Rally against military junta's forc (r)

[byva@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Rally against military junta's forced stage show.

Rally against military junta's forced stage show.
Over a hundred Burmese supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National
League for Democracy rallied in front of the Tokyo site of a Burmese concert
planned by the ruling junta and its lackeys, Mya Wya Win, Tun Aye and Win
Naing. 
The pro-democracy groups need not have worried because fewer than two
hundred people actually turned up for the first show at 2:30 p.m.  They
looked lost in the spacious hall seating over 800. 
Subtract those holding free tickets and the family members of embassy
personnel, the paying audience was pathetic; probably only a fourth of the
spectators actually bought tickets, and the turnout for the second show only
tallied about 40. 
Police ordered dissidents not to rally directly in front of the building,
but allowed them to demonstrate from the other side of the street, which
turned out to be an advantage.  From there, their pro-democracy slogans
could be clearly heard inside the building. A few supporters, wearing
T-shirts with Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's picture and NLD logos made
it into the auditorium of the Nihon Kyoiku Kaikan at Hitotsubashi
(Tel:03-3230-2831) in central Tokyo near Otemachi. 
Some Burmese were refused entry into the show hall, even though they had
proper tickets. 
These persona non grata were eventually promised a refund but most refused
and the commotion continued until the end of the show.  
Agents of the military regime asked all concert goers to remove their sun
glasses, but permitted their people to continue wearing their sun glasses,
making it easy to tell who was who.
Junta lackeys had earlier notified police as well as some Japanese groups
that the Burmese demonstrators were planning to resort to violent methods to
protest the show, but of course that was false. 
Democracy activists were a bit surprised to see a police anti-riot van in
the vicinity. Police security was seen as strictest since democracy
uprisings of 1987-88, but no untoward incidents whatsoever occurred during
the demonstrations.
After the first show, turncoat Tun Aye appeared at the window and waved to
the demonstrators.  Then he looked at them through binoculars. Some
demonstrators returned his offensive wave with their shoes.  Tun Aye's

actions at the window were an insult to the pro-democracy activists.
Dissidents and supporters will continue peaceful demonstrations on Sunday
May 23, 1999, the second and last day of the concert. 
Dissidents will be careful not to fall for the tricks of the junta and Mya
Mya Win and fellow traitors. 
Mya Mya Win did it again. Her daughter Shwe Yin Min Oo's name appeared in
the list of entertainers. 
The troupe will reportedly be at the Minshuku Myanmar (formerly Mishuku
Biruma) run by Mya Mya Win and Win Naing in Shizuoka before leaving Japan. 
News have leaked out that some members of the troupe were reluctant to come
to Japan for the show. Dissidents think they hate being watched all of the
time and being told what to do and what not to do, where to go and where not
to go - by embassy personnel and Mya Mya Win and cohorts.  Mya Mya Win, Win
Naing, and Tun Aye are trying, by hook or crook, to reassert their authority
over Burmese residents in Japan, since they were expelled from the Burmese
Association in Japan last October.
- - - - - - - -
Why we are rallying
In 1996 March the junta jailed comedians Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw to seven
years in prison at hard labor for making jokes displeasing to the ruling
junta in a traditional performance at an NLD celebration at Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi's compound. 
These two brilliant performers are now chained at the legs with iron rods
and forced to labor on a remote road construction project.  Both are
reported to be in bad health.
In Burma, many artists, writers, publishers, and comedians are in jail for
expressing the people's longing for democracy.  
? 
We are generally not opposed to Burmese artists going abroad.
BUT ­ 
Do you know how the money is going to be used?
Do you know who the sponsors are?
If the show is successful, the proceeds will go into the coffers of groups
connected with Military Intelligence chief Khin Nyunt. 

We oppose this concert because: 
The junta is jailing and torturing artists who promote democracy on the one
hand, yet promoting other artists to perform under their patronage.
?
Rumors abound in Burma that the concert was planned by pro-democracy
activists turned junta lackeys, Mya Mya Win and her fellow turncoats.
Their group is roundly denounced by Burmese pro-democracy activists around
the world for having betrayed the democracy cause..
Signed by pro-democracy activists in Japan

BYVA

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