*EPF407 06/05/2003
Text: U.S. Reports Signs of Deliberate Attack on Burmese Activist's Motorcade
(June 5 State Department news release) (450)

U.S. officials have found indications that a motorcade carrying Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi May 30 was hit in a "premeditated ambush," and that the individuals carrying out the assault on her group were affiliated with Burma's ruling authority, according to a June 5 statement by Deputy State Department Spokesman Philip Reeker.

"We call on the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in Burma to provide a full accounting of the dead, injured, and missing," Reeker said.

He termed as "outrageous and unacceptable" the continued detention in isolation of Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of her political party.

"We call on the SPDC to release them immediately, and to provide all necessary medical attention to those who have been injured, including assistance from international specialists," Reeker said.

Following is the text of Reeker's June 5 statement on the May 30 ambush of Aung San Suu Kyi:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
June 5, 2003

STATEMENT BY PHILIP T. REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN

Burma - Ambush on Aung San Suu Kyi

Officials from the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon have returned from a visit to the site of the May 30 violent attack on Aung San Suu Kyi and her traveling party. Their findings indicate that there was a premeditated ambush on Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade. Circumstances and reports from individuals in the region indicate that the attack was conducted by government-affiliated thugs. The debris remaining at the scene suggests a major clash, which could easily have resulted in serious injuries to large numbers of people.

We call on the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in Burma to provide a full accounting of the dead, injured, and missing.

The continued detention in isolation of Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of her political party is outrageous and unacceptable. We call on the SPDC to release them immediately, and to provide all necessary medical attention to those who have been injured, including assistance from international specialists. The offices of the National League for Democracy closed by the SPDC should be reopened without delay and their activities no longer proscribed.

United Nations Special Envoy Razali Ismail will be visiting Burma on June 6. The U.S. fully supports his efforts. He must be allowed to see Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders. If Amb. Razali is not able to meet privately with Aung San Suu Kyi, the U.S. will need to evaluate the utility of this U.N.-sponsored effort to support national reconciliation in Burma.

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

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