BBC : Burma calm on uprising annive

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Saturday, August 8, 1998 Published at 12:23 GMT 13:23 UK 

Burma calm on uprising anniversary 

Opponents of the military government in Burma are marking the 10th
anniversary of the violent suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations. 

Hundreds of Buddhist worshippers gathered at the Pagoda on the outskirts of
the capital Rangoon - one of the rumoured sites for anti-government
rallies. 

But, as in the capital itself where only small groups congregated, the
protests remained quiet. 

Several thousand people, many of them students, are thought to have been
killed during the 1988 protests. 

The authorities in Burma warned pro-democracy supporters that they would
annihilate any efforts to destabilise the country. 

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Simon Ingram, says the government
threat has left the streets of the capital, Rangoon, jittery but calm. 

There has been little extra visible security, either in the streets or
outside the home of Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National
League for Democracy. 

She has recently stepped up her personal campaign of defiance but stopped
short of calling her supporters onto the streets. 

Small-scale protests have been reported in the run-up to the anniversary
and anti-government leaflets have appeared sporadically on university
campuses. 

Several offices belonging to a pro-government organisation were reportedly
attacked but there has been no major gathering of pro-democracy supporters.


Thai rally 

A rally by exiled Burmese in the Thai capital, Bangkok, was staged without
incident. 

Journalists in Bangkok were shown a pre-recorded address by Aung San Suu
Kyi. 

She told her supporters: "Do not lose heart. The day will come. We will
never give up." 

Crowds of youths chanted slogans before a wreath was laid outside the
Burmese embassy and Buddhist monks prayed for the victims.