Burma's new leader imposes martial law (original) (raw)

Burma's new leader, Brigadier-General Sein Lwin, imposed martial law in the capital, Rangoon, yesterday as part of a security crackdown which in recent days has led to the arrest of the Government's most prominent critic and those associated with him.

A special announcement on Rangoon radio said about 200 students joined by others 'intent on causing riotous disturbances' had demonstrated at Rangoon's Shwe Dagon Pagoda, the country's holiest shrine. After making speeches and distributing anti-government leaflets, they have marched into the capital.

The council of state had declared martial law because 'the situation has become uncontrollable for regional organs of power,' the state radio said.

After several days of protests in Rangoon, in which the police have not intervened, the declaration appeared to signal the Government's determination to check further demonstrations by students who have been circulating leaflets calling for the overthrow of Sein Lwin and for a general strike next Monday.

The strike would mark a significant escalation in the protests, often violent, that have erupted in towns and cities all over the country over the past five months, resulting in more than 200 deaths.

The declaration of martial law follows the rumour last week of an attempt on the life of Sei Lwin less than a week after his takeover as party leader and Head of State. The rumour says an aide shot him in the arm and then killed himself.

But in a meeting with party leaders a day before the declaration of martial law, Sein Lwin called for prompt action to redress public grievances such as corruption in the courts and state bureaucracy as well as for reform aimed at opening up the opportunities for private business.

Sein Lwin instructed his audience to act quickly to correct any abuse of rights guaranteed by the constitution.

But the 64-year-old brigadier general, known as the 'Butcher of Rangoon' for his brutal suppression of successive students' demonstrations in the capital, has marked his first days in power with a show of force against government critics.

Most prominent among those arrested is Brigadier-General Aung Gyi, a former comrade in arms of Burma 's ruler of 26 years, Ne Win, and the author of a series of open letters which urged an end to human rights abuses and a speedy reform of the economu. Brigadier-General Aung Gyi, aged 70, has been accused of 'attacking the state' and is reported to be facing criminal charges.

Arrested at the same time was the Associated Press's correspondent, Mr Sein Win, aged 66, said to have had close contact with Brigadier-General Aung Gyi and highly regarded by his colleagues and diplomats for his carefully researched and independent reporting.

The sweep continued on Monday with the seizure of two members of Burma 's renowned group of wartime anti-British nationalists, the Thirty Comrades. The two, Yan Naing and Ta Ya, among only 11 surviving members of the Comdrades, were accused of participating in the pamphlet war against Sein Lwin.

Mr Yan Naing, said to have been the author of a letter attacking the Government which circulated in Rangoon last week, had been a member of the resistance led by the prime minister, U Nu, ousted from power by Ne Win, before returning to Rangoon under a 1980 amnesty to set up a prosperous private business.

Others among the 20 or more people who are now thought to have been arrested include former officers association with Brigadier-General Aung Gyi and others believed to have fallen out with the Ne Win government.

The danger for the authorities in these arrests, analysts noted, was that they could create martyrs and a rallying point for further protests and demonstrations.