time this name had appeared since the student union was destroyed in 1962. The ABFSU then put out four more statements asking various professional groups to consider how they had suffered under BSPP rule. By doing so, the ABFSU hoped to expand the protests to the general public.
Also circulating at the time were retired Brigadier Aung Gyi’s letters. Brigadier Aung Gyi, who had worked closely with General Ne Win in the late 1950s and early 1960s, had written an open letter to General Ne Win in July 1987 warning him that if he did not deal with the economic crisis, violent protests were likely. Aung Gyi had recently travelled abroad for the first time in over twenty-five years. He was stunned by the level of economic progress in other South-East Asian countries. In May and June 1988 he wrote two more open letters to General Ne Win and also sent a forty-page analysis of how the BSPP had misruled the country and brought about economic ruin. These letters were copied and distributed widely, and the public was amazed that a senior public figure was daring to speak out so openly. 3
Meanwhile, in the towns of Prome and Taunggyi, communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims broke out. Many suspected the disturbances were started by the military authorities, who were trying to divert attention from political issues. 4
Then the BSPP held an extraordinary conference starting on 23 July, and General Ne Win announced his resignation. He admitted that the people’s demonstrations reflected a lack of support for his regime, suggested holding a referendum on whether to maintain one-party rule or change to a multiparty system, and declared that he was stepping down. People were astounded but questioned his sincerity. Indeed, even though General Ne Win resigned, the idea of holding a referendum on whether to institute multiparty rule was shelved, and before the conference ended, General Sein Lwin, who had only four years of education, was selected as General Ne Win’s successor. General Sein Lwin was the head of the riot police and the orchestrator of the 16 March slaughter at Inya Lake. He was hardly a moderate choice.
Most parents doubted that change was imminent and tried to keep their children out of trouble. Some even sent their sons to monasteries so they would not be drawn into further political activities. Min Zaw was one of them. A student at Rangoon University in 1988, he and his close friends had become involved in literature circles and political discussions, and in June they wrote and distributed a couple of political pamphlets, mostly in the university bathrooms. After Min Zaw participated in the June 1988 demonstrations, the military intelligence tried to arrest him. His mother sent him to a monastery well outside the city. Although he did not want to become a monk, he felt that he could not refuse his mother and the abbot. Frustrated by his isolation at the monastery, every evening he walked for twenty minutes to a village where he could listen to the British Broadcasting Corporation’s evening news programme. During that period, more people than usual were tuning into BBC radio broadcasts (in Burmese and English) because it was one of the few ways to get news about what was happening in the rest of the country.
Towards the end of July, the BBC broadcast an interview with a student by Christopher Gunness, a correspondent visiting Rangoon. The student called for a nationwide demonstration on the numerologically significant date of 8 August 1988 (8888). Even people in the countryside started getting excited. Min Zaw remembers the abbot giving a religious speech to the community in which he told people that if they needed to do something, they should go ahead and do it. Min Zaw said it was his way of encouraging the people to organize. The abbot also gave Min Zaw a gahta , or incantation, telling him, ‘You have to practise saying it. It will protect you from arrest.’
When some local teachers organized a rally in
Also circulating at the time were retired Brigadier Aung Gyi’s letters. Brigadier Aung Gyi, who had worked closely with General Ne Win in the late 1950s and early 1960s, had written an open letter to General Ne Win in July 1987 warning him that if he did not deal with the economic crisis, violent protests were likely. Aung Gyi had recently travelled abroad for the first time in over twenty-five years. He was stunned by the level of economic progress in other South-East Asian countries. In May and June 1988 he wrote two more open letters to General Ne Win and also sent a forty-page analysis of how the BSPP had misruled the country and brought about economic ruin. These letters were copied and distributed widely, and the public was amazed that a senior public figure was daring to speak out so openly. 3
Meanwhile, in the towns of Prome and Taunggyi, communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims broke out. Many suspected the disturbances were started by the military authorities, who were trying to divert attention from political issues. 4
Then the BSPP held an extraordinary conference starting on 23 July, and General Ne Win announced his resignation. He admitted that the people’s demonstrations reflected a lack of support for his regime, suggested holding a referendum on whether to maintain one-party rule or change to a multiparty system, and declared that he was stepping down. People were astounded but questioned his sincerity. Indeed, even though General Ne Win resigned, the idea of holding a referendum on whether to institute multiparty rule was shelved, and before the conference ended, General Sein Lwin, who had only four years of education, was selected as General Ne Win’s successor. General Sein Lwin was the head of the riot police and the orchestrator of the 16 March slaughter at Inya Lake. He was hardly a moderate choice.
Most parents doubted that change was imminent and tried to keep their children out of trouble. Some even sent their sons to monasteries so they would not be drawn into further political activities. Min Zaw was one of them. A student at Rangoon University in 1988, he and his close friends had become involved in literature circles and political discussions, and in June they wrote and distributed a couple of political pamphlets, mostly in the university bathrooms. After Min Zaw participated in the June 1988 demonstrations, the military intelligence tried to arrest him. His mother sent him to a monastery well outside the city. Although he did not want to become a monk, he felt that he could not refuse his mother and the abbot. Frustrated by his isolation at the monastery, every evening he walked for twenty minutes to a village where he could listen to the British Broadcasting Corporation’s evening news programme. During that period, more people than usual were tuning into BBC radio broadcasts (in Burmese and English) because it was one of the few ways to get news about what was happening in the rest of the country.
Towards the end of July, the BBC broadcast an interview with a student by Christopher Gunness, a correspondent visiting Rangoon. The student called for a nationwide demonstration on the numerologically significant date of 8 August 1988 (8888). Even people in the countryside started getting excited. Min Zaw remembers the abbot giving a religious speech to the community in which he told people that if they needed to do something, they should go ahead and do it. Min Zaw said it was his way of encouraging the people to organize. The abbot also gave Min Zaw a gahta , or incantation, telling him, ‘You have to practise saying it. It will protect you from arrest.’
When some local teachers organized a rally in
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