AFP: Myanmar dissidents praise Chin

[heiko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: AFP: Myanmar dissidents praise China's involvement in Timor

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Myanmar dissidents praise China's involvement in Timor

BANGKOK, Sept 22 (AFP) - A leading group of Myanmar dissidents Wednesday
praised China's decision to join the United Nations force in East Timor
as a remarkable shift in Beijing's foreign policy. 

"It was a positive development and we view it as a remarkable shift in
the foreign policy of the Peoples' Republic of China," said the National
Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) in a statement received by AFP.

Last week Beijing announced it would send a civilian police contingent
to the devastated territory.

The Chinese government, which faces opposition to its rule in Tibet, has
in the past strictly adhered to a policy of non-interference in the
internal affairs of other countries, the statement said.

The statement said China's move shows it has recognised the desire of
the East Timorese for freedom from Indonesian rule.

Two weeks ago the East Timorese people voted overwhelmingly in favour of
independence in a UN-administered referendum -- the result sparked an
orgy of violence in the former Portugese colony.

"We have no doubt that China has come to participate now in the
maintenance of regional peace and respects international norms and
standards," said NCUB general secretary Maung Maung Aye.

The exiled dissident group also called on the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations
(ASEAN) to review its policy of non-interference in members' internal
affairs.

Myanmar has voiced sympathy for its Indonesian "brothers" and hinted at
uneasiness that some ASEAN members, including Thailand, the Philippines
and Malaysia, joined the East Timor force.

At a press conference in Bangkok last weekend, the NCUB called the
United Nations to send an international force into Myanmar, similar to
the multinational contingent bound for East Timor. 

"We would welcome the UN to take similar action in Myanmar like East
Timor because
there are also wide abuses of human rights in both countries," it said.

ASEAN comprises Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,
Brunei, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines
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