Reuters : Yangon quiet as Suu Kyi p

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Yangon quiet as Suu Kyi pays Martyrs' Day respects 
02:36 a.m. Jul 19, 1998 Eastern 

YANGON, July 19 (Reuters) - Myanmar's capital Yangon was quiet and security
relaxed as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi paid respects at her father's
tomb in Yangon on Sunday morning as the country commemorated its annual
Martyrs' Day. 

The ruling government had recently warned opposition groups against
fuelling rumours there would be unrest in the city either this Sunday or on
August 8, the 10th anniversary of the 1988 student protests which were
crushed by the military. 

Suu Kyi arrived at the Martyrs' Mausoleum near the foot of the central
Shwedegon Pagoda Hill this morning in a black government-arranged sedan. 

For the fourth consecutive Martyrs' Day ceremony Suu Kyi was accompanied by
Colonel Than Tun, a senior government intelligence officer who has acted as
her liaison since her release from house arrest on July 10, 1995. 

Dressed in a traditional black longyi (sarong), white blouse and black
scarf, 53-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate Suu Kyi knelt and placed three
baskets of flowers before the tomb. 

Suu Kyi's father General Aung San, the architect of Myanmar's independence
from Britain, six of his cabinet colleagues, a secretary and a bodyguard
were gunned down on July 19, 1947 while holding a meeting six months before
the country's independence. 

Top government generals from the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) did not attend this morning's ceremony but were represented by the
Minister of Culture Win Sein and other government officials. 

They laid a wreath on behalf of the SPDC chairman, Senior General Than
Shwe. 

Suu Kyi's opposition party the National League for Democracy, which won a
landslide general election victory in 1990 that was never recognised by the
government, also marked the day with a ceremony. 

About 500 guests, including party members, foreign diplomats and some
veteran politicians gathered inside Suu Kyi's lakeside residence for a
commemoration but no speeches were made. 

Security arrangements near Suu Kyi's residence were more relaxed than
normal and there were no reports of disturbances elsewhere in the city.