Suu Kyi's party says renegades stole hat symbol

YANGON, Myanmar — Members of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's disbanded political party accused a renegade group Monday of stealing their party symbol — a bamboo hat — to secure votes in Myanmar's upcoming elections. Nyan Win, a senior member of the National League for Democracy, said the conical hat commonly worn by farmers is synonymous with Suu Kyi's party, which won the last polls in 1990 by a landslide. Those results were not honored by the military. He said a letter of complaint signed by 15 party members was sent to the Election Commission on Monday. The junta has called for the first polls in two decades to be held later this year, though no date has yet been set. Critics have dismissed the election as a sham designed to cement nearly 50 years of military rule. Suu Kyi's party disbanded on May 6 and did not register to take part, citing unfair election laws. The National Democratic Force, made up of breakaway members, registered weeks later, saying it planned to use the conical hat as its symbol. "The symbol is not the property of the NLD and it was not patented," said Khin Maung Swe, the leader of the renegade group, in dismissing the complaint. He added his party symbol does not mirror Suu Kyi's, because it has two stars above the hat. —AP