Reuters-Myanmar lashes foreigners o

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Myanmar lashes foreigners over Suu Kyi protest 
04:47 a.m. Aug 18, 1998 Eastern 

By Aung Hla Tun 



YANGON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Myanmar's state-run press lashed out at foreign
governments and news organisations on Tuesday, accusing them of collusion
in a week-old roadside protest by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 



Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) was branded ``Number One
Enemy'' by newspapers on Monday, was stuck in a minivan on a country bridge
for a seventh day, having been prevented from driving to see supporters in
western Myanmar. 



Diplomats say the protest has highlighted her lack of freedom of movement
and has drawn attention to her campaign for the government to recognise the
results of a general election eight years ago that her party won by a
landslide. 



The NLD wants the parliament to be called by Friday. 



An article published in three government-run newspapers on Tuesday accused
foreign broadcasters, including Voice of America, British Broadcasting Corp
and Radio Free Asia, of interfering in Myanmar's internal affairs by
``profusely advocating the demand of the lady.'' 



It said foreign journalists and diplomats had colluded with the NLD to
publicise the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate's latest protest, in which she is
refusing to return to Yangon after being stopped by police at a
check-point. 



Suu Kyi and three companions have been in their van at Anyarsu, 30 km (20
miles) southwest of the capital, since last Wednesday. 



``Some so-called diplomats and foreign correspondents, making arrangements
beforehand with so-called NLD leaders, spread invented and exaggerated
news, a pack of lies...,'' the commentary said. 



``Some Western governments, with their eyes shut, shouted at the top of
their voice, protested and meddled,'' it said. 



It accused Suu Kyi of colluding with foreign governments to instigate
unrest and added: ``Myanmar people get infuriated whenever they touch the
scars caused by the colonialists.'' 



``Myanmar people are opposed to interference and dictates of anyone,'' it
added. 



A statement from the NLD said the government had given permission for a
medical team to visit the protest site to check on the health of Suu Kyi
and the others. 



Suu Kyi suffered from dehydration after a similar six-day standoff which
was ended forcibly by the military on July 29. 



The NLD expressed concern about her health on Monday and said their food
supplies might not be sufficient. 



The government said on Monday its officials had provided Suu Kyi with fresh
fruit for breakfast while the others had eaten every morning at a nearby
restaurant. 



It has ridiculed the party's ultimatum on parliament and the roadside
protests by sending gifts including a beach umbrella. 



Diplomats say the aim appears to be to try to minimise the impact by making
the protest look like a camping holiday. 



The government has accused the NLD of staging the protests to provoke
unrest among university students who led a nationwide pro-democracy
movement crushed by the military 10 years ago. 



On Tuesday, more than 96,000 students, whose universities and colleges have
been closed since protests in late 1996, sat final examinations at 351
centres around the country. 



Diplomats and university officials said there had been no signs of trouble.




``They all seem to be preoccupied by their exams,'' said one official at
the Yangon Institute of Technology, which has been a hotbed of student
activism in the past. 



``So far as we have heard, they are peacefully doing their exams,'' said an
official of the Ministry of Education. ``I am sure everything will go
smoothly.