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Subject: From the Meeting of the Socialist International Asia - Pacific  Committee Tokyo 28 - 29 June 1996

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Meeting of the Socialist International Asia - Pacific Committee
Tokyo 28 - 29 June 1996

BURMA - THE ROAD AHEAD
by U Win Khet, Chairman
National League for Democracy - Liberated Area, Burma
(June 1996 - Tokyo Japan)

Mr. President, Secretary - General Ayala and respected delegates,
thank you once again for this opportunity to address you on the issue
of Burma.  As you are aware, the current situation in Burma is very
tense.  In spite of assurances by some quarters that things are
improving in Burma, the situation is in fact deteriorating. 

Only last weekend, Mr. Leo Nichols, the 65- year - old Anglo-
Burmese honourary consul of Norway in Burma died in custody.  He
was also the contact person for Denmark and Sweden.  Mr. Nichols
was arrested in April for allegedly using fax machines without the
permission of the military junta.  Mr. Nichols was a businessman. 
How can a businessman do businessman do business without a fax
machine?  For his crime, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison.  Worse
still he was put into solitary confinement and interrogated daily from
the day of his arrest until 2 days before his death.  Mr. Nichols had a
heart condition but he was not allowed to take his medication and he
was not given any medical attention.  When the Burmese military
realized he was dying, they quickly transferred him to the Rangoon
General Hospital so that they could claim that he did not die in prison. 
Mr. Nichols died 1 hour after he arrived at the hospital.

Some of you may be wondering why I have talked at length about Mr.
Nichols.  His treatment by agents of the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) is shocking enough.  But what makes it
worse is that SLORC picked on him because he was a very close
friend of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's family.  He was the man who
telephoned her in 1988 to tell her about her mother's illness and advise
her to return home.  He was not a politician and he had no ties to the
National League for Democracy.  But when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
needed a car to travel to some place or the other, he would lend her his
car.  He was a good friend.  That in the eyes of SLORC was his real
crime and he died for it.

His death in custody underlines the seriousness of the strategy SLORC
is using to isolate and demoralize Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  We have
all heard of the over two hundred elected members of parliament who
were arrested by SLORC in May to prevent them from attending the
NLD conference in Rangoon.  Most of them have now been released. 
What many are not aware of is that hundreds of others were also
arrested at the same time as the members of parliament.  Among those
arrested included U Win Htein, a senior aide to Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and her press secretary, U Aye Win.  U Win Htein has been
transferred to Insein Prison where he will likely be sentenced to a long
jail term.  U Aye Win is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's cousin and elder
brother of Dr. Sein Win, our Prime Minister - in - exile.  He is still
undergoing interrogation and perhaps torture in a military intelligence
detention centre.

SLORC is systematically eliminating all those close to Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi so that she is left with no one she can trust and depend on
around her.  Her close associates are now virtually under house arrest
with her.  They cannot step out of her compound and return to their
homes because they will be arrested.  There are now more than twenty
people living in her house.  SLORC is hitting very close to home and
we cannot rule out the possibility that they will not move against her
personally.  In early June, SLORC passed a new law that can see her
party disbanded and herself imprisoned for up to twenty years.  We
cannot allow that to happen.  As I mentioned earlier, the situation in
Burma is not getting better.  We must not be lulled into complacency. 
We must renew our efforts even more at this time because if we do not
do so, SLORC will continue to tighten its grip around Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi.

I have stressed the urgency and seriousness of the current situation and
the need for us to act immediately.  But I do not want to leave you with
the impression that all is hopeless.  That is far from the case.  The
situation is serious and we are fast approaching a crisis point but there
is much to hope for.

First, the people of Burma have been revitalized.  In spite of the fact
that it is technically illegal for the people to gather to hear Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi speak, in spite of the fact that SLORC was arresting
hundreds of people who were planning to attend the NLD Conference
at the end of May, ten thousand showed up on 26 May to hear her. 
That was the largest pro- democracy gathering since 1988.  People are
losing their fear.  They are now determined to quietly fight for their
rights without resorting to violence.  To me, that is the most
encouraging sign.  We can surely overcome the miliary if the people
are disciplined and united.

Second, the generals were caught off guard by the events of May. 
They did not expect the strong international reaction in response to
their crackdown against pro - democracy advocates.  Even Japan and
Thailand joined in the public criticism of their actions.  The quandary
the generals are in was clearly demonstrated in the government -
controlled press on 27 May.  One paper denounced Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and her colleagues as traitors and compared them to maggots
in the flesh.  Another was more conciliatory, addressing Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi respectfully and talked about democratic principles.  The
generals now know that if they crackdown further, it will adversely
affect their image and the possibility of more aid, especially from
Japan.  But at the same time, if they do not crackdown, they will lose
more control.  They will have to decide soon and we must ensure that
they make the right decision.

Third, with the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in July 1995, many
businesses and even government leaders concluded that the generals in
Burma are firmly in control.  They wrote off the democracy movement
and decided that they had better repair their relationships with SLORC
for the long term.  But the events of May showed that the democracy
movement cannot be ignored or marginalized.  The generals no longer
hold the political initiative.  It is now Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who is
calling the shots and the generals are having to react to her political
initiatives.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we are seeing the beginning of the
possibility for change in Burma.  It will be very dangerous for Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues in the next few months.  It will
also be very difficult. But we can be more hopeful.  The concern and
solidarity the SI and it s member organizations have shown for the
people of Burma has already brought results.  I would like to,
therefore, urge all of you to renew your efforts in whatever way
possible, to help ease the situation in Burma.  WE need your help now
more than ever.  Daw Aung San Suu Kyi needs your help.  Thank you.

Meeting of the Socialist International Asia - Pacific Committee
Tokyo 28 - 29 June 1996

RESOLUTION ON BURMA

The Asia - Pacific Committee of the Socialist International, meeting in
Tokyo, Japan:

NOTES WITH CONCERN the deteriorating political situation in
Burma as witnessed by the death of Mr. James Leander  Leo' Nichols
and the continued detention of U Win Htein and U Aye Win;

RECALLING the resolutions adopted by the Council of the Socialist
International adopted in Tokyo on 11 May 1994, in Cape Town on 11
July 1995, and in Brussels on 8 December 1995, and the resolutions of
the of the SI Asia - Pacific Committee adopted in Manila in February
1995 and in Sydney in September 1995, the Asia - Pacific Committee
of the Socialist International;

STRONGLY CONDEMNS SLORC's use of arbitrary laws to
increasingly restrict the people of Burma and deny them the right to
exercise their fundamental freedoms including the freedom of
expression, association, and assembly;

STRONGLY CONDEMNS SLORC's continued military offensive
against the Karenni people and the systematic use of torture, summary
executions, forced labour in development projects, forced porterage of
villagers for the military, forced conscription into the armed forces,
forced dislocation of the population, and the rape of women especially
in ethnic areas and against religious minorities;

CALLS ON the United Nations Secretary - General to urgently
implement the December 1995 General Assembly resolution to find a
political solution in Burma;

CALLS IN the governments of Japan, ASEAN and other nations to
support Aung San Suu Kyi's efforts to promote national reconciliation
in Burma;

CALLS ON the international financial institutions and governments
including UN agencies, to refrain from renewing ODA assistance,
development and assistance programs, and loans, until SLORC begins
a political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi;

URGES SI members parties who are in government, to fully support
the efforts of the UN Secretary - General and to actively seek to
implement this resolution;

URGES SI member parties to fully support the efforts of Aung San
Suu Kyi and the Burmese democracy movement, by whatever means
possible;  

URGENTLY URGES SLORC to begin a political dialogue with
Aung San Suu Kyi;

URGENTLY URGES SLORC to release all political prisoners
including those recently arrested in May;

URGENTLY URGES SLORC to lift all laws restricting fundamental
freedoms, including the freedom of speech, assembly, association and
of the press;

INSISTS THAT the genuine national Constitution should be drafted
by the freely and democratically elected representatives of the people;
and

REITERATES its intention, first declared at the Manila meeting of the
Asia - Pacific Committee in February 1995, to continue efforts to carry
out the planned SI mission to that country, which has to date been
denied entry by the Burmese authorities.

Socialist International
Maritime House
Old Town
Clapham
London SW4 OJW
United Kingdom
Telephone: (44- 171) 627 4449
Telefax: (44 171) 720 4448



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