Party Organizers To Meet

[RANGOONP@xxxxxxx]

 .c The Associated Press  

RANGOON, Burma (AP) - In a policy shift, Burma's military government allowed
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to confer with members of her party Monday to
discuss ways of stepping up their campaign for democracy. 

The meetings at Suu Kyi's lakeside Rangoon home were a rare chance for the
opposition leader to speak directly with activists of the National League for
Democracy from outside the capital. For the past year, the military regime
has blockaded her home and severely restricted access to her by arresting
party members. 

This weekend, the military changed course and permitted Suu Kyi to convene a
party congress at her Rangoon compound. It was the largest such gathering
since 1990. 

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, used the occasion to praise
the regime for allowing the meeting. 

``The fact that we have been able to hold this meeting is due to the
cooperation of the authorities to a large degree. If they cooperate more, we
will appreciate it more,'' she said. ``It's much more fun to be friends. We
should not be enemies. We all belong to the same country.'' 

It remains to be seen whether officials will keep up the more tolerant
approach, but diplomats and other observers in Rangoon said both the military
and the democrats came away winners from the party congress. 

The United Nations General Assembly is in session and an annual resolution
condemning the regime for its human rights abuses is on the agenda. 

By allowing the opposition congress, the government gave its new allies in
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which admitted Burma as a member
in July, some ammunition to use in opposing the resolution.