8 Killed as Thousands in Burma Protest New Regime

Tens of thousands of Burmese marched in the capital of Rangoon and more than a dozen other cities Monday to protest the government of President Sein Lwin, diplomats and media reports said. At least eight people were killed.

Rangoon radio, monitored in Bangkok, reported “mass demonstrations” in areas ranging from Moulmein on the southern coast to Taunggyi in the wild, mountainous area of the Shan states.

The radio reported “violent incidents” in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, and Mergui on the southern coast, with four people killed and 12 wounded by security forces in each city. No violence was reported in Rangoon.

Student protesters had set Monday for a massive show of civil disobedience and protest against political repression and worsening living conditions.

Monks and Students

Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported from Rangoon that 30,000 people marched and demonstrated in the capital and more than 10,000 students, Buddhist monks and citizens went into the streets of Mandalay, 370 miles north of the capital.

In a detailed account rare for Burma’s official media, the radio said protesters in Rangoon marched and chanted slogans, congregating both in the heart of the city and in outlying areas. The radio reported that up to 4,000 people were involved in one demonstration.

In the capital, eyewitnesses said that orderly crowds, chanting for more rights and the ouster of new hard-line leader Sein Lwin, marched past trucks full of armed troops.

Bearing Red Flags

Carrying red flags intended to symbolize courage, the demonstrators converged on government offices to call for democracy and economic reform. Many of the marchers wore masks or hoods to prevent identification.

Chanting “the army is our army,” the marchers called on soldiers to join them, according to witnesses.

Troops guarding the government buildings made no move to interfere with demonstrators.

Foreign journalists, officially barred from the country, have followed developments by telephone and by monitoring official media from the outside.

Martial law was declared in Rangoon last Wednesday after demonstrators marched through the city demanding the ouster of Sein Lwin, a former general who became president and head of the government party when strongman Ne Win resigned after 26 years in power.