36th Anniversary of July 7 Explosio

[lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

"Political Activities and Military Presence in Rangoon on 36th Anniversary
of July 7 Explosion"

Today, students and others inside Burma hold secret religious merit-making
ceremonies in order to pay homage to those martyrs who were killed by the
military on the historical July 7 Student Union explosion of 1962 that
resulted 200 students killed and many more arrested.

In order to intimidate people and to prevent them from staging any
anti-junta activities, today, the military junta deployed 500 armoured
carriers at different strategic positions in Rangoon as well as military
trucks on patrol.

It is common for the generals to delploy security forces to various
strategic sites, e.g. schools, temples, universities, city hall,
administrative offices, and markets, but this July 7 anniversary saw a much
higher number of armoured carriers.

"We, the new 1988 generation of Burma, have been doubling our efforts in
our unfinished struggle against Ne Win's military dictatorship for the
restoration of democracy and human rights in Burma that our brothers and
sisters, the 1962 generation, started at the beginning of military rule in
1962," said Dr. Naing Aung, Chairman of the ABSDF.

"We salute those 7 July martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the 1962
July 7 event in order to topple the military dictatorship at its onset.  We
salute those of the 1962 generation like U Tin Maung Win, U Sein Win, and U
Nyo Win who continued to struggle with us and were killed in prison over
the past 7 years following the 1990 general election.  And we salute those
who are still in prisons and committed to struggle for our cause," said Moe
Thee Zun, Vice Chairman of the ABSDF.

^ÓWe, the ABSDF, reiterate on this special occasion that we will continue
our struggle together with others struggling for decmorcacy in Burma.  We
support the NLD's recent call for convening the parliament by August 21 on
behalf of the people of Burma who elected them in the 1990 general
election.  The result of that election still is unrecognized by ruling
military junta," said Aung Naing Oo, secretary of Foreign Affairs of the
ABSDF.   "We call on the international community to pressure the military
junta to enter into a much-needed tri-partite dialaogue between the
Military, the Pro-democracy opposition led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and
ethnic leaders for the peaceful transition to democracy in Burma," he added.


ABSDF
CENTRAL COMMITTEE