3 Wounded as Troops Fire on Demonstrators in Burma : Protesters Reportedly Occupy Ministry, Force 24 Soldiers to Surrender After Incident

Burmese troops fired on a throng of anti-government demonstrators in downtown Rangoon on Saturday, wounding three.

The brief round of gunfire was the first directed against protesters in the edgy Burmese capital in more than a month. According to eyewitness reports reaching Bangkok, soldiers fired from rooftop positions around the four-story Trade Ministry building, two blocks from the colonial Strand Hotel. The demonstrators later rushed the building and occupied it, reportedly forcing 24 soldiers to surrender. No further violence was reported.

In the second week of August, soldiers fired into crowds of people protesting the short-lived regime of Sein Lwin. With his resignation Aug. 12, the troops were withdrawn to their barracks and have since fired only on looters.

Tense Atmosphere

It was not clear what prompted the shooting, but it underlined the tense atmosphere in the capital, where the government’s grudging agreement last weekend to abandon the country’s one-party political system and hold elections has been met with suspicion.

Student activists and opposition political leaders noted the move--a major concession after a quarter century of absolute control by former strongman Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Program Party--but declared it was not enough. The opposition has called on the government to step down in favor of an interim regime until the elections are held.

Street demonstrations had been smaller last week as the opposition maneuvered behind the scenes to pry an agreement on an interim government from Maung Maung, a jurist who succeeded Sein Lwin in the presidency Aug. 19. Despite no evident popular support, Maung Maung has so far refused to concede the point, which in effect would abolish his ruling party.

Instead, official Rangoon Radio announced Friday night that government workers and members of the military will henceforth be excluded from the party rolls, which was a requirement of employment for 26 years. They will also be banned from membership in any future party formed in Burma under new regulations.

This latest concession made little impression on the demonstrators, who had not asked for it. “Every second longer that this government lasts is another second that the country has to suffer,” declared a statement issued by a leading student group.

Protesters took to the streets again Saturday, chanting militant slogans and led by saffron-robed Buddhist monks, whom the opposition has dubbed “the yellow army.”

Meanwhile, a commercial airline flight from Bangkok arrived in Rangoon for the first time in more than a week. The Thai airliner was filled with Burmese sailors who had been stranded by airport walkouts that shut down traffic in Rangoon. The government is still withholding visas to tourists and other non-Burmese travelers.

Strikes by government workers and private shop owners have paralyzed business activity in Rangoon and dried up supplies of food, fuel and other necessities.