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NEWS - Myanmar Military Arrests 81



Myanmar Military Arrests 81 More Opposition Party Members

            AP
            15-SEP-98

            YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Myanmar's military government has
            arrested 81 more opposition members, the political party led
by Nobel
            Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi said today. 

            The government, meanwhile, strongly denied reports that 17
officers
            had been arrested for planning to open a dialogue with Suu
Kyi and
            her colleagues, something military leaders have refused to
do. 

            Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy said the
arrests
            came in the last 24 hours and brought the number of
government
            opponents rounded up since May to at least 783. Those
detainees
            include 196 elected members of parliament. 

            "The authorities have been detaining members of the NLD who
have
            not committed any offense or violated any law," the party
said in a
            statement. "We strongly condemn these unlawful arrests and
call for
            the earliest unconditional release of the members." 

            The sweep is the largest crackdown against democracy
activists since
            the early 1990s. The military has ruled Myanmar, also known
as
            Burma, since 1962. 

            Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since the latest wave of
arrests
            began. Troops have reportedly been stationed near her home
and the
            office of her party in Yangon, the capital. 

            Reports have circulated in Yangon and Bangkok, Thailand,
that 17
            senior officers were arrested for planning to meet with Suu
Kyi. 

            "It is absolutely groundless," a government spokesman said,
speaking
            on customary condition of anonymity. He said the report was
part of a
            campaign by the Suu Kyi's party to make people believe the
military is
            about to split and support the party. 

            In the 1990 election, districts populated heavily by
military families
            voted overwhelmingly for the National League for Democracy. 

            Commentaries in state-run newspapers have threatened to
deport Suu
            Kyi and arrest her party's vice chairman, Tin Oo, a former
defense
            minister and Buddhist monk. 

            Most of the arrests have taken place during the last two
weeks as the
            military tried to foil the National League for Democracy's
attempt to
            convene the parliament elected in 1990. 

            Suu Kyi's party won 82 percent of the seats in that
assembly, but the
            military refused to honor the results of that election. 

            The military government has denied arresting anybody.
Instead, it
            insists those under detention have been "invited" to
exchange their
            views at military guest houses. 

            The National League for Democracy said some party members
were
            taken away in handcuffs and had hoods put over their heads
by the
            squads of soldiers that picked them up.