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The Headline News of Burma, 11/17/9



 Country watchlist in Burma (Myanmar), Nov. 17, 1997 By The Rangoon   Post
Working Group in U.S.A
 
 
· Floods. Sometimes Myanmar's troubles are still ahead. Recent floods have
put pressure on food prices, with inflation now  running at about 40% a year.
Food shortages will heighten social tensions  in this tightly controlled
state. 

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Exile Burmese Democrats Hope
                              Agence France Presse 
 
                          November  16, 1997 11:30 GMT 
 

 

HEADLINE: Exiled Burmese democrats hope for change under reshuffled regime 
 
DATELINE: (ADDS government-in-exile reax) 
 
RANGOON, Nov 16 (AFP) - New blood has been drafted into  Burma's  renamed
ruling junta in a move greeted on Sunday by exiled MPs as a chance for the
generals to make amends for years of repression. 
 
   The military leadership on Saturday unveiled a new-look regime called the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), promoting younger generals and
sidelining many of the old-guard with a reputation for corruption. 
 
   The dismantling Saturday of the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), as the junta was formerly known, gave the generals a chance to
become "national heroes" by introducing democracy, the Burmese
government-in-exile said. 
    But analysts here said the move appeared geared at boosting the regime's
tarnished image and consolidating the power base of the leading generals.  
   The top four figures of the SLORC remain at the helm of the new junta.
Other senior generals with a reputation for graft have been demoted into
advisory positions. 
    A source from the main opposition party led by Nobel Peace Prize winner
Aung San Suu Kyi, whose landslide election victory in 1990 was ignored by the
SLORC, said the changes showed the junta appeared set on ensuring the
military's dominance in politics. 
    "From the way the SPDC was announced, with a statement saying it was
heading towards democracy, it's clear they mean democracy guided by the
military, not general democracy," the source said in Rangoon. 
    The SLORC, which assumed power in 1988 when the military killed and
arrested thousands in a clampdown on pro-democracy protestors, has pariah
status in the eyes of western nations for its human rights record. 
    But in an official statement Saturday, the junta's chairman Senior
General Than Shwe said the SLORC was dissolved and the new SPDC formed "to
ensure the emergence of an orderly and democratic system." 
    The exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of  Burma  (NCGUB),
formed by MPs elected in the 1990 elections, said the generals should prove
that the change in the regime was "not in name only" and initiate dialogue
with Aung  San Suu Kyi and ethnic minorities, then institute democracy. 
    "The generals had a chance of becoming national heroes in 1988 when the
people were looking to the military to take the lead toward delivering them
the promised democracy. The opportunity is here again," the NCGUB said in a 
statement received in Bangkok. 
    The formation of the SPDC comes as the Burmese leadership engineers a
major shake-up in the senior ranks of the military. 
    New faces have been appointed to nine of the 12 regional military
commands, while older generals have been shunted out and new air force and
navy chiefs installed. 
    A new 14-member advisory group to the junta has been formed, including
generals ousted from the SLORC and the cabinet, in what observers in Rangoon
saw as a demotion for figures with a reputation for corruption.  
   A Burmese observer said local and foreign businesses would greet the
shake-up as a way to put a lid on corruption and help end delays in
decision-making due  to personal interests and graft in senior levels of
government. 
     The move would also reinforce the power base of the top generals,
including Than Shwe, army chief Maung Aye, military intelligence chief Khin
Nyunt and army chief of staff Tin Oo. 
    By drafting in new recruits to the junta not loyal to figures such as the
 former Burmese strongman Ne Win, the top echelon would be able to exert more
authority and influence. 
    "It is obviously an attempt to kill two birds with one stone ...
polishing up their tarnished image and streamlining the system somewhat," one
analyst said. 
   Ne Win ruled during 26 years of harsh socialist rule up to 1988, and is
still believed by some to pull strings behind the scenes in Rangoon despite
standing  down following the inception of the SLORC. 
    Analysts said another important change apparent from the founding of the
SPDC is a new clear distinction drawn between the civilian administration, or
 cabinet, and the junta itself. 
    The 40-member cabinet is still mainly constituted by men of military
rank, but they have been divested of their positions in the military. 
    This could signal what the junta sees as the next step in the evolution
of  the state, in which former military officers are incorporated into
government in a drive to 'civilianise' military rule. 
    New blood has been drafted into  Burma's  renamed ruling junta, in a
shake-up of the military top flight to consolidate the power of the top
generals, analysts said Sunday. 
     A brace of new military commanders have been appointed and installed in
the 19-member State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which was unveiled
unexpectedly on Saturday. 
    The top four figures of the former State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC) remain at the helm, but other senior generals with a
reputation for corruption have been demoted into advisory positions. 
    Analysts here said the move appeared partly geared at boosting the
regime's tarnished image, but was also a ploy to streamline the chain of
command by installing younger generals with undivided loyalties. 
    A source from the democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi, whose
election victory in 1990 was ignored by the SLORC, said it showed the junta
appeared set on ensuring the military's dominance in political affairs. 
    "From the way the SPDC was announced, with a statement saying it was
heading towards democracy, it's clear they mean democracy guided by the
military, not general democracy," the source said. 
    The SLORC, which assumed power in 1988 when the military killed thousands
and arrested thousands more in a clampdown on pro-democracy protestors, has
pariah  status in the eyes of western nations, for its human rights record. 
    But in an official statement Saturday, Senior General Than Shwe, the
chairman of the junta, said the SLORC was dissolved and the new SPDC formed
"to ensure the emergence of an orderly and democratic system." 
    The formation of the SPDC comes as the leadership has engineered a major
shake-up in the senior ranks of the military. 
    New faces have been appointed to nine of the 12 regional military
commands, while older generals have been shunted out. 
    The air force and navy chiefs have been replaced and given positions in
the civilian-side of the administration, as ministers of transport and labour
respectively. 
    A new 14-member advisory group to the junta has been formed, including
generals ousted from the SLORC and the cabinet, in what observers in Rangoon
saw as a demotion for figures with a reputation for graft. 
    Local and foreign businessmen would greet the shake-up as a way to put a
lid  on corruption and help end delays in decision-making due to personal
interests  and graft in senior levels of government, a Burmese observer said.

    The move would also reinforce the power base of the top generals,
including  the junta's chairman Than Shwe, army chief Maung Aye, military
intelligence chief Khin Nyunt and army chief of staff Tin Oo. 
    By drafting in new recruits to the junta without loyalty to figures such
as  the former Burmese strongman Ne Win, the top echelon would be able to
exert more authority and influence. 
    "It is obviously an attempt to kill two birds with one stone ...
polishing up their tarnished image and streamlining the system somewhat," one
analyst said. 
    Ne Win ruled during 26 years of harsh socialist rule up to 1988, and is
still believed by some to pull strings behind the scenes in Rangoon despite
standing  down following the inception of the SLORC. 
    Analysts said another important change apparent from the inception of the
SPDC is a new clear distinction drawn between the civilian administration, or
 cabinet, and the junta itself. 
 
    The 40-member cabinet is still mainly constituted of men of military
rank,  but they have been divested of their positions in the military. 
    This could signal what the junta sees as the next step in the evolution
of  the state, in which former military officers are incorporated into
government in a drive to 'civilianise' military rule. 
    Critics of the junta were unimpressed. The dissident All  Burma
 Democratic  Students Front said it was a move to resolve internal rivalries
in the military.
    "All the change has done is to clear out some of the corrupt old guard
and  pave the way for the military's younger generation to share in the
spoils of  office," a statement issued in Thailand said. 
 
    Burma's  democratic government-in-exile on Sunday welcomed the
dissolution  of Rangoon's former ruling junta and declared that
newly-appointed generals had  a chance to become "national heroes." 
    The National Coalition Government of the Union of  Burma  (NCGUB) urged
the generals in the new regime to redeem themselves by delivering democracy
to the Burmese people. 
    "The generals must prove that the change is not in name only and show
genuine interest in resolving the nation's ills," a statement received here
said. 
    The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), formed in 1988
during a bloody nationwide crackdown against pro-democracy protestors, was
replaced Saturday with a new junta, the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), led by top SLORC figures but including new generals. 
    The abolishment of the SLORC, "an entity synonymous with mass murder,
brutality and repression," was long overdue. "It should never have been there
in the first place," the NCGUB said.  
   The statement urged the new regime to stand by its objectives to bring
"peaceful development" and "disciplined democracy," while saying that this
should not mean democracy "guided" by the military. 
    "The generals had a chance of becoming national heroes in 1988 when the
people were looking to the military to take the lead toward delivering them
the promised democracy. The opportunity is here again," the NCGUB said. 
   The NCGUB was formed by pro-democracy MPs elected in the last general
 elections held in  Burma  who have fled the military state to Thailand and
other countries, amid repression against opponents of the junta. 
    The exiles called for the SPDC to initiate a dialogue without
preconditions  with the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD),
led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. 
    A resolution to  Burma's  problems would only be possible if the NLD and
the  country's ethnic minorities were "taken into account" and if the junta
was  sincere in its intention to build a democratic nation, the statement
said. 
    The NLD swept the last elections held in  Burma  in 1990, but the
military  junta never recognised the result. 
    The government-in-exile claimed the institution of the 19-member SPDC,
made up of four senior SLORC figures and a new crop of generals, had come
after several months of investigation into the corrupt practices of SLORC
members. 
    The move "only confirms what we have known all along -- that the generals
are divided and only their survival instinct is holding them together," the
statement said. 
   The formation of the new junta comes as  Burma's  top military leaders
sideline older generals in favour of a younger guard freshly appointed to the
country's key military commands.