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The BurmaNet News: July 27, 1997
- Subject: The BurmaNet News: July 27, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 06:16:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: July 27, 1997
Issue #782
Noted in Passing:
SLORC is running an economic regime which is a disaster for Burma.
- George Soros (see MAHATHIR AND SOROS)
HEADLINES:
==========
MAE THA RAW HTA COMMITTEE: STATEMENT
MAHATHIR AND SOROS: CURRENCY CRISIS AND POLITICAL
BURMESE CURRENCY COLLAPSE, RUMORS OF DEMONITIZATION
THE RISING NEPAL: "BURMESE REFUGEES STAGE SIT-IN"
REUTER: ASEAN FORESEES PROBLEMS WITH EU OVER BURMA
FEER: QUESTION TIME
THE AGE (AUSTRALIA): AUSTRALIA TO TAKE A STAND ON BURMA
BKK POST: NEW POLICY ON RANGOON: 'HANDS-OFF'
COMMENTS ON WHY BURMA, NOT CAMBODIA IN ASEAN
SLORC: THE VIEW FROM THE EMBASSY OF MYANMAR, OTTAWA
REUTER: GEN. SAW MAUNG DEAD AT 65
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MAE THA RAW HTA COMMITTEE: STATEMENT
July 26, 1997
STATEMENT FROM THE COORDINATING COMMITTEE
OF THE MAE THA RAW HTA AGREEMENTS
1. The statement released by SLORC and found on the internet on July 17,
1997 was tailor made and synchronized with Secretary 1 Khin Nyunt's Press
Conference of June 27,1997.
2. In that statement we found that SLORC tried to attack and degrade;
a) the Mae Tha Raw Hta Agreements
b) Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's and the NLD's activities
c) the KNU and KNPP resistance movements
3. Although SLORC cited 15 groups who supposedly supported Khin Nyunt's
speech, they did not identify the names or positions of those responsible
for the remarks. We have since received clarification from some of these
groups that they never made such comments.
4. The Mae Tha Raw Hta meeting was the first gathering of the ethnic
nationalities since the beginning of SLORC's military rule in Burma.
5. Regardless of our ceasefire or non-ceasefire status with the SLORC, all
the ethnic participants openly shared our sufferings with each other in
good faith and mutual trust.
6. Ethnic brothers and sisters, after a week of long discussions, clearly
planned common strategies and signed the agreements because we are all well
aware of who our common enemy is.
7. The Mae Tha Raw Hta Agreements are a very strong sign of unity amongst
the ethnic nationalities. If SLORC is really sincere about building ethnic
unity, they need to support the Mae Tha Raw Hta Agreements. That SLORC has
degraded these agreements means that they are only interested in 'forced
unity' under their military rule.
8. The 15 armed ethnic groups which SLORC has orchestrated ceasefires with
are not representative of 15 ethnic nationalities. The Shan, Wa, Pa-o,
Palaung and Karenni groups which signed ceasefires only partially represent
their ethnic populations. Some groups have confessed that they agreed to
sign only under forced conditions and not in their own free will.
9. Thus, as we are responsible for carrying out the terms of the Mae Tha
Raw Hta Agreements and building unity amongst the ethnic groups, we were
disappointed by the SLORC's 'counter Mae Tha Raw Hta' statement.
Coordinating Committee
of the Mae Tha Raw Hta Agreements.
July 27, 1997
*************************************************
MAHATHIR AND SOROS: CURRENCY CRISIS AND POLITICAL
AGENDAS
excerpts from articles over the past five days
from: THE KATHMANDU POST: "MALAYSIA LEADER MAKES THINLY
VEILED ATTACKED ON SOROS FOR CURRENCY CRISIS"
July 22, 1997
Kuala Lumpur, July 22(AFP)- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad made a thinly veiled attack published Tuesday on US financier
George Soros, blaming him for Southeast Asia?s currency turmoil.
Without identifying anyone, Mahathir accused a foreign financier of
upsetting currencies to pursue his own political agenda. Soros was clearly
the target.
Reports carried by Malaysian newspaper said the financier responsible for
attacking the currencies was opposed to Burma joining the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN).
The report said Mahathir made the remarks to a business group in the Japanese
city of Okayama on Monday. "We feel that there is some other agenda apart
from making money. As you may have noticed ASEAN countries are
the targets," he was quoted as saying by Business Times. Mahathir said targets
were Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
"We ask ourselves is it just speculation to make money or is it something else?
We feel that there is some other agenda, especially by this particular
person who
is the patron of a foundation," Mahathir said.
"If they want to attack the British pound, by all means do so. Britain is rich.
Malaysia is poor country and it is not right for people like these to play and
speculate with our currency," he was quoted as saying. Soros, widely blamed
for forcing the pound out of European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992,
called in January for an international tourist boycott of Burma and an end
to investment there by oil companies.
"Every citizen of the world should abstain from travelling to Burma as a
tourist.
The use of forced labour has made it possible for the military regime to fix
up tourist attractions and build new hotels," Soros said. Soros heads a
foundation for an "open society" which aims to promote democracy and
which provides financial aid for several countries, notably in central and
eastern Europe.
Mahathir refused to named the financier but the New Straits Times said he
was "known to have tried to have used his financial clout in the United
Sates to
block Burma's entry into ASEAN, due on Wednesday. Business Times added that
the prime minister ?would not rule out the possibility that this foundation
is against
ASEAN's decision to admit Burma and is therefore putting pressure on the
currencies of the grouping's members in the hope of undermining their
economies."
----------------------------------
from: THE NATION: SOROS DENIED CURRENCY 'RETALIATION'
July 24, 1997
AP-Dow Jones
KUALA LUMPUR - Billionaire George Soros, well' known for his
speculative plays in global currency markets, denies that his philanthropic
foundation and currency speculation business are linked in an attack on
Southeast Asian currencies in retaliation for Burma's admission into the
region's trade group.
Soros said through a spokesman that his Soros Foundations and Open
Society Institute, philanthropic groups that have sought to promote
democratic government in Burma and elsewhere, are distinct from Soros
Fund Management, his investment group.
"There is absolutely no connection," said Shawn Pattison, a Soros
spokesman at his offices in New York.
The Open Society Institute finances the Burma Project, a 3-year-old
operation that seeks to publicise human-rights abuses in Burma and
support opposition groups.
"I can see how the misunderstanding may have arisen here as Mr. Soros has
been quite vocal in his urging the governments of Thailand and Malaysia
not to admit Burma into ASEAN," Pattison said. "He continues to consider
totalitarian repressive regimes threats to the region's prosperity and
stability."
--------------------------------
>From VOA: SOROS DENIAL
July 23, 1997
by Dan Robinson
In a public statement, and later in a VOA interview, Mr. Soros says there is
absolutely no connection between his philanthropic ªOpen Society Instituteª
-- or its ªBurma Projectª -- and trading by Soros Fund Management:
?They are two entirely separate organizations. Soros Fund Management is
there to make money for its shareholders, and it would not allow itself to be
influenced by my political views. so there is no connection between anything
the fund management does, and my concern about the political situation in
Burma.?
In recent weeks, the devaluation of the Thai currency (ªbahtª) set off what
market experts described as a domino effect. Currencies in Malaysia,
Indonesia and the Philippines lost value. Burma?s currency -- the ªkyatª
(pron: chat) -- fell sharply producing what some observers describe as a
dangerous economic situation.
Although Mr. Soros denies using his financial clout to make a political point,
he makes clear his disagreement with ASEAN over its admission of Burma, and
his feelings about Burma?s military government -- called the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC):
?SLORC is running an economic regime which is a disaster for Burma. It
has practically no currency reserves. You have a totally artificial value for
the currency which gives you a chance to favor your people to the detriment
of the general population. Because anybody who has permission to, let?s say,
buy gasoline at the official price can re-sell it and make a living on it.
So it?s
a totally corrupt regime.?
Mr. Soros says his fund management organization has no direct investments
in Burma, and he says he urges companies in which Soros is a shareholder
to withdraw. He mentioned that one company -- Newmont Mining of Denver
-- had recently done so.
Soros had eight-million shares in Newmont, worth about 300 million
dollars. A spokesman for the company said its withdrawal was mainly for
economic reasons, but acknowledged Mr. Soros? views on Burma had been
a factor.
As for ASEAN, Mr. Soros says the organization will, in his words, have to
?live with its conscience? after having admitted Burma. Burma in ASEAN,
he says, is harmful for the region and for the interests of the ASEAN
countries.
---------------------------------
from: THE ECONOMIC TIME: SOROS BLAMED FOR SHAKEUP IN SE
ASIA CURRENCIES (from India)
July 27, 1997
US financier George Soros was accused today of destabilizing South East
Asian currencies for political motives, as governments in the region
resolved to fight-back against speculation in their money.
"Today, I'm conforming that Gorge Soros is the man that I was talking
about, " Mr. Mahathir said today, after nearly a week of calling currency
speculators " rogues", "robbers", "anarchists" and "brigands".
Mr. Soros had admitted that he did not want Malaysia and Thailand to allow
Burma, which he regarded a "totalitarian and repressive regime", into
ASEAN, the New Straits Times said.
"However, I do not believe that the cause of freedom in Myanmar would be
advanced by linking it to currency speculation," he was quoted as saying.
Mr. Mahathir said today he was not convinced by the claim. "It is very
difficult to separate the right hand and the left hand and sometimes you
don't even know what your right hand is doing. But in this case, it is
quite obvious there is a convergence," he said.
"We have worked 20 to 40 years to develop our countries to this level and
along comes the man with a few billion US dollars and within a period of
two weeks, he has undone almost the work we have done," Mahathir said.
"Who is helping who...I would like to know that."
************************************************
BURMESE CURRENCY COLLAPSE, RUMORS OF DEMONITIZATION
(3 stories)
THAILAND TIMES: BURMA'S SLORC WARNS OF RUMOR MONGERS
OUT TO DISRUPT FINANCIAL, ECONOMIC SYSTEM
July 26, 1997
AFP
RANGOON: Burma's powerful military intelligence chief charged
that "unscrupulous persons" had set out to destroy the country's
financial and economic system, the official press reported yesterday.
These persons were spreading rumors that Burma's financial system
would be revamped, and that the country would suffer setbacks as
a newly-inducted member of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), said Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt.
They were spreading the rumours to cause "monetary instability,
public panic, economic upheaval and fluctuation of, commodity
prices," he said.
Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the ruling junta, the State Law
and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), was speaking Thursday to
1,500 school teachers attending a training course north of
Rangoon, the New Light of Myanmar reported.
The comments follow a sharp depreciation in the value of the
Burmese currency, the kyat, amid concerns that the country 's
foreign reserves have dwindled rapidly over the past year
There has been widespread speculation here of a change in Burma's
monetary system as the military state enters ASEAN and that
dollar foreign exchange certificates would be withdrawn from circulation.
Khin Nyunt exhorted the teachers to instill good discipline among
students and warned that "traitors" backed by "western powers"
were still striving to undermine the government.
"They make these attempts knowing these would have adverse
effects on the people they would do whatever that would lead them
to power or whatever that would topple the SLORC government," he
said.
High schools and universities in Burma remain closed after
student unrest late last year and teachers have been sent on
"refresher courses?' by the military state.
------------------------------------------------------
NATION: CURRENCY SCARE IN BURMA
July 26, 1997 AP
MANY shopkeepers in the Burmese capital of Rangoon closed their
doors yesterday afternoon as rumours swept the city that the
government had demonetised some banknotes.
The rumour falsely claimed that the government's 1 p.m. newscast
had announced that 500-kyat bills with serial numbers beginning
with the letters AL and AM would be demonetised, said Rangoon
residents contacted by telephone.
The report apparently gained credence because of earlier rumours
that there were significant numbers of counterfeit 500-kyat and
200-kyat notes in circulation.
People also find such rumours credible because in the past the
government has undertaken sudden demonetisations. Such a move in
1987 caused political turmoil that ended the 25-year rule of Gen.
Ne Win and ushered in almost a year of instability that ended
with a September 1988 takeover by the military.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR : KYAT 500 BANKNOTES WILL NOT BE
WITHDRAWN
July 26, 1997
YANGON, 25 July Rumours that Radio Myanmar had announced the
withdrawal of Kyat 500 banknotes bearing certain serial numbers are
not true. It is learnt from the Central Bank of Myanmar that it has no
intention at all of withdrawing Kyat 500 banknotes and that they can
be used confidently.
*******************************************************
THE RISING NEPAL: "BURMESE REFUGEES STAGE SIT-IN"
July 26 1997
Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, July 25(AFP)- Burmese Moslem refugees Friday
started a sit-in in one Bangladesh camp, while they continued to refuse
food in another in a bit to prevent authorities sending them back home.
Aid agency sources told AFP there had been no violence so far over the
repatriation, but security forces were on alert in both the camps. A
demonstration started at Kutupalong camp, while in Noapara refugees have
continued to refuse rations," one source said.
Government and refugee officials tried to reassure protesters through
microphone addresses, but to little avail.
"We are in a panic as the refugees are armed with sticks, arrows and knives,"
said Nopara camp official Abul Hashim.
UN refugee organisation officials are scheduled to discuss the situation
with the Dhaka government on Sunday.
About 400 refugees were repatriated on Sunday and Wednesday, amid growing
protests from human rights groups and UN officials which say the refugees
are being forced to return against their will.
Security forces guarding the camps have been asked to exercise maximum
restraint, but growing tensions in the two border camps led to another
repatriation attempt being postponed for the second time on Thursday.
Many of those due to be repatriated have fled into the dense forests
surrounding the camps.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) in Geneva has
accused Bangladesh of forcibly repatriating the refugees, a charge
denied by the government.
On Thursday the US committee for Refugees blasted Dhaka for forcibly
repatriating Burmese victims of rights abuse.
"Bangladesh's actions are shameful and dangerous, ?USCR director Roger
Winter said in a statement received in Bangkok.
" They are not only putting thousands of Burmese refugees at immediate
risk, they are endangering refugees worldwide by further undermining the
principle of asylum," he said.
The foreign ministry said in a statement Friday that Bangladesh was not
engaged in a "programme of forcible repatriation" and officials in charge
of repatriation were dealing with the matter in a "humane manner."
"The refugees are predominantly economic migrants and any generous
subsidies and campaigns about local settlement will works as a
disincentive for refugees to return," the statement carried by official
BSS news agency said.
It added the repatriation would be completed within the time agreed with
the UNHCR.
Bangladesh officials say Burma has given an August 15 deadline to return
the refugees.
Bangladesh repatriation officials have blamed some of the refugee
leaders for organising resistance, and charged they were being backed by
local UNHCR representatives.
More than 250,000 ethnic Rohingyas from the neighbouring Burmese state of
Arakan fled to Bangladesh in 1991 alleging persecution by the military
government. the military junta in Rangoon has denied the charge.
--------------------------------
EXCERPT FROM BKK POST: REFUGEE EXPULSIONS HALTED
July 25, 1997
UNHCR leery after promise of sanctuary
Geneva. AFP
Bangladesh camp authorities announced on Wednesday there would be no
further forcible expulsions of Burmese Muslims following a warning by the
UN refugee agency that it may halt its activities if the exercises continued.
"We welcome their announcement, but we'll wait and see what happens
tomorrow," UNHCR spokeswoman Pamela O'Toole said, adding that the
decision had yet to be confirmed by senior government officials.
*******************************************************
REUTER: ASEAN FORESEES PROBLEMS WITH EU OVER BURMA
25 July 1997
By Ian MacKenzie
KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Reuter) - ASEAN Secretary-General Ajit Singh
said on Friday some problems had to be worked out with the European Union
and the United States after Burma's admission to the nine-nation group.
``There are some technicalities we need to look at,'' Singh told a news
conference, referring specifically to a cooperation agreement between the EU
and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
``The European Union has made it known it would not be ready yet to see
Myanmar (Burma) accede to that... It is an issue we will need to address in the
near future,'' he said.
Asked if there were any other countries in a similar situation, Singh
specifically mentioned the United States and Canada.
``I think the U.S. and Canada also have some problem about Myanmar, and
that, too, we will have to start discussing with them,'' he said.
He said the problem with the United States included the issuing of visas
for visiting Burmese officials. He did not specify Canada's problem.
Western nations have criticised Burma's admission because of its record
on human rights and democracy.
ASEAN and 11 other Western and Asian nations -- including European states
represented as a group by the European Union -- meet on Sunday under the
umbrella of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) security grouping.
This will be followed on Monday by meetings between ASEAN members and
their seven so-called dialogue partners, who are also members of the ARF.
ASEAN includes Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the
Philippines, Vietnam, Burma and Laos.
The British High Commissioner to Malaysia, David Moss, did not attend a
flag-raising ceremony marking the induction of Burma and Laos on Tuesday,
although a British diplomat did attend, as did the U.S. ambassador in Kuala
Lumpur.
Asked about the British boycott, Singh said: ``If the British ambassador
chose to stay away from the reception, that if his prerogative, but I don't
think
that will affect EU-ASEAN relations.''
The EU and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, whose country had
imposed economic sanctions on Burma, are expected to press other ASEAN
states to use their influence on the military
**********************************************************
FEER: QUESTION TIME
July 31, 1997
By Shada Islam in Luxembourg
EU wants same treatment for Burma, Cambodia
Jacques Poos isn't looking for a fight, but a fight might find him anyway.
Luxembourg's foreign minister is leading the European Union's ministerial
team to the ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur. While there, he says, he won't
let chronic EU-ASEAN tensions over human rights sour the two regions'
expanding relationship. But with Burma in its fold, the Southeast Asian
grouping can expect some awkward questions from its European visitors.
The EU team will want to know why ASEAN is opening its doors to Burma's
military rulers when Cambodia has been deemed unfit to join the group. "We
see a parallel between Cambodia and Burma," says Poos. He says that while
the EU fully understands ASEAN?s decision to delay Cambodia's membership of
the group, "in our view the same applies to Burma."
Poos says the EU would have liked ASEAN to suspend membership for Burma as
long as the military junta in Rangoon does not accept the normal functioning
of democracy. "It will be up to ASEAN," he says, "to explain why it has
applied a double standard to Cambodia and Burma."
For all their criticism of ASEAN?s Burma policy, however, most EU
governments are being careful not to let the issue disrupt their growing
ties with the region. There's a general feeling among the 15 EU states that
good relations with ASEAN should not be damaged by Rangoon's admission into
the group, Poos stresses. But there's no doubt that the move will create
practical difficulties in relations.
Some problems can be overcome by skillful diplomatic maneuvering. EU
governments may have banned all high-level meetings with members of Burma's
ruling junta, but Poos says the edict doesn't prevent him from meeting
Burmese representatives once they are accepted as full members of ASEAN. "I
cannot meet them bilaterally," he explains. "And in Kuala Lumpur I will
not seek to meet the Burmese foreign minister. But I will not leave the
room when he is present."
******************************************************
THE AGE (AUSTRALIA): AUSTRALIA TO TAKE A STAND ON BURMA
July 26, 1997 (abridged)
By Lindsay Murdoch, international affairs correspondent, Canberra
The Foreign Minister, Mr. Alexander Downer, plans to take his toughest
stand yet against Burma's military dictators in a meeting with a senior
official
of the junta in Kuala Lumpur today.
Officials in Canberra said Mr. Downer will tell Burma's Foreign Minister,
Mr. Ohn Gyaw, that the country's admission this week into the regional group,
the Association of South-East Asian Nations, carries with it a
responsibility to
improve its record on human rights and personal freedoms.
Mr. Downer will insist at today's meeting that Burma's junta, which is
officially called the State Law and Order Restoration Council, include
representatives of the National League for Democracy run by the
pro-democracy leader Ms Aung San Suu Kyi in a commission set up to
prepare a new constitution.
Mr. Downer's approach has been to be diplomatic and guarded about
raising human rights and other contentious issues with Asian countries.
But an official said yesterday Mr. Downer planned to send "a very clear
message to Burma that its behavior on human rights is unacceptable" and
would tell Mr. Ohn Gyaw that Ms. Suu Kyi, whose party won 1991 elections
but was not allowed to take office, "must play a central role in discussions
about how the constitutional process develops".
Mr. Downer insisted on seeing Mr. Ohn Gyaw ahead of a dinner tonight of
representatives of 21 countries attending the ASEAN Regional Forum which
was set up three years ago as the central plank of Asia's security architecture.
**********************************************************
BKK POST: NEW POLICY ON RANGOON: 'HANDS-OFF'
July 25, 1997
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations would not interfere in Burma
following its admission into the grouping, Foreign Minister Prachuab
Chaiyasarn said yesterday.
He told Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw that the grouping would smoothly
integrate with Burma as the next step after using its constructive
engagement approach with the regime in Rangoon.
Mr. Ohn Gyaw raised the question during a 30-minute talk with Mr. Prachuab
last night.
Mr. Prachuab proposed a meeting of a Joint Commission pending on the outcome
of the Joint Boundary Committee, which oversees the demarcation and border
problems of their 2,400-kilometre frontier.
The JBC will hold talks on August 18 and 19 in Rangoon.
Mr. Prachuab said he had asked Burma to decide on who would preside over the
ceremony of the Thai-Burmese Friendship bridge before setting the date of
opening.
******************************************************
COMMENTS ON WHY BURMA, NOT CAMBODIA IN ASEAN
FROM: THE NATION: MINISTERS VOICE UNITED SUPPORT FOR
'ASEAN WAY' (July 25, 1997)
In their opening speeches at the 30th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, the
ministers stressed that the principles of non interference and consensus
building should continue to be the guiding principles and urged new members
Laos and Burma to adhere to them.
However its initial decision that Laos, Burma and Cambodia should join at
the same time and later decision to delay Cambodia's entry has been viewed
by many critics as a setback to both principles.
Badawi said the first decision was by consensus, because all members were
committed to the founding fathers' principles of a 10-member ASEAN. The
second decision was more difficult, with due consideration given to ASEAN?s
non-interference principle. Singaporean Foreign Minister S Jayagumar said
the decision to defer Cambodia's membership was consistent with ASEAN?s past
practices of condemning the use of force to change an established
government, or an internationally recognised political order.
He referred to the 1986 coup in the Philippines that toppled the Marcos
regime, when ASEAN expressed concern over the events. "ASEAN?s reputation
would be tarnished if it did not register its dismay and displeasure at
certain conduct unacceptable to the international community," he said.
Jayagumar outlined the five principles responsible for ASEAN?s success,
which should be emulated for continued success over the next 30 years -
equal sovereignty, non-interference, condemnation of the use of force
against a legal government, open economics and making ASEAN the cornerstone
of each member's foreign policy.
-----------------------------------------------------
FROM THE JAKARTA POST (July 24, 1997)
Some ASEAN critics have accused the organisation of applying
double standards in admitting Burma but deferring Cambodia's
membership. One could only say that pragmatism ruled in ASEAN?s
decision on Cambodia, but principle prevailed in its decision to
admit Burma. Attention and energy should now be expended in
helping Cambodia resolve the turmoil.
ASEAN not only has a strong stake in restoring peace in Cambodia,
it also has the necessary diplomatic expertise and knowledge in
helping to bring about a peaceful resolution.
------------------------------------------------------------
FROM THE BANGKOK POST: ASEAN AND ITS ABSENT FRIEND
(July 25, 1997)
The little problem to the east of Thailand did, however, obscure that other
little problem to the west of Thailand. Apart from bordering
Thailand, Burma and Cambodia are similar only in that they are
economically and democratically stunted. Where they differ
greatly is in ASEAN?s schizophrenic attitude to their internal affairs.
Burma, or rather the State Law and Order Restoration Council, is
welcome because its gross and persistent violations of human
rights and murderous crushing of nascent democracy are a purely
internal affair. Cambodia, or rather the Cambodian People's
Party, is not welcome because its gross and persistent violations
of human rights and its destruction of a system that had passed
for democracy are not an internal affair. And Thailand is in the
middle.
When it's all over in Kuala Lumpur, there will be more than the
usual post-party debris to sweep up. There will also be what is
left of the shabby policies of constructive engagement and
non-interference.
---------------------------------------------
FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: DEMOCRACY IN ASIA.
(July 25, 1997)
(A) dictatorship in one country is destabilizing to neighbors, and that
world and regional stability depend on the spread of openness and tolerance.
In Southeast Asia, Burma's policy of slave labor forces refugees into Thailand
and Bangladesh; the narco-thug connections of regimes in both Burma and
Cambodia spill over into other Asian nations; their instability and corruption
discourage investment throughout the region. No wonder Malaysia's deputy
premier, Anwar Ibrahim, recently called on ASEAN to consider a policy of
"constructive interventions."
Why ASEAN admitted Burma but not Cambodia is unclear; having done so, it
has an obligation to promote a dialogue between Burma's junta and its rightful
leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
The nine ASEAN nations range from Philippine democracy to Vietnam's
creaking Communist dictatorship. But all increasingly depend for their
prosperity
on investment and trade, open borders and open minds. The Philippines' foreign
secretary, Domingo Siazon, reflected this when he told the International Herald
Tribune that ASEAN must not neglect the "moral and human" dimension as it
expands -- the values of "tolerance, patience, openness and
consensus-building."
Those are the values now threatened by corrupt tyrants in Burma and Cambodia.
*****************************************************************
SLORC: THE VIEW FROM THE EMBASSY OF MYANMAR, OTTAWA
JULY 25, 1997
MYANMAR BECOMES FULL FLEDGED MEMBER OF ASEAN
The expansion of ASEAN to embrace nine out of ten countries in South
East Asia is indeed a landmark achievement in the history of this
region. It is fervently hoped that the last remaining country will
also be able to join the family in a not-too-distant future. An
ASEAN that ultimately includes all ten South East Asian countries will
finally celebrate a victory over the divisive legacies of different
colonial masters that ruled the region in its pre-independent days.
Some might even attribute the present inability of Cambodia to join the
family to the faltering three-billion dollar "experiment" that the extra
regional powers, through the UN, tried to impose on the country that
seemed premature and unnatural at best (e.g. a government structure
that installed two prime ministers). It simply reinforces the view
that political problems of a country cannot be settled by solutions
formulated by far-away powers and a South East Asian country should
never again become another guinea-pig in the series of political
experiments sponsored by major powers. ASEAN's principle criteria for
new membership, such as internal unity and stability have, for example,
been laid down as result of their leader's wisdom and experience
acquired in the course of their own transition to the present day
political and economic situations. For countries in political
evolution to play it safe by taking the road that has been
well-traversed before will simply be the most prudent thing to do.
It is in this light that the government of the Union of Myanmar
has in the past five years concentrated on restoration of peace with its own
nationalities who were involved with one form of insurgency or another
since the country's independence almost fifty years ago and seems to
have achieved this objective with over ninety-percent of them. It is
gratifying to witness that even most of the frontier areas have been
stabilised and are undergoing rapid socio-economic development.
Recent statements made by the former insurgent armies of
Myanmar (P-) strongly suggest that they too are determined to resist
external interferences in their nation's internal affairs and to uphold the
age-old dictum that "the strength of a country lies within" itself. It
has been proven time and again in South East Asia that it is only after
achieving peace, unity and stability that a country can benefit from the
assistance others have been trying to provide, however well-meaning they
might be.
It is unfortunate that some of these "well-meaning" assistance
have not been in the area of peace and development in formerly warring
territories but to support political dissidents within and without.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars seem to be wasted each year on
dissident movements and projects that are for all practical purposes
doomed to failure. To make matters worse some of these resources have
been abused and diverted by extremists towards terrorist activities to
stifle the development of peace and stability that are so essential to
an evolution towards a democratic society. A currently unfolding
story of the immediate post-war period, broadcast on British TV has been
chronicling an intriguing conspiracy between the past colonial power and
the Karen National Union (the last remaining armed belligerent group)
partly explains why this insurgency has been so stubbornly resistant to
the government's peace overtures and are still unable to overcome the
seeds of hatred sown among the nationalities.
Most of the present day ASEAN countries have themselves been subjects of
such devious political plots at one time, and thus it is little
wonder that ASEAN understands the problem of South East Asian countries
better than anyone else.
There will, of course, be some problems -- but in the spirit of "Amity
and Cooperation" on which ASEAN has been founded -- none will be
insurmountable.
There has already been a lot of noises and criticisms against ASEAN's
latest move -- but with unity, hard work and diligence, it will not be
long before the prophets of doom are proven wrong.
Meanwhile, the newly expanded ASEAN-9 deserves nothing less than our
"Heartiest Congratulations!"
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REUTER: GEN. SAW MAUNG DEAD AT 65
June 24, 1997
RANGOON, Burma (Reuter) - Gen. Saw Maung, who chaired Burma's ruling State
Law and Order Restoration Council when it was set up in 1988, died of a heart
attack Thursday at his residence, a government statement said. He was 69.
Saw Maung led the military to power by crushing a mass democracy uprising in
September 1988.
The military killed thousands of people that year and the junta run by Saw
Maung arrested thousands of opponents to the regime, including Nobel Peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Saw Maung had behaved erratically in public following the 1991 awarding of
the Nobel Peace Prize to Suu Kyi and the international condemnation that
followed.
He was also thought to have a drinking problem, to be suffering from diabetes
and a heart condition.
Saw Maung was army chief of staff and defense minister before leading the
coup and becoming chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, or
SLORC, on Sept. 18, 1988.
Shortly after seizing power, Saw Maung vowed to hold multi-party elections,
but also said the army's first priority was to ``restore law and order and
peace and tranquillity.''
The elections were held in 1990 but never recognized after Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy party won them by a landslide.
Saw Maung was a protege of former strongman Ne Win and was thought to have
led the 1988 coup under his orders.
Ne Win, who is still alive, was the much-feared architect of authoritarian
rule who led Burma for more than a quarter century under the ill-fated
Burmese Way to Socialism doctrine.
Saw Maung gave up his defense portfolio in March 1992 and stepped down as
SLORC chairman on April 23, 1992 because of ill health. He was replaced by
his former assistant and the current prime minister, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
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