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Reuters-Under Fire, Myanmar General



Under Fire, Myanmar General Says To Stick To Goals 
07:51 a.m. Sep 09, 1998 Eastern 

YANGON, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government, facing
international criticism for its latest crackdown on the pro-democracy
opposition, said it will stick to its goals despite efforts of
``neo-colonialists'' to dominate the country. 

``The neo-colonialists and their lackeys are using different ways and means
to dominate Myanmar,'' Wednesday's New Light of Myanmar quoted Lieutenant
General Khin Nyunt, a senior member of the ruling military council, as
saying. 

``However much destructive elements cause disturbances, embargoes and
destructive acts the (government) will strive for the realization of the
national goal that has been set,'' he said. 

Khin Nyunt, the head of military intelligence, is officially number three
in the government but is widely believed to wield the most power. He spoke
at a ceremony to mark international literacy day at Yangon University
Tuesday. 

The government has come under fire from the United States and international
human rights groups after the opposition National League for Democracy said
Tuesday that authorities had detained 220 of its members since the weekend.


The government has confirmed it has detained an unspecified number of NLD
members to prevent the party carrying out a vow to call a ``People's
Parliament'' this month. 

The NLD said the members included 63 who won seats in the country's last
election eight years ago. The NLD won the poll by a landslide but the
military ignored the result. 

Tuesday, the United States said it was seeking ways to increase pressure on
Myanmar. 

``We're looking at this issue with great concern. We're looking at ways to
ratchet up the pressure on the government,'' State Department spokesman
James Rubin said. 

Washington already maintains strict sanctions on Myanmar and has urged
other regional states to follow suit, although they have been reluctant to
do so. 

Rubin condemned calls in Myanmar's official media for NLD leader Aung San 
Suu Kyi to be deported, saying any such decision ``would only ratchet up
the international response.'' 

Human Rights Watch said the detentions marked a ``major new clampdown.'' 

It called on Japan, the European Union and the Association of South East
Asian Nations, whose foreign ministers are to meet in New York on September
23 and 24, to condemn the detentions and urge Myanmar to allow free
participation in politics. 

Amnesty International called for the immediate release of those detained. 

They included Thakin Khin Nyunt, the 84-year-old chairman of the Rakhine
League for Democracy and one of the leaders of Myanmar's struggle for
independence from Britain. 

``In view of his age, Amnesty International is particularly concerned about
his health while in detention,'' the London-based human rights group said
in a statement received Wednesday. 

A source in Thakin Khin Nyunt's family contacted in Yangon told Reuters:
``He was called in on September 6. The respective authorities informed us
that he was being kept well.'' 

In his speech, General Khin Nyunt hit back at critics of Myanmar's
educational 
system and accused ``evil elements'' and foreign news agencies of enticing
youths with false information, rumors and lies. 

Last month students staged a rare pro-democracy protest close to the campus
where Khin Nyunt spoke. Yangon University was a hotbed of student activism
during a student-led national uprising for democracy 10 years ago which the
military ruthlessly crushed. 

There were further protests last week at campuses of Yangon Institute of
Technology against educational conditions and plans to relocate courses far
from the current northern Yangon site.