AFP : Major events since the 1988

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AFP : Major events since the 1988 Myanmar army crackdown

    YANGON, Oct 2 (AFP) - Following are the major events in the history 
of  Myanmar's pro-democracy movement since the military crackdown 10 years ago:

    1988
    Aug 8: Mass demonstrations demanding an end to the military 
dictatorship in place since 1962 are staged across the country after months 
of turmoil. Troops open fire on the crowds, leaving hundreds or thousands 
dead according to different estimates. Violence spreads over five days, 
with security forces also coming under attack in some areas.
    Aug 12: Confronted by the mounting chaos, General Sein Lwin quits the 
leadership after just 18 days in his post, to be replaced by lawyer and
writer Maung Maung. Protests continue.
    Sept 18: Military takes charge with the creation of the State Law and 
Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which authorises the creation of 
opposition parties after 26 years of monopoly rule by the Burma Socialist 
Programme party.
    Sept 30: National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, 
daughter of independence hero Aung San, is formed.

    1989
    July 20: Aung San Suu Kyi is placed under house arrest.

    1990
    May 27: NLD bags 392 out of 485 seats in parliamentary elections. Junta 
refuses to recognise the results and hand over power.

    1991
    Sept 15: Government in exile formed at Mannerplaw on the Thai border.
    Oct 14: Aung San Suu Kyi wins Nobel Peace Prize.

    1992
    April 23: General Saw Maung resigns as head of SLORC and is replaced by 
General Than Shwe. In succeeding months, the junta frees some 500 political 
prisoners.
    Aug 24: Universities closed since the protests reopen.
    Sept 26: Martial law in force since 1988 is lifted.

    1993
    Jan 9: National convention for drafting a new constitution opens.

    1995
    July 10: Aung San Suu Kyi is released after six years under house arrest.
    Nov 28: The NLD refuses to take part in a new session of the national 
convention.

    1996
    May 25: Some 10,000 supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi march in Rangoon in 
the biggest demonstration since 1990.
    June 7: Junta declares opposition rallies "illegal."
    Dec 9: Student demonstrators demand setting up of unions and freeing of 
detained comrades.

    1997
    April 22: The United States bans all new investment in Myanmar. On 
April 29, The European Union extends sanctions.
    May 27: Hundreds of police prevent the holding of an NLD congress at 
Aung San Suu Kyi's home.
    July 23: Myanmar admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
    Nov 15: The junta announces SLORC has been replaced by the State Peace 
and Development Council (SPDC).

    1998
    June 24: Aung San Suu Kyi gives an ultimatum to the junta demanding 
that the parliament elected in 1990 -- which has never met -- be convened 
by Aug 21.
    July 24-30: The junta prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from visiting NLD 
members. Her car is blocked 26 kilometres (nine miles) from Yangon, forcing 
her to return home.
    July 30: Aung San Suu Kyi declares she would keep defying the 
authorities and encourages her supporters to keep up resistence.
    Aug 8: The anniversary of the 1988 unrest passes without incident. The 
following day, 18 foreigners are arrested in Yangon for distributing
pro-democracy pamphlets and are later deported.
    Sept 16: NLD sets up the Committee Representing Peoples Parliament, 
resulting in a renewed crackdown on dissent by the junta.

    1999
    Sept 9: Efforts by exiled dissidents to spark another uprising, dubbed 
the "Four Nines Movement," after the day, month and year, meet with little 
success.
    Sept 1: British human rights activist James Mawdsley is arrested for 
the third time inside Myanmar and jailed for 17 years. Another British 
activist Rachel Goldwyn is sentenced to seven years in prison on September 16
    Oct 1: Dissident gunmen take over Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, taking 
nearly 40 hostages. The crisis ends 24-hours later, after Thai authorities 
bow to demands for a helicopter to the Thai-Myanmar border.


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