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Burma News Update, No. 86
The Burma Project
Open Society Institute
Burma News Update No. 86
16 June 1999
Suu Kyi Presses for Dialogue
In an interview in Rangoon, Burmese democracy leader Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi said the National League for Democracy (NLD) would open
lower-level dialogue with the country's military regime without her presence
as a first step toward resolving the country's political deadlock. The army
junta has repeatedly claimed that the question of Aung San Suu Kyi's
participation was blocking negotiations. The regime reacted coolly to Daw
Suu Kyi's statement. Foreign minister Win Aung immediately said that
he doubted Daw Suu Kyi's sincerity in offering to open talks. [The full
text of
the interview with Aung San Suu Kyi is available at
http://www.pathfinder.com/asiaweek/99/0611/nat4.html
Rangoon, "Asiaweek," 11 June; Tokyo, "Agence France Presse," 04 June
Tokyo Talks: No Progress
Talks on reform in Burma between Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko
Komura and Burma's Foreign Minister Win Aung produced no progress,
Japanese Foreign Ministry officials reported. Komura urged the junta to offer
"concrete" proof of its claims of progress in protecting human rights and
returning
to democracy.
Tokyo, Kyodo News Service, 03 June
Death Squads in Action
In a special report, the Karen Human Rights Group alleges that the Burmese
army has deployed new units operating as "execution squads" during its latest
dry season offensive against ethnic Karen guerrillas in eastern Burma. The
"Sa
Thon Lon Guerrilla Retaliation" units, operating under the command of
military
intelligence, have murdered numerous people believed to have contact with the
opposition Karen National Liberation Army. Eye-witness testimony describes
torture and arbitrary murder of civilians by the special units. The execution
squads are part of the broader junta effort to seize control of border
areas, which
has included other killings, detention, forced relocations, and use of
villagers as
military porters in combat zones. [Full reports may be viewed at
http://metalab.unc.edu/freeburma/humanrights/khrg/archive/latestreports
.html]
"Karen Human Rights Groups," 25 May
Prison "Suicide" Reported
Burma's army junta said a member of the National League for Democracy
(NLD) jailed at Insein Prison in Rangoon hanged himself after undergoing
treatment
for alcoholism. A regime statement said, "Usually, patients succumb to
disorderly
and dysfunctional patterns of behaviour and one of the most fatal outcomes is
suicide." Hla Khin, 43, was imprisoned on subversion charges.
Rangoon, Reuters, 03 June
Red Cross Prison Visit Controversy
Burma's army junta has described as "irresponsible and groundless" claims
by democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi that hundreds of political prisoners
were transferred from Rangoon's notorious Insein prison just before the
first visit
there on 06 May by delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC). In an interview in Rangoon with the Financial Times, Daw Suu Kyi
said that
jailed members of the National League for Democracy have been sent to remote
provincial prisons, cutting their contact with family members who supplied
food and
medicines. This is a "matter of life and death for our party members," Daw Suu
Kyi said.
Bangkok, "Agence France Presse," 07 June
Khin Nyunt in China
Chinese officials said they were satisfied that a five-day visit by Burma's
military intelligence chief and senior junta member General Khin Nyunt and
other senior regime representatives would lead to closer ties between China
and Burma and enhance regional stability. A top Chinese official said that
Burma "has the right to choose the social system and development path of
its own suited to its national conditions." General Khin Nyunt stated that
Burma
is "delighted with the remarkable achievements scored by the brotherly
Chinese
people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China."
Beijing, "Xinhua News Agency," 07 June
Ne Win at 90?
Retired Burmese dictator Ne Win is said to have turned 90 years old on
12 June, but his actual birthday and real age, like his state of health and
influence on Burma's political scene, are much debated. General Ne Win,
who seized power in an army coup in 1962, retired from government positions
in 1981, but remained head of the army-controlled ruling party until 1988.
Some observes claim Ne Win still wields considerable influence as a
"super-referee"
among junta factions, and that his death "may set in motion forces that you
can no longer control."
Bangkok, "Agence France-Presse," 12 June
BURMA NEWS UPDATE is a publication of the Burma Project
of the Open Society Institute.
400 West 59th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019 tel: (212) 548-0632
Website: http:www.soros.org/burma.html