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3,000 Students Protested in Rangoon



Thousands of Myanmar students protest as political tensions escalate
Wed 02 Sep 98 - 12:24 GMT
YANGON, Sept 2 (AFP) - Thousands of students protested against the Myanmar
here
Wednesday in the biggest such demonstrations in nearly two years as political
tensions boiled
over on the campuses.
"End the military government," chanted up to 800 students at the Yangon
Institute of
Technology (YIT), as riot police cordoned off a one mile perimeter around the
campus,
witnesses said.
Another 3,000 students rallied at the Hlaing campus in the city, where many of
the institution's
students live, diplomats and witnesses added.
At least six trucks of riot police, carrying some 50 officers each, were seen
arriving at Hlaing
and up to 200 more were deployed around the main YIT campus, diplomats and
witnesses
said.
The Hlaing campus, which was also sealed off by security forces, also hosts a
college for
students preparing to enter YIT. The riot police had shields and batons but no
firearms were
seen.
The protest was initially triggered by student anger at arrangements for
examinations over the
last two weeks, the first since universities were closed following unrest in
December 1996,
diplomats said.
But the demonstrations were the biggest since the 1996 unrest and came after
riot police broke
up a smaller protest outside Yangon University on August 25, arresting dozens
of people,
according to witnesses.
Another protest was staged later that day at Yangon Institute of Technology,
during which
rocks were thrown and riot police mobilised.
"One little thing can spark a big demonstration which gets out of control,"
said one diplomat.
"This could escalate or it could simmer down. There is no clear indication at
this stage and there
isn't likely to be because we can't get near the area to check."
A senior Asian diplomat said he was optimistic the protest would end
peacefully but expressed
fear that violence could erupt.
"They know if they allow it to go on there will be problems. I am sure if they
can't stop (the
protest), the military troops will come."
The diplomat said neighbouring countries were avoiding involvement with the
protests, in line
with the regional non-interventionist policy.
One European diplomat saw the absence of firearms among the riot police as a
positive sign.
"If there were guns, I would be more worried, but I think this one will be
resolved somehow for
the time being."
Political tensions are rising following an opposition decision to convene the
parliament elected in
1990 after the junta ignored earlier requests to do so.
The opposition, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Nobel peace
laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi, won the 1990 polls by a landslide but the junta has refused
to relinquish
power.
The junta, meanwhile, stepped up a verbal offensive against the opposition,
saying its vow to
convene parliament was an unacceptable threat to national security and
promising stern action if
the plan went ahead.
The military also repeated allegations that foreign governments were
supporting the NLD and
using sanctions to hinder progress toward democracy. Such attacks are usually
interpreted as
being directed at the United States.
"The NLD's decision to hold a national parliament on their own comes up as a
threat to
Myanmar's national security," the junta said in a statement.
"In this scenario, the government will be left with no choice but to take
necessary legal action in
safeguarding its national security."
The junta said it was unfortunate foreign powers were "blatantly encouraging
(the) NLD to take
the confrontational and provocative path which will derail Myanmar's national
unity, peace and
stability."
It also railed against sanctions imposed by some Western nations which have
alleged grave
violations of human rights and curbs on political freedoms by the junta.