FREE SUU KYI, FREE BURMA Statement

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

                 STATEMENT BY FREE SUU KYI, FREE BURMA 
                 ON THE RELEASE OF DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
 
 
10 July 1995
 
FREE SUU KYI, FREE BURMA wholeheartedly welcomes the release of
Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We understand that she
will give a press conference at 1pm Burmese time, 11 July
(11.30pm US Eastern time, 10 July) which will be broadcast by CNN
International.
 
The liberation of Aung San Suu Kyi is an important step in the
liberation of Burma from military dictatorship and civil war.
After the euphoria over her release has passed, the focus will be
on the next steps. Some of these were suggested by Suu Kyi in her
22 January Statement (attached). The Statement quotes last year's
UN General Assembly resolution on Myanmar, which encouraged the
Burmese military to:
 
"engage in a substantive political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi
and other political leaders, including  representatives from
ethnic groups, as the best means of promoting national
reconciliation and the full and early restoration of democracy"
(para 5). 
 
This is a dangerous and delicate moment. Much depends on the
immediate response to Suu Kyi's release by the Burmese people and
different factions of the army, and on whether Aung San Suu Kyi,
after her six years of patient resistance, can inspire a similar
patience in the Burmese people, many of whom want the immediate
abolition of military rule, and may resent an extended transition
to civilian rule. Another bloodbath would not significantly help
the process of national healing. 
 
We hope that Daw Suu's release will contribute to an atmosphere
of trust and reconciliation which will allow the democracy
movement, leaders of ethnic groups and the military to succeed in
the difficult tasks of building democracy and achieving a genuine
political settlement of the civil war. The reported meeting
between Aung San Suu Kyi and her recently-released colleagues U
Tin Oo and U Kyi Maung marks the beginning of the consultation
within the democracy movement stipulated in Suu Kyi's 22 January
Statement. 
 
One obstacle to a restoration of democracy is the so-called
National Convention. This body was set up by the military in 1993
to rubber-stamp a military-drafted constitution which in effect
excludes Suu Kyi from political office and gives a leading
political role to the military. Not surprisingly, it is seen as a
device to repudiate once and for all the election results of 1990
when the Burmese people gave Suu Kyi's party 82 per cent of the
parliamentary seats.
 
According to Japanese sources there are to be no restrictions on
Suu Kyi's activities, but this has not been independently
confirmed. A crucial test will be the degree to which she is free
to communicate with the Burmese people and the world by press,
radio and television, and whether her phone line is restored (or
indeed, if she so wishes, supplemented by fax and email lines,
and a secretariat). It is not clear whether the 11 July press
conference will be broadcast within Burma. 
 
So far there has been no announcement that the other political
detainees will be released. Fighting still continues between the
Burmese military and the Karenni, following the breaking of the
cease-fire by the Burmese at the end of June. Refugees continue
to stream into Thailand on account of the fighting.
 
 
INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT
 
We believe that the quiet diplomacy of the Secretary-General's
good offices team has made a significant contribution to the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi. The solution to Burma's problems
must of course be a Burmese solution, but the experience and
guarantees offered by the United Nations can be an important
element in this long and difficult process.
 
The transition to a peaceful and democratic Burma will not be
easy or rapid, and the international pressure which contributed
to Suu Kyi's release must be maintained. This will discourage
backsliding on the part of the military, and give more leverage
to the democracy movement. The international community must keep
up pressure at the General Assembly and the Commission on Human
Rights. Calls for corporate withdrawal and economic sanctions
(including US Senator Mitch McConnell's sanction bill) should
continue until such time as Aung San Suu Kyi and other
representatives of the Burmese people request otherwise. (It was
only two years after his release that Nelson Mandela asked for
the lifting of sanctions against South Africa.) There are many
hurdles to overcome before we can begin to speak of a genuine
poliical process in Burma, and it is vital that Aung San Suu Kyi,
her democratic colleagues and the different ethnic groups should
be given the power to control the supply of international carrots
which are already in the pipeline (if the metaphors are not too
grossly mixed). The rebuilding of the ruined economy requires
substantial international assistance, but, as Aung San Suu Kyi
stated in her Manila speech, read out by former Philippines
President Corazon Aquino: 
 
"It is not enough merely to provide the poor with material
assistance. They  have to be sufficiently empowered to change
their perception of  themselves as helpless and ineffectual in an
uncaring world....Democracy as a political system  which aims at
empowering the people is essential if sustained human
development, which is "development of the people for the people
by the  people", is to be achieved."
 
 
FREE SUU KYI, FREE BURMA has been campaigning for the
unconditional release of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
since 1991. 
 
Free Suu Kyi, Free Burma, 777, UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel (+1-212) 338 0048; Fax 692 9748; Email darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
 
Contact David Arnott
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                                STATEMENT
                                    
                                    
It has always been the firm conviction of those working for
democracy in Burma that it is only through meaningful dialogue
between diverse political forces that we can achieve national
reconciliation, which is the first and most vital requirement for
a united and prosperous country.  That the international
community shares this view is evident from clause 5 of the
General Assembly resolution of December 1994 which encourages the
government of Burma to engage in "a substantive political
dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders,
including representatives from ethnic groups, as the best means
of promoting national reconciliation and the full and early
restoration of democracy".
 
It was in full acceptance of this view and with genuine good will
that I approached the meetings with members of the State Law and
Order Restoration Council on 20 September and 28 October 1994. 
There has not been and there will not be any secret deals with
regard either to my release or to any other issue.  I adhere to
the principle of accountability and consider myself at all times
bound by the democratic duty to act in consultation with
colleagues and to be guided by the aspirations of those engaged
in the movement to establish a truly democratic political system
in Burma.  I remain dedicated to an active participation in this
movement.
 
Aung San Suu Kyi
22 January 1995
Rangoon
Burma
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