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Students continue sit-in protest over Myanmar's education law amendment issue

Xinhua, March 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

About 200 students from the main striking student group involving monks continued to stage sit-in protest on issue of amendment of Myanmar's National Education Law in Letpadan, Bago region Wednesday, witnesses said Thursday.

The sit-in protest was staged near a monastery compound in defiance of an ultimatum order of the township administration to halt protest within six hours.

Despite end of the deadline on Wednesday evening, hard negotiation still continued between the two sides.

Some student activists from a protest group did not join a 11- day parliamentary hearing on amendments to the country's controversial education law starting Thursday.

The hearing will include protesting students, members of the Network for National Education Reform (NNER) and political parties.

Meanwhile, senior Buddhist monks in Yangon made a request in their statement on Tuesday to the strike-participating monks to stay away from the protesting students who are preparing to march from Lepadan, to Yangon region crossing the regional boundary.

The senior monks suggested the protest monks to avoid conflict, saying that the amendment of the education law will soon be discussed in the parliament to be taken part by students' representatives.

Myanmar government is making efforts to de-escalate student protest into violence for the sake of national security, rule of law and community peace.

The government has reiterated its warning of action to be taken against students' planned non-stop protest march towards Yangon as hearing of the students' demand for the change of National Education Law is in progress in the parliament.

In a statement of the Ministry of Home Affairs published earlier on Sunday, the government urged the striking students to halt their protest march, saying that the persistent march is more of a hindrance to national stability than of a help to facilitating the amendment to the national education law.

The bill to amend the national education law was brought before the Upper House of the parliament by the Ministry of Education on Feb. 16 following an agreement reached at a four-party talks involving the government, the parliament, the Leading Committee for Democracy Education Movement and the National Network for Education Reform (NEER).

Myanmar government on Feb. 13 warned protesting students marching from other regions not to try to enter Yangon region amid quartet talks being held then in the former capital for tackling issue of amendment of national education law.

The four sides have agreed in principle to protesting students' all 11 points of demand on the amendment of the education law. Endi