Rare protest over economy in army-ruled Myanmar

YANGON, Feb 22 (Reuters) Holding placards and shouting slogans, a dozen activists in army-ruled Myanmar staged a rare street protest today over worsening public services and a crumbling economy.

The group gathered for 30 minutes outside a Yangon bus station, waving signs demanding better care for the elderly and more reliable electricity in a city where power blackouts occur at least once a day.

''Nobody and no party is behind us,'' Ko Htin Kyaw, a mechanical engineer, told Reuters before police dispersed the crowd. Some of the protesters were taken away.

Public protests are rare in Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military in various guises since 1962.

Despite being blessed with natural wealth in oil, gas and minerals, four decades of mismanagement have left the economy in a mess and the country's 52 million people among the world's most impoverished.

REUTERS SAM PM2057