By DPA
Yangon : Hundreds of opponents of Myanmar’s military dictatorship held a rare public ceremony Wednesday here to pay homage to their comrades who were killed by army 19 years ago at the start of a nationwide uprising.
A reported 500 people ignored secret police observers to offer robes to monks at a monastery in the capital in memory of hundreds of unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators killed by soldiers.
Such overtly anti-military gatherings have been rare in recent years, as hopes for a return to civilian rule in the foreseeable future have faded.
Several of the mourners had only been released from prison in the last couple of years.
Several leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) joined them, although the party has been thinned in recent years by continued government harassment.
Diplomats from the US, Germany, France, Australia and Britain witnessed the proceedings, which were organized by leaders of the 8-8-88 generation, an informal alliance named for the anti-military uprising that took place on August 8, 1988.
One of the 8-8-88 leaders, Htay Kywe, said in an emotional statement that the “88 spirit will remain until the country has achieved democracy.”
In an apparent reference to the current military regime, she asked: “Do you want to write history (only) with bullets?”
The 1988 protests led to the military holding a free election in 1990 that it expected its own party to win.
When Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD won by a landslide the generals ignored the result and clamped down on political opposition of all kinds.
The military has ruled Myanmar since a coup toppled the brief democratic government in 1962. Under the late military dictator General Ne Win and now under his equally stern heirs, no political openings are visible for anyone who dissents from the rigid official line.
“This is a day to remember that the people still want change, still want to live in their own country, not in a country run by generals. Human rights have been ignored since 1962. This country will return to respecting human rights as long as the 88 spirit is not forgotten,” said Min Ko Naing, a student leader who spent many years in solitary confinement.