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SUNDAY REVIEW: Burmese students set



		Editorial & Opinion 
SUNDAY REVIEW: Burmese students set to force junta's hand 
Although the ball is in Aung San Suu Kyi's court, nothing new has occurred.
Consequently student activists are getting restless, writes Aung Zaw. 
IN 1756, Dagon was renamed Yangon [Rangoon] by Burmese King Alaungpaya.
Yangon basically means ''end of strife''. Ironically, however, it seems
strife will never end in Burma. 
Active students in Rangoon recently expressed their grave concern over the
plight of their fellow students who are now in prisons and interrogation
centres. They also complain about the lack of media coverage of the ruling
junta's on-going but quiet, systematic and brutal crackdown on them. 
??''It is like as if nothing is going on in Burma,'' said one insider in
Rangoon. Opposition sources inside Burma claim more than 1,500 opposition
members, activists and students have been apprehended since August. 
The crackdown began in late August shortly after students staged a series
of sporadic street protests in Rangoon. Despite facing international
criticism and boycott threats, in early September the ruling junta now
known as the State Peace and Development Council stepped up its campaign
against the opposition and activists. 
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for
Democracy (NLD) asked the SPDC to convene a parliament by Aug 21. The junta
refused the request and arrested more than 1,000 NLD MPs and members. 
Only a handful of top NLD leaders, including Tin Oo and Suu Kyi remain
free, but they are virtually prisoners as they are not allowed to go
anywhere. Additionally, Suu Kyi was threatened with deportation. At the
junta's organised rallies, Suu Kyi was dubbed ''Ms Trouble or a bad mother.'' 
Lt Gen Khin Nyunt warned that effective action will have to be taken if the
NLD continues unlawful activities to destroy peace and tranquility and
national unity. Undaunted, the NLD issued a defiant statement vowing to
continue to strive for democracy and reiterated its demand that the SPDC
convene a parliament of elected representatives from the May 1990 general
election to carry out state duties. 
But in reality, the NLD has little chance. ''The NLD is paralysed. There is
no one [to convene a parliament] because they are now in jails,'' said an
analyst in Rangoon. 
But while non-NLD activists, students and monks inside Burma are weathering
the storm, prominent activists in exile are impatient and restless as they
witness Malaysia's recent political developments and Anwar Ibrahim¹s
rebellious mass gathering. 
??''Before Burma, Mahathir might be gone first,''²one exile activist
sighed. Some activists worry that the junta is gaining the upper-hand
again. ''We want to call a general strike,'' said student leader Moe Thee
Zun, now in exile. 
??''The strike committee should be headed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. It
should comprise various organisations.'' 
But inside activists are bracing for the generals' wrath. 
As they continue to play cat and mouse with the generals they seem
exhausted.?''I have not gone back to my house for almost one year,'' said
one activist in Rangoon. 
If he goes back, he will only meet informers and intelligence officers who
have been waiting to seize him at his home, he said. He has been hiding in
friends' houses. 
Reports emerging from Rangoon indicate that in September alone 600 to 1,000
student activists were taken in for questioning. Though some have been
released, many remain in interrogation centres. 
??''I saw a student who is only 13 years old,'' said Ko Ko (not his real
name). Ko Ko was luckily freed after a few days of rough interrogation. He
saw almost 100 students in the interrogation centre. He said he was punched
and beaten. 
??''Girls are not excluded -- they are also severely beaten -- some are
ill,'' he said. Over the past three weeks, students and activists have been
apprehended at restaurants, tea shops, and friends' houses. 
A merchant in Mingala Market in Rangoon recalled: ''They [intelligence
officers] came and grabbed them [students] and beat them in front of us,''
said another merchant. Later he and onlookers fought with the intelligence
officers as they were angry. The students escaped. 
Independent sources suggested that the ruling junta's secret police
arrested two student groups: one associated with Suu Kyi and the other
belonging to underground student unions. Some analysts in Rangoon commented
that students gained the momentum in August and early September, but as
they faced the massive crackdown they now are just reacting to events as
they happen. 
??''Initially, we had taken a pro-active role but now we are just
responding,'' said one student activist who asked not to be named. 
??''Before we start a full-blown battle, our men were snipered and
kidnapped so we are now considering changing to a new strategy,'' said an
activist in Rangoon. He did not elaborate on the new plan. 
Political analysts in the capital agree that as the economy is in bad shape
with prices sky-rocketing, the atmosphere is explosive, but as a
Rangoon-based analyst put it: ''The situation is -- troops without a
commander.'' 
??''There is a gap between public and political activities.'' 
So far, the NLD and Suu Kyi have not been able to direct the anger and
frustration of the people. Thus, activists are frustrated as Suu Kyi cannot
make any move. The opposition party is in deep trouble. 
In a recent NLD statement members claimed they were arrested without arrest
or search warrants. When they were asked for a warrant they were told: ''No
warrant is necessary because this is not an opium case. You can go and
report to whoever you like. 
??''People would like to hear a clearer message from [Suu Kyi],'' said a
former activist in Rangoon. ''She has been setting up target dates but
nothing has happened as the junta has been able to block her.'' 
The activists have discussed the NLD's next plan but they believe time is
running out. 
??''When the ball is in our court we have to strike because we might not
have such an opportunity again,'' said some students in Rangoon. So they
may not wait for Suu Kyi and the NLD. They may act alone. 
??''We know the people are waiting,'' one said. Although the ongoing
crackdown is effective, activists remain strong and energetic. 
??''The whole region is boiling --­the days of all dictators are
numbered,''²Moe Thee Zun commented. The activists in Burma agreed. 
??''This is an end-game -- we are not taking this military dictatorship
into the 21st century,'' one activist declared over the phone. 
??Definitely, not for our new generation or our children.² 
The Nation