERAL AT KAREN REFUGEE CAMP
May 29,1996

Several Karen National Union refugees were wounded in explosions
on Monday night after a group of Karen troops planted four bombs
at a refugee camp.

A woman identified as Pho Phu was seriously injured. She and a
number of children were taken to Mae Sariang Hospital.

The blasts went off at Ban Mae Kong Kha camp in Tambon Mae Yuam,
Mae Sariang at 8.p.m. on Monday. The Karen soldiers are thought to
have entered Thailand illegally and to be members of the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.

DKBA troops often cross the Salween river to look for food
supplies in Mae Hong Son. On the other hand, the attack may have
been the result of clashes between the bandits and certain KNU
refugees.

Songkhram Sirisrisakul, a security volunteer in the camp, said the
explosions occurred while some 5,000 KNU refugees were performing
religious rites.

Mae Hong Son Governor Somjate Viriyadamrong said the authorities
were investigating the incident. Mr Somjate has ordered border
officials in Mae Sariang and Sop Moei districts to watch out for
illegal entries or exits. (BP)

***************

BURMA'S MILITARY JUNTA CRITICIZED
        
  WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) - The Washington post commented editorially
on Burma's authoritarian military junta Tuesday, saying:
        
"The thuggish military men who rule Burma have rounded up more
than 200 democracy activists who were planning to meet last weekend.
Again the rulers show their regime, which goes by the appropriately
unappetizing acronym SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration
Council), to be worthy only of international contempt.
        
"To the extent that Americans are at all familiar with Burma's
plight, it is thanks to the courage of Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of
the nation's democracy movement. Her National League for Democracy
won an overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections in 1990, but
SLORC refused to give up power, putting her under house arrest and
jailing many of her colleagues.
        
"Although Aung San Suu Kyi was nominally freed last July, after
winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the regime has refused even to begin
talks on a transition to democratic rule.
        
"It was to celebrate, as it were, the sixth anniversary of those
betrayed elections that Aung San Suu Kyi called a meeting. In fear
of the democrats' popularity, SLORC rounded up many of her
supporters, including should-be members of parliament.
        
"This is far from SLORC's only abuse. Even before the latest
events, hundreds of political prisoners remained in jail, according
to Human Rights Watch/Asia.
        
"The regime promotes forced labor, press-ganging citizens to act
as porters in areas of armed conflict and to build roads, according
to the U.S. State Department. It has built a massive army, equipped
mostly by China. And Burma is the world's chief source of heroin.
        
"The United States already has barred official aid or government
loans to Burma and has influenced the World Bank and other
multilateral organizations to follow suit. Now Sen. Mitch McConnell
of Kentucky wants to bar private investment as well, a step
 supported by many of Burma's democrats.
        
"U.S. firms are the third-largest investors, McConnell said, led
by Unocal Corp., which is helping develop Burma's natural-gas
fields. The structure of the dictatorship ensures that much of the
benefit of foreign investment goes into the generals' pockets.
        
"The most active proponents of trade, investment and engagement
with Burma have been its neighbors in Southeast Asia. A nation of 42
million with high literacy rates and abundant natural resources,
Burma cannot be ignored. But after SLORC's latest abuses, the burden
is on those advocates of "engagement" to show what they have
achieved and explain why sanctions should not be tightened.
        
"As much as South Africa under apartheid, Burma deserves to be a
pariah until SLORC has given way."
 
Copyright 1996 United Press International. All rights reserved.

******************************************************

BURMESE REPRESSION

content=this is the second of two editorials being released for
broadcast may 29, 1996.

anncr:

The voice of america presents differing points of view on a
wide variety of issues.  next, an editorial expressing the
policies of the united states government.

Voice:

 This month marks the sixth anniversary of the general
election in which the people of Burma voted overwhelmingly for an
end to military rule and the establishment of a democratic
civilian government.  Because of increased repression by the
burmese military regime, this goal now seems more distant than
ever.

For six years, Burma's military junta has prevented those
elected in may 1990 from assuming office.  In an effort to
deflect popular unrest and international pressure, the junta
released some political prisoners last year and freed democracy
leader aung san suu kyi from house arrest.

This past week, over two-hundred members of the National
League for Democracy party were detained.  Most of them had been
elected to the unseated Burmese parliament.  The mass arrests
were part of the military junta's attempt to block a political
conference of the National League for Democracy called by Aung
San Suu Kyi.

     The united states condemns efforts by the Burmese junta,
known as the State law and order restoration council, or Slorc,
to prevent the citizens of Burma from exercising their basic
political rights.  Because of concern about the actions of slorc
and the potential for violence, Americans have been warned to
curtail nonessential travel to burma.

The u.s. calls for the immediate release of all political
prisoners in Burma and renews its call for a dialogue between the
Burmese authorities and democratic opposition leaders and
representatives of the country's ethnic groups.  it is the only
path to a solution of burma's crisis.

anncr:

    that was an editorial expressing the policies of the united
states government.  if you would like to be heard on this issue,
please write to editorials, voice of america, washington, d-c,
20547, u-s-a.  you may also send us a fax at (202)619-1043.  your
comments may be used on the air.

*********************************************

VOA: WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL
 May 28, 1996

Text:    The washington post, meanwhile, is eyeing the latest
         crackdown on political activism in burma, noting:

Voice:   "The thuggish military men who rule Burma have now
         rounded up more than 200 democracy activists who were
         planning to meet last weekend.  Again they show their
         regime, which goes by the appropriately unappetizing
         acronym Slorc (State law and order restoration council),
         to be worthy only of international contempt. [opt]
         ..... Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the Nation's democracy
         movement ..... won an overwhelming victory in
         parliamentary elections in 1990, but slorc refused to
         give up power, putting her under house arrest and
         jailing many of her colleagues. ..... it was to
         celebrate, as it were, the sixth anniversary of those
         betrayed elections that Aung San Suu Kyi called a
         meeting.  In fear of the democrats' popularity, Slorc
         rounded up many of her supporters, including should-be
         members of parliament.  ..... after Slorc's latest
         abuses, the burden is on those advocates of 'engagement'
         to show what they have achieved and explain why
         sanctions should not be tightened.  As much as south
         Africa under Apartheid, Burma deserves to be a pariah
         until Slorc has given way. " [end opt]

********************************************

BURMESE OPPOSITION PROPOSALS STING GOVERNMENT

Tue, 28 May 1996 12:26:28 -0800
John Scherb < CNN News Briefs 5/28 >
RANGOON, Burma (CNN) -- Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy approved several proposals sure
to enrage the ruling State Law and Order Restoration
Council as the opposition party wrapped up a
controversial meeting Tuesday.

Delegates to the three-day congress voted to let
senior members draw up a draft constitution and
proposed a constitutional conference representing the
Burmese people. The NLD pulled out of
government-sponsored constitutional talks last
November, angering the council.

Suu Kyi said the NLD wants any future government to
be ruled by an elected parliament, with the armed forces taking a limited
role. The current constitution calls for the military to have a leading role.
The NLD also seeks the release of all political prisoners in government
custody.

*******************************************

SUU KYI TAPES CIRCULATED
Houston Chronicle 5/28
(John Scherb )
RANGOON, Burma -- When pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi denounced Burma's
ruling junta and vowed to fight it, millions of Burmese too frightened to
attend the
speech listened to tape recordings distributed by her supporters.

The junta will not permit publication of Suu Kyi's speeches so her supporters
spread the
word.

As many as 10,000 people appeared outside Suu Kyi's home Sunday for her weekly
speech
-- the largest crowd since her release last July from six years of house
arrest -- and
dozens of them held as many as six cassette recorders. The tapes made it
around
Rangoon by Monday morning, and others should reach the countryside in a few
days.

Tapes also reached the desks of the State Law and Order Restoration Council.
On Monday,
the state-controlled press called Suu Kyi a "maggot" and a tool of a U.S.
conspiracy to
colonize Burma by introducing democracy and human rights.

***********************************************
PROTEST SLAMS BURMA.

May 28, 1996.
                        Protest slams Burma
                        -------------------

In Melbourne, Burmese Students went on a march through the city streets
yesterday demanding sanctions be imposed on the military regime in their
homeland.

The students chanted "Democracy for Burma" as they stormed to the steps
of Parliament as part of a national day of protest.

They called on international leaders to impose trade sanctions and a
world-wide arms embargo on Burma.

They attacked the military-backed State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) which clings to power in Burma despite widespread dissent.

The All Burma Students' Democratic Organization (ABSDO) in Australia has
written to Australian Prime Minister John Howard asking for support,
including "discouraging trade" and closing the Austrade office in Rangoon.

------------------------------------

In Canberra, more than 100 protester called on the Federal Government to
impose trade and economic sanctions on Burma.

In a rally outside the Burmese Embassy, the protesters said Australia
should take the lead by lobbying other countries to also impose sanctions.

One man was taken into police custody during the protest.

Meanwhile, in Rangoon the military rulers denounced pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi and her followers as "dupes" and "maggots" after she
defiantly opened an opposition congress despite the arrest of hundreds of
people.

The opposition claimed an unknown number of the 262 people
detained last week have been transferred to the notorious Insein Prison.

(Herald Sun, 28.05.96)

***************************************

HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS IN BURMA BESIDES THE NLD MEMBERS

Released by ISBDA on May 27, 1996.

A Rangoon University teacher said that about 200 student activists have
been arrested by the authorities during the current crackdown against the
democratic forces of Burma.  As these students are not the members of NLD,
the number of recent detainees reaches to at least a total of five hundred.
On May 24, two young monks were arrested in public because they were
holding pro-democracy placards at a bus-stop nearby Sule Pagoda.
Many of the NLD MPs and other detainees including  monks were already
transferred to Insein Jail. Eyewitness could not identify the detainees
because their faces were covered by blankets.

Meanwhile, a rumor spreads in Rangoon that a violent clash broke out
between some students from Medical College No. 2 and a group of heavily
drunk SLORC soldiers at N. Okkalapa town.

***************************************

SLORC spokesman defends Brookes on soc.culture.burma

From: ingameeik@aol.com (Inga Meeik)
Reply-To: ingameeik@aol.com (Inga Meeik)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.burma
Subject: Is Imposing Ones Values & Concepts on Others -
Democratic
Date: 23 May 1996 07:25:55 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Message-ID: <4o1i03$87p@newsbf02.news.aol.com>
     
IS IMPOSING ONES VALUES & CONCEPTS ON OTHERS - DEMOCRATIC.
Paul J. Williamsons (Hong Kong)
     
I have been going Through some of the articles in the internet
regarding ASIAN countries and Myanmar also came to my
interest  because my frequent travels in the region made me
realize that something is not right or in another words
something is very wrong  regarding Myanmar.

When I read Mr. Stephen Brookes' article on Myanmar and his
candid comment an NLD and her leadership I cannot but
admire him  for his sincerity and straight forwardness which is
rare characteristic  in today's media world. I also knew that he
would be attacked and into giving up his belief intimidated by
those extremist who refuses the facts because it goes against
their interest. Well, My prediction came true and I now read in
the internet articles branding Mr. Brookes with various names.
To be on the more objective side, who are these guys and what
right do they have to impose their beliefs and concepts on other
people. The sincere, straight forward and unbiased people have
the every right to say white when they see white, brown when
they see brown not something that will satisfy the extremists.

The ed communication systems at work nothing can be kept in
the dark for long. In addition to that Myanmar has opened it
doors to the  outside world and the people who go in to visit the
country are not illiterates. They can judge the situation  by
themselves without anybody's so called assistance or
intimidation.

My colleagues and I now come to realize that the dyke which
prevents facts from reaching the outside world has now
beginning to show cracks and in a short period of time it will be
broken beyond repair. No wonder the extremists are
undermining the Visit Myanmar Year 1996, with all out
strength.  Maybe they may still say that all the thousands of
tourist which visited Myanmar during the visit Myanmar year
were misled by the Myanmar Government.

In my conclusion I would also like to humbly present my views
on the usage of the internet. I believe it should be used for the
exchange of information which is beneficial to all users.  But
regretfully, this system today is being used as a political
platform where are user attacks the other. Worst of all, all other
users who have  installed the system to exchange information of
class have to also take  the trash.

************************************************

THE NLD CONGRESS RESOLUTION URGED SLORC TO TALK

By AYE AYE WIN
 Associated Press Writer
RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi ended a daring
meeting of pro-democracy forces Tuesday by urging Burma's military regime
to honor the results of a 1990 election and return the country to civilian
rule.

Taking the challenge to Burma's ruling junta a step further, Suu Kyi
announced opposition plans to draft an alternate constitution to one being
drafted by a government-stacked panel.

An opposition-drafted constitution -- even while unenforceable -- would
provide Burma's people with a clear contrast between a system emphasizing
democracy and human rights versus one weighted toward a paramount military.

"They regard everything we do as confrontational," Suu Kyi told
reporters, referring to the government. "But there's nothing in the law
that says you have no right to draft a constitution."

The three-day meeting, which opened on the sixth anniversary of the 1990
parliamentary election, posed a symbolic challenge to the legitimacy of the
junta, which arrested 238 of the delegates in a nationwide roundup last
week. Only 18 eluded arrest and attended.

Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring
democracy to Burma, appealed to the military Tuesday to free the detained
delegates.

The delegates were opposition candidates who competed in the May 27,
1990 parliamentary elections that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
won by a landslide. The junta refused to let the parliament convene.

Suu Kyi pledged in her opening speech Sunday to step up opposition
activities and hold more conferences -- implicitly daring the regime to
crack down again and risk a new round of international condemnation.

Reading the congress' resolutions to reporters Tuesday, Suu Kyi also
urged the government to open a dialogue with the opposition and said the
powerful military should be subject to control by a civilian parliament.

Offering an olive branch to the military, the resolutions stated that
the armed forces were "a necessary institution in this country and we
endorse the view that the armed forces should be an honorable institution
which will take care of the defense of the nation and help bring about
democracy."

Burmese music played as Suu Kyi walked to the podium to read the
resolutions before about 200 supporters under a specially built
bamboo-and-thatch meeting hall draped with the fighting peacock banners of
her National League for Democracy.

The meeting was the most important gathering of opposition activists
since Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent
promotion of democracy, was freed from six years of house arrest in July.

Newspapers reported Tuesday that 90,000 people -- far higher numbers
than visible on state-run television reports -- attended
government-orchestrated rallies in Rangoon on Monday to denounce the
opposition as "destructionists" bent on causing anarchy.

Banners at the pro-government rallies bore slogans such as: "Those who
create disturbances are our enemies. Those who destroy law and order are
our enemies. Those who let themselves be used by foreigners are our
enemies."

The junta's reaction to the meeting has swung between calling Suu Kyi a
"maggot" and politely but firmly refusing any dialogue with her. The tone
is harsher in the English-language press, with the apparent aim of
countering foreign criticism of the regime.

*******************************************


MYANMAR LEADERS DENOUNCE PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS

>From Associted Press
Los Angeles Times, May 28, 1996.
YANGON, Myanmar-- This nation's military rulers denounced pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her followers as dupes and "maggots" for going
ahead with the most important opposition meeting since the junta quashed
1990 elections.
The regime has arrested 238 conference delegates and 24 other party members
to try to block Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy from opening its
three-day conference Sunday. But even though only 18 delegates made it, the
meeting has proceeded as scheduled.
Suu Kyi and her followers said Monday that an Unknown number of the
activists recently arrested were transferred to a prison nortorious for
torture.
In published remarks Monday, junta leader Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt denounced the
meeting and accused the opposition of falling prey to the United States and
other Western nations that he claims seek to colonize Myanmar, formerly
called Burma.
The conference's ultimate objective is to get Burma's military  rulers to
accept the results of 1990 parliamentary elections that Suu Kyi's party
overwhelmingly won.

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