Speculation mounts as Ne Win reache

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Date:	24 Sep 1997 

The Nation 
Speculation mounts as Ne Win reaches Jakarta 
Suharto may have role to play in Burma dialogue 
The Nation, Agencies 
JAKARTA ­ Burma's former leader Ne Win arrived in Jakarta yesterday amid 
speculation that Indonesian President Suharto is to ask the Burmese patriarch 
to influence Rangoon's military junta to open dialogue with opposition leader 
Aung San Suu Kyi. 
A state protocol official told The Nation yesterday that Ne Win had arrived in 
Jakarta on a private plane with his daughter Dr Daw Khin Win, his son-in-law U 
Aye Zaw Win, his grandchild Maung Kyaw Ne Win and several aides. 
Ne Win was welcomed by Indonesian Chief of State Protocol Dadang Sukandar. An 
aide to Suharto explained on Monday that Ne Win was coming to Jakarta as the 
private guest of Suharto. 
"This is a private visit to the President and he is very willing to visit the 
grave of the former first lady, the late Ibu Tien Suharto, in Solo," said 
Cabinet Secretary Moerdiono, referring to Suharto's wife who died in April 
last year and was buried in her home town Solo around 600 kilometres east of 
Jakarta. 
Speculation started to circulate in Jakarta two months ago that Indonesian 
Ambassador to Burma, Poerwanto Lenggono, had handed over Suharto's invitation 
to Ne Win in a bid to discuss the issue of democratisation in Burma. 
Suharto, who supported Burma's admission into the Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations in July, suggested Ne Win have a holiday in Indonesia. 
Burma observer Bonar Tigor Naipospos doubted whether Ne Win still has 
influence over Burma's current politics. "It's just a reunion between 
friends," he said. 
Naipospos said Suharto is not really the peace broker type. "He's not a Nelson 
Mandela. His character doesn't go that way. Frankly speaking, I don't see what 
can be expected from Ne Win's visit," he said. 
Many Burmese believe Ne Win still exercises control over the present military 
government, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), which 
succeeded him in September 1988. 
Some analysts have written that there is little hope of breaking the political 
stalemate between Slorc and the democracy movement until Ne Win dies. His last 
public appearance was on Armed Forces Day in March 1989. 
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in the 1990 
election and captured about 60 per cent of the vote. But the Burmese generals, 
who have been ruling Burma since 1962 under Ne Win, refused to hand over 
power. 
Ne Win staged a coup d'etat against the democratically-elected government of 
Prime Minister U Nu in 1962. He ruled Burma for 26 years and drove the 
resource-rich country into poverty with an isolationist policy he called "the 
Burmese Way to Socialism". 
The 86-year-old former leader was scheduled to dine with Suharto in the 
Merdeka Presidential Palace yesterday evening. 
The Jakarta Post quoted an official as saying that the Indonesian government 
was very cautious about arranging the visit. 
Jakarta does not want to give Rangoon the wrong impression, he said, adding 
that Slorc chairman General Than Shwe fully supported the visit.