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U.S. Special Envoy and DOS's Daily



Subject: U.S. Special Envoy and DOS's Daily Press Briefing

Attn: Burma and Burmese Activists
Re: U.S. Special Envoy and Daily Press Briefing by State Dept.
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                      U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
                        DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

                                                 DPB #98

                 TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1996, 1:06 P. M.
               (ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)



       Q     Is there anything more you can say on the briefings given
here by William Brown and Stanley Roth after their visit to Asia --
the trip to do with Burma?

       MR. BURNS:  On Burma.  I can tell you that they've completed
their diplomatic mission.  They visited Japan and several southeast
Asian countries -- members of ASEAN.  They're back briefing our
government.

       We have not yet made any decision on next steps, whether or not
we send an envoy to Burma or whether we just continue our
discussions with our friends in Asia.

       We were dismayed to see over the weekend continuing attacks on
Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League of Democracy.  We are very
disturbed that more than 100 of the people in her movement who were
detained several weeks back are still detained.

       Our Charge d'Affaires in Rangoon went into the government --
the SLORC -- yesterday in Rangoon and made a very strong protest
about the continued detention of these individuals, who are jailed
simply for expressing basic civil liberties that in most countries
are taken for granted but, unfortunately, in Burma they are denied
the people.  So we still strongly support the right of Aung San Suu
Kyi and her compatriots to express themselves about the political
future of their country.

       Our own objective here -- short-term, tactical objective --
would be to convince the Burmese Government -- the authorities there
-- to enter into some kind of political dialogue with the democrats
and to see if there is a way that they can begin to talk together. 
They have spurned every opportunity to do that, and that's a great
pity.

       Q     You said that no decision has yet been taken on next
steps.  Can you give any more details about the impressions that Mr.
Roth and Mr. Brown formed on that trip?  I think the Malaysian
Foreign Minister, again, said today that the West has no business
telling ASEAN how it should deal with Burma.  That seems to have
been perhaps the tenor of a lot of the commentary encountered.

       MR. BURNS:  That's interesting.  I didn't see that quote on the
wires.  I can tell you that's not what they heard in private.  What
they heard in private from the Japanese Government and from a number
of the ASEAN countries -- perhaps not all of them -- was that they
are concerned about this problem.

       I think they all recognize that on fundamental issues of human
rights, these issues are not the preserve of one group of countries;
that the United States, European countries, as well as Asian
countries have a responsibility to speak out when human rights are
being denied to democrats in a country like Burma which is run by
the military, which is run by dictators.

       So they didn't really hear this sentiment expressed by the vast
majority of the people with whom they spoke on the trip.  They did
hear that there is concern throughout southeast Asia about what is
happening in Burma.

       I think as we look now towards the ASEAN meetings in the third
week of July to be held in Jakarta, this will be an issue that
Secretary Christopher will want to take to his conversations with
his ASEAN counterparts.

       Q     Does that suggest you think there is a possibility of a
regional initiative involving Asian countries and the United States
--

       MR. BURNS:  I don't know if there is going to be a possibility
of an initiative, but there certainly will be further discussions on
this.  The United States will want to keep this issue in the
forefront of our discussions with these countries.

       Q     How many people --

       MR. BURNS:  More than 100.

       Q     More than 100?

       MR. BURNS:  We can check.  I believe our Embassy probably even
knows the exact number, but it's a considerable number of people.


------------ end. (for Burma)