Junta draws global wrath

YANGON, SEPT. 3. The crackdown by Myanmar's ruling military on the pro-democracy Opposition party of the Nobel Peace Laureate, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, has provoked strong international condemnation.

On Saturday, the ruling junta forced Ms Suu Kyi to return to Yangon, ending a nine-day roadside confrontation with her just outside the capital. She had left Yangon on August 24 to try to visit supporters.

The United States expressed its outrage and said it had reports that the party's executive committee members were under house arrest. ``The U.S. is outraged and strongly condemns the Burmese authorities' treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi and her party members and the violations of their fundamental human rights,'' the U.S. Secretary of States, Ms Madeleine Albright, said in a statement.

The British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Robin Cook, condemned the crackdown, saying it showed the weakness of the Yangon regime. ``We are very concerned... We need to know she's safe, is well. What's happened to her is a scandal,'' Mr. Cook said in the French town of Evian on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union Foreign Ministers.

The 15-member E.U. issued a statement expressing concern at the forced return of Ms Suu Kyi to the capital.

Thailand's Nation newspaper said in an editorial that despite the end of the roadside confrontation, the stand-off between Myanmar and the rest of the world continued. It said a policy of ``constructive engagement'' by countries in the Association of South East Asian Nations had failed.

Meanwhile, security around the headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the residences of Ms Suu Kyi and other party leaders was tightened today with dozens of policemen deployed in the area and about 50 officers outside party offices.

Diplomats said the telephones of NLD leaders had been cut off. They were also denied access to Ms Suu Kyi and other leaders.

NLD sources said the movements of key party leaders were ``restricted'' and three senior members appeared to be under house arrest. But, in a sign that the NLD had not been officially banned, flags and symbols of the party were fluttering in front of the headquarters.

Exiled Opposition leaders slammed the junta, stating that the way the military regime ended the stand-off showed ``the hypocrisy that underlines the military's rule''. Mr. Khin Maung Win, an executive member of the Exiled Burma Lawyers' Council, wrote in the Bangkok local press, ``The (Yangon) regime will never give up or introduce political or human rights reforms,'' adding, ``optimism that something for the better will occur in Burma is evaporating fast''.

The military Government today charged that the NLD was ``engaging in terrorist activities''. It also said some senior party members had been ``requested'' to remain at home during the investigation.

``Certain quarters of the NLD have been engaging in terrorist activity,'' said the official spokesman for the junta. The NLD had collaborated with the anti-regime insurgent group God's Army in smuggling five remote-controlled bombs into Myanmar, the spokesman said.

- AFP, Reuters

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