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Junta Restricts Protesters, Communications in Burma
Monks from the International Buddhist Center in suburban Washington lead a march protesting military rule in Burma from the Burmese Embassy to the Chinese Embassy.
(By Sarah L. Voisin -- The Washington Post)
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Some of her followers have been arrested, exile sources reported. Suu Kyi, 62, has been under house arrest for most of the past 18 years because of her demands for political change.
Sympathizers with the struggle underway in Burma staged rallies Friday across Asia, as well as in Washington and New York, condemning the junta's crackdown and demanding stronger international action against a military leadership known for brutality. The science association showed evidence of village destruction, forced relocations and a growing military presence at 25 sites across eastern Burma.
On the diplomatic level, a special U.N. envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, flew to Singapore to pick up a visa and was expected to confer with Burma's military leaders this weekend. Foreign ministers of countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, meeting Thursday at the United Nations, condemned the junta's tactics and said they placed great stock in Gambari's mission.
But Kraisake Choonhavan, a former Thai senator and member of an ASEAN parliamentary caucus on Burma, noted that Gambari has already been to Burma and obtained only what turned out to be vain promises of reconciliation and liberalization. "Gambari has been given assurances before," he said at a news conference in Bangkok.
Singapore's ambassador to the United States, Heng Chee Chan, expressed hope but also caution regarding the U.N. envoy's mission.
"Once Gambari is in, maybe the crackdown will not be as severe," she said, "but it is not going to end. Where this dialogue between Gambari and the leadership will lead to is anybody's guess."
Correspondent Nora Boustany and staff researcher Robert E. Thomason, both in Washington, contributed to this report.
