Activist Unhurt in Myanmar Melee
The Associated Press - 27.06.98
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Police scuffled with supporters of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader outside her home, catching the activist in the middle of the melee, diplomats and dissidents said Friday.
Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her opposition to Myanmar's military regime, was believed to have fallen during the brawl but apparently escaped injury.
The confrontation broke out Thursday when police barred 30 to 50 youth members of her National League for Democracy from entering her home in Yangon, Myanmar's capital, for a regularly scheduled study session.
Suu Kyi, 53, and her No. 2, Tin Oo, afterward spent the night with them in the street in a ``sit-in demonstration'' in monsoon rains until 9 a.m. Friday, when they went into her compound, the government said in a statement. Police stood nearby.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Yangon said: ``We understand that nobody has been allowed in or out of her compound since this morning, and that security has been increased.''
Western diplomats said the scuffle broke out as Suu Kyi tried to escort the young people past police lines into her home, and many had heard that Suu Kyi had fallen but was unhurt.
An exile opposition group, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, said it was believed Suu Kyi had been pushed to the ground and that police had used abusive language with her.
The incident would be the first time since 1996 that Suu Kyi has been placed in physical danger, though the government has severely curtailed her activities.
Suu Kyi's party, in an unusually confrontational statement, demanded Tuesday that the regime convene by Aug. 21 the pro-democracy Parliament elected in 1990 but never allowed to meet.
The military has ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1962. The regime refused to honor the election result when it became clear that pro-military parties lost.
Suu Kyi, who vaulted to prominence during anti-government protests in 1988 that were bloodily suppressed, has been under house arrest or close confinement for most of the last nine years. Hundreds of her supporters are in jail.
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Myanmar junta threatens Suu Kyi with legal action
05:18 a.m. Jun 29, 1998 Eastern
YANGON, June 29 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta threatened on Monday to take legal action against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party, saying she was on a collision course with the government.
The warnings were carried in commentaries run by three state-owned newspapers which said: ``The Myanmar government and its people can no longer tolerate the acts of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who ignores the interest of the nation and people.''
Similar warnings appeared in the media in the days prior to Suu Kyi's house arrest in 1989 for nearly six years by the then ruling military government.
The Nobel Peace prize winner was released from detention in mid-1995.
The country's media are considered mouthpieces of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
The latest threat follows demands by Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party that the junta convene parliament by August 2 in accordance with the results of the 1990 election. The NLD swept the election, but its victory was never recognised by the military.
The newspaper commentaries cited Law Number 5/96, which they said prohibited individuals or organisations from ``disturbing, destroying, obstructing, inciting, delivering speeches, making oral or written statements and disseminating in order to undermine, belittle and make people misunderstand the functions being carried out by the National Convention for the emergence of a firm and enduring Constitution.''
They said those convicted for the offence faced a minimum of five years to a maximum of 20 years in jail.
During the eighth anniversary celebration of the NLD's 1990 election victory late last month, Suu Kyi demanded that the SPDC convene parliament to facilitate a session of elected members of parliament.
The SPDC bluntly rejected her call and said parliament could not be convened without the completion of a new national constitution being drafted by a government-appointed National Convention.
The Convention was set up in early 1993. It has not met since 1996, although the junta says two thirds of the new charter is complete.
The NLD walked out of the Convention some months after Suu Kyi's release from detention, calling it a sham.
Suu Kyi has repeatedly sought talks with the military but the junta flatly refuses to deal with her.
She has accused the military of abusing human rights and curbing her party's political activities.
The newspapers said Suu Kyi was being used by the West to undermine the junta and the national interests of Myanmar.
``Daw Suu Kyi ignored the interests of the nation and the people. Instead, she got so conceited that she acted like a dictator within the party and made trouble with her reliance on West at the expense of improving stability, peace and development in the country,'' said the commentary.
``Aung San Suu Kyi should take a good lesson from the case of former President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam, who was used by the Western bloc, but he did not win public support'' it added.
Ngo Dinh Diem was executed after a bloody coup in Vietnam in 1963.
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POLICE STOP DAW SUU FROM TRAVELING TO PANTANAW
The ruling military junta has again stopped the car of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from traveling to a nearby town. The Nobel Peace laureate, who left her home this morning was traveling to Pantanaw and was stopped by a roadblock of riot police near the Shwe Tagaw cemetery in Hlaing Thaya Township.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to turn back and is still at the roadblock at 11:30 Rangoon time (0600 GMT).
The National League for Democracy (NLD) officials were traveling to meet the wife of Dr. Tin Min Htut, an elected NLD representative of Pantanaw Township, who is being detained for violating the Habitual Offenders Restriction Act by the military junta.
The NLD Executive Committee has said that as of July 17, a total of 79 elected representatives have been detained by the military authorities for refusing to report daily to police under the Habitual Offenders Restriction Act.
The act, which is designed to restrict the movement of hardened, habitual criminals, is being used against the elected representatives to restrict their travels.
On July 7, the military authorities also set up a roadblock to prevent Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD Chairman U Aung Shwe from traveling to Minhla to meet an NLD representative. The representative was brought to the roadblock for a meeting when the NLD leaders refused to turn back.
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NCGUB calls for protection of NLD leader, arrested MPs
Dr. Sein Win, the Prime Minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (N.C.G.U.B.) condemned the ruling junta for threatening to kill Aung San Suu Kyi and carrying out mass arrests of elected members of parliament. "I am alarmed that the junta has threatened to assassinate our leader and is arresting elected representatives." said Dr. Sein Win, who is also Aung San Suu Kyi's cousin. "Civilized governments do not behave this way and the international community must act quickly to safeguard Daw Suu and my fellow members of parliament or it could be too late."
In an article printed in the state-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the regime warned that Aung San Suu Kyi could become another Ngo Dinh Diem, a former President of South Vietnam was assassinated at the direction of generals in the South Vietnamese army during a coup in 1963.
In the last 48 hours, military intelligence agents have also been arresting MPs in Irrawaddy, Mandalay, Shan and Pegu Divisions and are gathering around party headquarters in Rangoon, where more arrests appear imminent. The N.C.G.U.B. has confirmed the names of three of those arrested and is trying to determine how many others have been taken.
Elected M.P.s arrested thus far include Mahn Johny, (N.L.D., KyongPyaw township), David Hla Myint, (N.L.D., Ngapudaw township and Dr. Tin Min Htut, (N.L.D., Pantanaw township).
Burma is seeking Overseas Development Assistance from Japan, which would be imperiled if Aung San Suu Kyi and the others are harmed. The regime in Burma is increasingly becoming an embarrassment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, leading some members to reconsider their long-held policy of not criticizing fellow members.
"I am alarmed that the junta has threatened to assassinate our leader and is arresting elected representatives. Civilized governments do not behave this way and the international community must act quickly to safeguard Daw Suu and my fellow members of parliament or it could be too late."
Prime Minister Sein Win
Background: The threat to kill Aung San Suu Kyi and the current arrests are the most serious attacks on the National League for Democracy since November 1996, when a mob acting at the direction of military intelligence agents attacked her car with rocks and crowbars. The incident led in part to the imposition of U.S. sanctions on the military regime.
With the economy collapsing due to economic mismanagement and corruption, a crisis has been steadily escalating, which accelerated on June 21, when the National League for Democracy issued a demanded that the military convene a parliamentary session of the elected members of the 1990 general elections by Aug. 21.
On June 25, Aung San Suu Kyi was slightly hurt by military police as she tried to escort a group of students past police lines into her home. The students had been regularly coming for study sessions for some months and had planned to read a book on how democracy functions in the United States. To protest the student's treatment, Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo, another senior N.L.D. leader joined them as they staged a sit-in demonstration during monsoon rains in the street outside her home.
On June 29, the regime threatened to take legal action against Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, implying that they would be jailed for up to twenty years for causing people to "misunderstand" the regime. The regime itself is fighting possible legal actions, as press reports indicate that it is waging a campaign, coordinated with other pariah states to sabotage negotiations for an international convention to form an International Criminal Court. (Gwynne Dyer, "An International Criminal Court: Why the devil is in the details" The San Diego Union-Tribune, June 21, 1998, pg. G-5.)
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South China Morning Post
Thursday July 2 1998
Burma : Up to 40' election winners arrested
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Bangkok
Military authorities may have detained more than 40 parliamentary election winners from the opposition National League for Democracy in the past week, an exiled activist group said yesterday.
A spokesman for the All Burma Students' Democratic Front said details were difficult to confirm, but the group had the names of three election winners from Irrawaddy Division, near the capital, Rangoon, who had been arrested.
The spokesman said the crackdown had taken place in apparent response to a June 23 demand by the league that the country's military regime convene by August 21 the pro-democracy parliament which was elected in 1990 but never allowed to meet.
The demand marked the first time the party, headed by 1991 Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, had set a deadline for the military to convene the parliament.
In Rangoon, the league sent a letter to the Government on Tuesday to protest over reported restrictions against its elected candidates, according to a copy of the letter circulated by the party.
Authorities had "verbally or in writing" asked elected candidates of the party to sign pledges restricting their movements, and those who refused were being imprisoned, it was claimed in the letter.
It was addressed to the Prime Minister and chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, General Than Shwe, Senior Chief Justice Aung Toe and Attorney-General Tha Tun.
"Treating the elected candidates of the party as criminals amounts to abusing the law as well as misusing power. Hence we strongly protest such restrictions placed against the elected members of the party," said the letter, signed by league chairman Aung Shwe.
The party also urged its would-be parliamentarians not to sign such pledges, and advised those who had signed them not to honour them.
The letter did not make clear when such a restriction order had been issued, or to how many people.
The military has staged several such roundups in the past in response to plans by the league for some kind of political action.
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Thursday, July 2, 1998 Published at 12:28 GMT 13:28 UK
World: South Asia
Burmese pro-democracy supporters arrested
Exiled Burmese pro-democracy activists based in Bangkok say more than forty supporters of the National League for Democracy in Burma have been arrested by the military government.
The All Burma Students Democratic Front says the arrests are a response to a call last week by the NLD for the Burmese parliament elected in 1990 to be convened.
The NLD won a sweeping victory in that election but the results were never implemented by the military authorities.
Meanwhile, the NLD chairman, U Aung Shwe, has written to the military government to complain about the arrests and harassment of NLD members.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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Saturday, July 4, 1998 Published at 12:31 GMT 13:31 UK
World: South Asia
Burma places restrictions on pro-democracy politicians
The military authorities in Burma say they have placed restrictions on members of the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi in what they describe as an effort to avoid confrontation.
A statement by a senior government official said the requirement for individuals to report to local authorities had been imposed to avoid what he called a head-on collision between the League and the government.
The measures are reported to apply to NLD members elected in l990 to a parliament that has yet to be convened.
The statement did not confirm or deny allegations made by exiled students on Thursday, that more than forty NLD supportesrs had been arrested.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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Wednesday, July 8, 1998 Published at 11:40 GMT 12:40 UK
World: Asia-Pacific
Burmese opposition leader stopped by police
The Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has returned to her home in Rangoon after an all-night confrontation with police.
She and the chairman of her National League for Democracy, Aung Shwe, spent the night in their car eighty kilometres north of the city after being been stopped by more than thirty police: the NLD says officers physically lifted the car and pointed it back towards Rangoon.
The NLD leaders were on their way to the town of Min Hla to see supporters.
The military government has accused them of deliberately trying to create a confrontation.
Earlier, the United States criticised Burma for imposing travel restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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Myanmar Dissident Returns Home
The Associated Press - 08.07.98
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi returned home unharmed today after a nearly 24-hour standoff with police on a road outside the capital.
Testing the military junta's edict that prevents her from leaving Yangon unescorted, Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, had driven 50 miles north of the capital to meet a member of her National League for Democracy party.
Police at the scene told Suu Kyi and the three others in her car to return to Yangon, but she rejected the order. Local officials then called in 30 soldiers, who lifted the care - with the passengers inside - and turn it around to face toward the capital, a high-ranking party official said.
Neither Suu Kyi, 53, nor the others in the car were harmed, the party sources said.
Suu Kyi had planned to tell Hla Hla Moe, a party member elected in 1990 to a parliament the military never allowed to convene, to stop meeting demands by local authorities to check in twice a day, the party sources said. Hla Hla Moe is based in the northern township of Min Hla.
Suu Kyi's activities are tightly restricted. The trip outside her home without a customary security forces escort, followed by her refusal to return when stopped, challenged the military government which is already under pressure internationally to permit civilian rule.
Last month, her party for the first time set a deadline, Aug. 21, for the government to convene the 1990 parliament. The NLD overwhelmingly won those elections but the ruling generals, whose supporters lost the vote, never allowed parliament to meet.
Since the NLD demand, the government has required the members-elect living outside the capital to report twice a day to local authorities. Those who refuse have reportedly been detained.
It was the second time since she was released in 1995 from six years of formal house arrest that Suu Kyi has tried to leave Yangon. In 1996, she tried taking a train north to Mandalay, but the coach she would have ridden was removed from service.
Suu Kyi has again been restricted to her home since 1996 but is occasionally allowed to meet small groups of supporters and receive some visitors. She is barred from making speeches.
The military has ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1962.
AP-NY-07-08-98 0823EDT
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ABSDF - Media Release
Date: July 9, 1998
MORE BURMA MPS DETAINED FOR DEFYING SPDC RESTRICTIONS
According to sources in Rangoon, 11 more Members of Parliament (MPs) have been detained by Burma's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) for defying travel restrictions and a requirement to report twice daily to the authorities.
The arrests are part of a crackdown on MPs from the National League for Democracy (NLD) following the NLD's demand on June 23 to convene Parliament within 60 days. In reaction to the demand, the SPDC announced that all NLD MPs must report to their local authorities twice daily and that they must seek permission to travel outside their townships.
The NLD subsequently issued a letter on June 30 to its MPs urging them not to comply with the restrictions. Since the NLD's demand to convene Parliament, the authorities have detained more than 50 NLD MPs.
The names of the 11 MPs detained recently are: U Hla Htun (Rangoon Division); U Sein Myint Maung, U Than Htay (Shan State); Daw Hla Hla Moe (Pegu Division); U Thein Maung, U Paw Khin, U Saw Shwe (Mandalay Division); U Kan Oo, U Myint Thein, U Hlaing Aye (Magwe Division); and U Maung Kywin Aung (Arakan State).
Some of these MPs were delegates to the National Convention, and boycotted the Convention in December 1995, while others are close to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The two MPs from Shan State refused to report twice daily to the authorities and have been sent to a prison labour camp.
On June 30, the NLD also sent a letter to SPDC Senior General Than Shwe protesting the use of the 1961 Restriction and Bond Act to restrict the movement of NLD MPs. This Act is a criminal law intended to restrict the movements of habitual criminals.
The NLD protests in the letter that the restrictions imposed on them are unjust and not in accordance with existing laws and orders. The letter also states that the MPs who are charged under the Restriction and Bond Act are given no legal presentation, and it demands the authorities immediately stop committing such unlawful acts.
All Burma Students' Democratic Front
For more information please call 01-253 9082, 01-654 4984
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Myanmar Opposition Figures Held
The Associated Press - 10.07.98
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The military government in neighboring Myanmar has arrested 11 more leading opposition figures in a growing crackdown on Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy movement, an exiled opposition group said Thursday.
The reported arrests follow a harshly worded government statement accusing Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, of trying to plunge the country into violence and suggesting legal steps would be justified to stop her.
It accused Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy of ``putting on war-paint and deliberately trying to create a head-on collision and confrontation with the government.''
The threats came after Suu Kyi flouted an unofficial ban on traveling outside the capital and staged a 24-hour standoff with police on a road north of Yangon, a symbolic challenge to the authorities amid a wider campaign to hasten civilian rule.
The All Burma Students' Democratic Front, a Thailand-based opposition group of students who fled a bloody crackdown against an anti-government uprising in 1988, said Thursday the government was stepping up arrests.
The targets are winners of parliamentary elections the military allowed in 1990. The vote was overwhelmingly won by the NLD and the military never allowed the legislature to convene. The country has been in political deadlock since.
In May, Suu Kyi's embattled party for the first time set a deadline, Aug. 21, for the government to convene the parliament. The date will fall amid the anniversary period of the uprising 10 years ago.
The government has responded by ordering all of the elected members not already in jail or exile to report twice a day to local authorities, apparently to stop them convening on their own.
The ABSDF said Thursday that 11 new members have recently been detained for violating the restrictions, bringing the total to more than 50. Two have been sent to a prison labor camp, the ABSDF said.
Among the 11 was Hla Hla Moe, a member whom Suu Kyi traveled out of Yangon on Tuesday to see.
Suu Kyi was stopped 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital and sat in her car - along with NLD Chairman Aung Shwe, another party official and the driver - for nearly 24 hours until Hla Hla Moe was brought to meet her.
The military has ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1962. Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, was vaulted to the leadership of the pro-democracy forces in 1988 and has spent most of the past decade under house arrest or tight restriction.
Since the NLD's recent deadline was issued, the government has stepped up its rhetoric and said the country could be plunged into chaos. But the security forces control most aspects of life and any sign of dissent is usually stamped out.
``The NLD has clearly decided to take a hellish line of action for reasons of party politics'' to create ``instability and chaos,'' the statement said.
``The government has practiced maximum restraint in solving the problem but deliberate creation of confrontation by the NLD to force the government to violently react needs to be examined,'' it said.
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The Nation 12 July 1998
Suu Kyi at risk, says Burmese junta
RANGOON -- The Burmese junta on Saturday warned that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's safety was at risk and suggested there could be rioting if she was harmed.
Certain parties intended to cause the Nobel peace laureate ''some form of bodily harm'', a statement prepared by Burma's Canadian Embassy and distributed in Rangoon said, without identifying the plotters.
''The government of the Union of Myanmar [Burma] has always had a deep concern for the personal security of all politicians, including Ms Suu Kyi, as there are known elements who are trying to create political unrest by putting her to some form of bodily harm,'' it added.
The statement came amid escalating political unrest and just three days after authorities blocked the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader from travelling outside Rangoon to meet supporters.
''The recent request to make her return to Yangon [Rangoon] was meant to forestall undesirable events similar to ones currently taking place in a major African nation following the death of a prominent politician,'' the statement said, in an apparent reference to Nigeria.
There has been rioting in Nigeria following the death in custody of opposition leader Moshood Abiola this week.
The NLD-led Burmese opposition won 1990 polls by a landslide, but the junta has refused to relinquish power.
The NLD has given the junta an ultimatum to convene Parliament by Aug 21 or face unspecified consequences and has repeatedly called on the military rulers to engage in dialogue.
Another opposition group meanwhile called for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to take a tough stand against Burma's junta when foreign ministers from member states met later this month.
The Thailand-based All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) said it had always been opposed to Burma's admission to the Asean regional grouping in July last year.
But the ABSDF added that now that Burma was in the grouping its partners should use their influence to force change.
''They should make it Asean policy to pressure Burma's military regime into dialogue with the opposition,'' ABSDF foreign affairs secretary Aung Naing Oo said.
''They should completely scrap 'constructive engagement', which they all know is not working,'' he added, referring to the Asean policy of avoiding confrontation between members.
Aung Naing Oo said his organisation expected the Asean foreign ministers to take a firmer line on Burma when they met in Manila but that they would not go far enough.
''We, over the years, have pointed out that bringing Burma into the fold will not benefit Asean,'' he added.
''But they did it, and now I think they are realising Burma is not complying with what is proper behaviour.''
The opposition official added that ABSDF supported a call by Thailand for Asean to replace its ''constructive engagement'' policy with one of commenting openly on members' internal affairs when they had impact elsewhere in the region.
''We support Thailand's call for a more open Asean,'' he said. ''It would be great if they could pursue openness to solve internal problems.''
The Thai proposal has received a lukewarm response from other Asean members, except the Philippines.
Agence France-Presse
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ABSDF - Media Release
Date: July 13, 1998
BURMA POLITICAL PRISONER DEVELOPS PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AFTER BEATINGS
According to sources in Rangoon, a political prisoner who was released last month from Taungoo Prison north of the capital, has developed psychological problems due to severe beatings while in prison.
Aung Khaing, 38, a graduate of Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT), was severely beaten on his head by prison warders in March 1996 for refusing to go into his cell. At the time of the beating, Aung Khaing was suffering from dysentery and asked for a cup of rice porridge. Prison authorities repeatedly refused his request. Later, Aung Khaing tried to get some porridge himself but he was accused of inciting a political movement in prison and was again severely beaten.
The incidents took place after Aung Khaing was transferred in February 1995 from Insein Prison in Rangoon to Taungoo Prison, which is situated in Pegu Division.
Aung Khaing developed psychological problems after the beatings and his family requested the prison authorities that he be allowed to see a psychiatrist. The authorities however, refused their request and as a result Aung Khaing had to spend the remainder of his sentence in prison without proper medical assistance.
Worse still, the authorities later put him in a solitary confinement cell that was designated for leper prisoners until his release in June 1998.
Aung Khaing, a resident of Prone Township who has a degree in Petroleum Engineering from RIT, was arrested in November 1990 for his role in the pro-democracy movement and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. His sentence was commuted to ten years shortly after General Than Shwe was installed in 1992 as head of the then State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
Torture and severe beatings in prisons and interrogation centres in Burma are very common, and there are a number of former political prisoners who still suffer from mental disorders as a result. For instance, another former RIT student, Win Thein, was arrested in December 1991 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
As a result of torture during his interrogation, he developed psychological difficulties by the time he was sent to Insein Prison. Despite his problems, he had to spend two years in prison before he could get proper medical assistance after his release in March 1993.
All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF)
For more information please contact 01-654 4984, 01-253 9082.
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UNITED NATION, 8 JULY 1998
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON MYANMAR EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER CONTINUING RESTRICTIONS ON LEGAL POLITICAL ACTIVITY
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Rajsoomer Lallah, is deeply concerned about recent reports that members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) continue to be subject to arbitrary arrest and to various forms of restrictions in the normal exercise of their activities.
According to information received, on 25 June 1998, a group of around 30 NLD writers, journalists and activists were prevented by security forces from attending a reading session regularly held at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's home. When she and U Tin Oo went out to escort the group into the compound, they were allegedly verbally abused and beaten by security forces. Four young men who had surrounded Aung San Suu Kyi to protect her were severely beaten, while she was slightly injured. In protest at the refusal to allow the group access to her compound, Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo remained with the group. They were surrounded by security officers throughout the night until finally being allowed to enter her residence at 8 a.m. the following morning.
It has also been reported that a number of NLD members were arrested throughout the country during the last week of June. Among them are six NLD Youth leaders, including Ko Tun Zaw Zaw, as well as Members of Parliament such as Mahn Johny, from Kyong Pyaw township; David Hla Myint, of Ngapudaw township, and Dr. Tin Min Htut, from Pantanaw township.
Furthermore, as of 25 June, reports say, NLD Members of Parliament in various parts of the country, excluding Yangon Division, are required to remain within their township jurisdiction and to report to the nearest police station twice a day. Those who refuse to sign a declaration attesting to their presence are allegedly immediately taken into custody without any inquiry or trial. According to reports, this was the case for more than 15 representatives elected from various constituencies.
The Special Rapporteur has observed that in Myanmar the criminalization of political activity continues to take place and that NLD political leaders continue to be harassed, or their activities to be severely restricted, including their rights to receive and to impart information.
The Special Rapporteur has drawn the attention of the Government of Myanmar to the fact that the freedoms of expression, association and of peaceful assembly are basic and internationally recognized human right standards. The Special Rapporteur has urged the Government to do its utmost to ensure the personal integrity and the full enjoyment by all of the freedoms of opinion, expression and association, as well as to keep him informed of the situation. He has further asked for consultations regarding a proposed visit to Myanmar.
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Thursday, July 16, 1998 Published at 12:12 GMT 13:12 UK
World: Asia-Pacific
Burmese MPs detained for defying orders
The National League for Democracy in Burma says about eighty of its elected members of parliament have been arrested in the last two weeks for defying restrictions imposed by the military government.
The NLD vice-president, Tin Oo, told the Reuters news agency the MPs had refused to comply with an order to report twice daily to police and local officials.
There's been no confirmation of the arrests by the Burmese authorities.
Earlier this month, the military government said it would increase surveillance of NLD MPs to ensure they would not disrupt the re-opening of colleges shut in 1996 after student protests.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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Friday, July 17, 1998 Published at 11:43 GMT 12:43 UK
World: Asia-Pacific
Burma restricts Democracy MPs
The Burmese military government says it is preventing about eighty members of parliament belonging to the National League for Democracy from leaving their home townships.
But they denied the MPs had been arrested.
A spokesman said the restriction was introduced to ensure that colleges would not be disrupted by political unrest when they re-open.
Burmese colleges were shut in 1996 following student protests.
Earlier this month, the military authorities said they would increase surveillance of NLD MPs and told them to report to police and local officials twice daily.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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Myanmar says opposition MPs confined to townships
17 July 1998
Web posted at: 23:29 JST, Tokyo time (14:29 GMT)
BANGKOK, July 17 (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling military junta denied on Friday it had detained opposition members of parliament, but said they had been confined to their respective townships to prevent them causing political trouble.
The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said on Thursday that 79 of its MPs had been detained by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) for defying government restrictions.
"As a matter of fact, not a single person has been arrested," said a government spokesman in a statement obtained by Reuters.
"They have just been temporarily prevented from leaving their respective townships so that the process of resuming of classes of the institutions of higher learning can proceed without being disturbed and politically exploited by certain quarters," he added.
The SPDC plans to re-open next month universities closed after widespread student unrest in December 1996.
The NLD's senior vice-chairman, Tin Oo, had accused the SPDC of badly treating the MPs, who had refused to report twice daily to local security authorities.
The MPs were elected in May 1990 polls that the NLD, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, swept but which was not recognised by the military.
Political tension has been escalating in Myanmar since mid-June when the NLD sent a letter to the SPDC demanding that parliament comprising the elected MPs be convened by August 21.
The NLD's ultimatum prompted the SPDC to impose restrictions on opposition MPs.
Separately, the exiled All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) said Myanmar's military government had set up special riot police units nationwide to counter demonstrations expected to take place on the 10th anniversary of the August 8, 1988, pro-democracy uprising which was crushed by the military.
"The Burmese military junta has begun to form special riot police units in large towns and cities throughout the country," Aung Naing Oo, the Thailand-based ABSDF's foreign affairs secretary, said.
"These are unwelcome developments because memories of riot police beating and killing unarmed civilians in the past remains in the minds of the people," he said.
Sources in the capital of Myanmar, Yangon, had told the ABSDF that current military preparations were largely seen as an attempt to counter confrontations that could arise from the NLD's ultimatum to convene parliament and planned university exams in the second week of August. Myanmar junta blocks Suu Kyi trip to township
07:26 a.m. Jul 20, 1998 Eastern
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BANGKOK, July 20 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta said it had stopped opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from going to southern Pantanaw Township on Monday to meet an official of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
It was the second time this month the 1993 Nobel peace prize winner has been kept from leaving Yangon. On July 7, she was prevented from travelling to a northern township to meet party officials.
A government statement obtained by Reuters said local security officials stopped Suu Kyi and an elected NLD representative from Ayarwaddy Division, as they and two drivers travelled by car near southern Anyarsu village.
``Local security officials noticing the absence of Mrs. Aris' (Suu Kyi's married name) security team on this trip similar to the incident of July 7 made an enquiry and requested the party not to proceed with their planned trip,'' it said.
It added that the military had later made arrangements for Suu Kyi to meet Tin Min Htut, an NLD member of Pantanaw Township, at Anyarsu village.
``Tin Min Htut arrived and met with the party and left together for Yangon later,'' the statement said.
An NLD official and witnesses said Suu Kyi had returned to her Yangon home later on Monday.
The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has said in the past it feared anti-government elements might exploit local political tensions and harm Suu Kyi, and then blame it on the government.
The SPDC said it regretted the NLD leadership had again flouted government calls to refrain from disturbing the peace with its latest action.
``In recent weeks the NLD leadership has upped the ante by adopting a confrontational stance,'' the statement said.
It said the NLD agitation had been timed to coincide with the planned reopening next month of some institutions of higher learning that were closed in December 1996 after widespread student unrest.
Confrontation between the NLD and the SPDC has escalated in recent weeks with the opposition demanding the government convene parliament by August 21. The NLD swept the last general election in May 1990, but the military ignored the results and has refused to convene parliament.
Instead, the SPDC has clamped down on the movements of opposition MPs in the townships, confining them there and requiring them to report twice daily to security officials.
The SPDC statement also said the exiled, Bangkok-based All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and other anti-government groups had spread rumours of possible political unrest in Myanmar on August 8.
August 8 is the anniversary of the date in 1988 when the military opened fire on pro-democracy demonstrators in Yangon, killing hundreds of people.
The events were considered the beginning of a nationwide pro-democracy uprising that the military crushed a month later.
``Time to time, for propaganda purposes, these groups will create an isolated minor incident somewhere in the country,'' the SPDC said. ``This year those groups are expected to do the same with the only difference of having an additional August 21 date (for the convening of Parliament) for their rumour milling.''
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Democracy Leader Blocked in Myanmar
The Associated Press - 21.07.98
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar's military government stopped a car carrying pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi today as she traveled outside the capital to meet a member of her political party.
Authorities stopped Suu Kyi in the village of Anyarsu, 20 miles south of Yangon, because her car was not accompanied by military escorts, the Myanmar government said.
It was the second time this month the military has stopped Suu Kyi as she left the capital to meet followers.
As in the previous incident, the government brought the democracy leader's meeting partner to her, allowing her to see Tin Min Htut for 20 minutes, the government said in a statement received in Bangkok, Thailand.
On July 7, Suu Kyi was stopped by authorities on a similar trip. She refused to return to Yangon until she had met with a party member. The meeting took place after a nearly 24-hour standoff in which 30 soldiers lifted Suu Kyi's car with her inside and turned it around to face the capital.
The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, insists that Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate, is neither under arrest nor subject to unnecessary restrictions. It says actions taken to limit her freedom of movement are for her own safety.
Suu Kyi's party won parliamentary elections in 1990, but Myanmar's ruling generals have refused to convene the legislature.
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South China Morning Post
Tuesday July 21 1998
Junta blocks NLD leader during trip outside capital
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Rangoon
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was blocked by security forces while travelling outside the capital yesterday, the country's junta said.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) leader was stopped about 30km south of Rangoon as she attempted to travel to Pantanaw, 75km from the city, the junta said.
The incident was a repeat of one on July 7, when Ms Aung San Suu Kyi was blocked from travelling north of Rangoon to meet supporters.
In that incident, she remained by the roadside overnight in a stand-off with security forces before a local supporter was brought to see her.
The junta accused Ms Aung San Suu Kyi of seeking confrontation, and predicted foreign governments and the international media would use the incident to pillory Rangoon.
"It is regretful that the NLD leadership has again not only [been] ignoring the importance of maintaining and consolidating stability, tranquillity, national unity and normalcy in the country but keeps on challenging the Government at every turn under the pretext of human rights and democracy," the junta said.
"In recent weeks the NLD has upped the ante by adopting a confrontational stance.
"Definitely, an issue will be made out of this incident, while some media and foreign governments will exploit the opportunity to berate the Government and to portray Myanmar [Burma] as an unstable country about to explode with civil unrest and ethnic rebellion," it said.
