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Myanmar regime sets conditions for



Subject: Myanmar regime sets conditions for talks

1.08 a.m. ET (509 GMT) July 15, 1999

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The military government in Myanmar has hinted that
it might be ready for a dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi's party if she dissolves a committee whose creation has led to hundreds
of arrests.

But though there has been no immediate reaction, Suu Kyi has rejected
similar demands before, saying the committee - representing a parliament
elected in 1990 that has never been allowed to meet - will remain until the
government finally lets the legislature convene.

Telephones to the homes of NLD leaders were not working today, as is
normally the case.

The government issued the condition Wednesday in an information sheet faxed
to news organizations in Bangkok, urging the National League for Democracy
party to be more "pragmatic.''

The statement came a week after a European Union diplomatic delegation
visited the Southeast Asian country and met with ruling generals and Suu Kyi
to promote a solution to the political deadlock.

On Monday, Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, urged the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations to pressure the leaders of member
state Myanmar, also known as Burma, to open a dialogue with her party.

The EU, which has economic and diplomatic sanctions against Myanmar, wants
to improve relations with ASEAN, but can't until the regime improves its
human-rights record. The EU attended a recent meeting between the two blocs
only on condition that representatives from Myanmar stayed silent.

The government said dissolution of the committee could lead to unspecified
"interaction'' with the opposition.

Suu Kyi, who has sought a dialogue in vain for years, said in an article
published in a Bangkok newspaper that the government does not want a real
one, fearing it would be the beginning of the end of 37 years of military
rule.

Since the committee was formed last September, marking the 10th anniversary
of the bloody suppression of anti-government protests, the government has
rounded up hundreds of NLD members and detained them at so-called "guest
houses'' until they renounce their membership.

Fifty-five party members remain in detention, the statement said.