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fwd:: Burma's Exiled Gov't Blasts U

Subject: fwd:: Burma's Exiled Gov't Blasts U.S.

forwarded by Philip McCracken

In a message dated 97-03-16 03:01:28 EST, you write:

>Subj:	Burma's Exiled Gov't Blasts U.S.
>Date:	97-03-16 03:01:28 EST
>From:	AOLNewsProfiles@xxxxxxx
>
><HTML><PRE><I>.c The Associated Press</I></PRE></HTML>
>
>      BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Burma's government-in-exile criticized
>a group of United States business representatives Sunday for
>lobbying the Clinton administration against possible economic
>sanctions against Burma's military government.
>      In a statement received in Bangkok, the National Coalition
>Government of the Union of Burma, a Washington-based group, blasted
>the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council for ``trying to sanitize the brutal
>image of the (Burmese) regime,'' in a ``desperate'' attempt to
>block sanctions.
>      The NCGUB is comprised of members of parliament from a 1990
>election the regime ignored. The military then jailed or
>assassinated many of the election winners, forcing several to seek
>refuge abroad.
>      Burma's current military regime came to power in 1988 after
>gunning down thousands of democracy demonstrators. It has since
>been regularly criticized by the United Nations, Western countries
>and human rights organizations for wide-ranging abuses and
>suppression of the country's democracy movement led by Nobel Peace
>Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
>      The Clinton administration is considering whether to slap
>sanctions on the regime because of recent stepped-up repression
>against Suu Kyi's movement, including the arrest of hundreds of her
>followers and her virtual house arrest. She has called for economic
>sanctions.
>      Fifty American corporate executives, including former Secretary
>of State Alexander Haig and Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen, attended a
>recent meeting in Singapore of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council, an
>organization which promotes trade and investment between the United
>States and the Southeast Asian regional grouping.
>      ASEAN consists of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
>Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. Burma, Cambodia and Laos are
>expected to be admitted this year.
>      At the meeting, Haig urged the Clinton administration not to
>impose sanctions, calling those who supported them ``arrogant,
>wrong-headed and short-sighted.''
>      The NCGUB said Haig and Bentsen were either poorly briefed and
>misused by the Council or were ``arrogant, wrong-headed and short
>sighted ... or perhaps they were jet-lagged after being flown First
>Class to Singapore.''
>      It also criticized Bentsen for saying Suu Kyi's voice
>represented the view of just one person, noting that Suu Kyi's
>party won 82 percent of the 1990 vote.
>      ``In light of the deteriorating situation in Burma, President
>Clinton has no choice but to impose sanctions,'' the NCGUB said.
>      The exiles said foreign investment and money from
>drug-trafficking was helping fund the regime's massive military
>buildup.
>      The regime had nearly no foreign reserves in 1988, but has now
>received more than $5 billion in foreign investment.
>      In 1988, the regime spent 25 percent of its budget on defense
>and had 185,000 troops enlisted. Today, the World Bank says it
>spends about 50 percent of its budget on defense and has more than
>325,000 men under arms.
>      The U.S. government has strongly condemned Burma, the source of
>60 percent of the heroin sold in America, for its cozy relationship
>with drug dealers.
>      AP-NY-03-16-97 0259EST
>      <HTML><PRE><I><FONT COLOR="#000000 SIZE=2>Copyright 1997 The
Associated
>Press.  The information 
>contained in the AP news report may not be published, 
>broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without 
>prior written authority of The Associated Press.<FONT COLOR="#000000
>SIZE=3></I></PRE></HTML>