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AFP-Anti-Myanmar junta demo in nint



Anti-Myanmar junta demo in ninth day in Bangkok
Thu 13 Aug 98 - 13:33 GMT 

BANGKOK, Aug 13 (AFP) - A vigil by exiled Myanmar pro-democracy activists
outside Yangon's embassy here ended its ninth day Thursday, amid increasing
calls among the protestors for the release of 18 foreign activists detained
in Myanmar for allegedly attempting to incite unrest.
Some 40 activists were camped outside the embassy compound, but numbers
were as high as 250 people last weekend.
The protestors have pledged to remain outside the embassy until the junta
convenes parliament, citing a deadline set for the same move by Nobel peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
Several demonstrators have been injured in bottle-throwing attacks by
unidentified assailants.
The protestors organised the anti-junta vigil to coincide with Saturday's
10th anniversary of a military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in
Myanmar, which left thousands dead by unofficial tolls.
Exiled activist groups have called for a mass campaign of civil
disobedience in Myanmar and warned of confrontation if the junta refuses to
convene parliament by the NLD's August 21 deadline.
The NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won the 1990 elections by a landslide but
the junta has refused to relinquish power.
The Bangkok protest continued as 18 foreign activists remained in detention
in Yangon for a fourth day after distributing leaflets there promoting
human rights and democracy.