Information Sheet No. A-0046 (r)

[treved@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

                           Okkar's MisInformation Sheet
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>		Once again the NLD has made claims that nearly (200)
>of their party members have been allegedly persecuted which is
>simply not true.
*All other reports quote up to 60 NLD members detained or arrested.  Only
Okkar quotes 200.  200 - not true.  60 - highly probable!
*Because Okkar says so, should we all believe him and trust him?


>		At this time, no members of the NLD have been arrested,
>but have only been asked by local authorities to refrain from taking
>actions designed to create chaos in the country.
*"Ask" is a euphemism for a unique style of communication, developed and
refined by SLORC and their henchmen.  Who is going to be fooled?  Even ASEAN
leaders know exactly what is going on.  That they condone it is the moral
debate.

>		A compelling illustration of propaganda at work would be
>made if  journalists and diplomats simply asked the NLD to provide
>a list of those arrested and the police stations at which the arrest
>were supposedly made. Then, their claims can be verified.
*Catch 22.  With all the constraints placed on NLD members, it is virtually
impossible for them to complile this list.  Why not let freelance
journalists "free access" to the people  and places of Burma and to report
independently.

>		In the United States and in every civilized country around
>the world, the government  frequently asks for control and sometimes
>detains individuals who threaten actions to create chaos and cause
>social disruption.
*I have to concede on this.  There are many instances when force is used to
protect the public.  Sometimes power is used to further the interests of
powerful people and organisations.  There are things that are "not right" in
the U.S. and other countries.  There will always be.  There are also
citizens' groups that act for social justice and equity.  International
organisations concerned with human rights abuses usually have access to
countries controlled/governed by the more "civilised" regimes.  The degree
of "civilisation" of the authorities being directly proportional the the
degree of access to their proceedures and the degree of "humane responses".
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand who support SLORC have many accusations to
answer.  Monitoring bodies encounter "creative obstructionism" by the
respective governments.


>		Regretfully, the western countries have been sold a barrel
>of propaganda, and are crafting a biased and dangerous foreign
>policy upon it. Given the recent history of the United States, they
>should know better.
*The question of information being "propaganda" of not is very easily be
resolved.  There are international organisations, free of pecunary
interests, duly elected to investigated and report on, impartially, the
situation in question.  If only SLORC has the courage to give open access to
them.  I doubt it!


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