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Defiant Suu Kyi says she will take train to Mandalay |
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September 22, 2000
YANGON (AP) - Security forces Thursday blocked both ends of a street leading to Aung San Suu Kyi's house, as her opposition party said she is ready to confront the military junta again if it prevents her from leaving the capital. Tin Oo, the vice chairman of her National League for Democracy party, told reporters that he and Suu Kyi intend to take the 4 p.m. (0930gmt) Thursday to Mandalay, 560 kilometers (350 miles) north of the capital. Myanmar's military junta, which has little tolerance for the Nobel peace laureate's pro-democracy activities, has not said how it will deal with her latest travel plan. A government spokesman said he has no comments on her planned trip. But residents said security forces parked vans, cars and motorcycles Thursday to block both ends of the street leading to Suu Kyi's house, making it unlikely that she would be able to reach the railway station. The junta disapproves of her going outside Yangon and has physically blocked her on several occasions, the latest on Aug. 24 when she tried to drive to a southern town. "Anyone who wants to see us off please come to the railway station," Tin Oo said, in appeal to party workers and supporters. Suu Kyi's previous attempt to travel by train, also to Mandalay, in March 1996, was thwarted when authorities said her carriage had developed mechanical problems and could not perform the journey. No other seats were available for her. Tin Oo acknowledged that the same situation could arise Thursday, but said Suu Kyi was willing to wait out. "If they stop the train we will go by another train. And even if this is stopped we will wait until another train is available," he said. By repeatedly locking horns with the military junta, Suu Kyi hopes to keep the international limelight focused on the democracy situation in Myanmar, also known as Burma. "The NLD, as in Suu Kyi's attempted excursions, is testing the military's resolve while gaining international support," David Steinberg, director of Asian Studies at the Georgetown University, said. He was reached in Washington D.C. by The Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand. The military has ruled Myanmar continuously since 1962. The current crop of generals took power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide uprising for democracy, killing thousands of people. The NLD was formed Sept. 27, 1988, and won national elections in 1990. But the military refused to hand over power. Suu Kyi was under house arrest from 1989 until her release in 1995, but her movements remain severely restricted. Most recently, she was prevented from driving to a southern town on Aug. 24, leading to a nine-day roadside standoff that ended when security forces forcibly brought her back to Yangon. She and eight other NLD leaders were then put under virtual house arrest until Sept. 14. |