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URGENT ACTION on Tenth Anniversary (r)



Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary 
of the 
8.8.88 Uprising in Burma

Press Release


August 5, 1998

	August 8, 1998 marks the Ten-Year Anniversary of the August 8, 1988 
Uprising in Burma.  On this historic and tragic day, better known as 
8.8.88, millions of students and civilians in Burma joined together and 
marched for human rights and democracy in their country.  However, the 
ruling military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), 
cracked down on the pro-democracy movement and killed thousands of 
students and civilians.  Since 1962, this dictatorship has controlled 
Burma.  Considered to be one of the harshest regimes in the world, the 
SPDC has committed such atrocities as murder, rape, child labor, village 
relocation, forced and slave labor, drug trafficking, and the 
trafficking of women and children. Thus, on the Tenth Anniversary of 
8.8.88, we want to make sure that the people of Burma and the world 
never forget the cries of those who sacrificed their lives for truth and 
justice on 8.8.88 as well as those who continue to struggle against the 
brutal military regime.

	In order to commemorate this Ten-Year Anniversary, we ask that the 
people inside Burma wear white-colored shirts for three days:  August 6, 
August 7, and August 8, 1998.   The color white is significant and 
appropriate for three reasons: 1) It represents the innocence and purity 
of the people who were killed on 8.8.88;  2) It reflects our profound 
sadness and grief concerning those who were killed; and 3) It symbolizes 
peace in the Burmese culture.  On the final day, August 8, 1998, we 
request that people of Burma, wearing their white-colored shirts and 
carrying aung tha bhuy flowers, go to the pagoda and pray for those who 
were murdered ten years ago.  We ask that those who live in Rangoon that 
they attend Shwedagon Pagoda.

	We also request that the international community wear white-colored 
shirts on August 8, 1998 to commemorate this memorial.  We appreciate 
the support of the pro-democracy movement that many members of the 
international community have given us, and hope they will join us in the 
demonstrations, hunger strikes, and protests that will occur worldwide 
on this Ten Year Anniversary on 8.8.88.


All Burma Students' Federation Union (ABSFU)
All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF)
All Burma Students' Democratic Organization (ABSDO) 
Burmese Students' Democratic Organization (BSDO)
Committee for Restoration of Democracy in Burma (CRDB)
Democratic Burmese Students Organization (DBSO)
Democratic Party for New Society (DPNS)
Federation Trade Union of Burma (FTUB)
National Coalition Government of Burma (NCGUB)
National League for Democracy (NLD-LA)
Nonviolence Empowerment Organization, Inc. (NEO)
Organization for the Student Union of Burma (OSUB)
People's Liberation Front (PLF)



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