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Diplomatic coup ?
- Subject: Diplomatic coup ?
- From: nin@xxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 09:09:00
RANGOON, Burma (AP) _ Admitting Burma to the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations would bolster the country's military
government and prevent democratic change, Nobel laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi said Tuesday.
``To make Burma a member of ASEAN at this moment is to encourage
(the regime) to be more repressive,'' Suu Kyi said a news
conference at the home of her party's vice chairman.
Burma is expected to be admitted to the regional economic
grouping in July. In February, President Suharto of Indonesia _ an
ASEAN member and one of the regime's strongest supporters _ visited
Burma and reportedly assured the generals membership was imminent.
*** Acceptance by its neighbors is considered a diplomatic coup for
the military government, which is shunned by most Western countries
because of its human rights violations and crackdown on Suu Kyi's
democracy movement.
Suu Kyi's contacts with the press and public have become
increasingly rare in recent months. The regime has erected
roadblocks around her lakeside compound in Rangoon and denied most
people access to her.
Last year, she said members of her party received long prison
terms the day Burma was granted observer status in ASEAN.
``If they are made a member of ASEAN, it will be as though they
have been given carte blanche,'' she said Tuesday.
Suu Kyi distributed to reporters a long list of her party
members who she said were being threatened or unjustly arrested on
trumped-up charges.
``Even if the authorities declare (my political party) an
illegal organization, we shall continue our struggle for
democracy,'' she said.
Suu Kyi said the government's increased attempts to crush all
opposition, including a massive military offensive against Karen
rebels along the country's eastern border, had not eroded her
confidence that Burma would achieve democracy.
``I am more confident than ever,'' Suu Kyi said.
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041221 Mar GMT