NEWS - Myanmar democracy forces def

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Myanmar democracy forces defiant on 10th anniversary of junta takeover

       Fri 18 Sep 98 - 10:57 GMT 

       YANGON, Sept 18 (AFP) - Ten years after the Myanmar junta seized
power and launched a bloody crackdown on dissent
       pro-democracy forces remain defiant and international pressure
for change is mounting.

       The capital Yangon was quiet Friday on the 10th anniversary of
the "coup," but the opposition has said it plans to convene a
       parliament in defiance of government warnings.

       Riot police were deployed at strategic locations around the city,
as they have been since the city earlier this month experienced its
       biggest anti-junta student protests since universities were
closed almost two years ago.

       "They are dotted around sensitive places, but are fairly
discreet," one Western diplomat said. 

       Exiled MPs from Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD) party said Myanmar was "in a
       state of emergency" and military rule was plunging the country
deeper into chaos.

       They also confirmed the party's intention to convene this month
the parliament elected in 1990 polls, which the NLD swept but the
       military has refused to recognise.

       "We are very clear about our commitment to the democratic
movement and the NLD's bid to have parliament convened," said NLD
       MP Tin Tut.

       "Ten years after (the junta's) formation, 10 years after they
massacred thousands and (in) 10 years of utter deceit, nothing has
       changed," he said in a statement from exile in Australia.

       Myanmar's Bangkok-based government-in-exile Friday called on
dissatisfied elements within the armed forces to join with the
       opposition in its effort to convene the assembly.

       "Now is the most appropriate time for members of the armed forces
to become involved in the effort," the National Coalition
       Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) statement added.

       The junta's anniversary comes a day after the exiled government
said the NLD's plan to convene parliament could split the military
       and called on the international community to support the move.

       The NCGUB said pressure from the opposition was creating serious
cracks within the armed forces which could lead to the collapse
       of the junta.

       The NLD this week announced the formation of a 10-member
representative committee to convene the national assembly. The junta
       has meanwhile rounded up hundreds of democracy advocates in
recent days in an effort to stymie the planned parliament.

       Pro-democracy students who fled to Bangkok after the junta's 1988
takeover also issued a statement supporting the planned
       parliament, which they described as "a direct challenge to the
generals in Rangoon."

       Diplomats in Yangon played down the significance of the
anniversary, saying it may be seen as more important by the military
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 September 18, 1988 after months 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, comprising 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.

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

       "You couldn't really say it was a coup," another foreign diplomat
in Yangon said. "We all know it's basically the same players now as
       in 1988."