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Reuters-Myanmar rulers issue photos



Myanmar rulers issue photos of ``invited guests'' 
09:23 a.m. Sep 10, 1998 Eastern 

BANGKOK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military rulers on Thursday issued
four photographs of ``invited guests'' they said were detained members of
the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD). 



The NLD, led by 1991 Nobel Peace winner Aung San Suu Kyi, said on Wednesday
the military government had detained 328 of its members since Sunday,
including 71 elected representatives. 



The detentions followed a vow by the NLD to convene a ``People's
Parliament'' of representatives of different sections of the country this
month. 



Under the headline ``NLD members received as guests at government guest
houses,'' several figures were shown sitting in sparsely furnished rooms in
slightly blurred, black and white photographs. 



``Here are some photos of the NLD members who have been invited by the
government to ask for their cooperation to help maintain the current peace,
stability and development of the nation in its transition to a multi-party
democracy,'' the government spokesman said in a statement obtained by
Reuters. 



The NLD had previously demanded that the military convene a parliament of
members elected at polls in May 1990, which the NLD swept but which was
ignored by the military. 



Diplomats say the NLD could now muster only a handful of representatives if
it tries to call parliament this month. 



The detentions of opposition members are the biggest in more than a year
and have sparked criticism from several countries, including the United
States. 



The statement gave the names of 13 persons it identified as NLD members in
the pictures. 



The photographs were too fuzzy to allow for any independent identification.