Government Denies Wholesale Arrests

The military government denied opposition claims that it arrested 500 activists, but it refused to release those it has detained or lift roadblocks around the house of the democracy movement’s leader. A senior official said there had been no change in the number of those detained last week, 109, as part of an effort to prevent a three-day meeting of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. The official said the roadblocks will remain in place around Suu Kyi’s house until the government is sure the democracy movement will not cause disturbances. Authorities also warned Buddhist clergy to steer clear of the activists.