Statement on the 9th Anniversary of

[shar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

THE STATEMENT OF THE 9TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BLOODY MILITARY
                    COUP IN BURMA.

                                               Sep 18,1997

Nine  years  ago,   on this  date  a small  clique  of over
ambitious military officers seized the state power in order
to  shield  their  military dynasty  that  pulled  down the
country  to  the  state  of  the  least  developed country.
Simultaneously,   the military  regime better  known as the
State   Law  and  Order  Restoration  Council  (SLORC)  was
established  and  since then  Burma has  been ruled  by the
Martial Law.

On  the date of 18th September alone,  hundreds of peaceful
protesters  were  brutally  shot dead  by  security forces.
Those  who escaped  from bullets  and bayonets  were thrown
into the jails or MIS custodies,  where they were inhumanly
tortured  by  the newly  established regime.   Thousands of
political  activists are still in the unknown jails serving
long imprisonment.  In fact,  the regime turned a blind eye
to the political and economic crisis facing to the country.

During  the 9 years reign of the SLORC,  a handful of elite
class   especially  the   generals  themselves   and  their
accomplices  enjoy business advantages  under the so-called
market  economy while  the majority of  the population were
degraded  to the below poverty line.  Nevertheless,  today,
generals  in Burma  are counting  their wealth  in dollars.

Nowadays,   Burma under  the rule  of SLORC  is notoriously
known  as  the biggest  heroin  producing countries  in the
world.   The cunningly  clever military  generals laundered
their  drug money by making  investment in various business
sectors.

Thus,  we believe that the longer the military regime is in
power,   the  worse  the  situation  of  the  country.   We
wholeheartedly praise our country men, who are relentlessly
fighting for the cause of democracy and human rights in our
beloved land.

We Demand the SLORC:

1.   to honour the results of the 1990 general elections
     and hand over the power to the winning party;

2.   to release all prisoners of conscience immediately
     and unconditionally;

3.   to come to the political dialogue with Daw Aung San
     Suu Kyi and ethnic representatives, which is the
     only way to solve the decades long political crisis
     of Burma;

4.   and to reopen all educational institutions in Burma
     which have been shut down since last December,
     1996.

To the ASEAN:

1.   since ASEAN has embraced Burma under the rule of
     the illegitimate regime as a member, they can not
     only enjoy the business advantages from Burma, but
     also must share the negative developments vis-a-vis
     human rights violation and its related refugees
     problems created by the ruling military junta.

2.   ASEAN member countries, especially Thailand should
     review its so-called constructive engagement policy
     that encourage the SLORC who are oppressing their
     own people.

To the International Community:

1.   We urge the international community to persuade your
business       companies not to make investment in Burma
at this moment.

2.   We also recommend the international community to
     take part      in the trade sanctions against the
     SLORC initiated by the U.S. Government.

We firmly believe that eventually, the truth will win
over the evil.

The Central Committee
ALL BURMA STUDENTS LEAGUE
Head Quarters (New Delhi).

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