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Pepsi Burma Chief Says Crush Suu Ky



Subject: Pepsi Burma Chief Says Crush Suu Kyi

Subject: Burmese businessmen rally against opposition


Pepsi campaigners take note:  The lead speaker at this rally, calling for
the "destruction" of the peaceful democracy movement is none other than
Thein Tun, Pepsi's man in Burma!  Is this OK with Pepsi?  Their man, a
point man for fascism?  mmm, mmm good.

	 RANGOON, June 16 (Reuter) - About 10,000 Burmese businessmen
joined a mass rally to support official moves to open up the
economy and to denounce the opposition, which they accused of
threatening stability, official media said on Sunday.
	 The rally was chaired by Thein Tun, vice-chairman of the
Myanmar (Burmese) Chamber of Commerce, who told the gathering
about the government's accomplishments since it liberalised the
economy after taking power in 1988, state-run media said.
	 He said businessmen needed to make continued efforts to hold
on to the progress made by the ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC).
	 ``All see the attempts of internal and external
destructionists working in collusion to hamper the all-round
national development,'' he said.
	 ``The people will never accept the obstruction of stability,
peace and progress of the state and will never desire the
incitement to riot and attempts to create disturbances in the
country,'' he said.
	 Thein Tun, one of Burma's top businessmen who is chairman
and chief executive of Pepsi Myanmar, also urged the businessmen
to unite to crush destructionists.
	 His speech was similar to those made at other mass rallies
over the past few weeks.
	 Burmese people say they are ordered to attend the rallies,
with officials requiring at least one person per household. The
opposition says the military forces people to attend.
	 The rallies coincide with an increasing crackdown by the
SLORC against the pro-democracy opposition led by Nobel Peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
	 Last month the government arrested 250 democracy politicians
ahead of a controversial congress of Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy (NLD) party. It also passed a new law, appeared
aimed directly at the NLD, prohibiting anyone or any group seen
as trying to undermine the stabilty of the state.
	 On Saturday Suu Kyi told a crowd of about 4,500 people
gathered outside her house that the NLD has sent the SLORC a
response to the new law.
	 She said the NLD said it had never done anything to
undermine the stability of the state, and said the SLORC's
latest moves were not helping towards a peaceful transition of
power.