[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

SCMP-Tensions high as deadline for



South China Morning Post
Friday  August 21  1998

Tensions high as deadline for parliament looms 

AGENCIES in Rangoon 
Political tensions were running high yesterday on the eve of an opposition
deadline for the junta to convene the elected parliament.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel peace laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, has demanded the parliament elected in 1990 be convened by
today, warning of unspecified consequences if it was not.
NLD chairman Aung Shwe met junta chiefs earlier this week as Ms Aung San
Suu Kyi remained locked in a roadside stand-off with authorities who have
refused to let her visit supporters in the provinces.

"We have always said the deadline was unrealistic and the Government would
not bend," a Western diplomat said.

"That hasn't really changed, but there are some indications the meeting
might have broken new ground."

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

Rangoon markets are being swept by rumours that unrest would erupt if the
junta failed to convene parliament.

There have also been widespread rumours of the impending release of key
political prisoners after the meeting.

However, officials from both the Government and the NLD say Ms Aung San Suu
Kyi's role remained a sticking point.

"She is not officially recognised as a political figure," said an Asian
diplomat.

"So even if they bring the NLD into a new government, they can't accept her
without losing face."

Ms Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday spent her ninth day in a mini-van on a small
bridge 25km from Rangoon.

She offered to end the stand-off if the Government agreed to release jailed
members of her party.

Her health was also "failing" according to a statement released by the NLD.

Citing her personal physicians, who have visited her twice in her van
outside Rangoon, her eyes were turning yellow and she had low blood
pressure, the party said.