Myanmar's junta on red alert against dissent<\/p>\n
By Rajan Moses<\/p>\n
YANGON (Reuter): Myanmar's military remains firmly in control
\nof the country but is on full alert against any surprise dissent
\nfrom restless students, young Buddhist monks and the opposition
\nled by Aung San Suu Kyi, analysts said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\"The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) is still
\non red alert now since last month's sudden student unrest,\" a
\ndiplomat told Reuters. \"Although all appears normal now and they
\nare firmly in charge, they are not relaxing one bit.\"<\/p>\n
The SLORC cowed thousands of anti-government student
\nprotesters by parking army tanks in strategic places in the
\ncapital Yangon, closing troubled universities and sending
\nstudents home to their provinces.<\/p>\n
Street demonstrations launched by the students demanding
\ngreater freedom were the most serious in the capital since 1988
\nwhen the military brutally crushed pro-democracy protesters,
\nkilling and jailing thousands.<\/p>\n
\"For now, they have taken action to break the back of the
\nstudent protesters at ground level. But don't forget historically
\nstudents and young Buddhist clergy have always been the backbone
\nof anti-government sentiment,\" said another diplomat.<\/p>\n
\"Another group of students and monks will emerge and probably
\nsurprise the government again like this group did in December as
\nhistory has shown. But too much blood has been spilled in the
\npast and the people don't want a repeat from the military,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Analysts said young Buddhist monks, unlike their abbots or
\nelders whom the SLORC has courted, sympathized with the students
\nand would come out on the streets again if the students made
\nanother attempt to protest.<\/p>\n
\"What many did not notice were the number of yellow robes
\namongst the student protests the last time,\" the diplomat said.<\/p>\n
Nearly two months after the unrest, universities in the key
\ncities of Yangon, Mandalay and Moulmein remain closed and the
\ngovernment was unable to say when they would be reopened.<\/p>\n
\"They will be opened at an appropriate time,\" said an official
\nwithout elaborating. But some expect a re-opening around March.
\nSuu Kyi's National League for Democracy was another big albatross
\naround the SLORC's neck, with its tacit support from Western
\nnations and people at the grassroots level, the analysts said.<\/p>\n
\"Although there is a stalemate now in that Suu Kyi has been
\nblocked from meeting the people, the NLD will always try to do
\nsomething and the SLORC will be watchful,\" another analyst said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. embassy's charge d'affaires, Kent Wiedermann, said
\nthe government was using concerns over Suu Kyi's personal
\nsecurity as an excuse to bar her from carrying out political
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
The SLORC said it would continue to block public access to her
\nuntil her personal safety was fully assured. Meanwhile, the Nobel
\nlaureate, who was released from six years of house arrest in July
\n1995, can only meet visitors with government approval.<\/p>\n
\"This is unacceptable\" said NLD vice-chairman U Tin Oo. \"The
\nSLORC continues to harass the NLD. At ground level, our members
\nare picked up and jailed for petty reasons.\"<\/p>\n
\"We (NLD leaders) may not be able to see freedom and democracy
\nin our lifetime, but we hope our children and the children of the
\nmilitary will be able to see it in the future,\" he added.<\/p>\n
But the SLORC's powerful Secretary One, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt,
\nthinks otherwise. \"There is no way nor is there any need to
\nfollow the type of Western democracy and human rights...,\" he
\nsaid last Saturday at a school ceremony.<\/p>\n
Myanmar practiced democracy and human rights that conformed to
\nits background, racial customs, tradition and culture, he added.<\/p>",
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