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.