Open Letter to Senior Gen. Than Shw

[mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx]

Open Letter to Senior Gen. Than Shwe

July 6, 1998

To
Senior Gen. Than Shwe
Chairman
State Peace and Development Council

Dear Senior Gen.,
	The present state of the country is quite disturbing. There  is a
likelihood of it to explode soon, into pieces. The situations of the
country, among the people and in the military establishment are in utter
chaos. 
	There is an impending danger of the country sliding into a serious
shortage of food  and general calamity, unparalleled in the history. We
have learned that there is not enough stock of food even for three months.
You know better than anyone else that the state of livelihood of the people
is many times worse than that of the time prior to the four 8 movement, the
state of internal dissension in the military establishment is about to get
out of control, the desertion of Burma army troops is on the increase, the
problem among the family members of the troops to make ends meet is
becoming more serious and,  soon, there will be no money for paying the
soldiers. 
	We all know that the health situation of U Ne Win is becoming worse. The
circumstances of family members of U Ne Win and those of you and the
leading members of the SPDC, depend upon the fate of U Ne Win.
	The country is edging towards total disaster. You and your colleagues will
be held responsible, if total disaster befalls the country. In order to
address the problems correctly  and, in time, we would like to earnestly
urge you to do the followings:

(1) To immediately hold dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, with a view to
moving towards the tri-partite dialogue;
(2) To comply with the demand of the NLD for convening the parliament
within 3 months;
(3) To release all political prisoners including Min Ko Naing and U Win Tin;
(4) To immediately cease the brutal war against the ethnic nationalities.

If  these things are ignored, we would like to seriously warn that the SPDC
shall be held responsible for all the consequences.

Solemnly and seriously,


(Saw Bo Mya)
Chairman
National Council of the Union Of Burma

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KNU Statement Concerning NLD 13-Point Decision

July 6, 1998

On May 27, 1998, the National League for Democracy (NLD) held a general
meeting and adopted a vital 13-point decision. 

1. The NLD is the party that won a land-slide victory in May 1990 general
election, receiving an overwhelming vote from the people.  Accordingly, the
NLD carries the duty to be accountable to the people and to realize their
wishes. The adoption of the 13-point decision and the demand to the SPDC to
comply with the decision are the right and inevitable steps for the NLD to
take.

2.	After winning the election in  May 1990, the convening of the parliament
and the formation of a new government were to be the NLD's first order of
business. However, because of restriction and suppression by force, the NLD
could not have convened even the parliament, up to this day, though a
period of 8 years has elapsed.  What is worse is the propaganda, by the
SPDC, with a view to terminate the term of parliament and nullify the
election result, even though the parliament has never been convened. Since
such acts of the SPDC are totally contradictory to its original promise,
they are totally illegitimate. The SPDC must respect the election result.

3.	The solemn and urgent demand made by the NLD to the SPDC to comply with
the 13-point decision, including the request to permit it to convene the
parliament, truly reflects the will of the people and the need of the
country. For that reason, we, the KNU, earnestly welcome and support the
correct stand and demand of the NLD.
*********-End-