Burma Frees 51 Seized in Riots; Capital Braces for More Unrest

Burma said Tuesday that it has released 51 people who were detained during bloody anti-government protests that led to the resignation of President Sein Lwin last week.

News of the release came as Burmese authorities, apparently bracing for renewed violence as they prepare to choose their third leader in less than a month, ordered troops and light tanks into central Rangoon.

Official Rangoon Radio, monitored in Bangkok, said the 51 prisoners released included 37 male students, 10 female students and four civilians.

It also said 30 people arrested earlier this month in disturbances in Pegu, 45 miles northeast of the capital, had been freed Sunday.

The releases were the first since violent nationwide demonstrations ended last Friday with the resignation of Sein Lwin, a hard-line ex-general who succeeded strongman Ne Win last month.

Radio Rangoon said a week ago that authorities had arrested more than 700 demonstrators. Later, it reported 1,451 arrests in Rangoon but did not make clear if that included the 700 mentioned earlier.

Among those arrested in a sweep last month were the country’s most prominent dissident, Aung Gyi, as well as Associated Press correspondent Sein Win. There was no indication that they were among those who were freed Tuesday.

Meanwhile, tanks and about 200 soldiers in trucks were seen deploying across from the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon. The capital was calm Tuesday, but rumors of more unrest were widespread.

Diplomatic sources said they do not expect student leaders, credited with spearheading last week’s demonstrations, to be satisfied with the choice of any new leader from the Burmese Socialist Program Party, the sole legal political organization that has ruled since 1962, which is to meet Friday.

“I believe everything will start all over again after Friday,” one Western diplomat told United Press International. “At the moment we seem to be in the eye of the storm.”

After Sein Lwin’s resignation, the military had sharply lowered its profile in the capital, and U.S. Embassy officials said Tuesday that they were puzzled by the new deployment. They said the moves indicate that the government expects more unrest.

In a sign of discontent within the system, 177 Burmese lawyers signed a document Tuesday charging that by firing against peaceful demonstrators, including children, security forces violated the Burmese constitution and the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.