Myanmar seeks Japanese aid, but no

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Myanmar seeks Japanese aid, but no democratic reforms pledged 

BYLINE: MARI YAMAGUCHI 

AP, Manila, 28 November 1999. The leader of Myanmar's military government 
offered no steps to move toward democracy in a meeting Sunday with Japanese 
Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, the first dialogue between the head of a major 
democracy and Myanmar since 1988. 

Senior Gen. Than Shwe asked for aid, but Obuchi said little would be
forthcoming 
without visible vidence that democratic reforms were being implemented. A 
Japanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were no 
''forward-looking'' proposals from the Myanmar side. 

Since troops crushed anti-government protests in Myanmar, also known as 
Burma, in 1988, the country has since turned from one of Asia's richest c
ountries into one of the poorest. 

Than Shwe met Obuchi on the sidelines of a summit of the Association 
of Southeast Asian Nations plus Japan, China and South Korea. 

The meeting has raised eyebrows as a break in Western solidarity against 
the military regime, which has refused to open a dialogue with opposition 
leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Her party won elections in 1990, but the military 
never allowed the parliament to meet. 

Internet ProLink PC User