Rebels in Myanmar deny contacts wit

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Subject: Rebels in Myanmar deny contacts with Suu Kyi

Rebels in Myanmar deny contacts with Suu Kyi

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) ? Contradicting reports in Myanmar's
military-controlled newspapers, a rebel group said Monday it has no contact
with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

Government newspapers had reported over the weekend that the Nobel Peace
laureate might be arrested for violating a law banning contacts with
rebels. Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide
victory in a 1990 election the military refused to honor; in the past she
has been put under house arrest for her political activities. 

The ethnic Karen rebels, led by the Karen National Union, have been
fighting for autonomy for 50 years and are bracing for another assault by
government soldiers on the few positions they hold near the border with
Thailand. 

"Time and again, the KNU president has explained that there has never been
contact between the KNU and Suu Kyi,'' the statement from the Karen
National Union read. The group accused the government of preparing to
commit "more heinous acts.'' 

Suu Kyi and the Karen National Union both oppose military rule, which has
been in place in Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1962. 

Also Monday, the military government announced that 31 more members of the
National League for Democracy have resigned voluntarily from Suu Kyi's party. 

Suu Kyi has said that the military is coercing party members to quit. 

The military arrested nearly 1,000 party members in September. Those who
have resigned from the party have been permitted to return home, while
those who refuse remain under detention. 

(Source: AP)