The World : Troops Stop Burma Protest

Burmese troops moved into Rangoon to stop thousands of masked teen-agers from demonstrating in defiance of the government’s martial law decree, diplomats and returning tourists reported. Heavy monsoon rains lashed the crowds as soldiers fired warning shots, but no violence was reported. Diplomats in Rangoon described the demonstrations as the largest against the military-dominated regime since student riots earlier this year. The protesters, most of them high school students, shouted demands for democracy, the ouster of President Sein Lwin and freedom for dissidents jailed since the former general assumed power last week. Sein Lwin declared martial law on Wednesday after students held peaceful street demonstrations.