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FORGOTTEN BURMA.



09Apr96 BURMA: FORGOTTEN BURMA. 

When Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house
arrest nine months ago, there were high hopes this would mark the start of a
process of dialogue and national reconciliation.
Unfortunately, the reverse has proved to be true. Rangoon's military rulers
have refused to talk to her and, in recent months, stepped up their
harassment, even hiring protesters to throw tomatoes at her home. In an
exclusive interview we publish today, Aung San Suu Kyi reveals they have now
denied her husband a visa to visit Burma, and twice prevented her travelling
outside the capital.
The situation has deteriorated so far she feels it is even worse than in
China, where families of dissidents can, at least, speak to the press. The
resilience of Burma's democracy leaders deserves admiration, undaunted by
more than six years of intimidation and arrests. Despite repeated human
rights violations by the military junta, Aung San Suu Kyi continues to adopt
a restrained tone, and would be more than willing to enter into a dialogue,
were she ever given the chance to do so.
If Burma's rulers refuse to talk, there is little she can do without the
backing of the outside world. It was international pressure that contributed
to her release from house arrest. Since then, this was slackened off, with
neighbouring nations preferring to pursue investment opportunities under the
guise of a policy of constructive engagement.
But Aung San Suu Kyi's message is that this is not working. If the outside
world wants to help Burma, rather than merely profit from its
under-developed economy, then they must redouble their pressure on the
military leadership to open talks with opposition leaders. 
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST




09Apr96 BURMA: REPRESSION GROWING, SAYS TOP DISSIDENT. 
by WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok 

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said the ruling military junta was as
incompetent as ever and even more repressive nine months after her release
from house arrest.
She and the other members of the democracy movement were habitually
harassed, despite the regime's claims that it would soon introduce
multi-party democracy.
"If anything the problems are increasing because the more the Government is
aware of its unpopularity with the people, the more they try to crush us,"
she said.
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi revealed that her husband, English academic Michael
Aris, could not obtain a visa to visit her last month, and that she has been
prevented from travelling outside the capital at least twice in recent months.
Most recently, while trying to travel to Mandalay to support artists facing
trial for the content of a comedy performance at her home, her train
developed "mechanical problems".
"If they are trying to hamper my movements it shows they can never be
trusted to keep their word," Ms Aung San Suu Kyi said.
The family home where she was isolated for six years now appears to be an
oasis of freedom in a police state that the activist said was significantly
more closed than China.
"The families of dissidents can speak to the press in China. That's
impossible here - China is more open," she said.
She described the new constitution, being drawn up by a hand-picked
convention, as "a step backwards" because it legitimised a Government that
seized power.
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi dismissed the regime's claims that the people were now
less interested in "Western-style" democracy because a more open economy was
giving them the opportunity to acquire wealth.
She said the rich were becoming richer and the poor poorer.
Some parents were now so poor they could only feed themselves by sending
their children to the Army's "voluntary labour" programmes, she said.
She blamed the junta for refusing to entertain opposition views.
"Any institution that is not prepared to tolerate and listen to differences
of opinion cannot find the right answers," she said.
Despite the repression, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi was "cautiously optimistic" that
a democratic government would gain power.
"This Government is incapable of maintaining either the rule of law or a
healthy economy.
"If the Government cannot do either, it cannot resist the force of the
people's will," she said.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
Democratic Voice of Burma(DVB) has one hour air time broadcasting to Burma
everyday. It is one of the main sources of information for the people of
Burma especially for those inside the country.  For more informaton, please
write to:
DVB, P.O Box 6720, ST.Olavs Plass, 0130 Oslo, Norway.  Tel: 47-22-200021,
Tel/fax:47-22-362525.