Reuters : Thailand urges Myanmar di

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Thailand urges Myanmar dialogue on anniversary 
06:51 a.m. Aug 08, 1998 Eastern 

BANGKOK, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Thailand urged Myanmar's military government and
the opposition on Saturday to strive for dialogue to break their political
impasse. 

Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the political stalemate
between the military government and the pro-democracy opposition was
causing hardship to the Myanmar people. 

``I am not talking about any side in particular. All sides should work
together and have a dialogue for the sake of the Myanmar people,'' he told
Reuters by telephone. 

``We want the people of Myanmar to realise that they have a lot of friends
abroad. We want to see them have better living conditions,'' he said. 

Sukhumbhand was speaking as Myanmar exiles marked the 10th anniversary of a
massacre of protesters outside Yangon city hall in several cities abroad.
Witnesses said the streets of Yangon were quieter than normal. 

Opposition figures say several thousand people were killed in the crackdown
which followed the 1988 massacre. The government says the death toll was
only a few dozen. 

``Economic turmoil is hitting every country in the region hard including
Myanmar. Foreign countries may not be able to help Myanmar as much as they
want to if the political situation continues as it is now,'' Sukhumbhand
said. 

Myanmar opposition leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu
Kyi used the eve of the anniversary to promise to keep fighting for
democracy in her country. 

Suu Kyi, daughter of Myanmar's national hero and founding father Aung San,
told Britain's Channel Four News on Friday evening she would not be
intimidated by the military.