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SPDC THREATENS OPPONENTS



August 21, 1999


Myanmar General Threatens Opponents

Filed at 2:30 p.m. EDT


By The Associated Press
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The No. 2 leader of Myanmar's military regime
threatened in reports published Saturday to ``annihilate'' opponents calling
for an uprising next month. 

Both sides are waging a propaganda war before Sept. 9, when the opposition
has urged Myanmar's people to rise up against the military, which has ruled
for nearly four decades. 

Any increased preparedness by security forces has been discreet, but
officials have announced the arrest of at least 36 people accused of
involvement. 

Gen. Maung Aye, army commander and vice chairman of the ruling State Peace
and Development Council, was quoted in official newspapers as saying that
``internal subversive elements'' were losing ground to the Tatmadaw, or
armed forces 

``The Tatmadaw today is superior, stronger and more consolidated compared to
the Tatmadaw in 1988,'' Maung Aye said. ``Joining hands with the people, we
are able to remove any danger that might fall upon the country.'' 

The army crushed pro-democracy protests launched on Aug. 8, 1988. But the
demonstrations led to the end of a quarter-century of socialist isolation
imposed by now-retired strongman Ne Win and vaulted Aung San Suu Kyi to the
forefront of the opposition. Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. 

The new generation of generals has opened up the economy to market forces
but keeps a heavy lid on dissent. Opponents hope the so-called 8-8-88
rebellion will be succeeded by a more successful one on Sept. 9, or 9-9-99. 

Numerology is widely believed in Myanmar, also known as Burma, but there has
been little indication the masses are again ready to face the military. 

Maung Aye declared that the armed forces ``would resolutely annihilate those
who disturb the interests of the nation.'' 

High on their list would be the All Burma Students Democratic Front, a
dwindling band of former students who fled the country after the failure of
the 1988 uprising. 

The front claimed Saturday from its base in Thailand that authorities had
been tightening control over high schools in several areas to prevent their
use as staging areas for protests. The universities have been closed since
demonstrations in 1996. 

On Thursday, the group said, students from two high schools in Tamwe
township near the capital, Yangon, shouted slogans, set off firecrackers and
banged desks to protest a visit by Dr. Khin Win Shwe, wife of the
government's No. 3 man, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt. 

The students reportedly sang pro-democracy songs, called for an uprising on
9-9-99, and complained of excessive tuition and a shortage of educational
supplies and facilities. 

Seven students were detained and handed over to their parents after being
threatened with dismissal, the front said. 

The government called the report a ``fabrication.''