Myanmar to raise civil servants pay five-fold
The rise will bring the minimum monthly wage for government employees to 3,000 kyat ($9.23) and the maximum to 15,000, a government official told Reuters late on Monday.
Myanmar General Makes Threat
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's top general threatened to eliminate rivals of the ruling military regime, which marked the 55th annual Armed Forces Day on Monday with a parade of thousands of troops.
``Whoever, with narrow outlook, disturbs the stability and hinders the development of the nation must be eliminated as the common enemy,'' said Senior General Than Shwe, who also serves as prime minister and leader of the ruling State Peace and Development Council.
Than Shwe did not name any particular group, but it was a clear reference to the National League for Democracy of Aung San Suu Kyi, which continues to push the regime to honor its victory in 1990 general elections. The party was never allowed to take power.
At the morning ceremony, some 6,000 soldiers from the army, navy and air force paraded in Resistance Park near the Myanmar capital's towering Shwedagon Pagoda in the Myanmar capital of Yangon.
The event was attended by the regime's top generals, as well as war veterans and military attaches from foreign embassies.
Armed Forces Day commemorates the uprising by the army of Myanmar, also known as Burma, against the Japanese occupation forces at the end of World War II. The army was headed by Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, at the time.
At a separate ceremony at opposition headquarters, Suu Kyi urged supporters to continue the fight to bring democracy to Myanmar.
``We are now staging a revolution to free ourselves from military dictatorship and establish a democratic country,'' Suu Kyi told more than 300 members of her party Monday.
``Based on democratic principles and with true political will, we are certain to achieve our goal,'' she said. The ceremony was attended by war veterans, diplomats from the United States, Europe and the United Nations.
Myanmar has been governed by the military since 1962. Since the current regime took power in 1988, troop strength has more than doubled.
The regime has been widely accused of human rights abuses, including subjecting citizens to forced labor.
Myanmar marks Armed Forces Day with threats to get rid of rivals
Senior General Than Shwe, who also serves as prime minister and leader of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, made the threat as the country marked the 55th annual Armed Forces Day with a parade of thousands of troops in central Yangon on Monday.
In a characteristically belligerent 30-minute address, Than Shwe accused foreign-backed opponents of the regime of trying to spoil its attempts at developing the country and undermining the national interest.
Senior General Than Shwe did not name any particular group, but it was a clear reference to the National League for Democracy of Aung San Suu Kyi, which continues to push the regime to honour its victory in 1990 general elections.
The party was never allowed to take power.
At the morning ceremony, some 6,000 soldiers from the army, navy and air force paraded in Resistance Park near the Myanmar capital's towering Shwedagon Pagoda.
The event was attended by the regime's top generals, as well as war veterans and military attaches from foreign embassies.
Armed Forces Day commemorates the uprising by the army of Myanmar, then known as Burma, against the Japanese occupation forces at the end of World War II.
The army was headed by Suu Kyi's father Aung San at the time.
"Whoever, with narrow outlook, disturbs the stability and hinders the development of the nation must be eliminated as the common enemy," said Senior General Than Shwe, who also serves as Burma's Prime Minister and leader of the ruling State Peace and Development Council.
General Than Shwe did not name any particular group, but it was a clear reference to the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Aung San Suu Kyi, which continues to push the regime to honour its victory in 1990 general elections. The party was never allowed to take power.
At the morning ceremony, 6,000 troops from the army, navy and air force paraded in Resistance Park.
The event was attended by the regime's top generals, as well as war veterans and military attaches from foreign embassies.
The general also warned of the "psychological warfare" being waged against the junta by unnamed "opposing forces" via the Internet.
Meanwhile, at NLD headquarters in Rangoon, the leading opposition party held its own ceremony to mark the 55th anniversary of "Anti-Fascist Revolutionary Day", as yesterday's anniversary was originally known before 1962 when it became "Armed Forces Day".
Aung San Suu Kyi told the meeting of more than 300 NLD members and several attending foreign diplomats: "A revolution must always have a systematic programme of construction so that the fruits of the revolution will last for ever."
The Nobel Peace Prize winner said: "Ours is a revolution of historic necessity. Struggle may be long, but our success is certain."
The Armed Forces Day commemorates the uprising by the army against the Japanese occupation forces at the end of World War II.
The army was headed by Aung San Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, at the time.
Burma has been governed by the military since 1962.
Since the present regime took power in 1988, troop strength has more than doubled.
The regime has been widely accused of human rights abuses, including subjecting citizens to forced labour.
Wassana Nanuam
An army colonel whose regiment is responsible for border security has been transferred in connection with the Jan 24 takeover of Ratchaburi regional hospital by God's Army rebels.
Lt-Gen Taweep Suwansing, the First Army Region commander, has shifted Col Samphan Yangphakul, chief of the 29th Infantry Regiment, to head the First Army's Intelligence Operations Office, an army source said yesterday.
In his old position, Col Samphan was in charge of border security in Ratchaburi's Suan Phung district. The source said the colonel was held responsible for the fact the God's Army rebels had been able to sneak across the border and seize the hospital with ease.
Moreover, Lt-Gen Taweep was upset that photographs of the naked bodies of the rebels killed by commandos who stormed the hospital had been leaked to the media. It was found out later the photos were taken by army officers who gave them to the press.
Col Samphan was also alleged to have ordered the killing of 14 God's Army rebels who had sought refuge in Thailand but refused to be disarmed.
As a result, a complaint was lodged with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees by a relative of one of the slain rebels. The army, however, denied the allegation.
Col Samphan was replaced by his deputy, Col Sakol Chuentrakul.
Meanwhile, a committee investigating the Feb 25 army helicopter crash in Kanchaburi was still unable yesterday to conclude what had caused the accident that killed 11 army officers on board, including 9th Infantry Division commander Maj-Gen Sanchai Ratchatawan.
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BBC
Tuesday, 28 March, 2000, 13:59
GMT 14:59 UK
Ancient
Buddhist text found in Burma
An Australian researcher says he's discovered in a library in Burma a copy of a lost, original Buddhist text. The researcher, Dr Primoz Pecenko, says he found the copy, written in the nineteenth century on a palm frond, during a visit to a university in Rangoon. The original text was compiled more than a thousand years ago. It offers people instruction on how to live according to the Buddhist doctrine and according to Dr Pecenko finding a copy of it can be compared to biblical scholars discovering a new commentary on one of the gospels. From the newsroom of the BBC World Service |