Chiang Mai – An activist group in Burma today called on the ruling junta to begin a process of tripartite dialogue and warned the people of Burma "to prepare for the worst" if the generals fail to kick-start meaningful dialogue by Burma's upcoming Union Day.

The Rangoon division of the People's Movement, an alleged clandestine activist group, today urged the Burmese military junta to begin a process of tripartite dialogue, as demanded by the Burmese people and international community, including the United Nations, by Burma's Union Day, which falls on February 12.

The group, in a statement read out to Mizzima, said, "In order to avoid the people experiencing further bitterness and to prevent a people's movement, the ruling junta should begin a tripartite dialogue that includes participation by the military, the National League for Democracy and ethnic representatives, on the 61st anniversary of Burma's Unions Day.

The group, whose members do not wish to reveal their identities for security reasons, said it fully supports the NLD's Independence Day demand to make "2008 the year of national reconciliation", and urges the junta to respect the wishes of the people and the international community to implement reforms.

The group, citing a statement made by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during her meeting with NLD leaders on January 30, urged the people to stand in unity and "hope for the best while preparing for the worst."

Similarly, on January 4, Burma's Independence Day, the Coordinating Committee of the Peoples Movement, an alleged umbrella group of all clandestine activist groups in Burma, called on the ruling junta to release all political prisoners and kick-start a dialogue process before Burma's Unions Day.

Following the Buddhist monk-led protests in September last year, which were brutally suppressed by the ruling junta, the number of underground activist groups in Rangoon and other parts of Burma has mushroomed, occasionally making statements demanding the government implement reforms.

The statement read out today is the fourth made by the group and is the first in 2008.