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

Aung San Suu Kyi in 13th day of sta



       Aung San Suu Kyi in 13th day of stand-off with Myanmar junta

       Mon 24 Aug 98 - 07:48 GMT 

       YANGON, Aug 24 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
was Monday locked in the 13th
       consecutive day of a roadside stand-off with the country's junta, as
a protest against the military rulers took place in
       Yangon, diplomats and other sources said.

       The Nobel peace laureate has been camped out on a bridge in a
minibus 25 kilometres (15 miles) northwest of
       Yangon since being blocked from travelling to meet provincial
supporters. It was her fourth failed bid to travel outside
       Yangon in little over a month.

       "As far as we know, she is in the same place," said one foreign
diplomat. "And as far as we know, she is fine."

       Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) Sunday said
her health was deteriorating and she had
       not eaten for 10 days.

       Her stand-off continued as some 100 people staged a sit-down protest
at an intersection in Yangon, with police
       sealing off a wide area and deploying anti-riot teams, sources said.

       The NLD earlier said Aung San Suu Kyi was committed to staying at
the site of the stand-off until all NLD members
       detained or subject to travel restrictions in recent months were
released.

       The junta says it has provided her, as well two drivers and an NLD
official accompanying her, with food, water and
       even music cassettes and outdoor furniture. A government ambulance
has also been deployed at the scene in case she
       falls ill, it said.

       The junta has also warned that the NLD's announcment that it would
convene the national parliament which was
       elected in 1990 but never allowed to sit would be illegal.

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