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AP-Suu Kyi Sues Myanmar Intelligenc



Subject: AP-Suu Kyi Sues Myanmar Intelligence Chief

Thursday January 14 8:12 AM ET

Suu Kyi Sues Myanmar Intelligence Chief

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition National League
for Democracy have filed a criminal complaint accusing Myanmar's
intelligence chief of attempting to destroy their political party.

The complaint against Gen. Khin Nyunt, one of the most powerful and feared
generals in Myanmar, was lodged with the nation's chief justice on Dec. 31,
according to an NLD statement received today.

It accuses military intelligence units under the direction of Khin Nyunt of
illegally arresting about 1,000 NLD members since September and forcing many
of them to resign from the party.

The units have used ``threats, intimidation and illegal forceful pressure
for which there is not one iota of legal justification,'' the NLD said. ``In
so doing, the military intelligence authorities have committed criminal
offenses.''

The military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, launched the wave of
arrests to pre-empt the NLD's attempt to convene the parliament elected in
1990, in which the party won 82 percent of the seats. The military refused
to hand over power.

A government spokesman has insisted no NLD members were arrested, but
invited to stay at military guest houses to discuss politics and resigned
from the party voluntarily.

Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders have virtually no chance of winning the suit.
The party has frequently criticized the judiciary in Myanmar, also known as
Burma, for being under the military's control.

The State Department's most recent report on human rights in Myanmar said
the judiciary is not independent because judges are appointed by the
military.

``Pervasive bribe-taking and the manipulation of the courts for political
ends continued to deprive citizens of the right to a fair trial and the rule
of law,'' the report said.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said her party abides by the
law. In the past Khin Nyunt has accused her and party members of being
terrorists.