[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Letter to David Abel



ERRORS-TO:strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
FROM:NBH03114@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Burmese Relief Center--Japan
DATE:February 12, 1995
TIME: 6:10PMJST
SUBJ:Letter to Brig. Gen. David Abel

An open letter to David Abel, currently visiting Daiwa
Securities in Tokyo and SLORC from Prof. Donald M.
Seekins, Ph.D.

UNIVERSITY OF THE RYUKYUS
College of Law and Letters
Senbaru 1, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-01, Japan 
Phone: (09889) 5-2221

February 12, 1995

The Honorable David Abel
Brigadier General and Minister of National Planning and
Economic Development
Union of MYANMAR
c/o the Daiwa Institute of Research
Daiwa Securities
Tokyo, Japan
Fax: 03-5620-5614

Dear Brigadier General Abel: 

         A friend of mine informed me that you are visiting Japan at
the invitation of the Daiwa Institute of Research in order to
study the Tokyo Stock Exchange.  This is an excellent idea. 
The Tokyo Stock Market is the second or third largest in the
world, and Myanmar will need to develop a modern
securities exchange of its own in order to promote the
creation of dynamic market-oriented economy.

Before Myanmar's economic liberalization and
modernization can take place, however, reform and
liberalization of your country's political system is an absolute
necessity.  This would include the release of Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and other political prisoners from incarceration, the
willingness of the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) to permit the emergence and freedom of action of
a viable and non-violent political opposition, and the
absolute minimalization of coercive measures by the
SLORC in governing the people, including ethnic
minorities.

Doubtlessly you have heard all this before from overseas
Burmese oppositionists and Western human rights activists. 
A modern state,  however, cannot thrive unless there is the
rule of law, and the country's leaders govern their people
with justice and compassion.

Two matters concern me particularly.  One is the
widespread use of forced and/or unpaid labor on public
construction projects.  Members of the SLORC, and
perhaps you yourself, have said that labor service without
pay  (known in Western countries as the "corvee") is an old
and venerable tradition in Burma.  History shows, however,
that the use of forced labor (for example slaves in ancient
Greece and Rome or in the American South before 1865)
not only has tremendous human cost, but is inefficient and
results in low-quality and minimally productive work.  I
would suggest that the SLORC government organize a
"Labor Corps" for large infrastructure projects on lines
similar to the Civilian Conservation Corps established by
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1930s. 
The Labor Corps should be well-paid (by Myanmar's
standards), well-fed, and taken care of by physicians and
nurses when they become sick.  This is, admittedly, more
costly than forced labor.  If Myanmar accomplishes the
political reforms mentioned above, however, industrialized
countries such as Japan, the United States, and Germany
will resume and greatly increase their foreign aid to your
country.  Part of these funds could be used to pay the
laborers and provide them with decent housing, medical
care, etc.  Concerning Official Development Assistance
(O.D.A.), I believe it is also imperative that these funds be
distributed equitably for projects not only in the central part
of the country inhabited by the Bamars, but in the poorly
developed mountainous and hilly regions where the ethnic
minorities live.

A second concern which causes me great alarm is your
government's dependence on economic and, especially,
military aid from the People's Republic of China.  A
substantial Chinese presence, especially in the Andaman Sea
region (e.g., the location of Chinese naval or radar facilities
on islands close to the Andaman Islands) will be regarded
not only by India but Thailand, Indonesia and perhaps even
Malaysia and Japan as a threat to the security of the South
Asian and Southeast Asian regions.  Please do not let your
country become China's "corridor to the Indian Ocean"!

I would think that any patriotic Myanmarese would be
deeply disturbed by recent developments in Sino-Burmese
relations, including the "Sinicization" of the economies of
Mandalay and Upper Burma.  I know the Burmese of all
races are proud and independent people.  They don't wish to
behave the way Southeast Asian kings in old times did,
bringing tribute and kowtowing before the despotic Chinese
emperor.  What would Maha Thiha Thura, the brave
commander of King Hsinbyushin's army who defeated the
Chinese four times in the eighteenth century, think of the
SLORC government's present closeness to Beijing?  What
would Bogyoke Aung San have thought?  To preserve
Myanmar's genuine independence, your government must
continue the wise policy of Non-Alignment practiced both
by Prime Minister U Nu and President U Ne Win during
their years in power.

I am an American citizen, but I hope you understand that
my concern for your country's future is sincere.  Of all the
nations I have visited in Asia -- and I have visited most of
them -- Burma has impressed me the most with its
spirituality, proud traditions, and the hospitality of its
people.

I hope that your visit to Tokyo has been a productive one.  I
also hope that your people, Burmese of all races, will soon
have the good government and economy they deserve.

Please be assured that I am writing this letter in a spirit of
friendliness and concern. 

Most sincerely,


Donald M. Seekins, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Law and Political Science
University of the Ryukyus
(fax: 81-9888-4-3572;
after 31.3.95: 81-980-54-0077)

/e