Myanmar junta allows opposition to (r)

[enmasse_1@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Re:Myanmar junta allows opposition to meet
==========================================
I hope this news is true.

If so, it's indeed a very encouraging news to hear in almost eight years 
after the general elections were held in May 1990. It occurs to me that 
both the NLD and the SPDC have come to reach a compromising beginning. 
It is a wise thing to do at this point of time.    

Both sides have shown that they all have the heart to accomodate each 
other:
 
"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi declared that the NLD preferred to hold peaceful 
dialogue with the SPDC and ruled out revenge against the military 
regime." 

"SPDC on the otherhand retracted its earlier ban on the NLD's plan to 
celebrate the eighth anniversary of the 1990 election victory and had 
allowed NLD to conduct the ceremony as planned." 

That's the spirit NLD!!. Keep up the good work.
As it is an opportune time, NLD should waste no time and come up with an 
urgenda for the historic dialogue after this celebration is over.  

I have this to say to the SPDC. It's not the time to finger point each 
other if NLD is promising not to be revengeful towards the junta to 
start with. It's a good offer from the NLD for a meaningful dialogue 
with the SPDC.
 
It's a new beginning no doubt but it's not enough. More has to be done. 
A new kind of mutual trusts must be brought about between the NLD and 
the SPDC. A third-party mediation should be sought so that promises are 
kept and carried out. If they can realise these, we should be able to 
pave the way to a constructive dialouge between the SPDC and the NLD 
including the ethnic groups.

May we achieve peace and freedom in Burma soon.

Minn Kyaw Minn
==============

>From notes@xxxxxxx Tue May 26 10:12:41 1998
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>Date: 26 May 1998 08:57:57
>Reply-To: Conference "reg.burma" <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>From: hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Myanmar junta allows opposition to meet
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> FOCUS-Myanmar junta allows opposition to meet 
>10:34 a.m. May 26, 1998 Eastern 
>
>By Rajan Moses on Tuesday said in a surprise statement that it would 
allow
>the opposition National League for Democracy to hold a gathering from 
May
>27-28 to mark its unrecognised 1990 election victory. 
>
>The ruling military State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) said in 
a
>statement that permission for the gathering had been granted. It 
overrode a
>Sunday SPDC statement which urged the NLD not to hold the gathering to
>preserve peace. 
>
>``The authorities concerned approved their (NLD) request and informed 
the
>NLD to conduct the ceremony in accordance with existing rules and
>regulations,'' the government statement obtained by Reuters said. 
>
>If the gathering goes ahead, it will be the first time the military has
>allowed the opposition to mark the anniversary of the elections. 
>
>Earlier on Tuesday, the opposition had said that the NLD was going 
ahead
>with the plan to hold the gathering at the Yangon lakeside residence of 
NLD
>leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite government warnings on Sunday that 
they
>should refrain from holding the meeting. 
>
>``We have got confirmation from the NLD (in Yangon) this morning that
>despite the ongoing intimidation it will go ahead with its plans for 
the
>meeting,'' said Teddy Buri, an elected NLD parliamentarian now living 
in
>exile in Thailand. 
>
>The NLD's sweeping victory in the May 1990 polls was not recognised by 
the
>ruling military junta. 
>
>Suu Kyi -- who has spent much of her time under house arrest since the
>elections -- and her party have accused the military of curbing their
>political activities, abusing human rights and harassing NLD members. 
>
>On Monday, a government spokesman denied an NLD report that at least 16 
NLD
>delegates from outlying townships had been detained last week to 
prevent
>them from attending the meeting. 
>
>Last May, when the NLD tried to hold a similar gathering, the military
>detained hundreds of its members nationwide and thwarted the gathering. 
>
>Teddy Buri said the political crisis in Indonesia, which led to 
President
>Suharto's ouster, had encouraged pro-democracy activists in Myanmar, 
but
>Suu Kyi was seeking peaceful dialogue with the SPDC. 
>
>``The SPDC should take Indonesia as a good lesson and hold tripartite
>dialogue with Suu Kyi and various ethnic groups in the country to avert
>violence,'' he added. 
>
>``Suu Kyi and the NLD still believe in peaceful dialogue,'' he added. 
>
>Separately, Suu Kyi said in a statement released on Tuesday through the
>Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, a non-governmental organisation: 
``It
>is eight years since the elections have been ignored by the 
authorities,
>but we still stand by the promises that we made to our people.'' 
>
>She added that the NLD preferred to hold peaceful dialogue with the 
SPDC
>and ruled out revenge against the military regime. 
>
>``We want dialogue because we want to find a solution that is best for
>everybody, that is to say particularly for the people of Burma 
(Myanmar)
>and for the government,'' Suu Kyi added. 
>
>``We do not want revenge, we do not think there is anything 
particularly
>honourable or admirable in seeking revenge. We want to find a peaceful
>settlement'' she said. 
>
>``We think that to accept dialogue would be a display of strength by 
the
>government, to show that they have the strength and the courage to do 
what
>is best for the country,'' she said. 
>
>Suu Kyi has in the past sought dialogue with the military junta but the
>SPDC has refused to meet her as an NLD representative. 
>
>
>
>
>


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