anuary 4, 2009 2:27 AM
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar’s pro-democracy party marked the 61st anniversary of the country’s independence from Great Britain on Sunday, saying it foresaw no hope for the military-ruled country.
At a ceremony inside the dilapidated headquarters of the opposition National League for Democracy, its chairman Aung Shwe also called for the release of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and other party leaders.
Suu Kyi – who has been under house arrest for more than 13 of the past 19 years – put up a banner at the gate of her home quoting a speech her father, independence hero Gen. Aung San, had once given: ”Act decisively in the interest of the nation and the people.”
In a speech to about 250 party members and diplomats, Aung Shwe said that national unity is in disarray and that there is ”no harmony between the government and the governed.”
”Hope for the present and future of the country is totally lacking,” Aung Shwe said. continue http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=WORLD&ID=565503195783497160
democracy for burma 