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BBC World: Asia-Pacific Burmese thr



By South East Asia correspondent Simon Ingram 

The Burmese military authorities say they will destroy any attempts by the
opposition to stage demonstrations or other protests to mark the anniversary
later this week of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. 

State controlled newspapers accuse the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi,
of trying to instigate unrest, one paper saying that any threat to the state
would be annihilated. 

While continuing to maintain an iron grip over the country, Burma's military
government is plainly concerned at the possibility of serious unrest during
the politically tense weeks that lie ahead. 

This Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of the 1988 student uprising which
the army put down amid extensive bloodshed. 

The state-run media accuses Miss Suu Kyi of working with foreign powers in
an attempt to destabilise the country, both to commemorate the uprising and
to press her demand for the convening later this month of the Burmese
Parliament chosen in elections in 1990. 

Those elections, won convincingly by Miss Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy, were subsequently ignored by the military. 

Armed troops 

Security has been tightened around the capital, with heavily armed troops
posted on major road intersections. 

Much depends on the stamina and ingenuity of Miss Suu Kyi herself in
maintaining the heightened state of tension and the pressure on the regime. 

For now, the 53-year-old opposition leader is recovering from dehydration
and a fever brought on by her gruelling six-day stand-off with the
authorities on a road outside Rangoon, which ended last Wednesday when
soldiers forcibly returned her to her home in the capital. 

She has pledged to make further attempts to meet her supporters around the
country, but the army now seems most unlikely to allow that. 

The government has warned her against trying any more of what it terms
dangerous publicity stunts.