NEWS - Interview-Exiles Call for My

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Interview-Exiles Call for Myanmar Reconciliation

            Reuters
            07-AUG-98

            BANGKOK, Aug 7 (Reuters)- Exiled students called on Friday
for
            Myanmars military government to talk to opposition leader
Aung San
            Suu Kyi to bring reconciliation to the country. 

            Speaking on the eve of the 10th anniversary of a bloody
crackdown on
            pro-democracy activists, the foreign secretary of the All
Burma
            Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) said the military
government had
            nothing fear from Myanmars opposition. 

            ``We need the participation of the Burmese military. We are
not saying
            we dont want you,'' Aung Naing Oo told Reuters in an
interview. ``We
            are looking for a win-win situation.'' 

            ``We will sit down and talk and will work for the good of
our country for
            the future, and we want the Burmese military to know it is
time for
            reconciliation.'' 

            Tension has been rising recently in Myanmar. Saturday marks
a
            decade since the army fired into demonstrators on the steps
of
            Yangon city hall on August 8, 1988, which has since become
known as
            ``Four Eights Day.'' 

            The violence was followed by a crackdown on the opposition
across
            Myanmar, then called Burma. 

            The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) says
35
            police, 15 demonstrators and ``a few dozen rioters'' were
killed in the
            demonstrations. 

            Naing Oo and the ABSDF, a key mouthpiece for the Myanmar
            opposition outside the country, put the death toll for the
events of 1988
            at closer to 8,000. 

            He said Saturdays anniversary was a key date for Myanmars
            pro-democracy opposition. 

            ``It is very, very important for all of us. Tomorrow
symbolises the fall of
            the military dictatorship,'' he said. 

            But Naintg Oo said he did not expect Suu Kyis National
League for
            Democracy (NLD) to stage big demonstrations on Saturday and
            instead would wait until August 21 before making a move. 

            The NLD has set August 21 as the deadline for the government
to
            convene a parliament of members elected at polls in May
1990. The
            NLD overwhelmingly won that election but the military
ignored the
            result. 

            ``If the Burmese military does not comply, and I dont think
they will
            comply...they will lose credibility,'' he said. 

            ``I think the NLD will do something, something important
that we dont
            know about at this stage, and the people of Burma in their
various
            organisations will support that move,'' he said. 

            ``But given an important day like tomorrow, anything can
happen. Even
            a small spark can create a big flame in the country,'' he
said. 

            ``I cannot guarantee that there wont be any demonstrations.
There are
            a lot of political organisations, students and monks, and
they may do
            something. There have been sporadic small gatherings
throughout the
            country, especially in the cities.'' 

            Naing Oo said the military government should use the
anniversary as
            an opportunity to talk to the opposition. 

            ``We have called on the Burmese military junta to go into
dialogue with
            the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the
representatives of the
            ethnic nationalities,'' he said. 

            ``The best solution for all of us is to find a peaceful
solution through
            dialogue.''