Myanmar dissidents rally in Tokyo

[zawwinmg@xxxxxxx]

Myanmar dissidents rally in Tokyo for elected assembly+
     TOKYO, July 19 Kyodo - Myanmar dissidents in Tokyo echoed Sunday calls
by Aung San Suu Kyi's party demanding that Myanmar's ruling junta convene a
parliament of members elected in the last elections.  
     Taking advantage of the country's national day of mourning for leaders
assassinated in 1947, about 60 Myanmar dissidents and sympathizers walked
past the closed gate of the Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo, calling on the junta
to convene the parliament as demanded by the pro-democracy National League
for Democracy (NLD). 
     An NLD ultimatum called on the junta to convene by August 21 a
parliament of lawmakers mandated by the 1990 elections, in which the NLD won
a landslide victory but the junta refused to honor the results.
     A joint statement by dissident groups also called on the junta to free
all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally
and to enter into constructive dialogue with pro-democracy groups led by Suu
Kyi.
     ''We see the NLD movement as heading not towards confrontation, but
towards dialogue,'' said Ye Htut, who heads the NLD Japan Branch, a support
group of Suu Kyi's NLD.  --end --