Secretary of State Madeleine Albrig

[waterly@xxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Worried on Suu Kyi

Note: News colections of May 22 

Albright Worried Pressure on Suu Kyi

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuter) - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
expressed concern on Thursday for Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
after the United States imposed sanctions on the military-ruled state. 

``There is every indication that the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration
Council) is reacting to the sanctions by putting additional pressure on
her,'' Albright said when questioned about Burma policy at a Senate
committee hearing. 

Reports from Rangoon said at least 60 members of Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy (NLD) were arrested this week before a party gathering, in
continuation of a campaign by the rulers to clamp down on the democratic
movement. 

Washington imposed economic sanctions on Burma this week, banning all new
U.S. investment, as a public condemnation of the military regime's human
rights abuses. 

Albright has taken a close interest in the fate of Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace
prize winner, and in efforts to get the SLORC -- which took power after
killing hundreds of street protesters in 1989 -- to accept democratic change. 

``They are genuinely immoral, brutal leaders who don't seem to care,''
Albright told the Senate panel. ``So I think we need to look at how these
sanctions are going to be carried out and at next steps.'' 

Albright said she would consider ways of putting extra pressure on the
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is expected to
admit Burma as a member in July, along with Cambodia and Laos. 

But she appeared to have little hope of success. 

``I have written to various (ASEAN) leaders. I would very much like to slow
down the possibility of Burma coming into the ASEAN,'' she said. 

She said, ``We have tried very hard to get the ASEAN countries to follow our
steps, but they don't seem to be interested in it.'' She added, ``I will
relook at whether we should take some further action in encouraging them
further.'' REUTER 

17:33 05-22-97
********************
Britain, Germany Criticized on Burma's Arrests 
LONDON, May 22 (Reuter) - Britain and Germany pressed Burma's military
government on Thursday to release 100 democracy campaigners arrested in
Rangoon. 

The British Foreign Office called in Burma's ambassador to hear Foreign
Office minister Derek Fatchett condemn the arrest this week of members of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD)
before a party gathering. 

``I am disturbed by reports of the detention of some 100 NLD members in
Burma by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC),'' Fatchett
said in a statement. 

``This is yet another flagrant breach of basic human rights by a brutal
regime, which should be widely condemned by the international community. We
are urgently exploring with our EU (European Union) partners the scope for
further action against the SLORC.'' 

In Bonn, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said in a statement that ``The
latest intimidation, threats and arrests represent a new attempt by the
military regime of the SLORC to silence the democratic opposition. 

``I call upon the SLORC generals to immediately release all those
arrested,'' Kinkel said. 

The United States imposed economic sanctions on Burma this week in
condemnation of the military regime's human rights abuses and its repression
of the democracy movement led by Suu Kyi. 

Burma hopes to become a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, but the United States and other nations have urged ASEAN not to
admit it because of its political and human rights record. 

The Burmese government has not confirmed or denied reports of the arrests,
but said on Thursday that the NLD was trying to create problems in the
country and that it had taken necessary 

14:37 05-22-97
**********************
Burma Opposition Congress Planned
c The Associated Press  

RANGOON, Burma (AP) - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hold a
party congress challenging the legitimacy of Burma's military regime,
despite the arrests of more than 100 of her supporters, an aide said Thursday. 

The government accused the Nobel Peace Prize winner of trying to stage a
propaganda coup by calling a meeting she knew would provoke mass arrests and
international protest. 

The conference of the National League for Democracy marks the anniversary of
the May 27, 1990, legislative elections in which the opposition won 82
percent of the vote. The military government never allowed parliament to
convene. 

Suu Kyi won the 1991 Nobel Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to
Burma, which has been ruled by the military since 1962. 

Calling her party conference is one of the biggest challenges Suu Kyi can
still mount against the regime. She is seldom allowed outside her house and
her weekend rallies that once drew up to 10,000 people have been prohibited
for months. 

Diplomats who had recently seen Suu Kyi expressed concern for her health,
saying she had lost a lot of weight. Suu Kyi's aide, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said the Nobel laureate had seen a doctor and was simply
suffering from diarrhea. 

At least 100 party members were detained in Mandalay and Irrawaddy divisions
in northern Burma, and the arrest total was sure to rise as news trickled
into Rangoon, he said. 

About 200 members of the parliament-elect and 100 other senior party members
had been invited to the congress at her home. 

Six party members were now taking refuge in Suu Kyi's compound, he said. 

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, accused Suu Kyi
of wishing ``to rock the boat.'' 

The official, in a written statement, said the roundup was ``not harsh
enough to serve her propaganda interest, but there is no doubt that she will
try to escalate and exploit the situation as much as possible.'' 

The government detained 262 people last year to prevent Suu Kyi from holding
a similar congress. Most were freed after a few weeks, but about two dozen
were held and sentenced to long prison terms. 

That episode marked the end of a period of relative freedom following Suu
Kyi's release from six years of house arrest in July 1995. 

The United States, which imposed economic sanctions Wednesday against Burma
for stepping up its repression of the democracy movement, called the
detentions ``perfidious and inhumane.'' 

London-based Amnesty International said the regime seemed bent on totally
destroying the peaceful democratic movement. 

But it was business as usual for Burma's neighbors, which turn a blind eye
to the regime's human rights abuses and are determined to admit the country
to their regional grouping, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in
July. 

Vietnamese Communist Party leader Do Muoi arrived in Rangoon to a 21-gun
salute Thursday and met with Burma's military leaders, including Gen. Than
Shwe, the country's top general. 

ASEAN nations have criticized U.S. economic sanctions and say only a policy
of engaging the generals can moderate their behavior. 

Suu Kyi won the 1991 Nobel Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to
Burma, which has been ruled by the military since 1962. 

AP-NY-05-22-97 1359EDT
**********************
Burma's Army Launches Offensive against ethnics 
c The Associated Press  

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Burma's military regime has launched an offensive
against insurgents near the site of a proposed pipeline to carry gas to
Thailand, Burmese students said Thursday. 

The operation is part of a larger offensive by the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council to crush rebels based along the Thai-Burmese
border and secure the area for lucrative infrastructure projects. 

The All Burma Students Democratic Front said more than 1,000 government
troops were attacking insurgent camps in the Tenassarim Division, a southern
Burmese province. 

The offensive is close to the area where Texaco planned to build the gas
pipeline, the rebels said. The pipeline's future has been thrown into doubt
by U.S. economic sanctions on Burma that took effect Wednesday. 

The sanctions prohibit new investment in Burma by U.S. companies as
punishment for the regime's dismal human-rights record. Just this week,
Burma's military government has arrested 100 people who support the
democracy movement led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. 

The rebel group was formed by students who fled into Burma's jungles to
escape the army's bloody repression of the 1988 uprising against military
rule. It is the largest ally of the Karen National Union, an ethnic group
that has been fighting the government for decades. 

AP-NY-05-22-97 1358EDT
*****************
Burma Opposition reported 60 arrests
BANGKOK (Reuter) - At least 60 senior members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested by Burma's military government, and
the number was likely to grow, an NLD source said on Thursday. 

The government would not confirm or deny the arrests. But it said the NLD
was trying to create unnecessary problems in the country, forcing it to take
strong measures against the party. 

Without elaborating, the government said it had no choice but to take
necessary preventative measures to ensure peace. 

News of the arrests drew condemnation from the United States, Japan and
human rights organisations. 

Amnesty International, which said Burma had arrested more than 2,000 people
in 1996, condemned the arrests and called for the immediate and
unconditional release of the detainees. 

A senior NLD official told Reuters by telephone from Rangoon that at least
60 top party members, mostly from the provinces, had been detained by
authorities as they travelled to the capital to attend a party meeting
scheduled for May 27. 

He said the number of arrests was expected to grow as news trickled in from
the provinces. 

``It is more than 60 now, I believe,'' the NLD official said, speaking from
Suu Kyi's house, adding that most of those held were members of parliament
(MPs) elected in a 1990 poll. 

The NLD won more than 80 percent of the seats in the May 27, 1990 election.
But the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) never
recognised the result and has cracked down on elected MPs and top party
organisers ever since. 

A Burmese military official said the NLD was trying to cause unrest by
holding the party meeting, and that the government could not permit any
political party to disturb the peace, tranquility and stability of the nation. 

``It is a very obvious political movement by the NLD to create unnecessary
problems in the country and also by forcing the government to take strong
measures against them so that the anti-government propaganda can be played
in their favour,'' the official said in a statement faxed to Reuters in
response to questions about the arrests. 

The government made similar comments last May after it arrested about 261
senior NLD members ahead of a party congress also held to commemorate the
1990 election. 

It later released most of those detained, but some were charged and given
long prison sentences. Suu Kyi said other MPs were forced to sign letters
promising to resign their posts. 

The NLD official said the party would still hold its May 27 anniversary
celebration, which would double as a party meeting. 

``We are a political party, and we have to do our job. People will be
coming. They will get here in their own way,'' he said. 

The NLD official said several MPs who had reached Rangoon were staying in
Suu Kyi's compound, where the meeting was to be held. He said the Nobel
Peace laureate, who was rumoured to be ill, was fine but was busy and could
not come to the telephone. 

There were reports that provincial NLD MPs and top party organisers were
detained in their homes, followed in buses as they headed to Rangoon, or
warned not to attend the meeting on threat of arrest, the NLD official added. 

U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said on Wednesday that the
arrests demonstrated the ``perfidious and inhumane nature'' of the SLORC
regime. 

``It's another reason why we don't think Burma should be treated as a normal
country,'' Burns said one day after President Bill Clinton officially
imposed economic sanctions on Burma. 

Japan, in a statement, also called for the NLD members to be freed and urged
a political dialogue to seek democracy in Burma. 

10:44 05-22-97
*****************
Burma Says U.S. Sanction Hypothetical 
RANGOON, May 22 (Reuter) - The United States is interfering in Burmese
politics by slapping economic sanctions on Rangoon and is just trying to
impose its might on others, a Burmese government official said on Thursday. 

``The U.S. so-called democracy is actually a hypocrisy and the U.S. human
rights mean their right to impose their might on others,'' the official said
in a statement sent to Reuters. 

On Tuesday, U.S. President Bill Clinton officially imposed economic
sanctions on Burma. The United States and other Western countries accuse
Rangoon of human rights abuses and repression of the democracy movement led
by Aung San Suu Kyi. 

The Burmese official's statement said the U.S. sanctions indicated the
United States was trying to destabilise the Rangoon government. 

``This is a clear indication of U.S. trying to destabilise Myanmar (Burma)
by not only supporting anti-government political organisations but by
assisting and funding terrorist groups operating along the Thai-Myanmar
border,'' it said. 

Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) has accused
the United States of helping Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD)
party. 

``It is interesting to note that United States imposes economic sanctions on
some countries for allegedly sponsoring terrorism while she is taking the
privilege of doing the same to 

09:17 05-22-97
*******************
ASEAN SEES Gaining from U.S. Sanction
KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Reuter) - Washington's sanctions on Burma, which went
into effect this week, will be a boon for southeast Asian businesses,
officials of the ASEAN Business Forum (ABF) said on Thursday. 

The Clinton Administration's economic sanctions ``give us a lot of business
opportunities,'' ABF vice-president Azman Hashim told a news conference
organised by the forum. 

Azman gave the example of the 30-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam
which was lifted in 1994. The embargo allowed ASEAN businessmen a big
advantage in Vietnam, he said. 

``Once the embargo was over and they (U.S. businesses) came in, they are the
big boys'' who dominated the scene, he added. 

The ABF is a non-profit grouping of businesses in the Association of South
East Asian Nations, which comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

President Bill Clinton, citing ``severe repression'' in Burma, on Tuesday
imposed economic sanctions on Rangoon, including a ban on U.S. investment in
its oil and natural gas development. 

The United States is the fourth largest investor in Burma, after France,
Singapore and Thailand. 

The United States and many other Western countries have criticised Burma for
human rights abuses and for failing to recognise the election victory of the
National League for Democracy (NLD), which was co-founded by Nobel Peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. 

At least 60 members of Suu Kyi's NLD have been arrested by Burma's military
government this week and the number was likely to grow, an NLD source said
on Thursday. 

The government would not confirm or deny the arrests. But it said the NLD
was trying to create unnecessary problems in the country, forcing it to take
strong measures against the party. 

ABF president Loy Hean Heong said bringing Burma into the fold of ASEAN was
the best way to reform the country's military government. 

``At least they can learn from us and behave the way we behave,'' Loy said.
``They have to learn from us and be part of 

08:42 05-22-97
********************
Philippine Say Burma should still Join in ASEAN
MANILA, May 22 (Reuter) - The Philippines on Thursday defended Burma's
planned inclusion in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
despite international anger at the latest crackdown on political opposition
in Rangoon. 

At least 60 senior members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) have been arrested by Burma's military government and the
number is likely to grow, an NLD source said earlier. 

``You have to keep in mind that the question of Myanmar's (Burma's) entry
into ASEAN is being considered...from the point of view of the interests of
the other countries in ASEAN...and the people of Myanmar themselves,''
Philippine Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Rodolfo Severino told reporters. 

The Burmese government neither confirmed nor denied the arrests but has said
the NLD was forcing it to take strong measures. 

The United States, Japan and human rights groups have all condemned the
arrests of members of the NLD which won over 80 percent of the seats in a
general election seven years ago, though the result has never been
acknowledged by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) 

``We think that the welfare of the people of Myanmar, the interests of the
region and the interests of the Philippines would be better advanced with
Myanmar inside ASEAN rather than out,'' Severino said. 

ASEAN, some of whose member countries have also been regularly charged with
human rights abuses, has long insisted that neighbouring Burma should be
brought into their fold rather than forced into dangerous isolation. 

ASEAN groups Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Thailand and
the Philippines. 

At a conference this week in Manila, academics and other experts in the
region warned that the group risked being seen as legitimising a reviled
regime if they take in Burma as a member now. 

08:02 05-22-97
*****************
Burma Honors Vietnam 
RANGOON, May 22 (Reuter) - Vietnamese Communist Party chief Do Muoi arrived
to a ceremonial welcome in Rangoon on Thursday for a four-day visit to boost
bilateral ties. 

General Than Shwe, who is prime minister and chairman of the ruling State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and other officials of Burma's
military government met the Vietnamese party leader. 

Do Muoi, 80, was given a 21-gun salute after inspecting a guard of honour,
and thousands of children lined the streets waving flags of the two
countries as he was driven to the state guest house. 

The party secretary general was expected to discuss boosting ties and
Burma's impending and controversial entry to the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

The group, which comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, is expected to discuss Burma's entry at a
meeting in Malaysia on May 31. 

Vietnam's Communist Party daily, Nhan Dan, said in an editorial on Thursday
that ASEAN countries had defied pressure from the United States and the West
to isolate Burma. 

The United States and other nations have urged ASEAN not to admit Burma
because of its political and human rights record. 

``Being firm on its foreign policy of 'positive independence', Burma has won
popular sympathy from the international community,'' Nhan Dan said. 

Do Muoi's 65-member delegation included Deputy Prime Minister Phan Van Khai
and Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam. 

The two countries have formed a joint commission for cooperation and also
signed agreements to cooperate in narcotics 

07:16 05-22-97
***************
Burma Concerns Cloud on ASEAN's Entry
By Ruben Alabastro 

MANILA, May 22 (Reuter) - Southeast Asian leaders run the risk of being seen
as legitimising a reviled regime if they accept Burma now as new member of
the Association of Southeast Asian Naitons (ASEAN), experts warned in a
paper on Thursday. 

The paper summed up discussions at a two-day Manila meeting of Southeast
Asian security experts that ended on Wednesday. The meeting happened to
coincide with the arrest in Burma of about 60 activists in a renewed
crackdown on Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party. 

The experts, who included academic leaders from ASEAN countries, agreed
there was a need to expand the association to include Burma, Laos and
Cambodia, but questioned the timing of Rangoon's inclusion in the group. 

One point raised by some experts ``was the perception that Myanmar's
(Burma's) inclusion in ASEAN may be seen as a legitimisation of a
reprehensible regime,'' the paper said. 

University of the Philippines professor Carolina Hernandez, president of
Manila's Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, voiced concern
that Burma's membership ``may result in the undermining of the diplomatic
influence and political weight of ASEAN.'' 

``With the European Union's stand on Myanmar and the recent United States
sanctions against that country, ASEAN's dialogues with these countries will
prove to be difficult,'' warned Mohamad Jawhar Hassan of Malaysia. 

The United States and EU countries have attacked Burma's human rights
record. Washington officially imposed economic sanctions on Rangoon this
week, including a ban on new U.S. investment in Burma. 

Jawhar, head of Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies,
said the ``ASEAN culture will create some impact on Myanmar, but change will
be mostly propelled by internal factors with some external help.'' 

ASEAN currently has seven members: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Inclusion of Burma, Laos and
Cambodia would fulfil the group's dream of having all Southeast Asian
countries under one roof, with a combined population of more than half a
billion people. 

ASEAN leaders have agreed in principle to accept the three prospective
members simultaneously, but said the timing of their membership would be
decided later. 

Some experts at the meeting said ASEAN might take them in as early as July. 

``If ASEAN opts to include similar politically fragile members under its
roof, then ASEAN as a regional grouping would become fragile as well,'' said
Suchit Bunbongkarn, acting director of Thailand's Institute of Security and
International 

06:22 05-22-97
***********
Burma Says Opposition Create Problems
BANGKOK, May 22 (Reuter) - Burma's military government said on Thursday Aung
San Suu Kyi's opposition party was trying to create unnecessary problems in
the country, forcing it to take strong measures against the party. 

In its first statement since opposition officials said about 60 National
League for Democracy (NLD) members had been arrested over the past few days,
the government said in a faxed message to Reuters it had no choice but to
take necessary preventative measures to ensure peace. It did not confirm or
deny the
anniversary in Yangon (Rangoon) on May 27. It is a very obvious political
movement by the NLD to create unnecessary problems in the country and also
by forcing the government to take strong measures against them so that the
anti-government propaganda can be played in their favour,'' the statement
said in response to questions from Reuters. 

An NLD official said from Rangoon on Thursday that about 60 senior NLD
politicians had been detained as they headed to the Burmese capital to
attend a party meeting to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the party's
election victory. 

Burma's military government, which never recognised the results of the NLD's
1990 victory, said it could not permit any political party to disturb the
peace, tranquility and stability of the nation. 

The government made similar comments last May after it arrested about 261
senior NLD members ahead of a party congress also held to commemorate the
1990 election. It later released most of those detained, but some were
charged and given long 

01:49 05-22-97
*********************
Amnesty Condemned Burma's Arrests
BANGKOK, May 22 (Reuter) - Amnesty International has condemned Burma's
military government for the arrests of dozens of opposition leaders and
called for their immediate and unconditional release. 

At least 60 members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
(NLD) party have been detained by the government as they headed to Rangoon
to attend a party meeting, a senior NLD official told Reuters from the
Burmese capital. 

The London-based human rights organisation said in a statement received on
Thursday that the latest arrests show Burma's State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) was trying to eliminate the party. 

``The SLORC is bent on crushing the peaceful activities of a party which won
more than 80 percent of the seats in the 1990 general election,'' Amnesty
said. ``Last year was the worst year for human rights since the government
annulled the elections. Now the SLORC seems determined to eliminate the
party altogether.'' 

The NLD won a landslide victory in a May 1990 election but was never allowed
to take power. 

``All governments, but particularly the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) -- which is expected to admit Myanmar (Burma) as a member
this year -- should protest to the SLORC in the strongest possible terms
about these arrests and pressure the government to improve its human rights
record,'' Amnesty said.'' 

ASEAN groups Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei
and Vietnam. 

The arrests came one day after the United States signed a law imposing
economic sanctions as a condemnation of the regime's human rights abuses. 

Amnesty said the human rights situation is continuing to deteriorate in Burma. 

It said more than 2,000 people were arrested in Burma in 1996, the majority
of them NLD supporters. Although many have been released, dozens have been
sentenced to long prison terms. 

Amnesty said early this year over 40 NLD members and students imprisoned in
Rangoon's infamous Insein Jail had been moved to prisons in remote parts of
the country, preventing them from receiving any family assistance. 

``Several of theses...are suffering from poor health as a result of prison
conditions,'' the report said. 

Suu Kyi and other top party members are subjected to surveillance,
restriction of movement and other forms of 

00:57 05-22-97
*********************
Japan Urged Burma to Release the Arrestees 
TOKYO, May 22 (Reuter) - The Japanese government on Thursday called for the
release of opposition politicians arrested by Burma's military government
and urged political dialogue to achieve democracy in Burma. 

``The government is concerned at a move that runs counter to the tide of
democratisation in Burma,'' top government spokesman Seiroku Kajiyama told a
news conference. 

``Japan hopes efforts will be made to start a dialogue between military
authorities and the National League for Democracy to realise democratisation
and calls on Burma's government to release those it has detained,'' he said. 

About 60 senior members of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy (NLD) were detained by authorities as they headed to the
Burmese capital to attend a party meeting, a senior NLD official said on
Thursday. 

Most of those arrested were members of parliament elected in a May 27, 1990,
election in which the NLD won a landslide victory with more than 80 percent
of the seats but was barred by the ruling State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC) from taking office. 

Japan also criticised the junta last year after more than 261 top NLD
members were arrested in connection with a party congress planned to
coincide with the election anniversary. 

Tokyo has indicated, however, that it will not back economic sanctions
against Burma announced this week by U.S. President 

23:50 05-21-97
***************
U.S. Urges Burma to Delay in ASEAN membership
c Kyodo News Service    

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Kyodo) - The United States urged the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday to delay its planned admission
of Myanmar into the regional group, while blasting renewed repression of the
democratic opposition by the nation's military rulers. 

''We don't support that (membership),'' State Department spokesman Nicholas
Burns told reporters. 

Asked if Washington is trying to get ASEAN to delay Myanmar's membership,
Burns said, ''Yes, we are.'' 

Burns also criticized the ASEAN policy of seeking improvements in Myanmar
through dialogue with the military regime, saying, ''It's a shame because
you would think that budding democracies in Southeast Asia would want to
stand up for democracy.'' 

The seven-nation regional group is expected to announce the admission of
Myanmar, along with Laos and Cambodia, at a meeting of its foreign ministers
in July in Kuala Lumpur. 

The current ASEAN members are Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

Meanwhile, Burns confirmed reports earlier Wednesday that the junta, called
the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), has arrested ''at least
50 members'' of the National League for Democracy led by Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. 


The reports came shortly after U.S. President Bill Clinton signed an
executive order that took effect Wednesday banning new American investment
in Myanmar because of the military's escalating human rights abuses and
repression of the democratic opposition. 

''This is yet one more example of the perfidious and inhumane nature of the
Burmese (Myanmar) regime,'' Burns said. ''It's another reason why we don't
think that Burma ought to be treated as a normal country.'' 

Asked if the timing of the renewed arrests suggested retaliation by the
military government against the sanctions, Burns said, ''If they think
that...they're going to punish us, they're mistaken.'' 

''It's just going to reinforce the move here in Washington, in the
administration and on Capitol Hill, that the Burmese need to be isolated,''
Burns warned. 

A U.S. administration official said Washington has no plans to slap further
sanctions on Myanmar in the wake of the renewed arrests, but will urge
ASEAN, Japan and European countries to join the U.S. in pressing the
government. 

Burns said, ''The United States, if we have to stand alone sometimes, in
Burma, in Iran, we'll do it because we are a democratic country and we do
believe in human rights around the world.'' 

''It would be nice to see...Asian countries on the issue of Burma...stand up
with us,'' he added. 

AP-NY-05-21-97 2309EDT
*********************