Monday, Jun 02, 2003
Colleges ordered to close in Myanmar
YANGON June 1. Myanmar's universities and colleges have been closed indefinitely following the detention by military authorities of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, university sources said on Sunday.
The move has not been officially announced, but one senior faculty member said on condition of anonymity that lecturers had been told by authorities at a meeting on Sunday to close universities for an indefinite period. No reason was given for the closures, the faculty member said.
``It will not be announced officially, but university authorities will verbally inform students tomorrow (Monday),'' a lecturer said. Myanmar's universities and colleges had been scheduled to begin a new semester on Monday.
It was not immediately known whether the closures were related to an ongoing crackdown on Ms Suu Kyi, and her National League for Democracy party. The junta said on Saturday that it had placed Ms. Suu Kyi and 19 members of her party in ``protective custody'' after a clash between her supporters and thousands of pro-Government protesters in northern Myanmar. Four people were killed and 50 injured in the violence.
Since the current military regime took power in 1988, universities and colleges have been closed intermittently.
All universities and colleges were reopened in mid-2000 after nearly 3 1/2 years of closure following student demonstrations in December 1996. - AP
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