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Burma's opposition shows split
- Subject: Burma's opposition shows split
- From: moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 00:30:00
Monday, May 3, 1999 Published at 01:46 GMT 02:46 UK
BBC
World: Asia-Pacific
Burma's opposition shows
split
Aung San Suu Kyi has come under fire from her own party
By South East Asia Correspondent Simon Ingram
There are signs of dissent within the ranks of Burma's
main opposition party amid continuing political
stalemate.
Last month parliamentary members of the National
League for Democracy issued a statement calling for
renewed attempts to begin dialogue with the military
government. They were implicitly critical of the strategy
adopted by the internationally respected party leader,
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Now the NLD has issued a sharply worded riposte,
accusing the party critics of being lackeys of the
military.
The letter, signed by 25 NLD MPs, is an unusually
forthright indictment of the party's recent political
strategy and, implicitly at least, an attack on Miss Suu
Kyi.
It was Miss Suu Kyi, who, last year, sought to raise the
stakes in the NLD's long-running confrontation with the
military government by demanding the convening of the
parliament elected in 1990 - an election the military
never recognised.
According to the letter, her call backfired disastrously,
encouraging the government to begin the systematic
dismantling of the NLD leadership, detaining hundreds of
people and forcing many to resign their party
membership.
'Lackeys' of the military
At least one of the signatories, Than Tun, has voiced
criticism of the NLD leadership before. His outburst this
time has brought a fierce response. A statement issued
by the NLD leadership singled out Than Tun and two
other signatories, all three of whom were temporarily
detained by the authorities, denouncing them as lackeys
of Burmese military intelligence. It accused them of
attempting to sow disunity within NLD ranks.
The call for dialogue with the regime is not new. In an
interview last week Miss Suu Kyi herself predicted an
eventual return to the negotiating table. The
sticking-point has been her personal participation -
something the regime adamantly opposes. In the long
months of stalemate, other criticism of her stand has
been heard, not least from foreign investors and some
Western diplomats.
But although this outburst is likely to be seized on by
the military, there is little suggestion that her standing at
the head of the party is under serious challenge.