The World - News from July 6, 1989

More than 10,000 Burmese defied martial law and attended a rally in Rangoon at which opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi denounced military rule. Diplomats in the capital said the crowd was the largest in Burma since the army crushed pro-democracy protests in September. At a news conference, Burma’s military leader, Gen. Saw Maung, demanded an end to the protests. “Defiance and confrontation are extremely dangerous in the establishment of democracy. . . . We (the army) have contingency plans to handle any situation,” he said. He also claimed that Communists have infiltrated opposition political parties. The rally was held in defiance of martial-law regulations.