Myanmar junta releases Yangon protesters

YANGON, Feb 27 (Reuters) Myanmar's military government released nine people today who had been detained after a rare protest against worsening living conditions in Yangon, the nation's commercial capital, relatives said.

About two dozen people had waved placards and shouted slogans for 30 minutes outside Yangon's busiest bus station in Thursday's protest, demanding better health care, education and reliable power supplies in a city plagued by daily blackouts.

Public demonstrations are rare in the impoverished Southeast Asian country, ruled by the military since 1962.

Despite great 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 poorest.

The main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and other groups had called for the release of the nine.

''These were just peaceful expressions of public opinion about the social and economic problems being faced by the people every day. No action should be taken against them,'' Ko Ko Gyi, a former leader of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, told Reuters.

REUTERS MS KP1648