European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 24, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Burmese chief quits in Wake of rioting sunday july 24, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 9 Rangoon Burma a be win who wielded authoritarian Power Over Burma for 26 years resigned saturday As chairman of the country s Only political party and called for a referendum on ending one party Rule sources said. Five other Veteran leaders also offered their resignations according to the sources who attended a party conference where the announcement was made. The 78-year-old be win cited poor health for his decision they said. But the dramatic announcement came in Wake of bloody student rioting Dawn to dusk cur fews and a wors ening Economy. Speaking to a extraordinary ses Sion of the govern ing Burma socialist program party be win said a reference win Dum would be held before the end of september to decide whether the nation wanted a multiparty system or a continuation of single party Rule the sources said. If the Congress accepts be win s Resig nation which it is almost certain to do party rules Call for the election of a new chairman at the same Congress. Be win resigned from the presidency in 1981 but retained the far More important party Post. He was regarded As the most powerful figure in Burma. The resignation announcement was made available from people attending the Congress which was closed to foreign Media and the Public. Be win who came to Power in a 1962 military coup has steered Burma along an isolationist Road. His socialist eco nomic policies have proved increasingly ineffective. Dissident viewpoints were quickly silenced. But since october student led demonstrations have three times rocked Rangoon and other burmese cities resulting in violent deaths mass arrests and the closing of universities. Be win also asked the Congress to approve the resignations of san you the party vice chairman and president of the country Aye to party Secretary general and vice president Sein Lwin party joint general Secretary and Secretary of the Council of state Kyaw thin Mem ber of the party s Central executive com Mittee Deputy prime minister and de sense minister and Tun tin Central executive committee member Deputy prime minister and finance minister. There was speculation that the five would retain their government positions at least until the referendum is held. About 1,000 delegates Are attending the three Day Congress which opened ear Lier saturday at Kyat Klasan grounds. Authorities announced the Congress on july 7, two weeks after thousands of students and other demonstrators battled riot police in the streets of the capital leaving at least nine persons dead. Authorities have lifted a dusk to Dawn curfew that was imposed on Rangoon Fol lowing the rioting but violence spread to the cities of prime and Tau Ngoyi last week. Earlier last week the government radio disclosed that 41 people who were packed into police vans during rioting in March suffocated on their Way to prison. Min going took responsibility for the tragedy and resigned from his posts As Home and religious affairs minister and in the 17 member party Central executive commit tee the top policy making body. Despite promises of economic liberalization last year the government in octo ber withdrew three currency notes from circulation and offered no compensation. This caused the first of the three major anti government protests. Western diplomats in Rangoon and knowledgeable Western observers said these outbursts after years of passivity reflected intense disillusionment with a government that has monopolized Power for a Quarter Century while leading the resource Rich nation into economic ruin. In the past be win rooted out opponents and dealt harshly with the few Occa Sions of open protest rarely seen in Public never interviewed by the press be win is said to be a Superb and highly intelligent political i fighter and Strong nationalist. Regarded As potentially the richest nation in Southeast Asia Burma with a per capita income of less than $200 is among the world s 10 poorest countries. Once the world s largest Rice exporter and Oil producer Burma has suffered spot food shortages and has had to import Petroleum products recently. Al though the state officially controls much of the Economy most burmese rely on Black Market goods smuggled in from Thailand China and Malaysia. Foreign analysts and Many burmese blame be win s rigid so called Bur Mese Way to socialism for these fail ures. The system is an amalgam of a centralized Economy one party military backed Rule and buddhism. Submarine Crew members Rescue fishermen after the collision in Tokyo Bay. 29 missing after boat japanese sub collide Tokyo a a submarine collided saturday with a fishing boat off the port of Yokosuka and police said 29 people were missing. The 2,200-ton Nad Ashio a Mari time self defense Force submarine collided with the fishing boat the 150-ton no. 1 Fuji Maru two Miles off Yokosuka in the Mouth of Tokyo Bay Yokosuka police said. Police said 48 people including 39 sport fishermen were on Board the fishing boat which Sank less than two minutes after the collision. Police officials said 19 fishermen and crewmen were rescued from the boat including a 38-year-old Man who was hospitalized in serious condition. There were no reports of injuries among the 75 men aboard the submarine or on the extent of damage to the vessel maritime self defense Force officials said. Nineteen vessels and six helicopters from the maritime self defense Force Japan s Navy and the Mari time safety Agency Japan s coast guard were searching for the missing people police said. The cause of the Accident was under investigation. At the time of the collision the sub Marine was cruising on the surface on its Way Back to Yokosuka after a train ing exercise while the fishing boat was leaving Tokyo Bay the officials said. E. Germany finding Wii munitions Potsdam East Germany a East Ger Man bomb disposal Crews Are still discovering deadly world War ii munitions More than 40 years after the end of the War the state run news Agency adn said on Friday. Every month we Are digging out deadly Rem Nants from the War and disarming them adn quoted Potsdam bomb disposal chief Horst Reinhardt As saying. Adn said bomb disposal experts throughout the country search for explosives or other munitions in areas that were the scenes of bombing attacks or heavy fighting during the War. According to adn bomb disposal Crews working in or near Potsdam Cottbus and the East German City of Frankfurt discovered 99 air plane bombs 23,400 grenades or shells 180 firebombs and 77 land mines in 1987. The news Agency said Many of the materials were in such a condition that removing them would be too risky. Therefore they were detonated on the  top military court to take Over probe of Billig trial decision Washington a the nation s highest Mili tary court Friday said it would take Over the investigation of alleged improprieties in the decision that freed Navy heart surgeon cmdr. Donal m. Billig. Billig convicted in 1986 on three charges of killing three surgical patients through incompetence was freed in april by the Navy Marine corps court of military review on the grounds the evidence against him was not enough for a criminal conviction. The inspector general of the defense department june Gibbs Brown in late june began an investigation of an Anonymous Telephone tip that bribery and improper conversations with the reviewing judges were involved in the decision to release Billig. She secured an order from the judge advocate Gener Al of the Navy rear adm. Hugh d. Campbell to Edward m. Byrne chief judge of the reviewing court for the seven judges to submit to interviews. Byrne and his colleagues won an order from the . Court of military appeals against proceeding while it considered whether the inspector general could con duct such an inquiry. They argued that they were placed in an impossible position if they refused an order they could be court Martiale and if convicted sent to prison if they did not refuse the Public would lose Confidence in the secrecy of discussions among judges. The appeals court on Friday ordered that one of its members Walter t. Cox Iii a former member of Judi Cial investigation commissions in South Carolina serve As a special master to supervise the investigation ruling on All requests for interviews or documents from the inspector general. Cox also shall have full Power and authority to receive consider and independently investigate any allegations of judicial misconduct if he finds Good cause to do so making recommendations to the full appeals court on what he finds. Patrick Carome appointed by the appeals court to represent the reviewing judges said that was an invitation to the inspector general to detail her evidence if any to Cox