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Foreign activists held in Myanmar f



Foreign activists held in Myanmar for fifth day

       Thu 13 Aug 98 - 05:18 GMT

       YANGON, Aug 13 (AFP) - Eighteen foreign activists began their fifth
day in detention here Thursday for allegedly
       attempting to incite unrest by distributing leaflets promoting
democracy and human rights, diplomats said.

       There was no indication what action the country's junta intended to
take against the activists, who were detained in
       the Myanmar capital Sunday, they added.

       All were being well-treated and were in high spirits, though some
complained about the intermittent supply of
       running water at the two police facilities where they were being
held, the diplomats said.

       "It's not a problem with drinking water -- they have plenty of that,"
one western embassy official said.

       "It's the running water. But that is a problem most people have to
deal with in Burma, it's just the way it is.

       The United States Wednesday demanded the junta immediately release
six Americans among the 18 detainees.

       The activists had been handing out pamphlets in Yangon urging people
to remember the 10th anniversary of a bloody
       military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators on August 8, 1988.

       The detainees were six US nationals, three Thais, three Malaysians,
three Indonesians, two Filipinos and one
       Australian. Ten were male and eight female. Diplomats visited the 18
on Tuesday and several embassies said they
       had applied for further access.

       The families of the Australian and Filipino detainees were understood
to be on their way to Bangkok and
       considering travelling to Myanmar, reports from their home countries
said.

       Meanwhile, a US congressman left the United States Wednesday
intending to travel to Myanmar to seek the release
       of the six US nationals, his office said.

       Representative Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, departed
after consulting with the family of one of the
       detained Americans, 19-year-old Michele Keegan, whose hometown is in
Smith's district.

       However, the Myanmar embassy in Washington had urged him not to try
to travel there and it was understood he did
       not have a Myanmar visa. He was due to first travel to Bangkok but
his arrival there could not be confirmed.

       A junta spokesman would not comment on the possible outcome of the
case against the 18, whom he said could be
       charged under three separate laws allowing for hefty prison terms.

       Exiled pro-democracy groups have called for a mass campaign of civil
disobedience in Myanmar and warned of
       confrontation if the junta does not convene parliament by August 21,
a deadline set by the leading National League
       for Democracy (NLD) opposition party.

       The NLD, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won 1990 elections
by a landslide but the junta has refused to
       relinquish power.


)AFP 1998