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ASEAN urged to pressure SLORC for reforms

20 people jailed for 7 yrs in Myanmar
YANGON. Jan 18: Twenty people convicted of inciting student protests In December have been sentenced to seven years In prison, the Myanmar military regime said Saturday, reports AP
Those imprisoned include six members of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi s Na lional League for Democracy
Her party has voiced support for the students but has denied any role in their demonstra tlons for an independent union and more civil liberties — the biggest street unrest in years
The others were not identi fled. The government said none were students.
The government has previ ously accused the hundreds of students who took to the streets as being unwitting tools of "external forces."
The sentencing followed secret trials under emergency legislation. set up 46 years ago and frequently used against political dissidents.
The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, closed Myanmar's university campuses December 1 1 to break the unrest — the most daring since the 1988 pro-
democracy uprising was crushed by troops gunning down thousands of protesters.
Most campuses have reopened. but those at the heart of the unrest remain closed It is uncertain when they might open or whether final exams normally taken in February will be held.
Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent promotion of democracy. has increasingly been the target of a government campaign to restrict her activities and weaken her party.
Scores of Suu Kyi s support ers have been imprisoned since she was freed from house arrest in 1995. The government five months ago stopped allowing her to speak to thousands of people wno gathered outside her nome each weekend. The regime rejects her calls for a dialogue
SLORC leaders have accused her party, die-hard elements of the moribund Burmese Com munist Party, and ethnic and student rebels of fomenting t he protests and orchestrating a Christmas Day bombing at a pagoda compound that killed live people and injured 17. They deny the accusations.
The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962. Suu Kyi. daughter of independence hero Aung San. was propelled to the leadership of the pro-democracy movement in 1988. Her supporters won parliamentary elections in 1990 that the regime refused to honour.
AFP adds. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has appealed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to pressure Myanmar military junta into making political reforms. The Nation said Saturday.
We hope that ASEAN will use its influence with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to encourage the military regime to enter into negotiations with Aung San Suu Kyi and the democracy movement, leading to national reconciliation and political reform " he said.
Chretien, who is visiting Thailand at the head of a massive delegation of 400 business leaders and 10 provincial premiers. made the comments at a dinner in his honour hosted by his Thai counterpart. Chaowalit Yongchaiyudh.