Reuters-Myanmar decries Suu Kyi's p

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Subject: Reuters-Myanmar decries Suu Kyi's party, talk hopes fading 

Myanmar decries Suu Kyi's party, talk hopes fading
07:58 a.m. Jul 21, 1999 Eastern
YANGON, July 21 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military lashed out at Aung San Suu
Kyi's opposition party on Wednesday and took the unprecedented step of
naming her party in official media.

The move is likely to scuttle hopes the two sides might be moving closer to
holding rare talks.

``National traitors and destructionists of the NLD are spreading
low-standard fabrications saying that children and women in Myanmar are
losing their rights and Myanmar women are losing moral character and
engaging in dirty jobs,'' the ruling military's powerful intelligence chief
was quoted as saying in state-controlled newspapers.

Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, referring to Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy party, was speaking at a meeting of government officials, the
papers said.

Leaders of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) rarely
criticise the NLD by name. They usually refer to the NLD as
``destructionists,'' ``traitors'' or ``lackeys of the neo-colonialists.''

Khin Nyunt also urged the people to continue implementing nation-building
tasks and not to listen to the ``disturbances of national traitors and
destructive elements of the NLD.''

The NLD won 1990 elections by a landslide but the military has never
recognised the result.

The military has long refused to meet the NLD for talks to promote greater
democracy and human rights in Myanmar so long as Suu Kyi represents the
party at any discussions with the government.

Last month, her party said it was willing to start lower level talks with
the military possibly leading up to a summit at which Suu Kyi would have to
be present.

But some analysts said Khin Nyunt's naming of the NLD in his criticism could
be a signal that the latest moves towards dialogue may have failed or was
failing.

Myanmar watchers had been encouraged by the visit of a European Union
delegation to Yangon on July 6-7 to meet the SPDC and Suu Kyi.

The mission's main aim was to assess Myanmar's humanitarian needs and try to
alleviate human suffering in the impoverished country.

The EU has maintained a confrontational tone with Myanmar, but its sudden
change of tack in dealing with Myanmar, with blessings from the United

States, had raised some hopes of rapprochement between the SPDC and the NLD.
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