BURMA FREES DOZENS OF PRO-DEMOCRACY CAPTIVES.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Burma's military rulers Friday freed dozens of pro-democracy activists detained de·tain tr.v. de·tained, de·tain·ing, de·tains 1. To keep from proceeding; delay or retard. 2. To keep in custody or temporary confinement: last week in an attempt to prevent their leader, Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (oung sän s  chē), 1945–, Burmese political leader. , from holding an opposition party conference.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy held the congress anyway, marking the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish and Norwegian: Nobels fredspris) is the name of one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. laureate's biggest challenge to the regime since she was freed from six years of house arrest in July. Government radio announced Friday that the junta jun·ta n. 1. A group of military officers ruling a country after seizing power. 2. A council or small legislative body in a government, especially in Central or South America. 3. A junto. was freeing its ``guests,'' and opposition leaders said at least 81 of the 262 detainees were released. It was not known when, or if, the other jailed dissidents would be released. In an usual departure from its usual harsh words, the state-run news media today refrained from calling Suu Kyi a ``stooge'' of foreign powers and a ``maggot'' - prompting opposition leaders to speculate that the regime might be reconsidering its refusal to open a dialogue with her. ``When these people were detained, they were all asked a set of five or six questions,'' said Kyi Maung, the party's vice chairman. ``The one they really seemed to focus on was, `What do you think the National League for Democracy really wants from a dialogue?' ``I think they are seriously contemplating a dialogue,'' he said. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion