BBC : Foreigners arrested in Burma

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Sunday, August 9, 1998 Published at 12:12 GMT 13:12 UK 

Foreigners arrested in Burma 

Reports from Burma say eighteen foreigners have been detained by the
authorities after handing out leaflets to mark the tenth anniversary of the
violent suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations. 

Most of the foreigners were from Asian countries but they are also thought
to include a number of Americans and an Australian. 

It's not clear if the foreigners have been released yet. 

Yesterday's Saturday's anniversary passed off peacefully throughout Burma
after the military authorities had warned pro-democracy supporters that
they would annihilate any efforts to destabilise the country. 

In the 1988 protests, thousands of people are thought to have been killed. 

>From the newsroom of the BBC World Service