'WE RESTORED ORDER' (Asiaweek inter

[jdixon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Re: 'WE RESTORED ORDER' (Asiaweek interview with Gen Khin Nyunt)

Does anybody know more about the interviewer, Roger Mitton? His style
seemed very confrontational - not how I'd approach S-1! Though he got
some good answers. I'd appreciate any answers people have. Thanks. 
Janice


David Arnott wrote:
> 
> Asiaweek
> December 17, 1999
> 
>  'WE RESTORED ORDER'
> 
> BY ROGER MITTON
> 
> In a rare interview, strongman Khin Nyunt goes on the defensive
> 
>    He is everywhere -- and nowhere. Pictures and speeches of Lt.-Gen. Khin
> Nyunt pepper the pages
> of The New Light of Myanmar. No major event takes place in his country
> without him. It would be
> unthinkable for him not to be in any important delegation going overseas.
> Every foreign dignitary that
> visits Yangon calls on him. Yet few outside a small coterie in the ministry
> of defense really know him. He
> is notoriously diffident and media-shy. At last month's ASEAN summit in
> Manila, most people -- even
> regional ministers -- did not know he was there. But ensconced in his
> 17th-floor suite in the Manila
> Hotel -- plush digs for a delegation whose country is mired in poverty --
> Khin Nyunt monitored every
> step his people in Manila took.
> 
> Given his elusive nature, it is no surprise that impressions of him vary. A
> Western ambassador, whose
> government views the Yangon regime as the epitome of evil, blithely gushes
> about how Khin Nyunt is
> "charming and perfectly courteous." An Asian envoy calls him "a nice,
> intelligent man." Yet one of his
> own entourage laments his impassive and aloof demeanor, and disparages him
> "because he never
> smiles." Actually, he does, though it is a strained smile, as if designed
> to dispel that image of a cold and
> calculating prince of darkness. After all, he has been Myanmar's head spook
> since 1984 (when his
> former mentor, the dictator Ne Win, appointed him chief of military
> intelligence). It's natural that he
> defies categorization. Earlier this year pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
> Kyi told Asiaweek:
> "Military intelligence organizations go in for torture and oppression and a
> whole lot of nastiness, so as
> somebody who represents such an organization I suppose you can call Khin
> Nyunt all sorts of things,
> but expressions like the 'prince of darkness' are rather too dramatic."
> 
> More importantly, Khin Nyunt, 60, is a member -- some say the key member --
> of Myanmar's ruling
> military council. He goes by the Orwellian appellation "Secretary-1," or
> simply "S-1." When it comes to
> policy-making and strategy, Khin Nyunt calls the shots. Like many publicly
> tactiturn men, he is a great
> talker in private, keen to expound on grand strategies. And the impassive
> tag is misplaced, for when
> addressed he does not hide his feelings -- beaming and slapping his thigh
> at a subject he seeks to engage
> upon, or frowning in irritation at a question he views as based on
> nonsensical rumor. His English
> comprehension is good, but his speaking ability is poor, so he'll switch to
> Burmese for most answers.
> Insiders say he is a control freak, insisting that minister consult first
> with him, rather than report directly
> to the cabinet. He carries this suspicious trait into his private life. At
> a recent bash in one of Myanmar's
> new hotels, the European host had prepared an elegant traditional dish for
> S-1, only to see it rudely
> carved up and tasted by aides for possible poisoning.
> 
> Khin Nyunt is known as a workaholic. He certainly has his work cut out
> balancing the views of his more
> forceful and isolationist colleagues around the powerful army head Gen.
> Maung Aye and the growing
> ranks of reformist young officers who want to see Myanmar open up faster
> and embrace modern
> technology. There is talk that Khin Nyunt's own job is on the line as the
> alleged power struggle with
> Maung Aye intensifies. It's said that when the aging Ne Win dies, Khin
> Nyunt will lose his greatest
> source of protection and may be sidelined. Others maintain that he is the
> man who keeps the junta
> afloat. This being Myanmar, one guess is as good as another.
> 
> Born in the town of Kyauktan, 12 km south of Yangon, Khin Nyunt is married
> to Dr. Khin Win Shwe;
> they have two sons and a daughter. One son is an army officer, but the
> other, Dr. Ye Naing Win (also a
> medical doctor like his mother), was bizarrely disowned last year by Khin
> Nyunt reportedly for marrying
> a Singapore woman. S-1 takes his wife with him on most of his overseas
> trips. In Manila on Nov. 29,
> Khin Nyunt met with Asiaweek to discuss a wide variety of topics. Excerpts
> from the extensive
> interview:
> 
> Hasn't Myanmar's admission into ASEAN harmed the group's image and standing?
> 
> That's wrong. We have actively participated in ASEAN's activities and our
> contributions are recognized
> by all members. For example, two ministerial meetings -- one on
> transnational crime and one on labor
> affairs -- were held in Yangon this year. An ASEAN without Myanmar would
> not be an ASEAN in
> the true sense of the word.
> 
> You remain opposed to any moves to re-evaluate the non-interference principle?
> 
> Yes, yes. The principle of non-interference is enshrined within ASEAN, and
> it's a basic principle of
> international law. To re-evaluate this concept would mean attacking the
> foundation of the association. If
> the foundation is destroyed, the house can fall.
> 
> So you disagree with Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and Philippine
> Foreign Affairs Secretary
> Domingo Siazon, who want to change this?
> 
> I have very good personal relations with both of these men and we respect
> each other. You know, even
> in a family, each member can have their own views.
> 
> Your present military government took over from Ne Win 12 years ago. What
> have you achieved?
> 
> In 1988, when the armed forces assumed the responsibility of governing
> Myanmar, the country was on
> the verge of disintegration. Anarchy and chaos prevailed. Frankly, the
> machinery of government had
> broken down completely and the economy was in a shambles. Our first task
> was to restore peace and
> stability, law and order.
> 
> If the country were disintegrating, you must agree that the policies of Ne
> Win were misguided, if not
> disastrous.
> 
> It's not our policy to pass judgment on previous administrations. Whatever
> they did during their time,
> they tried to do it with the interest of the nation at heart. As soldiers,
> we respect U Ne Win as the
> person who nurtured the present armed forces. He has retired completely
> from politics. There is no
> linkage between the previous government and the present one.
> 
> And you are saying the present one has set the country right after his
> mistakes?
> 
> I'm saying I hope that when people look back over the past 12 years they'll
> recognize we were able to
> restore peace and stability. The people go about their daily activities
> without fear or anxiety. We have
> successfully invited 17 armed groups into the legal fold. I hope people
> will acknowledge all these things
> we've done.
> 
> You haven't done much for the economy.
> 
> Look, we transformed the economic system from a centrally-planned socialist
> system to a
> market-oriented one. We have carried out unprecedented infrastructural
> development. And don't forget
> we also led Myanmar out of isolation and into becoming a member of ASEAN.
> 
> But you've failed on the political front.
> 
> No, that's not true. We have changed the political system from a one-party
> state to a multi-party system.
> Please remember that it was only during our time that political parties
> were allowed to be formed.
> 
> Surely, there is no democracy.
> 
> The military has no intention of holding onto power for a long time. Once
> the new Constitution has
> emerged, power will be transfered to a constitutional government. This will
> happen a lot faster if the
> negative elements inside the country would stop fomenting unrest. Democracy
> would also come sooner
> rather than later if outside powers would stop applying undue and
> unwarranted pressure and would stop
> imposing sanctions. [They should] concentrate their efforts on furthering
> the cause of the whole
> population of Myanmar, instead of one individual and her organization.
> 
> But it's the political impasse with Aung San Suu Kyi and her National
> League for Democracy (NLD)
> that is preventing progress in Myanmar.
> 
> There is no political impasse or whatever is being alleged in some
> quarters. We've allowed the political
> parties as much freedom as possible under our existing laws.
> 
> Which isn't much.
> 
> Our government's policy is to be as tolerant and as patient as possible in
> our dealings with the political
> parties.
> 
> Like arresting them, you mean?
> 
> We've had to take legal action against people who've been inciting unrest
> and instability. People who
> have broken laws and regulations. But we're not repressing anyone or
> committing human-rights abuses.
> For example, all the NLD's women and youth members who had been called in
> for discussions at our
> guesthouses have now been permitted to go home.
> 
> Not the MP-elects still in detention.
> 
> Not in detention -- in guesthouses. Detention means committing an offense
> and being put in prison. That
> is not the case.
> 
> Detention means being detained -- you can't go home.
> 
> But these people, they can go back home. During the weekends and holidays,
> they go back home. And
> they can have invited guests. They are very happy when they stay in the
> guesthouses. They can discuss
> freely with our people.
> 
> And the 800 to 1,000 political prisoners?
> 
> Let me put the record straight. There are no political prisoners in our
> country. We do not put people in
> prison because of their political beliefs. Even the people who are
> arrested, even in the very beginning,
> when the situation was very bad, the number was not 800. That is an
> exaggerated number.
> 
> Some people say it is even higher.
> 
> No, it is very much less. Actually, the people against whom we have to take
> action, because of breaches
> of the law, they only number in the tens.
> 
> What have these "tens" done?
> 
> We have detained them because they broke laws and regulations. So, for us,
> they are not political
> prisoners. Sometimes, we have visits from U.S. congressmen, foreign
> parliamentarians and so on, who
> bring lists of people of concern to them. We check the people named on the
> list, and if there are
> sufficient grounds, humanitarian reasons or advanced age, there are
> instances where we have let them
> go.
> 
> Why did you take them in to begin with?
> 
> The peace and stability we've attained is still very fragile. That's why we
> must enforce certain rules and
> regulations.
> 
> The U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Rajsoomer Lallah, has
> castigated you for a litany of
> abuses, including political repression.
> 
> Mr. Lallah's report was based mainly on information from insurgents and
> from elements who oppose us.
> So naturally, this information is biased and prejudiced against us. Mr.
> Lallah has never been to
> Myanmar. To tell you very openly, we are not entirely happy with the way he
> was chosen. He was
> pushed onto us. If you are going to appoint a special rapporteur, the least
> we can hope for is that there
> be some discreet consultation with us. But that was not the case.
> 
> Will you ever allow Suu Kyi to be the leader of the country?
> 
> Even among her own party members, even the hardcore members, they are
> resigning from the party
> because they are dissatisfied at the way that she is running the party. If
> you look at the situation among
> the people in Myanmar, she is getting less and less support. In fact, there
> are very few people
> supporting her these days. More and more people are supporting the government.
> 
> Yet you still crack down on her and even refuse to let her drive out of
> Yangon.
> 
> There is a constant threat from some terrorist groups that could even
> endanger Daw Aung San Suu
> Kyi's life. This we would not want to happen. So we are requesting her to
> stay in Yangon for the time
> being.
> 
> Do you personally dislike Suu Kyi?
> 
> We are soldiers and so consider ourselves as sons of [her father] Gen. Aung
> San, the founder of our
> armed forces. So we regard Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as a younger sister. I have
> no personal animosity
> toward her and it is my earnest hope that she will change her totally
> negative and confrontational attitude
> against us, which is also negatively affecting the entire nation.
> 
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