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AFP-More Myanmar opposition arrests



More Myanmar opposition arrests, calls for Aung San Suu Kyi deportation
Tue 08 Sep 98 - 11:45 GMT 

YANGON, Sept 8 (AFP) - Myanmar's opposition said Tuesday the military had
arrested 110 more of its members and a commentary in the state media called
for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be deported.

Opposition officials said the junta had arrested a further 110 members of
her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, bringing the total detained
in the past three days to 220.



The junta said they had merely been invited for a political discussion.



The NLD said in a statement that 73 of those arrested in various parts of
the country since Sunday were members of parliament elected in the 1990
polls which the opposition won by a landslide.



"The NLD strongly condemns and protests these arrests and demands their
immediate release," it said.



The junta arrested some 110 NLD members on Sunday and Monday, opposition
officials said earlier.



Meanwhile a commentary entitled "Time for Deportation" in the state's
Mirror Daily on Tuesday, attributed to an unnamed chief court lawyer,
appealed to the junta to deport Aung San Suu Kyi.



"Daw Suu Kyi ... has tried to blatantly destroy the country by deliberately
creating problems," the commentary, believed to be officially inspired,
said.



"I therefore appeal to the government, on behalf of the people, that it is
time now to issue a deportation order and send her back where she belongs,"
it added.



"Since she is undoubtedly a foreigner (having married a Britisher) and the
British consul would obviously intervene on her behalf if she were charged
with sedition, the next best thing to do under the circumstances (as a
sovereign state) is to have her deported."



Observers in Yangon said the arrests appeared to be a pre-emptive strike
following the NLD's announcement that it intends unilaterally to convene
the parliament elected in 1990 by the end of this month.



The military refused to hand over power after the election eight years ago
and has rejected demands that the 1990 parliament be convened, saying a new
national constitution must be written first.



Foreign diplomats in Yangon confirmed the detentions were taking place but
could not say how many people were involved.



"I can't confirm exact figures but a large number have been detained," one
said.



"There was no brutality, it was handled very smoothly. They are being held
in government guest houses, but their freedom of movement has definitely
been curtailed."



An official statement said authorities had simply invited the NLD members
for a discussion on the convening of parliament and they were being
"comfortably housed at government guest houses while the process continues.



"To convene a parliament before the constitution is finished would lead to
political confusion and possibly undermine national security," the
statement said.



"The government of Myanmar is very concerned at the tragic loss of life due
to political violence in some other countries in the region in recent
days," it continued in an apparent reference to Cambodia.



Political tensions have been rising since the NLD set an August 21 deadline
for the junta to convene parliament. After the deadline passed the
opposition vowed to convene parliament by itself.



But diplomats and observers in Yangon said the city was quiet and only a
light police presence remained outside university facilities where students
held demonstrations last week.



A junta official said a sit-in demonstration at the Yangon Institute of
Technology's (YIT) Hlaing campus had ended and most students were now
taking exams.



"Over 70 of them considered to be ringleaders who instigated last week's
campus unrest are presently taking their exams at a separate venue," the
official said.



Some 3,000 students protested at Hlaing last Wednesday while about 800 more
gathered at the main YIT campus nearby. Both protests ended peacefully.



The demonstrations were the biggest since unrest in 1996 when universities
were closed.