AP: Burmese Schools Closed

[FreeBurma@xxxxxxx]

 .c The Associated Press  

RANGOON, Burma (AP) - Two weeks into the academic year, schools across Burma
have yet to open - fueling speculation that the government intends to prevent
student unrest before its entry into an Asian economic bloc. 

Schools traditionally close for vacation between March and May. Classes were
to resume June 2, but the government told the country's nearly 8 million
students to stay home. 

The reason for the delay is unclear. An official in Burma's military regime
said Monday that schools would reopen ``very soon,'' but gave no details. 

Many Burmese suggested that the regime hopes to deter possible student
protests by keeping schools closed until July, when the country will be
formally admitted to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

The alliance voted in May to accept Burma despite protests from the United
States and other Western countries over its poor human rights record.
Cambodia and Laos also will join the bloc, made up of Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

Burma's pro-democracy movement, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
opposes the country's admission to the bloc until the regime opens a dialogue
aimed at restoring democracy. 

The regime has kept Rangoon University and its affiliated schools and
campuses closed since December, after students protested alleged police
harassment and demanded greater civil liberties. The unrest marked Burma's
largest protests since 1988, when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy
demonstrators, killing thousands of people. 

The military has ruled Burma, which it calls Myanmar, since 1962. 

AP-NY-06-16-97 1320EDT