Myanmar lifts ban on assembly imposed after protests

FE Team | Published: October 21, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

YANGON (Myanmar) (AP): Myanmar's military rulers Saturday lifted a curfew and ended a ban on assembly, which were imposed last month during a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
The relaxing of restrictions imposed Sept. 25 was announced from government vehicles driven through the streets of Myanmar's largest city and former capital, Yangon.
It was not immediately clear if the restrictions were also lifted in Mandalay, another major city and focus of last month's anti-government demonstrations.
The lifting of the 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and ban on gatherings of more than five people indicates the junta believes it has stamped out a massive pro-democracy uprising that was sparked in August by public anger at a sharp rise in fuel prices. Small protests quickly grew into anti-government demonstrations tens of thousands of people strong and spearheaded by legions of the country's respected monks.
It was the largest showing of dissent in the tightly controlled state in nearly two decades.
The junta responded to the growing threat by detaining thousands of demonstrators and shooting into the crowds, killing as many as 10. Diplomats and activists say the death toll is much higher.
Since the crackdown, authorities in Myanmar have attempted to apply a softer touch. They have cleared the streets of soldiers and released some prominent activists.
In Washington, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Saturday's announcement was "a bad sign that the regime now feels confident that it has cleared the monasteries of dissidents by either jailing them or sending them to their home villages, and arrested all the major players in the demonstrations and sent into hiding or exile those they have not captured."
Perino urged the junta to enter talks with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and invite U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari to return. "What we need are signs of serious intent to move toward a democratic transition."
The junta has also been intensifying efforts to arrange talks with Suu Kyi, issuing an unusual plea in state media Saturday for her to compromise in a bid for national reconciliation.
The government announced earlier this month that military leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe was willing to meet with the Nobel Peace Prize winner, but only if she meets certain conditions including renouncing support for foreign countries' economic sanctions targeting the impoverished nation.