and Vice-chairman San Yu but rejected the resignations of General Secretary Aye Ko, Joint General Secretary Sein Lwin and Central Executive Committee member Tun Tin. Joint-General Secretary Sein Lwin (former Brigadier, d. 9 April 2004) was chosen and appointed as the new Chairman of the Party by the Party Congress. The appointment of Sein Lwin, who was widely perceived to be mainly responsible for the shootings and killings of more than 100 students at Rangoon University on 7 July 1962, shortly after Ne Win's coup d'etat, as well as the killings of students and civilians in March and June 1988, earning the epithet "Butcher of Rangoon", sparked widespread protests in the country. The Extraordinary Party Congress of July 1988 also rejected Ne Win's call for a national referendum. The election of Sein Lwin as Party Chairman as well as the refusal by the BSPP to take steps to move towards a multi-party system led to massive demonstrations to which the military responded by shooting and killing hundreds if not thousands of demonstrators in many towns and cities across the country from 8–12 August 1988. On 12 August 1988 Sein Lwin resigned as both Party Chairman and State President. After the selection by the BSPP Central Committee of Dr Maung Maung (31 January 1925 – 2 July 1994) as Party Chairman on 19 August and later by the Pyithu Hluttaw as State President on 20 August 1988, the uprising against the BSPP government intensified. On 10 September 1988 in yet another hastily reconvened Congress, the BSPP decided to hold multi-party elections and the next day the Pyithu Hluttaw passed a resolution to hold multi-party elections "not earlier than 45 days and not later than 90 days". However massive demonstrations in Rangoon and the rest of the country continued, demanding for the resignation of the BSPP government led by Dr Maung Maung in favour of a neutral interim government to supervise multi-party elections. On 18 September 1988 the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC or na wa ta), led by the army Chief of Staff General Saw Maung (d. July 1997) took over after crushing the failed 8888 Uprising of 8 August 1988. The party changed its name to the National Unity Party (NUP) on 24 September 1988. The NUP contested the 1990 general election and was seen as a proxy party of the military and the main rival to Aung