NEWS - Myanmar puts democracy advoc

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Myanmar puts democracy advocates on trial

            In this story:

                -U.S. representative 'optimistic'
                -Not the first time 
                -Pressure increases over
                -treatment of Suu Kyi 

            August 14, 1998
            Web posted at: 3:23 a.m. EDT (0723 GMT) 

            YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) --
            Eighteen international democracy
            advocates were put on trial Friday morning by Myanar's
ruling military
            government after their arrest last week for handing out
pro-democracy
            leaflets in the Yangon. 

            The 18 -- six Americans, three Thais, three Malaysians,
three
            Indonesians, two Filipinos and one Australian -- are being
tried under
            a far-reaching law that allows the government to jail
dissidents for up to
            twenty years for inciting unrest or threatening the
stability of the state. 

            The trial is being held at a court in Insein, a northern
suburb of Yangon
            that is home to a prison where political detainees are
usually kept. The
            court was open to some members of the public as well as
diplomats
            and journalists. 

                               The activists were detained by
authorities
                               Sunday for handing out small cards to
                               Myanmar citizens telling them that the
                               outside world supported their struggle
for
                               democracy. The cards also urged the
                               people to remember a 1988 opposition
                               uprising brutally crushed by the military
                               junta. 

                               The military, which has ruled Myanmar in
                               various guises since 1962, allegedly
                               gunned down about 3,000 demonstrators
                               during the 1988 uprising. The government
                               says the death toll was less than fifty. 

                               The arrests Sunday came was one day
                               after the tenth anniversary of the deadly
            crackdown. 

            The 18 democracy activists have been held at a military
guest house
            in the capital. Diplomats who have visited the house
described them
            as cheerful and well-fed and have said the activists were
being treated
            humanely. 

            The military government issued a statement this week,
however,
            saying their release had been delayed because they were
being
            uncooperative. 

            The military is trying to discourage international activists
from entering
            Myanmar and inciting the population to revolt, while at the
same time
            avoiding repercussions from the governments of countries
from which
            the activists come. 

            U.S. representative 'optimistic'

                                   The United States has pressed
                                   Myanmar's government to release
                                   the detainees but the governments
                                   of the other activists have stayed
                                   relatively neutral, expressing
                                   sympathy for their cause and urging
                                   a speedy resolution of the issue. 

                                   U.S. Republican Chris Smith left for
                                   Thailand on Wednesday, vowing to
                                   "make every effort" to get into
            Myanmar and help secure the release of six Americans. 

            Smith, chairman of the House Subcommittee on International
            Operations and Human Rights, said planned to apply for a
Myanmar
            visa in Bangkok. 

            Smith told CNN early Friday that he is optimistic he will
get into the
            country. 

            "The growing numbers of Americans and people around the
world are
            concerned about the 18, this will bring incredible light and
scrutiny to
            the military government in Rangoon," Smith said. 

            Not the first time

            Earlier this year, the military government sentenced a
British national,
            James Mawdsley, to five years in prison, also for handing
out
            pro-democracy leaflets in Yangon. He was released after
three
            months. 

            Mawdsley had been detained in 1997 for a similar action, but
was
            deported with just a warning from the government not to
return. 

            Citizens of Myanmar, also known as Burma, rarely ever
receive an
            attorney to defend them, democracy activists and human
rights groups
            say. Trials usually consist of reading out the charges and
sentencing
            the accused -- a process that often takes less than an hour,
they say. 

            The recent detainees are unlikely to receive that sort of
treatment,
            however. Mawdsley was represented by a Myanmar lawyer at his
trial. 

            In 1995, the International Red Cross pulled out of Myanmar
in protest
            because it was not allowed access to political prisoners. 

            Pressure increases over treatment of Suu Kyi

            Meanwhile, international pressure is
            growing against Myanmar's military
            government over its treatment of key
            opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi. 

            Suu Kyi sat in a minivan on a country
            road for a third day on Friday as part
            of her campaign for democracy and
            human rights. 

            The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner
            and three other people are sitting in the vehicle on a small
wooden
            bridge over a creek near Anyarsu, 20 miles west of Yangon.
The four
            were stopped there by police on Wednesday on their way to
see
            supporters in Pathein, 120 miles west of the capital. 

            The trip was a repeat of a visit in late July that led to a
similar six-day
            standoff that was ended forcibly by government security men
on July
            29. 

            The military has asked Suu Kyi to return to Yangon saying it
was not
            safe on the road. 

            Despite growing international calls for change, Yangon has
rebuffed a
            request by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to receive a
special
            emissary to discuss "current developments," a U.N. spokesman
said
            on Thursday. 

            "The response from the (Myanmar) prime minister was polite,
but
            stated that there was no reason for such a rush to visit,"
U.N.
            spokesman Juan Carlos Brandt said. 

               The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this
report