Burmese Junta Arrests 316

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

                         Burmese Junta Arrests 316 

                         Monday, May 26, 1997 12:26 pm EDT 

                         BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Burma's pro-democracy
                         opposition said Monday that the military junta had
arrested 316
                         of its senior members in an effort to stop party
leader Aun San
                         Suu Kyi from holding a congress. 

                         The National League for Democracy is to meet
Tuesday at the
                         Rangoon home of Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace
                         Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to Burma. 

                         Tuesday marks the seventh anniversary of parliamentary
                         elections in which the opposition won 82 percent of
the vote.
                         The military government dissolved the parliament
before it could
                         convene. 

                         Party Vice Chairman Tin Oo said by telephone from
Rangoon
                         that between 50 and 60 of the party members held by
military
                         authorities were elected to that parliament. 

                         The detainees, all from outside the capital, did
not include party
                         members who heeded official requests not to travel
to Rangoon
                         for the congress, he said. 

                         Relatives of party members also were arrested. A
party official
                         in Lemeyethna, 90 miles northwest of Rangoon,
reached the
                         capital only to find that authorities had seized
his wife and
                         daughter, Tin Oo said. 

                         Party leaders announced last week that a roundup of NLD
                         officials had begun, a claim corroborated by Burmese
                         intelligence officials speaking on condition of
anonymity. 

                         While not publicly confirming the arrests, the
military regime said
                         recently that governments must sometimes detain
``individuals
                         who threaten actions to create chaos and cause social
                         disruption.'' 

                         Authorities arrested 262 people last year to
prevent Suu Kyi
                         holding a similar congress. Most were freed after a
few weeks,
                         but about two dozen were held and sentenced to long
jail terms. 

                         The military regime, led by Senior Gen. Than Shwe,
has accused
                         Suu Kyi's party of exaggerating its claims of
government
                         persecution for ``propaganda purposes.'' 

                         Tin Oo said Monday the party was prepared to
provide a list of
                         detainees in reply.