NEWS-Philippines'Ramos Urges Gentle

[BurmaJapan@xxxxxxx]

Philippines'Ramos Urges Gentle Persuasion on Myanmar

               Reuters
               17-FEB-98

               MANILA, Feb 17 (Reuters) -
               Philippine President Fidel Ramos on
               Tuesday urged Filipinos to lead by
               example rather than resort to violent
               street protests to influence
               democratic change in Myanmar
               (Burma). 

               ``The objective to be attained here is
               precisely to get Myanmar to see the
               operation of an open, deregulated,
               free and democratic society like the
               Philippines,'' Ramos said at a news
               conference ahead of a three-day visit
               by Myanmar leader Than Shwe that
               has sparked protests. 

               ``There are many ways to attain this.
               But surely, it cannot be attained by
               violent street demonstrations, by
               loud, strident rallies, but much better
               through patient dialoguing and
               teaching.'' 

               Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling
               State Peace and Development
               Council, is in Manila at the invitation
               of Ramos, who in October became
               the first leader of the Association of
               South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
               to visit Yangon since it joined the
               regional grouping last July. 

               About two dozen protesters from the
               Free Burma Coalition-Philippines,
               spurred by an appeal from
               Myanmar's pro-democracy leader
               Aung San Suu Kyi, gathered on
               Tuesday outside the hotel where
               Than Shwe was staying. 

               Two protesters managed to get into
               the hotel, shouting ``murderer'' and
               ``dictator.'' The Free Burma group on
               Monday had vowed to ``hound'' Than
               Shwe during his visit. 

               In a videotape shown to reporters by
               the Free Burma group, Suu Kyi had
               said: ``I hope the people of the
               Philippines and the government will
               make it quite clear to General Than
               Shwe that the Philippines is the
               bastion of democracy. You should be
               proud of it.'' 

               Suu Kyi's message was taped by one
               of the group's members during a
               meeting with Asian journalists in
               Yangon on February 11, the group
               said. 

               Ramos said the Philippines, as the
               current chair of ASEAN, should help
               Myanmar boost its economic
               potential. 

               ``This is a sign that the ASEAN policy
               of constructive engagement is
               showing positive results,'' an Asian
               diplomat said. 

               But any change in Burma's political
               structure would involve a long and
               tedious process, he said. 

               ``They (Burma's rulers) have been
               iconoclastic for as long as people
               can remember. They are just coming
               out. There is still the inertia of the
               past decades,'' the diplomat said. 

               Myanmar's entry into ASEAN was
               widely slammed by Western
               countries because of concerns over
               the government's human rights
               record. The country has been under
               intense international pressure over
               human rights, especially from the
               United States, which imposed
               economic sanctions last April. 

               ASEAN also includes Brunei,
               Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia,
               Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.