TIME TO RESTRUCTURE POLITICAL STRAT

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: TIME TO RESTRUCTURE POLITICAL STRATEGIES

TIME TO RESTRUCTURE POLITICAL STRATEGIES 
****************************************************************
By Julien Moe
9th July 1999

It is time to wonder why the United States has sent no mission to Burma
like EU did this week. The EU mission went back from Burma with a  failure.
Congressman Tony Hall's visit  was the last mission for the United
States."The United States did support EU mission to Burma. The  United
States supported  the discussions by the special European mission which just
ended  in Burma for talks intended to encourage Burma to improve its dismal
human rights performance. The U.S. has long urged Burmese authorities to
begin a real substantive dialogue with the
National League for Democracy, including Aung San Sui Kyi, and leaders
of Burma's ethnic minority groups, leading to a peaceful democratic
transition. The United States  called  on Burma to improve its human rights
record by
stopping such practices as forced labor, extra-judicial and arbitrary
executions, rape, torture, mass arrests, forced labour, forced relocation
and denial of freedom of expression,and by permitting the parliament that
was democratically elected in
1990 to convene." The United States sees no  change in terms of democratic
reforms in Burma. 

Now we need to analyse what kind of government the military junta ruling
Burma is. From my professional point of view , this is the government that
has no faith in a representative democracy.  Such is the government that is
attached to status quo for "fear of losing power". Opposition leader Aung S
n Suu Kyi has expressed her opinion regarding why the generals hold on to
power by saying, "It''s fear of losing power that corrupts the generals.."
This is the regime that will never give in. Holes pierced through the walls
of the military headquarters on Signal pagoda road speak the words for the
ruling generals. They are still there and they are meant for guns to go in
to shoot whoever is going to oppose the government .  It is crystal clear
and unequivocal that the regime has no intention to have a dialogue with the
democratically elected opposition, NLD headed by Aung San Suu Kyi.

It is time for the opposition and the international community to find an
alternative strategy to defuse the gridlock in Burma. If negociations won't
work ,what will? It has already been more than a decade that the military
occupied Burma by force.


Source:US Dept. Of  State