[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

AFP-Myanmar capital calm on 10th an



Myanmar capital calm on 10th anniversary of junta takeover
Fri 18 Sep 98 - 06:34 GMT 

YANGON, Sept 18 (AFP) - The Myanmar capital was calm Friday on the 10th
anniversary of the junta's takeover of power, despite increasing domestic
and international pressure for the military to clean up its human rights
record and allow parliament to be convened, residents said.

Riot police were deployed at strategic locations around Yangon, as they
have been since political tensions began escalating several weeks ago, but
they were keeping a low profile and no incidents were reported.



"They are dotted around sensitive places, but are fairly discrete," a
western diplomat said by phone from Yangon.



"But they are there on standby. There is a heightened readiness, which has
been the case for some time, and they are ready to respond quite rapidly if
there is a hint of problem."



Diplomats played down the significance of the anniversary, saying it may be
seen as more important by the junta itself than any other parties.



The State Peace and Development Council, which until recently was known as
the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), assumed power on
Septemebr 18, 1988 after weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations.



The unrest began in March of that year after several students were killed
by riot police and intensified through September as the military cracked
down on protests.



As the demonstrations continued, three heads of state were forced to resign
in quick succession, including Ne Win who had been in power since 1962, in
an effort to quell the uprising. But power remained vested in the military
loyal to the strongman.



On September 18, the military staged a "coup" and established the SLORC
made up of 19 senior officers, loyal to Ne Win. The SLORC immediately
clamped down on the popular movement. Estimates of the number killed in the
crackdown range into the thousands.



Strongman Ne Win ostensibly stepped aside in a bid to placate protestors
but analysts said that 10 years on he still wields great influence in the
junta, despite reportedly suffering ill health.



"You couldn't really say it was coup," another foreign diplomat in Yangon
said Friday.



"We all know it's basically the same players now as in 1988."



The anniversary came a day after Myanmar's government-in-exile said an
opposition plan to convene parliament could split the powerful military and
called on the international community to support the move.



The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) said
pressure from the opposition was creating serious cracks within the
military which could lead to the collapse of the junta.



The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel peace laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, has vowed to this month convene the parliament elected in
1990, which has never been allowed to sit.



The NLD-led opposition won those polls by a landslide but the junta refused
to relinquish power and has warned it would view any attempt to convene
parliament as illegal and a serious threat to national security.



The NLD Wednesday announced the formation of a 10-member representative
committee to convene the assembly sometime this month.



NLD chairman Aung Shwe was named head of the 10-member committee, while
party general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi appointed committee secretary.



The NLD said the committee would carry out the mandate of 251 of the
parliamentarians remaining from the original 485 elected in 1990.



The junta has rounded up hundreds of democracy advocates in recent days,
according to the NLD, but diplomats have said the figure is exaggerated.