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NEWS - Burma demonstrations pass p



Burma demonstrations pass peacefully - BBC

           Thai pro-democracy supporters remember the Burma uprising 

           Demonstrations have taken place at embassies around
           the world to mark the 10th anniversary of the
           pro-democracy uprising in Burma which were crushed by
           the military authorities. 


                     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. 

           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 around 250 exiled Burmese in the Thai capital,
           Bangkok, was staged in front of the Burmese embassy. 

           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
           embassy and orange-clad Buddhist monks prayed for
           the victims. 


                          At one point, Thai authorities
                          demanded the vigil end and
                          armed police stood nearby
                          ready to eject the
                          demonstrators. 

                          But the crowds of young men
                          and women, wearing red
                          headbands symbolising the
                          student revolution, refused to
                          budge. 

                          As night fell in Bangkok the
                          still raucous crowd held a
           candlelight vigil. 

           They said they would be staying there until August 21 -
           the deadline set by Burma's opposition for the Junta to
           convene parliament. 

           If there is no response they intend to begin a hunger
           strike. 

           Protests near Burma border 

           In the Indian frontier town of Moreh, Burmese exiles were
           joined by hundreds of Indian sympathisers from all
           political parties to observe the anniversary of the
           uprising. 

           But Indian policemen tried to stop them from holding the
           rally too close to the border with Burma's Tamu
           township. 

           Indian officials said they had banned the rally and the
           use of loud speakers within a kilometre of the border
           after receiving requests from Burmese authorities to
           prevent any act of provocation by the exiles. 

           But correspondents said that the marchers broke
           through the Indian police cordon without much difficulty. 

           Campaigners from the Burma Action Group held a rally
           in central London and re-enacted scenes from the
           protests in 1988.