Daily News-January 15 - 2001- Monday

  • Bertil Lintner interview on "All Things Considered"
  • Bangladesh on alert, awaits talks with Burma
  • Bangladeshis fleeing Burma border areas
  • Concerns mount over border disease
  • Burma court postpones decision on Suu Kyi property case
  • ILO sees progress in Burma talks with opposition
  • Burma Launches National Immunization Day Activities
  • China Delivers Teaching Building to Burma
  • 207 Clinics, Hospitals of Traditional Medicine Set Up in Burma
  • Burmese junta allowing jailed NLD supporters to receive food parcels
  • More signs emerge of political thaw in Burma
  • Schools closed,Tensions Rising Along Bangladesh, Burma Border
  • ILO tells Burma to eradicate forced labour
  • Burmese leader denies split over opposition talks

    • Bertil Lintner interview on "All Things Considered"

    source : Burmanet

    National Public Radio:Jan. 10, 2001

    INTERVIEW: BERTIL LINTNER DISCUSSES THE PERSECUTION OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE AUNG SAN SUU KYI IN BURMA

    Cat. Title: ACTIVIST AUNG SAN SUU KYI & BURMA'S MILITARY GOVERNMENT HOLDING TALKS

    NOAH ADAMS, host:
    The opposition party in Burma, the National League for Democracy, today confirmed that the military government has been holding secret meetings with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner has been under house arrest since September. Her party won national elections in 1990, but the military junta never gave up power. Bertil Lintner covers developments in Burma for the Far Eastern Economic Review. He says this isn't the first time that there'd been talks between military leaders and Aung San Suu Kyi.

    Mr. BERTIL LINTNER (Far Eastern Economic Review): In 1994, the last time Suu Kyi was under house arrest, she met with, you know, Khin Nyunt, and several other junta leaders at that time, too.

    And those talks were discontinued because the government claimed that she was inflexible and it was impossible to talk to her. She kept on demanding that the government should respect the outcome of the 1990 election and ease repression in the country and so on. And it's not inconceivable that the generals of Rangoon are playing a very similar game this time. That they will hold a couple of rounds of talks with Suu Kyi then turn around and say, `Look, it's impossible to talk to her. Isn't this exactly what we said?'

    ADAMS Remind us about the logistics here. She's been back under house arrest. A United Nations' special envoy has been visiting there. Has he been going to her house as the military leadership been going to her house?

    Mr. LINTNER: It is not clear whether meetings between Suu Kyi and military leaderships have been held. But Rasona(ph) definitely went to her house in Rangoon to talk to her there. She did not leave the compound. She was not allowed to. And this is kind of important to remember; that Suu Kyi remains under house arrest and her movements are severely restricted. Most of her co-workers in the National League for Democracy are in jail. And inside the country the repression is just getting worse. And since last July hundreds of NLD supporters have been rounded up, sent off to different prisons. Local offices of the party are being closed down by the military, and there's no signs that Burma's moving to anymore political openness.

    ADAMS: A couple of years ago, Suu Kyi's husband, Michael Aris, was dying in London. The government of Burma wouldn't allow him a visa to come and visit her. And she was actually afraid to leave to visit him because she would not be allowed back into the country to continue her fight.

    Mr. LINTNER: It is absolutely true. And since Michael's death, the campaign against Suu Kyi has actually intensified and they've become much worse. That is why she, last year took this initiative to travel out of Rangoon. She tried to go to Mandalay, the second biggest city in the country. She was repeatedly stopped by the military. She was not allowed to meet members of her own party.

    ADAMS: Any way of knowing the response is among the opposition? I noticed that the All-Burma Students Democratic Front, exiled opponents, called the news of these talks a truly historic breakthrough.

    Mr. LINTNER: That is what the ABSDF has said in a statement today. But given the junta's previous record of manipulating things to its advantage, and also the divide and rule among its opponents, it is very hard to say that this is a breakthrough at this stage. The first thing that would have to happen if you're talking about a breakthrough would be a total release of all political prisoners in the country. And there's hundreds, if not thousands, of them in prisons all over Burma.

    ADAMS: For that to happen, would one think that the opposition would need the support of the people. What do the people of Burma think about this now?

    Mr. LINTNER: It's very hard to say what the people of Burma think because if they open their mouths and say something, they end up in jail. And a lawyer--a 77-year-old lawyer was sentenced to 20 years in prison only a few months ago because he had written on the back of a book, `We have no freedom. Our mouths are sealed.' It was enough to sentence a 77-year-old man for the rest of his life in prison. And no one in Burma really dares to criticize the government openly. It doesn't mean that the government is any more popular now than it was, for instance, at the time of the 1990 election when the NLD won a landslide victory. It won 392 out of 485 seats in the parliament. But the parliament was never convened.

    ADAMS: Mr. Lintner, thank you for your time, sir.

    Mr. LINTNER: OK. Thank you.

    ADAMS: Bertil Lintner is a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, author of the book, "Burma in Revolt." He spoke to us from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

    ROBERT SIEGEL (Host): This is NPR, National Public Radio.
    Bangladesh on alert, awaits talks with Burma

    source : Reuters

    COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Jan. 14 — Bangladesh said on Sunday its troops were ready to respond quickly if Myanmar soldiers opened fire across the countries' border or if Myanmar resumes construction of a dam on the Naf border river.

    ''We are ready for a prompt and appropriate response if they pull the trigger again or resume construction of the dam.'' said Colonel Shawkat Ali, a commanding officer of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border force.

    Tension along the border in southeast Bangladesh has been high for the past two weeks since Myanmar began building a dam, or embankment, on the Naf river at Totardia to divert water for irrigation and shrimp farming. Bangladesh says the structure will cause soil erosion and flooding on the Bangladesh side and has demanded that it be stopped.

    The two sides exchanged fire across the Naf on January 8 but there were no casualties. Myanmar then suspended construction of the dam but deployed some 35,000 troops along its 320 km (200 miles) border with Bangladesh, Bangladesh military officers say. The Naf forms part of the border.

    Ali said Bangladesh had deployed more than 10,000 paramilitary troops to face any attack from Myanmar. Witnesses said BDR troops have taken up position in fortified positions and bunkers.

    ''We are maintaining a round-the-clock alert,'' Ali told reporters. ''We are ready to defend our interests along the frontier.''

    Bangladesh is still awaiting a response from Myanmar to a call for a high-level meeting to resolve the dispute, he said.

    Usually only a few hundred troops are stationed on either side of the Naf. Both countries have restricted the movement of civilians near the frontier.

    The two countries fought a brief battle in 1967 over a similar attempt by military-ruled Myanmar to build a dam in the Naf in violation of an international convention.
    Bangladeshis fleeing Burma border areas

    source . The Times of India

    DHAKA: Heightened tensions along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border have led to Bangladeshi citizens feeling their homes in the border areas over the past four days, official sources said.

    Official sources here said Myanmar border guards had planted landmines and imposed a curfew along a 20-km stretch on their side of the border since January 10. The curfew was imposed against the backdrop of a massing of troops by both sides along the border.

    The sources said landmines planted by the Myanmar troops had exploded in the Naikkongchari, Fultali and Amtali sectors of the border in Bangladesh's southeastern Cox's Bazar region over the past four days. Two cattle perished in the explosions in the Amtali sector, they said.

    Trouble erupted after forces of the two countries deployed along the border exchanged fire January 8 as Myanmar forces allegedly attempted to construct an embankment on the bank of the river Naf that separates the two countries. The Myanmar troops agreed to suspend the construction work for a week following a flag meeting between senior officials of the two countries.

    Local people and troopers from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) said the Myanmar troops had started planting the landmines Wednesday. Locals said the explosions had created panic among the people living near the border on the Bangladesh side.

    Panic-stricken people in the frontier villages had fled their homes. The BDR troopers had also instructed woodcutters and local people not to go near border pillars.

    Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad said Thursday that Dhaka was monitoring the situation and maintaining regular contacts with authorities in Yangon over the developments across the Naf river. Myanmar's Ambassador in Dhaka was also summoned to the foreign ministry here and a strong protest lodged against attempts to construct the embankment on the Naf river. (IANS)
    Concerns mount over border disease

    source : The Bangkokpost

    A team of Thai experts visited public health officials in Mae Sot district to observe the spread and treatment of communicable diseases along the Burmese border.

    As part of a joint medical agreement signed in July by Thailand and Burma, the team yesterday visited Mae La refugee camp in Tha Song Yang district and the Cynthia Clinic in Mae Sot, where sick Burmese people from Myawaddy are treated. The team was led by Dr Anussorn Suthirat.

    The agreement was signed in Chiang Mai by Public Health Minister Korn Dabbaransi and his Burmese counterpart, Maj-Gen Khet Sein.

    The programme, to focus on the prevention of the spread of malaria, HIV/Aids and tuberculosis, will be funded with US$252,000 from the United Nations and the two nations.

    Dr Kanoknart Pisuthakul, director of Mae Sot hospital, said the two countries would set up a joint team of doctors, nurses, public health officials and NGO workers at Mae Sot-Myawaddy in Tak, Mae Sai-Tachilek in Chiang Rai, Kanchanaburi-Three-Pagoda Pass, and Ranong-Kawthaung.

    Dr Kanoknart said she led a team of eight officials to Myawaddy on Dec 5 to meet their Burmese counterparts. They agreed to exchange information on epidemics, and the treatment and transfers of patients. Details would be hammered out at the next meeting in Mae Sot late next month.

    Records from the Tak public health office found malaria has spread widely along the border. The number of malaria patients reached 91,703 since 1996, most of them Burmese.

    A number of Burmese workers contracted HIV/Aids because of lack of understanding on the prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases.

    The number of people seeking treatment for tuberculosis increased during the past few years.
     Burma court postpones decision on Suu Kyi property case

    YANGON, Jan 15 (AFP) - A Myanmar court Monday postponed a decision on a property case against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose brother Aung San Oo has filed a law suit seeking half her Yangon home.

    Judge U Soe Thein, who earlier this month said he would hand down a decision Monday, gave no explanation for holding the trial over to January 22.

    A legal source said Aung San Oo, a US citizen, planned to hire a new legal team who would be charged with trying to broker an out-of-court settlement.

    Well-known lawyer Mya Mya Aye approached Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer U Kyi Win several days ago to inform him she would be taking over the case and that she was looking for a settlement, the source said.

    Friends of the opposition leader have criticised Aung San Oo's decision to file suit over the house, once owned by their late mother Khin Kyi, and urged him to make an out-of-court settlement.

    The reason for Aung San Oo's change in strategy was not known, but the legal source said he had been come under fire over the lawsuit, with critical letters and phone calls directed to his home in the United States.

    Neither was there any indication as to whether the surprise postponement in the case was linked to the political developments in Myanmar, where the opposition and the junta appear to be edging towards a landmark dialogue.

    UN envoy Razali Ismail last week announced Aung San Suu Kyi had met several times with a senior official of the military government, in contacts aimed at breaking a decade-long political impasse.

    In a sign of the thaw between the warring sides, the official press was ordered to halt its usual stream of insulting cartoons and commentaries aimed at Aung San Suu Kyi from last weekend. A legal decision against the Nobel peace laureate at this delicate stage could have been seen as a slap in the face for efforts to embark on national reconciliation.

    Aung San Oo, while not overtly political, is far less critical of the junta than his sister and the two are not close. Critics have said the lawsuit is a veiled attempt by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to evict Aung San Suu Kyi and hamper her National League for Democracy (NLD).

    As a US citizen, Aung San Oo is not entitled to own property in Myanmar and if he wins the case he is expected to turn his half-share over to the government. That raises the bizarre prospect of the junta co-owning a property where it has held the opposition leader under house arrest since September 22.
    ILO sees progress in Burma talks with opposition

    BANGKOK, Jan. 15 — The International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Monday hailed talks between Myanmar's military rulers and the country's pro-democracy opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

    ''Expect progress in Myanmar,'' ILO Asia-Pacific chief Yasuyuki Nodera said in a statement.

    Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party confirmed last week it had been in secret talks with the government and said the dialogue already appeared to have achieved some progress.

    The NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern. It has stuck to its nothing-but-democracy principle for years despite harassment and imprisonment by the ruling generals.

    Myanmar's military government, in power for most of the last four decades, has never shown any sign of relinquishing control.

    Nodera said in the statement the ILO sanctions against Yangon last December for widespread and systematic use of forced labour had prompted a ''re-think of policy'' by the ruling generals.

    The U.N. labour agency voted overwhelmingly last November that Myanmar had not complied with a global treaty on eradicating forced labour. It has urged its 174 member states and other international bodies to ''review their relations'' with Yangon.

    The 80-year-old organisation has no powers of its own to impose sanctions. The ILO's move irked Yangon and the military government threatened to stop cooperating with the ILO, insisting the use of forced labour had been stopped.

    Nodera said one of his priorities would be to send ILO experts to Myanmar to assist in efforts to stamp out forced labour by modifying laws and bringing perpetrators to justice.
    Burma Launches National Immunization Day Activities

    YANGON, January 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar launched the second round of its Sixth National Immunization Days (NIDs) activities on Sunday after the first round was done in last December.

    A total of 29,857 under-five-year-old children were given oral polio vaccine (OPV) in various townships in Yangon division, according to official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar Monday.

    In the activities, Myanmar targets at 6 million under-five children covering 324 townships in the country with the mobilization of 180,000 members of 37,000 immunization teams.

    In the last five years, over 6 million children were annually given OPV.

    Meanwhile, common communicable diseases are also said to have been gradually controlled and approaching eradication in the country due to the fruitful result of its healthcare delivery system, involving contributions by the private sector and social organizations, the report said.
    China Delivers Teaching Building to Burma

    YANGON, January 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar Monday formally delivered a new teaching building to the Myanmar Ministry of Education. The building is for No.2 Primary School of Yankin township in Yangon division.

    Chinese ambassador to Myanmar Liang Dong and Myanmar Education Minister U Than Aung inaugurated the building by cutting the ribbon, and First Secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council and Chairman of the Myanmar Education Committee Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt unveiled the monument of the building. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Liang said the donation of the teaching building marked the good beginning of the friendly cooperation between China and Myanmar in the new century in the sector of education.

    At the ceremony, Khin Nyunt and U Than Aung respectively delivered speeches. They expressed thanks to the Chinese side for the donation of the China-Myanmar friendship school, wishing continuous development of the Myanmar-China friendship.

    The teaching building was built by China's Transtech Engineering Corporation to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar which fell on June 8, 2000.

    The cornerstone of the two-storey building, which costs 150,000 U.S. dollars, was laid on June 26, 2000 and it took five months to complete. The building, which has 10 class rooms, can simultaneously accommodate 500 pupils.
    207 Clinics, Hospitals of Traditional Medicine Set Up in Burma

    source :Individual.com
    January 15, 2001

    YANGON (Jan. 14) XINHUA via NewsEdge Corporation - Myanmar has set up 200 clinics and seven hospitals of traditional medicine in the country covering rural and urban areas to introduce more use of such medicine, according to Sunday's official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.

    For this purpose, experienced physicians specialized in the traditional medicine are encouraged, the report said, adding that effective therapies of traditional medicine and medicinal plants and elements are also being properly preserved.

    As a result, Myanmar people more often rely on traditional medicine, the report said.To promote the role of the traditional medical science, Myanmar formed the Traditional Medicine Department in 1989 and held its Traditional Medical Practitioners Conference in December last year.

    The country is also endeavoring to unite all domestic traditional medical practitioners and consolidate various therapeutic methods and treatment of various diseases using such medicine.
    Burmese junta allowing jailed NLD supporters to receive food parcels

    Rangoon, Jan 15 (AFP)

    Burma's junta is permitting food parcels and letters to be sent to 86 opposition supporters jailed since September, National League for Democracy (NLD) sources said Monday.

    The apparent goodwill gesture comes as the opposition and the military government edge towards a landmark dialogue brokered by UN envoy Razali Ismail.

    In another sign of the thaw, the regime has ordered the state-run media to halt its routine attacks on NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since September 22.

    The opposition leader was detained after attempting to travel by train to northern Mandalay in defiance of the junta's ban on leaving the capital.

    The 86 party supporters, who were arrested when they went to see off Aung San Suu Kyi at Rangoon central station, have been held without charge since then at the notorious Insein jail.

    NLD sources told AFP that officials of the military government had informed them the group would be permitted to receive food parcels and messages.

    They were told the International Red Cross had visited the group, taken delivery of letters for their families, and were monitoring the situation.

    However, there was no indication as to when they would be released.

    Analysts in Rangoon are also unsure whether the breakthrough talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta number-three announced by Razali last week make it more or less likely the Nobel peace laureate will be released soon.

    The regime is known to be keen to continue its contacts with the opposition leader out of reach of the Western diplomatic missions that have staunchly supported her cause.

    The International Labour Office (ILO) Monday noted the new mood in Burma as it said it expected the military-run country to make progress in eliminating forced labour this year.

    In an unprecendented move in November, the ILO's governing body called on its members to review their ties with Burma over the issue.

    However, newly appointed regional chief Yasuyuki Nodera said in a statement from Bangkok Monday he was now "confident that the achievements already on paper can be converted into realities on the ground."

    "Expect progress in Myanmar," he said, adding he was making his forecast "amid reports of democratic breakthroughs".
    More signs emerge of political thaw in Burma

    Rangoon, Jan 15 (AFP)

    New signs emerged Monday of an improvement in the political atmosphere in military-run Burma as the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi edged towards an historic dialogue.

    Junta officials visited the headquarters of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) to inform its members that 86 of its supporters jailed since September would be allowed to receive food parcel and letters.

    NLD sources said they were told the International Red Cross had visited the group, taken delivery of letters for their families, and were monitoring the situation. However, there was no indication as to when they would be released.

    The apparent goodwill gesture comes as the opposition leader and the military government hold a series of talks, brokered by UN envoy Razali Ismail, aimed at establishing their first official dialogue since 1994.

    In another sign of the thaw, the regime has ordered the state-run media to halt its routine attacks on Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since September 22.

    The Nobel peace laureate was detained after attempting to travel by train to northern Mandalay in defiance of the junta's ban on leaving the capital.

    The 86 party supporters were rounded up when they went to see her off at Rangoon central station and have been held without charge since then.

    In another surprise move Monday, a Rangoon court postponed a decision on a property case against Aung San Suu Kyi who faces eviction after her brother US-based Aung San Oo filed suit over half her Rangoon home.

    Judge U Soe Thein gave no explanation for holding the trial over to January 22 instead of handing down a decision Monday as planned.

    A legal source said Aung San Oo, a US citizen, planned to hire a new legal team who would be charged with trying to broker an out-of-court settlement, a solution long advocated by his sister's supporters.

    The reason for Aung San Oo's change in strategy was not known, but the legal source said he had been come under fire over the lawsuit, with a stream of critical letters and phone calls directed to his home.

    There was no official indication as to whether the unexpected postponement was linked to the political developments in Burma.

    But a legal decision against Aung San Suu Kyi, which may have left her homeless, would have been seen as a slap in the face for efforts to embark on national reconciliation.

    The International Labour Office (ILO) Monday also noted the new mood in Myanmar as it forecast the military-run country would make progress in eliminating forced labour this year.

    In an unprecendented move in November, the ILO's governing body called on its members to review their ties with Burma over the issue.
    Schools closed,Tensions Rising Along Bangladesh, Burma Border

    Source : Dow Jones

    TEKNAF, Bangladesh (AP)--Schools closed and thousands of villagers fled their frontier homes Monday after Bangladesh and Burma reinforced troops in a dispute over building of an embankment on a river shared by the two neighbors. The weekend buildup came after border troops of the two countries exchanged fire over Burma's construction of the embankment on the River Naaf.

    Burma halted the construction after Dhaka's protests.

    But Burma continued to bring in army troops along its border since the clashes, said Bangladesh army officers.

    "We have reports that Myanmar has deployed more than 25,000 army troops along the border. We, too, are ready to confront if they attack us," Col. Shawkat Ali, a commander of the Bangladesh border guards, told reporters on Monday.

    About 2,500 people who left their farming villages of Ulubunia, Anjumanpara, Totatuli and Katakhali on Sunday and Monday to live with relatives or in school buildings.

    Some families sent women and children away while men stayed back to guard the property.

    There is an undeclared curfew along the Burma's side of the border because of the troop movement, he said.

    Bangladesh has offered to hold a meeting between senior commanders of both countries, he said.

    Ali refused to disclose the number of Bangladeshi troops deployed along a part of the 500-kilometer border.
    ILO tells Burma to eradicate forced labour

    Source : MSNBC

    BANGKOK, Jan. 15--The head of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in East Asia urged Burma's military rulers on Monday to prove their willingness to eradicate forced labour.

    Ian Chambers said the issuing of a Burma decree in October prohibiting forced labour was not enough to prove the commitment of Rangoon's generals to address the problem, which he said was still widespread in the impoverished country.

    ''We take it at face value,'' Chambers told Reuters. ''The question, of course, is really whether or not it will be put into effect.''

    In late October, the Burmese military issued a government order stating the requisition of forced labour was illegal.

    But the ILO governing body ignored the decree and voted overwhelmingly in November that Rangoon had not complied with a global treaty banning forced labour.

    It urged governments and international bodies to impose sanctions to compel it to address the problem. The 80-year-old organisation has no powers of its own to impose sanctions.

    Chambers said although the ILO governing body was informed of the issuing of the decree, it believed many promises made by the Burmese authorities were broken.

    ''The decision of the governing body was that the credibility of the Myanmar government was very low, and consequently just issuing legislation wasn't enough. We had to have evidence that something was really being done about it,'' he said.

    Chambers said Rangoon had bowed to international pressure by passing the law fearing a negative impact on trade.

    SENSITIVE TO INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

    ''The best way I could express our interpretation of it is to say that it would seem to show that the Myanmar authorities are more sensitive to international pressure than perhaps they want to admit,'' he said.

    ''And perhaps, particularly, when what is at stake is the economic and commercial position of the country.''

    The ILO, Chambers said, would be happy to provide assistance to the military-ruled nation when the climate was ''appropriate.''

    ''The condition set out in the ILO itself is that the Myanmar authorities must be seen to be making some credible efforts in order to improve the situation of forced labour. So the ball is in their court,'' he said.

    ''Once they do that, then if they ask for our help in vocational training or labour relations, whatever else it might be, then of course we're entirely at their disposal.''

    The ILO on Monday welcomed recent talks between Burma's military rulers and the country's pro-democracy opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

    ILO Asia Pacific chief Yasuyuki Nodera said the ILO sanctions against Rangoon last December had prompted a ''re-think of policy'' by the generals.

    ''Expect progress in Myanmar,'' Nodera said in a statement.

    Nodera said one of his priorities would be to send ILO experts to Burma to assist in efforts to stamp out forced labour by modifying laws and bringing perpetrators to justice.
    Burmese leader denies split over opposition talks

    Source : MSNBC

    Rangoon, Jan. 15--A leader of Burma's military government has denied rumours of a split between members of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in the wake of secret talks with the pro-democracy opposition.

    Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of the SPDC and the country's powerful intelligence chief, told the Myanmar Times in an interview that rumours of a split within the ranks in the military had been spread by foreign media and some diplomats.

    ''These are rumours brought in by foreign news media,'' Khin Nyunt told Myanmar Times, a private English language weekly paper.

    ''Also some diplomats here like to voice the same thing and one can see a lot about this written in foreign newspapers. It's all just wishful thinking on their part,'' he added.

    Rumours circulated last week among diplomats in Rangoon that the SPDC, the powerful body governing the country since the late 1980s, had divided into two factions over the recent talks with the opposition movement.

    Burma's National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi confirmed last week it had been holding secret talks with the military.

    The NLD won the last general election in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern.

    Few details of the discussions have emerged but the United Nations has said two sides have held initial but direct talks and involved face to face meetings between Suu Kyi and Khin Nyunt.

    RUMOURS OF SPLIT IN MILITARY

    The NLD said the dialogue already appeared to have made some progress but did not elaborate.

    Rumours have circulated that part of the Burmese military was unhappy about the talks. One hawkish faction, led by SPDC Vice Chairman General Maung Aye, was said to be opposed to any weakening of the military's grip on power.

    But Khin Nyunt denied the rumours.

    ''We in the military have a tradition of respect from one rank to the next,'' he said. ''We have a regard for each other. We have no problems.''

    In a possible sign of easing tensions between the Burmese military and the opposition, a court case over the ownership of Suu Kyi's house was postponed on Monday.

    Judge U Soe Thein told lawyers representing Suu Kyi and her elder brother Aung San Oo that a court ruling on whether to partition the opposition leader's lakeside Rangoon home would be made on January 22. He gave no reason for the delay.

    Aung San Oo, a U.S. citizen, sued his sister last November for half of the home in an elite residential area where she has mostly been under house arrest since 1989.

    Suu Kyi has been confined to her residence for the last three months with all diplomatic access barred and her telephone cut.

    Some diplomats have suggested the court case might be a ruse to put pressure on Suu Kyi to force her to come to terms with the government or even to leave the country, something the ruling generals have wanted to see for more than a decade.