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The news of The Nation and Bangkon



News headlines
1):Opposition activists held ( The Nation)
2):Suu KyiHosts tea party at home Entertains women from       Asean nations
(Bangkok Post)
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1):Opposition activists held

Rangoon:Burma's ruling junta has sentenced two opposition activtsts to
13years imprisonment each for distributing copies of a letter from a rebel
army,sources said yesterday.
The members of Nobel peace preze winner Aung San Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy(NLD)handed out the copies at their party leader's compound on
March 27, the sources added.
The letter was from the Shan State Army to Rangoon intelligence chief Lt
Gen Khin Nyint but details of its content were not immediately available.
The Shan State Army has struck a ceasefire deal with Burmese authorities.

-Agence France-Press.

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2):Suu Kyi Hosts tea party at home
   Entertains women from Asean nations 

Sanitsuda Ekachai

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democracy leader, had a chance to do what women
in free societies take for granted _ she hosted a tea party at her home_
entertaining a group of women from Asean countries.
	The Nobel laureate looked radiant for the get_ together, wearing a green
traditional dress with orange embroidery and a flower decoration in her hair.
	The gathering at her blockaded residence on Friday was a pre-birthday
party for Mrs. Suu Kyi who will turn 53 on July 19. Pro-democracy groups
celebrate it as Burmese Women's Day in honour of woman who have struggled
for democracy in Burma.
	Although officially released from a six-year house arrest in 1995, her
movements are severely restricted. The military does not allow her to
receive guests or to travel outside Rangoon. They strictly monitor her
outings.
	Telephone conversations are tapped and regularly cut off to prevent her
talking to the media. Except for diplomats, anyone who sees her is
followed, photographed, barred from entering Burma again or has his or her
personal belongings confiscated.
	It was the first time in nearly a decade that the ruling junta loosened
the restrictions and allowed to have friends around. The military might
also want to show it is not intimidated by a "hen party".
"I also told them that if they did not allow me to receive guests in my
home, I would have my tea party out in the street," said Mrs Suu Kyi with a
mischievous smile.
The opposition leader sat on the living room floor with her guests and
engaged in a women-to-women talk. The room is decorated with old family
pictures and a wall-sized portrait of her father, General Aung San, the
hero of Burma's independence from Britain and the founder of Burmese army.
Small talk while sipping tea and snacking quickly gave way to discussion
about women's rights, spirituality, her daily life, how she coped with long
separations from her family, and her concerns with the sorry state of
education in Burma.


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