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NEWS- Burmese Exiles Ask Military G



Burmese Exiles Ask Military Govt to Uphold Rights

               Reuters
               10-DEC-97

               BANGKOK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - A group of
               Burmese student exiles and Buddhist monks
               held a peaceful protest in front of the
               Burmese embassy in Bangkok on
               Wednesday and demanded the country's
               ruling military junta respect human rights. 

               The protest by nearly 60 students and
               monks was held to mark the 49th
               anniversary of International Human Rights
               Day adopted by the U.N. general assembly
               in Paris on December 10, 1948. 

               ``Today is International Human Rights day.
               We demand that the so called State Peace
               and Development Council (SPDC) respect
               human rights for the sake of real peace and
               development in Burma,'' student leader Zaw
               Wint told reporters. 

               Burma's ruling SPDC, which adopted its new
               name last month, was previously known as
               the State Law and Order Restoration Council
               (SLORC) which rose to power in a bloody
               coup in September 1988. 

               The SPDC's top military leadership is the
               same as the SLORC's, which has ruled with
               an iron fist and been accused by opposition
               leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the West of
               curbing human rights and democracy in
               Burma. 

               The junta has in the past placed Suu Kyi
               under house arrest, and jailed and later
               released thousands of opposition activists. 

               Zaw Wint urged the SPDC to release all
               political prisoners and hold a dialogue with
               Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
               (NLD) party to achieve peace and democracy
               in Burma. 

               Suu Kyi's NLD won a landslide victory in
               1990 election but the then ruling SLORC
               ignored the election result and refused to
               hand power to her. 

               ``The SPDC arrest, torture and kill peaceful
               demonstrators, students and elected
               people's representatives and use the people
               as a labour force,'' a statement from the
               protesters said. 

               Thousands of Burmese students fled from
               military supression after the military crushed
               uprisings in Rangoon's streets in September
               1988. 

               Several hundred joined ethnic rebels in the
               jungles along the Thai-Burma border to fight
               the military rulers.