The Nation-Time to reward the Burme

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Subject: The Nation-Time to reward the Burmese junta?

April 13, 1999.
Editorial & Opinion

Time to reward the Burmese junta?

AFTER the callousness shown by the Burmese junta towards Aung San Suu Kyi
and her late husband, Moe Aye asks if it is logical to give any 'carrots' to
these rulers at all.

Not only in the Burmese way of life but in every way of life, any normal
person knows not to disturb someone mourning a family member. Yet according
to the National League for Democracy's (NLD) statements and sources inside
Burma, the junta has been creating major annoyances for the lady, instead of
showing compassion and sharing her sadness.

Before her husband's death, after realising that the lady would not leave
the country, it did not allow her to say goodbye to her husband, even over
the telephone. After his death, the generals sent a condolence letter to the
lady, and seem to believe this will compensate for their wrongdoing.

Military intelligence officers are now trying to disturb the lady in many
ways. U Tin Oo, vice chairman of the NLD, said, ''Condolence books have been
opened at her lakeside residence at University Avenue and at the NLD party
headquarters in the capital. But people who had come to sign the book are
being photographed and asked to identify themselves.''

In reality, not only Aung San Suu Kyi but also many activists are treated in
such a way. One of many examples is the treatment of Kyaw Gyi (Democratic
Party of New Society -- DPNS). In 1991 he was sentenced to 15 years
imprisonment for peacefully demonstrating, and he is still in prison. In
1997 his dying mother requested the authorities to allow her to meet with
her son in prison, but her final desire was not fulfilled. Mother and son
were both in Rangoon. Does such a government deserve a 'carrot' or a
'stick'?

Forty diplomats from various interested countries, including five
Rangoon-based ambassadors from Australia, Japan, the Philippines, the United
Kingdom and the United States, debated this last year. They took part in an
informal meeting at Chilston Park in the southeastern town of Kent in
England to try to break the political deadlock in Burma. After agreeing that
it was time to give some carrots to the junta to open a dialogue with the
NLD, their offer of a package from the UN and the World Bank worth US$1

billion was made public.

Many analysts wrote opinions about the 'carrot or stick' policy towards the
Burmese military regime. Many voices regarding humanitarian aid and
technical assistance to Burma burst forth around the world. Some government
and international organisations, especially from Japan and including
Interpol, actively claimed that Burma deserved assistance of all kinds. The
UN general secretary also stated that he hoped that the ''carrot from
Chilston'' would help resolve the political deadlock in Burma.

But the junta's foreign minister declared at an Asean conference in Hanoi
that, ''we welcome any assistance from anywhere that is offered with
goodwill and sincerity. And we will consider it when it comes. But for us,
giving a banana to the monkey and then asking it to dance is not the way. We
are not monkeys.'' After this the debate about the carrot from Chilston
slowly died away.

At the same time, debate about Burma's participation in the EU-Asean meeting
planned for Berlin became deadlocked. This was followed, however, by the
emergence around the world of Dr Aris' tragic story. Before his sorrowful
death, the world thought it was a great chance for the junta to open
dialogue with the NLD, especially Aung San Suu Kyi. But as usual, the junta,
always thinking of the lady's deportation from Burma, refused to fulfil the
dying man's wish. Burma's history had to record another tragedy in its books
on March 27, Burma's anti-fasict revolution day, when the British professor
died. The hope that the situation might offer a chance for the commencement
of dialogue between the NLD and the junta also dispersed.

Philippines President Joseph Estrada hammered home that point after hearing
of Dr Aris' death. He said that by not allowing Dr Aris to visit Suu Kyi,
Burma had lost a chance to build confidence. Before Dr Aris' death, Estrada
had said that the Philippines had been quietly making representations with
Rangoon for the issue of a visa to Dr Aris as a compassionate and
humanitarian gesture. His words intimate that the junta lacked compassion
and humanity in its denial of the dying man's wish. However another chance,
perhaps the last chance, is available to the junta. Although it didn't
display humanitarian spirit in the past, it could now inquire of the lady
how it can assist in her religious ceremonies for her husband, and how it
can help in providing visas for her sons to reunite the rest of the family.
Even though it is reluctant to open political dialogue with the lady, it can
open amsocial dialogue -- if it wants to.

''We hoped that the junta would for once show goodwill to the lady, the
daughter of the founder of the military, on this year's 'Armed Forces Day'
[March 27], by allowing Dr Aris to meet his wife. Instead, Dr Aris died on
this historical day without seeing his wife. This is another black spot on
the junta's history of more than ten years of oppression,'' said a retired
Rangoon University professor who declined to be named. ''I really don't
understand why they didn't allow Dr Aris to meet his wife. This is not
behaviour that human beings should adopt. The junta seemed to want 'give and

take' from the outside world, especially to have a seat in the Berlin
meeting. In reality, it is the junta that played Dr Aris' case as a
political tool.''

His view highlights the junta's real inner attitude. The junta claimed,
regarding the $1 billion package, that it was not a monkey. If so, the
question of what it actually is must be answered. In the eyes of some, Burma
is nothing more than an investment opportunity. Sorrowfully, Singapore
Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, just before his three-day visit to
Burma, stated that Asean's constructive engagement policy towards Burma was
a long-term process dictated primarily by domestic interests and less by
external factors. He also claimed that if more trade links and investments
were established, the junta's perspective would probably shift. The junta
may see that things should evolve to secure a more sustainable long-term
position.

''We don't understand the Singaporean government's policy towards our
country. But we do understand that Singapore will take any advantages and
profits that it can from our land by cultivating a cordial relationship with
the junta. I am surprised, however, that Singapore also accuses western
countries of using neo-colonialism. And they seem to think that the more
they invest, the more the junta will reduce its repression. I'm not sure
whether or not they know the junta's theory that the more it oppresses, the
more it will get assistance from outside,'' said Ye Taize, a prominent
student leader. His comments raise the question of which policy is
'neo-colonialist' -- supporting Burma's democracy movement or Asean's
constructive engagement policy. The junta's economic czar, General David
Able, has made it clear that the regime's commitment to reform in exchange
for aid is minimal at best. Gen Able, commenting on reports of the carrot
from Chilston, said in an interview, ''There is some substance to the report
but nothing concrete has yet been offered in financial terms. Even if it
had, it would need to be a lot bigger than one billion and come without any
political conditions. In reality, the country needs more than three billion.
We might not have the good things in life, but we are better off than we
were ten years ago and we can still continue''.

Most Burmese would not look upon the last decade as any improvement. Ten
years of denying human rights and democracy have served to make the junta
accomplished at denial. The vindictive denial of a visa for Michael Aris
means that what would otherwise have been a private tragedy has become a
symbol of countless acts of oppression. The world community must decide
whether any good can come from offering carrots at this time to such a
regime.

The Nation