Today's News on Burma

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

 Myanmar lashes out at critics on bloody anniversary 
02:12 a.m. Aug 08, 1998 Eastern 
YANGON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government accused the
opposition, Western media and governments on Saturday of trying to
destabilise the country on the 10th anniversary of a bloody crackdown on
pro-democracy activists. 

The powerful Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), Khin Nyunt, said in comments carried in the state-owned
English-language daily New Light of Myanmar that ``axe-handles and
destructive elements'' were trying to undermine the government. 

The word ``axe-handle'' is often used by the local media for those opposing
the government. 

Saturday was the 10th anniversary of a massacre of opposition protesters on
the steps of Yangon city hall on August 8, 1988 and pro-democracy
campaigners had said they would mark the occasion with protests against the
military government. 

Myanmar opposition leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
used the eve of the anniversary to promise to keep fighting for democracy in
her country. 

Suu Kyi, daughter of Myanmar's national hero and founding father Aung San,
told Britain's Channel Four News on Friday evening she would not be
intimidated by the military. 

``I don't think there will be anybody in Burma (Myanmar) who does not
remember what happened 10 years ago tomorrow -- painfully and with deep
regret,'' she said. ``We are determined to do everything we can to make good
our promise to the people that we are going to bring democracy to Burma.'' 

In London, human rights group Amnesty International renewed calls for the
government to mark the anniversary by releasing elderly or sick ``prisoners
of conscience.'' 

Opposition figures say several thousand people were killed in the crackdown
which followed the 1988 massacre. 

The government says the death toll was only a few dozen. 

Myanmar exiles demonstrated on Saturday in several cities to demand that the
government convene a parliament of members elected at a poll in May 1990. 

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won that poll by a big margin
but the result was annulled was ignored by the military. 

Some 300 exiles held a rally at the Myanmar embassy in the Australian
capital, Canberra, chanting and singing songs. Other small demonstrations
took place in Melbourne, the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and in Bangkok. 

The military government has accused the opposition of trying to stir up
trouble around the anniversary. 

``At present, some big colonialist countries, foreign news agencies under
their control and internal destructionists are spreading fabrications that
the situation in Myanmar is becoming tense, leading toward violence,'' Kyin
Nyunt said in the newspaper on Saturday. 

``Axe-handles and destructive elements, under the pretext of democracy and
human rights, are attempting to obstruct the government's endeavours towards
ensuring food and social needs of its people,'' said Khin Nyunt, who is the
Myanmar government's intelligence chief. 

Witnesses said Yangon was calm on Saturday with few signs of extra security
in the city except for beefed-up check points around Yangon University,
close to Suu Kyi's home. 

But Saturday is market day in Yangon and diplomats said last week they could
not rule out the possibility of some snap demonstrations in the capital to
mark the anniversary. 

In an apparent attempt to undermine the opposition's campaign, the
government offered two concessions on Friday. 

The government invited the NLD for talks with deputy Minister for Home
Affairs Myint Maung and said it was prepared to comply with a request from
Suu Kyi that it withdraw its guards from the grounds of her Yangon house. 

But the invitation for talks excluded Suu Kyi and two other NLD members, and
the party said it could not talk under those conditions, a government
spokesman said. 

Diplomats said any offer of talks that excluded the charismatic Suu Kyi was
bound to be turned down. 

The government guards were withdrawn from inside Suu Kyi's premises
overnight but remained outside her residence, a government spokesman told
Reuters. 

Government security men were posted in Suu Kyi's compound at her request
when she was released from six years of house arrest in 1995. The NLD has
not said why Suu Kyi wanted them removed. 

Suu Kyi's father led the country's independence movement in the 1940s, but
was assassinated in 1947. Burma gained independence from Britain the
following year. 

---------------------------
FOCUS-Tight lid on Yangon on Myanmar anniversary 
06:14 a.m. Aug 08, 1998 Eastern 
By Aung Hla Tun 

YANGON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government kept a tight lid on
Yangon on Saturday as exiles marked the 10th anniversary of a crackdown on
pro-democracy activists. 

Witnesses said the streets of the capital were quieter than normal on what
is usually a busy market day and many residemts appeared to be staying in
doors to avoid trouble after rumours of pro-democracy demonstrations. 

Diplomats said there were extra plain-clothes policemen in evidence around
Yangon university, close to the home of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
but few uniformed military. 

``I thought students would be on the streets shouting, but there was
nothing. It is quiet,'' said one Asian diplomat. ``The government has
everything very much under control.'' 

The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) issued warnings last
week ahead of the anniversary of the killing on August 8, 1988 of
demonstrators outside Yangon city hall. 

Opposition figures say several thousand people were killed in the crackdown
which followed the 1988 massacre. The government says the death toll was
only a few dozen. 

The powerful Secretary One of the ruling Khin Nyunt, said in comments
carried in the state-owned English-language daily New Light of Myanmar on
Saturday that ``axe-handles and destructive elements'' were trying to
undermine the government. The word ``axe-handle'' is used by local media to
mean traitors. 

Myanmar opposition leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
used the eve of the anniversary to promise to keep fighting for democracy in
her country. 

Suu Kyi, daughter of Myanmar's national hero and founding father Aung San,
told Britain's Channel Four News on Friday evening she would not be
intimidated by the military. 

``I don't think there will be anybody in Burma (Myanmar) who does not
remember what happened 10 years ago tomorrow -- painfully and with deep
regret,'' she said. ``We are determined to do everything we can to make good
our promise to the people that we are going to bring democracy to Burma.'' 

Myanmar exiles demonstrated on Saturday in several cities to demand that the
government convene a parliament of members elected at a poll in May 1990. 

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won that poll by a big margin
but the result was ignored by the military. 

Some 300 chanting exiles held a rally at the Myanmar embassy in the
Australian capital, Canberra and other demonstrations took place in
Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. 

One organisation of overseas Myanmar students urged the Myanmar people and
pro-democracy sympathisers to wear yellow and carry yellow objects to mark
``Four eights day.'' 

The military government has accused the opposition of trying to stir up
trouble around the anniversary. 

``At present, some big colonialist countries, foreign news agencies under
their control and internal destructionists are spreading fabrications that
the situation in Myanmar is becoming tense, leading toward violence,'' said
Kyin Nyunt. 

``Axe-handles and destructive elements, under the pretext of democracy and
human rights, are attempting to obstruct the government's endeavours towards
ensuring food and social needs of its people,'' he said. 

In an apparent attempt to undermine the opposition's campaign, the
government offered two concessions on Friday. 

The government invited the NLD for talks with deputy Minister for Home
Affairs Myint Maung and said it was prepared to comply with a request from
Suu Kyi that it withdraw its guards from the grounds of her Yangon house. 

But the invitation for talks excluded Suu Kyi and two other NLD members, and
the party turned down the offer, the government said. Diplomats said any
offer of talks that excluded the charismatic Suu Kyi was bound to be refused. 

Government guards were withdrawn from inside Suu Kyi's premises overnight
but remained at the gates to her residence. 

The security men were posted in Suu Kyi's compound at her request when she
was released from six years of house arrest in 1995. The NLD has not said
why Suu Kyi wanted them removed. 

Suu Kyi's father led the country's independence movement in the 1940s, but
was assassinated in 1947. Burma gained independence from Britain the
following year. 

----------------------------
Saturday August 8 7:16 AM EDT 
Myanmar Exiles Hail Suu Kyi
THAKSINA KHAIKAEW Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Exiled students from Myanmar demonstrated today for
an end to military rule in their homeland, chanting outside their embassy in
Bangkok and waving posters of Aung San Suu Kyi. 

About 300 students turned out to mark the 10th anniversary of a nationwide
anti-government uprising in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The army
eventually crushed the unrest, and an estimated 3,000 people died. 

The anniversary comes at a time when Suu Kyi, a prominent opposition leader
and Nobel laureate, and her National League for Democracy are stepping up
pressure on the government. They have set an Aug. 21 deadline demanding the
government allow an opposition-dominated Parliament elected in 1990 to
finally convene. 

``We believe that she (Suu Kyi) will do something if the request is ignored
by the military,'' said Gaw Minth, a coordinator of the Bangkok protest. 

In Myanmar's capital of Yangon, witnesses said an increase in security
checkpoints was visible. But no tanks or soldiers were seen. Yangon was
calm, and schools and businesses were open. 

Opposition groups marked the anniversary of the Aug. 8, 1988, pro-democracy
uprising. Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, urged her
countrymen in a videotaped message seen in Bangkok on Friday to not give up
hope that the military, which has ruled since 1962, would relinquish power. 

``We will win,'' said Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the past decade under
house arrest or restriction to her home. ``Do not lose heart. We will never
give up, so don't give up.'' 

In a speech reported in official newspapers, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, a member
of Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council, accused internal
traitors of trying to break the country apart ``under the pretext of
democracy and human rights.'' 

The government also announced that it had complied with Suu Kyi's request to
remove its security detail from her compound.