Burma Update

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09Dec96 BURMA: SUU KYI DENIES NLD LINK TO BURMA PROTESTS. 10:35 GMT  
By Vithoon Amorn
RANGOON, Dec 9 (Reuter) - Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
rejected government charges on Monday that her party was linked to spreading
student protests and called on the country's military rulers to seek new
solutions to the unrest.
She was responding to accusations by a spokesman for the ruling State Law
and Order Restoration Council that some members of her National League for
Democracy (NLD), communist elements and exiles were linked to the
demonstrations.
"We have evidence that not only some NLD members but also members of the All
Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) and underground elements of the
Burma Communist Party (BCP) are deeply involved in this unrest," a spokesman
for the military government told Reuters.
The Bangkok-based ABSDF's membership is made up of students who have fled
the country since an abortive uprising in 1988.
The BCP is outlawed in Burma.
"We are trying to flush out these elements as they come out to the front of
unrests," the spokesman added. "We expect after a short period of time,
things will return to normal."
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi rejected the charge that the NLD, barred
from taking power after winning the 1990 general elections, was involved in
the protest.
"This is absolutely ridiculous. They should deal with their problems instead
of trying to find someone else to blame," she said by telephone.
"They are never prepared to accept their responsibility as a government.
This theory of conspiracy is totally out of date. We want some more modern
approach (to deal with the problems)."
Witnesses said soldiers moved in on Monday afternoon to disperse about 120
students who had staged a rally outside the gates of another university
campus less than eight km (five miles) from the main Yangon (Rangoon)
University.
It was not known if there were any arrests.
Other witnesses said there was an increased police presence around the U.S.
Embassy in downtown Rangoon.
Diplomatic sources said a number of students in Mandalay, 690 kms (430
miles) north of Rangoon, also demonstrated over the weekend, shouting
anti-government slogans.
They said students of the Mandalay Institute of Technology organised a rally
on Sunday while the Mandalay Institute of Medicine had been sealed off by
security forces.
No other details were immediately available.
On Monday, the military tightened its control of Rangoon, sealing off all
campuses of the troubled university and the nearby Yangon Institute of
Technology.
Earlier on Monday, classes were suspended at the two schools and more than
half of their boarding students left for their homes in the provinces.
"The situation looks definitely more tense with the stepped up measures," a
Western diplomat said.
Students from the two institutes last week staged some of the biggest
protests since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising that the military crushed,
leaving thousands dead or in jail.
The NLD and the student protesters have denied any links with each other
during this latest unrest. Authorities briefly detained 860 students from
two street protests in the past week.
The demonstrations were triggered by undergraduate complaints about police
brutality in a brawl between institute students and the owners of a local
restaurant in October.
The government has said two policemen involved in the case had been
dismissed and given two-year jail terms, but students demanded the
punishment be announced in newspapers.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE

09Dec96 THAILAND: BURMA LINKS SUU KYI'S NLD PARTY WITH RECENT UNREST. 08:45
GMT  
By Rajan Moses
BANGKOK, Dec 9 (Reuter) - Burma on Monday accused members of the opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), underground
communist activists and student exiles of instigating recent student protests.
"We have evidence that not only some NLD members but also members of the All
Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) and underground elements of the
Burma Communist Party (BCP) are deeply involved in this unrest," a spokesman
for the military government told Reuters by telephone.
The Bangkok-based ABSDF's membership is made up of student exiles. The BCP
is outlawed in Burma.
Students from the Yangon Institute of Technology and Yangon University last
week staged the biggest protests in Rangoon since the 1988 student-led
pro-democracy uprising that the military crushed, leaving thousands dead or
in jail.
Both the NLD and the student protestors have denied any links with each other.
In the latest unrest, authorities detained and later freed 860 students from
two street protests.
The demonstrations were triggered by undergraduate complaints about police
brutality in a brawl between institute students and the owners of a local
restaurant in October.
The government has said two policemen involved in the case had been
dismissed and given two-year jail terms, but students demanded the
punishment be announced in newspapers.
The students were also seeking to organise independent unions on campuses,
wanted greater freedoms and justice, and were demanding the government keep
institutes of higher learning open after the demonstrations.
The government spokesman said the ruling State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC) had expected student unrest after the November 17 launch of
Visit Myanmar (Burma) Year to attract tourists to the impoverished country.
"We are trying to flush out these elements as they come out to the front of
unrests," he added. "We expect after a short period of time, things will
return to normal."
The spokesman said the SLORC had asked Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi to
stay away from areas of student unrest for safety reasons because of what he
described as various underground elements at work.
"We don't want her to go to places where there are crowds and unrest for her
own security," he said, adding that Suu Kyi had protested a restriction on
her movements.
Earlier on Monday, an aide to Suu Kyi confirmed by telephone that she had
not left her residence since Friday because of a government request. He said
she also had been asked to curb her movements to avoid any incidents such as
last month's stoning of a motorcade in which she was travelling.
"Some of the unerground elements are trying to hold these (student) rallies.
If she goes there, who knows what might happen," he added.
The spokesman also said the SLORC had not yet detailed its plans on
addressing the student protests but that the government did not want to
close universities or colleges.
"We are trying to treat this student unrest as gently as we can because we
don't want to close down colleges and disrupt the education of real
students," he added.
He confirmed that some classes had been suspended in the Yangon Institute of
Technology and Yangon University after the unrest. Earlier, campus sources
said many boarding students from the two campuses had left, fearing the
schools would be closed.
Police and soliders had blocked access roads to the two schools to prevent
students from coming out of their campuses and mixing with "political
agitators" on the streets, he said.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE




09Dec96 THAILAND: BURMA SAYS NLD, COMMUNISTS, EXILES BACK PROTESTS. 07:05 GMT  
BANGKOK, Dec 9 (Reuter) - Burma on Monday accused members of the opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), underground
communist activists and student exiles of instigating recent student protests.
"We have evidence that not only some NLD members but also members of the All
Burma Students' Democratic Front and underground elements of the Burma
Communist Party are deeply involved in this unrest," a spokesman for the
military government told Reuters by telephone.  
The spokesman said the government had asked Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi
to stay away from areas where there was student unrest for her own security
because he said various underground elements were at work.
"We don't want her to go to places where there are crowds and unrest for her
own security," he added.
Both Suu Kyi's NLD and the students have denied having any links with each
other.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE




09Dec96 BURMA: BURMESE UNIVERSITY STUDENT EXODUS, CLASSES CUT. 06:33 GMT  
By Vithoon Amorn
RANGOON, Dec 9 (Reuter) - Two universities at the heart of Burma's student
protests cancelled classes on Monday, campus sources said, raising
speculation the military government would close the schools in an attempt to
quell growing student unrest.
Dwindling attendence at the Yangon Institute of Technoogy (YIT) and the
Yangon University following anti-government student protests that rocked the
capital Rangoon last week prompted the schools to cancel classes, the
sources said.
Both schools were closed for about two years shortly after 1988 student
pro-democracy uprisings that were crushed by the military, leaving thousands
dead or in jail.
Administration officials at the Institute and the University said that
although the two schools had not been officially closed, they were assisting
students who wanted to take leave by arranging air, train and bus tickets.
Rumours circulated on Monday of another gathering of students outside the
Institute of Technology, diplomatic sources told Reuters. An Institude
campus official, however, said there were no demonstrations and described
the situation as calm.
Police and soldiers on Monday blocked access to roads leading to the two
universities, witnesses said.
The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) has so far not
said what it plans to do about student unrest, considered the worst in the
capital since 1988, following last week's two demonstrations.
Protests on Monday and Tuesday saw up to 2,000 students take to the streets.
Police and troops detained and subsequently released over 600 students on
Tuesday.
On Saturday, police used water canons and batons to force 500 students near
Yangon University to end a protest. More than 260 students were briefly held
and then released.
Campus sources said about half of Yangon University's students had chosen to
leave the campus for home in the provinces. No further details were available.
They said more than a third of 2,275 boarding students at the Institute of
Technology had taken indefinite leave. About half of it's nearly 5,000
students live in campus hostels.
Day students who showed up at Yangon University, about six miles (9.5 kms)
from the Institute of Technology, were told by lecturers their classes had
been suspended on Monday, they said.
The university said officially that it had indefinitely postponed a
convocation to award degrees to its students originally, scheduled for
December 13-14.
Students from both schools had demanded at last week's street protests that
the government keep institutes of higher learning open after the latest
demonstrations.
The Institute of Technology has been a traditional hot spot for student and
political unrest in Burma.
Last week's demonstrations were triggered by undergraduate complaints about
police brutality in a brawl between institute students and the owners of a
local restaurant in October.
The government has said two policemen involved in the case had been
dismissed and given two-year jail terms, but students demanded the
punishment be announced in newspapers.
The students were also seeking to organise independent unions on campuses
and demanding greater freedoms and justice.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE




09Dec96 PHILIPPINES: ROCO SUPPORTS SUU KYI. 
Senator Raul Roco yesterday urged the Philippine government as well as the
public to exert pressure on Myanmar to restore democracy.
Mr. Roco will file today a resolution expressing support for Myanmar's
freedom from military dictatorship.
In a statement, Mr. Roco said "Filipinos and other freedom-loving people in
the world" should pressure the Myanmar government to restore democracy by
supporting Myanmar National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
He said his new resolution "will supplement Senate Resolution 448 expressing
support for Ms. Suu Kyi in her fight for the democracy of Myanmar."
The first resolution, filed last May, has yet to be acted upon by the Senate.
The supplementary resolution came after the recent "wave of repression" in
Myanmar where Ms. Suu Kyi was reportedly placed under house arrest by the
State Law and Order Restoration Council.
"Despite later reports that Ms. Suu Kyi has been released from confinement,
this latest wave of repression makes it imperative for the Senate to express
support for her," Mr. Roco said.
(C) Business World Publishing Corporation 1996. 
SOUTHEAST ASIA 
BUSINESS WORLD (PHILIPPINES) 9/12/96 P12 



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