Myanmar's junta on red alert against dissent

Myanmar's junta on red alert against dissent

By Rajan Moses

YANGON (Reuter): Myanmar's military remains firmly in control
of the country but is on full alert against any surprise dissent
from restless students, young Buddhist monks and the opposition
led by Aung San Suu Kyi, analysts said on Sunday.

"The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) is still
on red alert now since last month's sudden student unrest," a
diplomat told Reuters. "Although all appears normal now and they
are firmly in charge, they are not relaxing one bit."

The SLORC cowed thousands of anti-government student
protesters by parking army tanks in strategic places in the
capital Yangon, closing troubled universities and sending
students home to their provinces.

Street demonstrations launched by the students demanding
greater freedom were the most serious in the capital since 1988
when the military brutally crushed pro-democracy protesters,
killing and jailing thousands.

"For now, they have taken action to break the back of the
student protesters at ground level. But don't forget historically
students and young Buddhist clergy have always been the backbone
of anti-government sentiment," said another diplomat.

"Another group of students and monks will emerge and probably
surprise the government again like this group did in December as
history has shown. But too much blood has been spilled in the
past and the people don't want a repeat from the military," he
said.

Analysts said young Buddhist monks, unlike their abbots or
elders whom the SLORC has courted, sympathized with the students
and would come out on the streets again if the students made
another attempt to protest.

"What many did not notice were the number of yellow robes
amongst the student protests the last time," the diplomat said.

Nearly two months after the unrest, universities in the key
cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Moulmein remain closed and the
government was unable to say when they would be reopened.

"They will be opened at an appropriate time," said an official
without elaborating. But some expect a re-opening around March.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was another big albatross
around the SLORC's neck, with its tacit support from Western
nations and people at the grassroots level, the analysts said.

"Although there is a stalemate now in that Suu Kyi has been
blocked from meeting the people, the NLD will always try to do
something and the SLORC will be watchful," another analyst said.

The U.S. embassy's charge d'affaires, Kent Wiedermann, said
the government was using concerns over Suu Kyi's personal
security as an excuse to bar her from carrying out political
activities.

The SLORC said it would continue to block public access to her
until her personal safety was fully assured. Meanwhile, the Nobel
laureate, who was released from six years of house arrest in July
1995, can only meet visitors with government approval.

"This is unacceptable" said NLD vice-chairman U Tin Oo. "The
SLORC continues to harass the NLD. At ground level, our members
are picked up and jailed for petty reasons."

"We (NLD leaders) may not be able to see freedom and democracy
in our lifetime, but we hope our children and the children of the
military will be able to see it in the future," he added.

But the SLORC's powerful Secretary One, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt,
thinks otherwise. "There is no way nor is there any need to
follow the type of Western democracy and human rights...," he
said last Saturday at a school ceremony.

Myanmar practiced democracy and human rights that conformed to
its background, racial customs, tradition and culture, he added.