SCMP-Talks with opposition 'essenti

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South China Morning Post
Tuesday  September 15  1998

Talks with opposition 'essential' 

REUTERS in Rangoon 
Veteran Burmese politician Bohmu Aung yesterday called for urgent and
unconditional talks between the military Government and the opposition led
by Aung San Suu Kyi.

"At present, political tension in [Burma] is increasing as a result of the
detention of . . . representatives of the national races, National League
for Democracy [NLD] and political forces who were elected in the 1990
general elections," the retired 89-year-old said.

Mr Bohmu Aung is one of the last surviving veterans of the 1940s
independence struggle with Britain.

Burma's military rulers have detained more than 700 NLD members since late
May, including 194 elected representatives, according to the NLD.

The detentions were provoked by the NLD's call to convene a "people's
parliament" of candidates elected in the May 1990 general election, won by
the NLD but ignored by the military.

Mr Bohmu Aung was a member of the legendary "30 Comrades" group,
established to fight colonial British forces. The group was founded by
independence hero General Aung San - father of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi.