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NCGUB Statement: TIME FOR THE GENER



NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA
815 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 910, Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 393-7342   (202) 393-4312,  Fax: (202) 393-7343


December 19, 1997

TIME FOR THE GENERALS TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT 'DIALOGUE'


Following a promise to the UN Secretary General  Kofi Annan by the chairman
of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) during the Southeast
Asian Summit in Kuala Lumpur, the SPDC initiated a meeting in Rangoon with
a delegation of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

NLD leader U Tin Oo has said the SPDC used the meeting, which excluded both
the NLD chairman and the general secretary, to "scold" the NLD instead of
holding serious talks expected by the people of Burma and the international
community.   The SPDC wanted the NLD to stop mass gatherings and from
making statements.

Evidently, the generals are still a long way off from change and
compromise. Even though the rapidly deteriorating socioeconomic and
political conditions in Burma demand an urgent change in Burma, the
generals have yet to view national interests constructively or show a
willingness to negotiate.

The SPDC still believes in restricting freedoms fundamental to all
civilized societies. It also fails to abide by the recent UNGA Resolution
that urged the SPDC "to pursue contacts with the League with a view to
engaging in a substantive political dialogue with the NLD General Secretary
Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders, including representatives of
the ethnic groups, as the best means of promoting national reconciliation
and the full and early restoration of democracy". 

We firmly believe that a meaningful dialogue toward genuine national
reconciliation cannot take place in Burma until the SPDC generals recognize
that the NLD is an entity legitimately entrusted by the people to lead the
nation.  If Burma is to be salvaged from the current socioeconomic and
political quagmire, the generals have only one option regardless of their
like or dislike; they will have to enter into a dialogue with the League. 

The sooner they come to terms with that fact the quicker will Burma be on
the road to recovery.


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