|
Forwarded with Compliments of Government of the USA in Exile (GUSAE):Ý Free Americans Resisting the Fourth Reich on Behalf of All Species.ÝÝ NOTE:Ý Thanks to Irrawaddy for this.ÝÝ --ÝÝ kl, pp
Suu Kyi Returns to Rangoon (Breaking News) The Irrawaddy June 02, 2003-Informed sources in Rangoon say that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is being detained in an army guest house in the Burmese capital. However, some news agencies have reported that she is now at Insein Prison, just outside Rangoon. Aung San Suu Kyi is believed to be detained in an army guest house. Suu Kyi was intially taken to the prison but later transferred to the guesthouse, sources said this morning. Her presence at the army guest house has not been independently confirmed. According to sources, Suu Kyi returned to Rangoon yesterday. Some witnesses in Burma told foreign broadcasters they saw an army convoy escorting two cars carrying Suu Kyi and her party members. Tin Oo, vice chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and other party members are reportedly in custody but it is unclear where they are being held and whether they are being held together. According to the German news agency, Deutsche Press-Agentur, Aung San Suu Kyi and 19 of her followers were jailed at Rangoon's infamous Insein Prison on Sunday, two days after military authorities cut short her political tour of the country's north and forced her to return to the capital. "The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, along with the NLD's vice chairman U Tin Oo and other party leaders, arrived at Insein Prison at 7:30 am in a convoy of vehicles escorted by military authorities," the agency reported. Opposition sources in exile have released a statement suggesting that Suu Kyi was injured during the clash on Friday night. [Top]
NLD Members Missing The Irrawaddy June 02, 2003-Dozens of Burmese opposition members are missing after Friday's crackdown and the arrest of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sources inside the country say. Pro-democracy groups now fear that the real number of deaths is much higher than military reports of four. "Many of the opposition members who accompanied Suu Kyi haven't come back to their homes yet," a resident of Mandalay, told The Irrawaddy. "We don't know their whereabouts and their families are extremely worried." ÝThe crackdown involved a direct attack by hundreds of military personnel and a group of organized civilians, leaving scores of people dead, the NCGUB said. Most of the people missing are from cities and towns in Upper Burma, including Mandalay, Maymyo and Yenangyaung. More than 150 supporters from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Mandalay accompanied Suu Kyi. Most are now missing. They include Win Mya Mya, a well-known female NLD figure from Mandalay, and Myo Naing, also of Mandalay. Sources close to the families of others who are missing say they disappeared after the clash in Ye-Oo, Sagaing Division, last Friday. Official reports from the military government say four people were killed and 50 injured in the clash. But people are not convinced. "The government always lies to us. If forty were killed, they will say four people died," said a Rangoon resident, who has been following the news on foreign broadcasters. A political observer in the capital said that the news from the regime is completely one-sided and that the NLD will definitely have a different story. "I am pretty sure the situation is more serious than what they told us in the newspaper," said a veteran opposition figure in Rangoon. Unconfirmed sources say that most of the casualties were students. A source in Mandalay said that a Buddhist abbot from Monywa was among the dead and that an NLD photographer was shot. According to the Washington-based the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), events on Friday were far more serious than official reports. The crackdown involved a direct attack by hundreds of military personnel and a group of organized civilians, leaving scores of people dead, the NCGUB said. Suu Kyi and her entourage reportedly faced open fire from military personnel. According to several reports, she and party vice chairman U Tin Oo were injured. A journalist in Rangoon said that residents in the capital were shocked to hear news of the clash and Suu Kyi's arrest. People in the country believe Suu Kyi was ambushed by the military and pro-junta groups. Soe Moe, an exiled activist compared the attack to guerrilla-style warfare. After the clash, the military regime shut down universities and colleges, due to return for a new semester this morning. Witnesses in Rangoon say soldiers and police are guarding the entrances to universities in Rangoon. Last night, local authorities went around telling students in towns and villages there would be no school tomorrow. According to an Associated Press report, high schools around the country will also stay closed. Military authorities have extended the summer break until at least July 1. Universities and high schools have always been the hotbeds of dissent in Burma, and analysts say the regime's move to close them down is an indication that the generals are worried about a snowball effect if students organize demonstrations. Others say the closure is confirmation that students were killed in the clash. [Top]
World Calls for Release of Suu Kyi By Anthony Faraday June 02, 2003-The arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and 19 members of her party has the eyes of the world on Burma's tyrannical military regime. >From London, British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien called on the regime to release Suu Kyi and members of the National League for Democracy (NLD). ÝSeveral diplomats in Rangoon have expressed dismay at recent developments, saying Friday's crackdown sounded the deathknell for democratic progress in Burma. "Over the past few weeks I have been alarmed by persistent, credible reports that groups supported by the military regime have been inciting local people into protests against the NLD," O'Brien said, calling for "rapid action" against groups who provoked the violence. A US government official told Voice of America that the State Department hoped her detention would be temporary. In Canberra today, Australia's foreign minister Alexander Downer told Federal Parliament he had relayed his government's concerns to Burma's ambassador. Downer said the regime had no justification for detaining Suu Kyi and her supporters. The French government urged the junta to restore Suu Kyi's "full freedom of movement without delay." The Swedish foreign minister, Anna Lindh, also joined the chorus of international pleas for the release. The prime minister of neighboring Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, told reporters that the whole world was concerned about events in Burma. "I think the Myanmar [Burmese] government understands [that]," he said. Mercy Ferrer, of the Philippine-based Initiative for International Dialogue, called on foreign countries to reconsider offers of aid to Burma. A foreign ministry official from Japan, Burma's most important aid partner, said: "We strongly hope that the government of Myanmar [Burma] will take a moderate response and that the situation will quickly be restored to normal." In Tokyo last night, up to 100 pro-democracy activists rallied at the gates of Burma's embassy. In Rangoon, the Red Cross-which works to ensure the safety of prisoners in Burma-is seeking access to Suu Kyi and the other party members who were arrested. There was concern for Suu Kyi's well-being at the weekend, as the military failed to provide details on where she was being held. Reports now say the NLD leader was taken back to Rangoon, and is being held in an army guest house. Foreign diplomats based in the Burmese capital said they were turned away by security officials when they tried to visit the homes of NLD Chairman Aung Shwe and Spokesman U Lwin at the weekend. Several diplomats in Rangoon have expressed dismay at recent developments, saying Friday's crackdown sounded the deathknell for democratic progress in Burma. The paucity of information coming out of the country has resulted in fierce speculation among Burma watchers worldwide. Many are convinced the events in the lead-up to the crackdown were all carefully managed by a military determined to undermine growing support for Burma's democratic cause. Josef Silverstein, a US-based academic who specializes in Burma said: "What they [the junta] are out to do in my estimation is to finally break the relations between her and the people." The incident could well have been an attempt to assassinate Suu Kyi, said Aung Din, policy director of the Washington-based Free Burma Coalition. The United Nations special envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail, confirmed yesterday that he still wanted to go to Rangoon on June 6 as planned, despite the detention of Suu Kyi. Analysts fear, however, that with the recent tension, Burma's military government will revoke the invitation for Razali to visit Burma for a five-day mission. A media statement from the British Embassy in Rangoon said the UK still attached "great importance" to Razali's work. The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Saturday that he was following events with concern. The latest moves by Burma's ruling military regime have come as a blow to the UN, which invested high hopes in the country's reconciliation process. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ý ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
|