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NCUB condemns the junta for forcing



October 17, 1998


The NCUB condemns the junta for forcing people to attend pro-military mass
rallies


The National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) strongly denounces the
Burmese ruling junta for forcing people to attend pro-military mass rallies
in different parts of Burma since the end of September 1998. The NCUB
believes that such rallies do not represent the real desire of the people
of Burma, as according to witnesses, the people are pressured by the junta
to attend these rallies and to say whatever the Military Intelligence has
prepared for them.
"The entire population, including military personnel have expressed their
lack of support to continued military rule by voting for the National
League for Democracy (NLD), led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, during the 1990
May elections", a spokesman of the NCUB said. "People of Burma are
disturbed by this forced attendance at these rallies, and they worry that
this will instigate communal tensions and hatred among the general public
through the common practice of the junta in using their 'divide and rule
policy'," he added. 
"The SPDC has been organising such rallies in order to attempt to nullify
the 1990 election results and dismantle the election's winning party, the
NLD. This is an attempt to enable the SPDC to ignore the NLD's call for the
convention of the parliament" the NCUB spokesman stated. He said that such
attempts will not solve the country's deteriorating economic and political
situation, but will rather escalate the crisis.  Furthermore, the NCUB
spokesman called for the junta to hold a tri-partite dialogue with the NLD
and the ethnic groups for the sake of the whole country.
"The military demanded the respective regions, cities, and townships as
well as different organisations to provide a certain number of people to
attend the rallies" a resident in Rangoon said. "In the past, for those who
refused to attend such rallies, action was taken against them. For
instance, many professionals had their licenses to practice their
respective professions revoked after refusing to attend these rallies," he
added.
A Mandalay resident who is close to the military said that the general
public, including some military officials, are frustrated with the
aggression expressed both in verbal and facial expressions used by the
junta at the rallies. Moreover, the feeling is that this type of aggressive
behavior practiced by the Military Intelligence is offensive to the people,
who, being mostly Buddhists, are by nature polite and reserved.  Many
people have expressed the view that this behavior is very undignified and
rude. "At the September 26 rally held in Mandalay, a female doctor was
scolded by the Central Divisional Commander Maj. Gen. Ye Myint, as she did
not read her speech in the harsh and aggressive tone she had been prompted
to at the rehearsal," he added.
The NCUB calls on the people of Burma not to attend such rallies if
possible. However if the people are not in a position to refuse, we request
them not to clap their hands but keep their silence in respect for our
national dignity and in order to oppose such a harsh military treatment.
In June 1996, the junta organised similar forced rallies in different parts
of Burma in order to show seeming public support of military rule and
opposition to the pro-democracy forces and the ethnic groups that have not
yet signed a cease-fire, whom they call 'destructive elements' and 'common
enemy of the state'.