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Military Govt. sentences Suu Kyi's



Subject: Military Govt. sentences Suu Kyi's relatives to 10-years jail

Military Govt. sentences Suu Kyi's relatives to 10-years jail

19/8/97, THE TIMES OF INDIA (New Delhi)

Bangkok: Myanmar's military government has sentenced three members of
Aung San Suu Kyi's family to 10 years in prison, bringing the total
number of her relatives in jail to four, a government press release said
on Monday.

The government sentenced Cho Aung Than, Myint Swe and Nge Ma Ma Than to
seven years for breaching the Unlawful Association Act and three years
under the Emergency Provisions Act, a sweeping law that allows the
government to jail people for any activity it deems against its
interests.

Cho Aung Than and Nge Ma Ma Than are cousins to Suu Kyi, and Myint Swe
is married to Nge Ma Ma Than.

In a press briefing in June, Myanmar's intelligence chief, Gen. Khin
Nyunt, accused the three of accepting money from two foreign activists,
Phillip Robertson and John Osolnick, and handing it over to Suu Kyi.

Robertson allegedly gave them $80,000 and Osolnick about $4,000. Suu Kyi
has denied receiving the money.

Also sentenced to life in prison for treason plus 10 years on the same
charges as the other was Myo Aung Thant, a member of the Federation of
Trade Unions of Burma, an underground labour group. Khin Nyunt said he
was plotting bomb attacks in Yangon.

Cho Aung Than served as Suu Kyi's personal secretary, taking after the
arrest of Aye Win, another cousin of Suu Kyi, in May 1996.

Aye Win, who is the son of one of Myanmar's independence martyrs, Ba
Win, never been charged with a crime. Nonetheless, he has been held in
Insein prison ever since.

Observers in Yangon said the arrest of the four relatives were an
attempt by the military government to increase pressure on Suu Kyi by
targeting members of her family.

Aye Win never spoke about politics with visiting journalists, but merely
handled Suu Kyi's appointments. He said he had been reluctant to take
the job, but did so as a family obligation.

Neither Myint Swe nor Nge Ma Ma Than were frequent visitors to Suu Kyi's
compound, and observers in Yangon found their arrests surprising.

Because of the government's wide network of spies and informers, Suu Kyi
trust few outsiders to work closely with her on a daily basis. Family
members frequently come into the compound to bring her meals and care
for her.

Another of Suu Kyi's cousins, Sein Win, lives in exile and heads the
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), the
country's government in exile.

The NCGUB is composed of members of parliament who won office in the
1990 election the military refused to honour. The military government
considers Sein Win a terrorist. (AP)