*EPF506 05/12/00
Text: U.S. on Burma Election Anniversary, Harassment of Opposition
(Deplores regime refusal to follow results of free elections) (270)

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher released the following statement May 11 marking the 10th anniversary of Burma's 1990 elections, which the democratic opposition, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), won by an overwhelming majority:

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
May 11, 2000

#2000/545

STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN

BURMA: ELECTION ANNIVERSARY AND HARASSMENT OF OPPOSITION

This month marks the 10th anniversary of Burma's 1990 elections, which the democratic opposition, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), won by an overwhelming majority. We deeply deplore the fact that Burma's military regime refuses to follow through on the results of those free and fair elections and has thwarted all attempts to convene a parliament and form a democratic government. We further regret that the regime has chosen to commemorate the anniversary with yet another wave of mass arrests of democratic opposition party members. We reject the regime's latest gambit of associating the National League for Democracy with terrorist plots and view these arrests as a further act of repression against Burmese people engaged in the peaceful expression of their political beliefs. Charges that the National League for Democracy is linked to alleged terrorist groups are a malicious fabrication. This political party has demonstrated for more than a decade that it seeks non-violent political change in Burma.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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