Burma 'detains three activists'

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Three leading Burmese pro-democracy activists have been detained by the military regime, the opposition says.

Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kywe were arrested hours before celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition NLD party.

The three men were recently released from jail after serving long prison sentences linked to a 1988 uprising.

The NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 general election, but the military regime has refused to hand over power.

Since then, members of the party have faced constant harassment. Its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has spent more than 10 of the past 17 years under detention.

The three men were arrested at their homes in Rangoon shortly after dawn on Wednesday, witnesses said.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, in Bangkok, says the Burmese government had recently accused the three of stirring up unrest.

The arrests did not stop activists gathering at the headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) to mark the party's anniversary.

Amid tight security, some 70 activists sat down and chanted "Free Aung San Suu Kyi" while diplomats, journalists and activists attended an event inside, the Associated Press reports.

Events were being recorded on video and camera by dozens of police, the AP adds.

Min Ko Naing - one of Burma's highest-profile dissidents - was freed in November 2004 along with hundreds of other political prisoners after 16 years in jail for leading pro-democracy student protests in 1988.

Ko Ko Gyi was freed from prison in 2005.