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Burma condemned for mass arrests



Burma condemned for mass arrests 
By RON CORBEN		

9sep98	

BURMA'S junta faced international condemnation yesterday as it continued to
pressure the opposition National League for Democracy with mass arrests of
its supporters. 
Human rights groups and officials from countries including Australia and
the US called for the military regime to hold talks with the NLD as
diplomats confirmed that 157 members and supporters, including 63
parliamentarians, had been arrested. 
Earlier in the week, the junta ? known as the State Peace and Development
Council ? detained 110 NLD supporters at government guesthouses. 
The vice-chairman of the NLD, Tin Oo, claimed yesterday that a total of 303
people had been arrested, AFP reported. 
The detentions are aimed at halting NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi's calls for
parliamentary representatives elected in May 1990 elections to meet. The
NLD won a landslide victory in that vote, but the outcome has never been
recognised by the regime. 
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was disturbed by
Burma's detention of the NLD representatives. But Mr Downer also rejected
calls from the Opposition to impose unilateral sanctions on Rangoon, saying
that in shutting the door on Burma, Australia would lose all influence on
the country. 
US State Department spokesman James Rubin said the action was "a violation
of the basic rights and freedoms of the Burmese people and of
internationally recognised human rights". 
"Resolution of the political impasse in Burma will require real,
substantive dialogue with the democratic opposition, including Aung San Suu
Kyi and representatives of the ethnic groups," Mr Rubin said. 
The London-based Human Rights Watch said the latest round of arrests
heralded a "major new clampdown by the ruling SPDC, which could lead to the
eventual banning of the NLD altogether". 
The organisation's US director, Mike Jendrzejczyk, said the group urged the
junta to comply fully with UN recommendations "by releasing immediately and
unconditionally all those detained for political reasons and to stop the
harassment of the NLD". 
Ms Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since the arrests began. The
military government has placed severe restrictions on her movements. 

[The Australian, 9 September 1998]

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