The Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS) was founded on 14 October 1988 by students and youth, in response to the
military junta government's suppression of the
8888 Uprising and pro-democracy movements in Myanmar. Its original organisation, the
All Burma Students League (ABSL) was banned from participating in political reforms during the aftermath of the 8888 Uprising. After the military junta refused to recognise the results of the
1990 general election, the DPNS was declared illegal, and 1,500 of its members were arrested, with other pro-democracy movements and parties meeting a similar fate. At the time of its founding, the DPNS was the second largest party, after the
National League for Democracy (NLD), and attracted many young students, both from high schools and universities, many of whom were members of the ABSL. Initially, the DPNS was used as the legal political wing of the
All Burma Students' Union (ABSU), and worked with the
National League for Democracy (NLD) and other
pro-democracy parties, but has since unaffiliated themselves with the NLD and registered as its own independent party. == Objectives ==