WORLD : Protest March in Myanmar Canceled

BANGKOK, Thailand —  Aung San Suu Kyi, the leading opposition figure in Myanmar (formerly Burma), called off a planned march in the capital today, fearing bloodshed after the military government poured heavily armed troops into the city streets.

“We had no intention of leading our people straight into a killing field,” she said by telephone from the capital, Yangon (formerly Rangoon).

At least 20 young people were arrested and many beaten in scattered clashes across the city as the government took drastic action to prevent any recurrence of the massive popular demonstrations that engulfed the capital last year. Western diplomats said today’s operation appeared to herald a tightening of the screw on dissent in Myanmar after a relatively loose interpretation of martial-law rules in recent weeks.