Bang Post (18/8/99)

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Burma crackdown 
Burma's military regime acknowledged yesterday that authorities were taking
measures to prevent student unrest ahead of opposition calls for an uprising
next month. In a brief statement received by AP in Bangkok, the government
acknowledged opposition claims that high school students in the southern town
of Mergui had staged a protest march last Friday. The statement did not
confirm
opposition claims that more than 30 students had been arrested in the march. 
____________________________________________________
Burmese 9-9-99 call causes little alarm 
DAVID BRUNNSTROM 1 Bangkok, Reuters 

Burmese dissidents in exile have picked Sept 9, 1999 for a repeat of a,
"people, power" uprising 11 years ago that shook the foundations of
authoritarian rule but was ultimately crushed at the cost of thousands of
lives. 
Their call to arms on the so-called "four nines day" looks like a triumph of
hope over long and bitter experience. . 
The Burmese military's whole raison d'etre since it seized direct power on
Sept
18, 1988, has been to prevent a return to "anarchy" it says ruled that year,
when m'illions took to the streets to demand an end to decades of 
auth- oritarian rule. 
Historians say the.trigger for the 1988 uprising was a call by underground
students for a general strike that Aug 8 via a report carried by the British
Broadcasting. Corporation
A similar call has again been carried in recent weeks by foreign radio
stations
many in the country rely on for independent news. 
Diplomats, dissidents and other Burma watchers say the message has once again
hit home and caught the popular imagination, but the military is far better
prepared this time. 
In the past decade it has not only doubled the size of the armed forces to an
estimated. 450,000 personnel but greatly increased the pervasive surveillance
activity of its intelligence arm. 
This has involved infiltration of dissident groups and the monitoring of phone
and e-rnail links, say analysts. 
"In 1988, the government was surprised and that will never happen again," said
a diplomat in Rangoon.' "The government has got pretty good links into all
underground groups and anti-goveriiment groups both here and abroad. It has
tabs on everything it has to have tabs on." 
The government is clearly concerned enough about the potential for trouble to
take pre-emptive action, including detentions of detivists, a tightening of
provincial security and even the broadcast of loudspeaker warnings to people
not to join any protests. Dissident groups say more than 150 people have been
detained in the past two weeks. 

The government said last week it had arrested four people in uncovering a plot
to instigate unrest next month and had detained others for questioning. It
said
investigations were continuing. 
Earlier this month it warned the National League for Democracy not to get
involved in any unrest. 

A state media commentary accused it's leader Aung San Suu Kyi of sowing
discord
and reiterated a call for legal 
action. against the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate, Who it kept under house arrest
for six years until 1995. 
The NLD has distanced itself from calls for, civil unrest, and the government
said publicly last week that the NLD leadership had told its members not to
take part. 
The All Burma Students' Democratic Front, among the exiles pushing the 9-9-99
campaign, said the aim was to push the military into dialogue with the NLD,
which it has long resisted. 
"We need various kinds of pressure and that pressure may be street
demonstrations and that pressure may be a shut down strike," said ABSDF
general
secretary Aung Thu Nyein. "We. call on the people to do whatever they can. 

_____________________________________________

Burma asked-to hand over fugitive. 
Ranong - Burmese police were yesterday requested to arrest and return Surachai
"Bang Ron" Ngernthongfu, a narcotics fugitive. 
Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol Somboonsap, assistant police chief, made the request to
Pol
Lt-Col Sit Ayue deputy director of Burma's Central Committee for Drug Abuse
Control in talks held here. 
Thai police knew the whereabouts of Surachai, said Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol, He
said
he had received a positive response from the Burmese police but noted that he
had to wait and see the result. 
The Burmese side also promised to pressure the ethnic Wa to stop producing
drugs by 2005.