NEWS - Myanmar students protest in (r)

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: NEWS - Myanmar students protest in Yangon-dissident group

Myanmar students protest in Yangon-dissident group

  
BANGKOK, Aug 21 (Reuters) - High school students in the Myanmar capital
Yangon staged a protest over inadequate educational facilities and seven
were briefly detained, a dissident Myanmar group said on Saturday. 

The All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) said students at the
Basic Education High School in Yangon's suburban Tamwe township held the
protest on August 19 in the presence of visiting Khin Win Shwe, wife of
Myanmar's powerful intelligence chief Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt. 

The ABSDF statement, received in Bangkok, said the students also called
for support of anti-government protests scheduled for September 9. 

A Myanmar military spokesman on Saturday denied that students had staged
protests. He described the ABSDF statement as a fabrication to attract
media attention. 

``It is amazing to learn the extent of the information campaign they are
doing. Of course there are no such demonstrations by students in Yangon
or elsewhere in the country,'' the spokesman said in a statement faxed
to Reuters. 

The ABSDF and other dissidents in exile have called a general strike on
September 9, 1999 -- so-called ``four nines'' day. 

The military spokesman said: ``It can be presumed ABSDF... (is) becoming
frustrated to learn that nothing they want to see can happen on their
9-9-99 and obviously becoming desperate and creating all sorts of
fabrication in a hurry to at least attract attention with sensational
news.'' 

But on Thursday the Myanmar military said it had arrested 36 people in
connection with earlier attempts to instigate an uprising next month. 

``Tightening control has been increasing in school areas of Rangoon
(Yangon),'' the ABSDF statement said. 

The numerically significant date was chosen after four eights day --
August 8, 1988 -- which saw the start of a nationwide uprising for
democracy that the military crushed, killing thousands. 

06:14 08-21-99