Aung San Suu Kyi keeps up the heat

[tinkyi@xxxxxxx]

Aung San Suu Kyi keeps up the heat on Myanmar junta

       Thu 13 Aug 98 - 05:38 GMT

       YANGON, Aug 13 (AFP) - Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi kept up the
heat on Myanmar's embattled junta
       Thursday on the second day of a new roadside confrontation with
authorities, as 18 foreign activists spent a fifth day
       in military custody.

       "As far as we know she is still there, and it is just like last
time," a western embassy official said, referring to a
       six-day standoff which ended when the Nobel peace laureate was
forcibly taken back to her home on July 29.

       In that case she was blocked from travelling to meet supporters
outside Yangon and refused to budge from a
       roadside some 25 kilometres (15 miles) outside the Myanmar capital.

       She was at almost exactly the same location after again being blocked
by officials when she attempted to travel
       Wednesday, the diplomats said, adding that in the latest incident she
was in a mini-van rather than a sedan and had
       brought extra supplies.

       "It looks like she is getting ready to sit it out longer this time,"
another western diplomat said.

       This is her fourth failed attempt to travel to meet provincial
supporters in little over a month.

       An official junta newspaper Thursday said the National League for
Democracy (NLD) leader was "like an animal
       with the long tail," suggesting she was a monkey being forced to
perform by foreign masters.

       Without directly identifying the Nobel peace laureate, a commentary
in the official New Light of Myanmar said she
       was unable make concessions in dealing with the junta "or else those
from outside will describe or criticize her that
       she has deviated from the original course or softened her stance."

       "She will not allow it to happen," it said. "She has the pride."

       Aung San Suu Kyi has demanded the junta convene parliament by August
21 or face unspecified consequences and
       analysts and exiled opposition figures have said the ultimatum has
put her in a position where she must take action if
       she is to retain credibility.

       The NLD-led opposition won 1990 polls by a landslide but the junta
has refused to relinquish power.

       "As things have gone too far, she is like an animal with the long
tail that has been placed on the throne," the
       commentary added.

       "Under the circumstances, the animal could not jump down from the
throne.

       "It is true."

       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.

       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 wewre
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 the family of one of the
       detained Americans, 19-year-old Michele Keegan, whose hometown is in
Smith's district.

       Myanmar's 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.


)AFP 1998