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Students join hands for Suu Kyi



The Nation
August 6, 1998
 
Students join hands for Suu Kyi


BURMESE students the world over will hold a memorial service on Saturday
for those who lost their lives in the uprising in Burma 10 years ago. 

Theat Oo Naing, spokesman for Burma Students' Association, said that more
than 100 students and pro-democracy supporters are expected to participate
in the service to be held on Saturday at 10 am in front of the Burmese
Embassy in Bangkok. 

''A similar service will be conducted by supporters in other countries,
namely America, Australia, Japan, India, London and some European
nations,'' he said. 

Tun Tun, the administrator, said starting from Thursday they will hold a
candlelight vigil around the embassy which will continue until the end of
the service on Saturday. 

Some 50 students, most from Ban Maneeloi, have turned the pavement outside
the embassy, on Sathorn Road, into a temporary home. They said they were
concerned for Aung San Suu Kyi's, head of the National League of Democracy
(NLD) which had won by a landslide in 1990, lack of freedom. 

''We are worried about Suu Kyi and the fact that she might get arrested by
the ruling junta -- the State's Peace and Development Council [SPDC],'' Oo
Naing said. 

Ngyine Moe, a student leader, said the protesters had submitted their
demands, of freedom for political parties and the recognition of the Mon
National Democratic Front (MNDF), to Burmese officials. 

Ngyine Moe said a joint statement would be issued on Saturday. 

He said peace and stability will only return to Burma when the military
government changes its attitude and allows political development. 

''Burma needs politics, economics and racial reforms,'' he said. 

In a statement issued on Monday the students called for a dialogue between
the Burmese junta and the opposition saying it was essential to peace. 

They also urged SPDC to be mindful of public interests and not conduct
wrongful activities. The students also called for freedom for other
political parties, convening of the parliament as sought by NLD and the
release of political prisoners. 

After the Aug 8, 1988, uprising, the commission of the junta, formerly
known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, allowed activists to
form different parties. 



The Nation