Myanmar called Saturday on revelers to dress appropriately during the upcoming New Year festival, avoid horseplay and refrain from using the occasion to criticize the ruling military junta, state media reported.
The four-day festival _ marking the new year that starts April 13 on the lunisolar calendar also used in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia _ is one of the few times when Myanmar's citizens can cut loose under the watchful eye of the repressive regime.
Revelers in the impoverished country splash one another with water and dance in the streets.
But military generals are now saying enough is enough with the hijinks.
The state-run Myanmar Ahlin daily reported that the government is asking merrymakers to "avoid wearing clothing unbecoming and contrary to Myanmar culture and tradition, avoid behaving in a manner contrary to Buddhist teachings and avoid horseplay that could injure people."
The regime also warned citizens not to make remarks that "tarnish the image of the government or cause disrespect to the honor of the government."
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations and killing as many as 3,000 people. It called elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest.
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