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WIRE:05/27/2000 07:14:00 ET
Myanmar opposition demands 1990 poll be recognised YANGON, May 27 (Reuters) - Myanmar's main opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD) demanded again on Saturday that the
results of a 1990 general election, which it won but which the ruling
military ignored, must be implemented.
"We are determined never to give up the results of the 1990 general elections that stemmed from the sacrifice of lives, blood and sweat of thousands of people," the NLD said in a resolution adopted at a gathering at its headquarters. The ceremony, attended by about 300 people including NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, other senior party figures, diplomats and journalists, was held to mark 10th anniversary of the abortive poll. In the absence of a national parliament in Myanmar, the NLD has set up a panel which it calls the People's Parliament that symbolically represents the party's members of parliament elected in 1990. "We are earnestly determined never to accept another election until and unless the results of the 1990 election are fully implemented," it said. The ceremony was delayed by about half an hour as security officials set up checkpoints along the route to the NLD's headquarters and only allowed diplomats to attend the function after some negotiations. Another resolutions adopted at the meeting called for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners held by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Suu Kyi said in a speech that her party had made some progress in its struggle for democracy in Myanmar and won more international recognition and encouragement than ever before. "Because of the struggle and suppression we faced, we have become more consolidated and more firm in our determination," she said. "The most important success we have achieved during that period is to build good relations with other democratic forces, especially the ethnic political parties." Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi's party and the Myanmar's military rulers have been at political loggerheads for nearly five years since she was released from house arrest. Tensions between the SPDC and the NLD have increased in recent weeks, with opposition members and dissidents accusing the government of arresting opponents to stop them from holding the 10th anniversary gathering. The NLD said last week 12 elected representatives and 83 township organising committee members had been detained and one representative was sentenced to nine years in prison. Myanmar Opposition Marks
Vote YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A defiant Aung San Suu Kyi marked the 10th anniversary of her party's fleeting electoral victory Saturday, demanding that the generals who have ruled Myanmar since 1962 finally surrender power. Suu Kyi said that the National League for Democracy, beleaguered by a decade of steady harassment and arrests, would never accept new, sham elections or a constitution that the military is accused of wanting to shape in its favor. But evidence that Suu Kyi and her supporters are further from power than ever was evident all around the headquarters of the party, where police blocked traffic and checked the identity of anyone trying to participate in the anniversary observances. The ceremony started 30 minutes late because of delays in the arrival of diplomats who had to negotiate their way past check points. Some Myanmar citizens were turned away when they could not produce party cards or other identification. A government spokesman said the police were ``assisting'' the meeting ``by providing appropriate security measures.'' No unrest was reported in the capital or elsewhere in this impoverished Asian country. Some 300 people managed to crowd into party headquarters and heard Suu Kyi, wearing a sarong and traditional jacket with yellow flowers in her hair, say the party would not accept the military's dictates. ``Our goal toward achieving democracy for the country is getting closer than ever before,'' declared Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. In the past decade, she said, the party had matured, won allies among Myanmar's fractious ethnic minorities and gained international respect. But she gave no sign that a solution to Myanmar's political impasse was at hand. The military refuses to talk to Suu Kyi, regarding her as a traitor for her marriage to the late British academic, Michael Aris, and for supporting Western sanctions against Myanmar aimed at forcing democratic change. The generals accuse Britain, the former colonial ruler, and the United States of having imperialist designs on Myanmar, also known as Burma, and using an agenda of democracy and human rights to achieve it. Elections were held May 27, 1990, in a bid by the military to regain international legitimacy two years after crushing an uprising in the streets. The generals were then shocked when parties they had backed lost hugely to the National League for Democracy and refused to recognize the election result. Since then, the party has called unsuccessfully for parliament to be seated and for dialogue with the military on introducing democratic change. The generals have freed up the once-socialist economy to a degree and forged cease-fires with many ethnic rebel groups, but there has been no major progress in breaking the political deadlock. Hundreds of opposition supporters are in jail, and Saturday's anniversary was preceded by a fresh crackdown. Harassment of the party over the years has severely reduced numbers of active dissidents and only about a dozen people were rounded up this year, down from a few hundred in 1996. In Bangkok, about 50 police took up positions outside the Myanmar embassy, but only a handful of protesters were visible. Last October, exiled student dissidents stormed the embassy and took about 40 people hostage. The Scotsman - may 27,
2000.
Time for the generals to end
Burma’s decade of suffering
ROBIN COOK Comment SHORTLY before he died, the British husband of Burma’s democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, asked for our help. Michael Aris knew he hadn’t much time left. He had one last wish – to be
allowed into Burma to see his imprisoned wife for what they knew would be the
last time.
It was a very human request. It would have cost the Burmese military junta
nothing. We and Michael implored the regime to relent. We enlisted the support
of all those to whom they might listen, including the United Nations secretary
general.
Last March, Michael died having not seen his wife for more than three
years.
The suffering of Michael and Aung San Suu Kyi, and the inhumanity shown to
them by the Burmese regime, is a microcosm of the wider suffering of the Burmese
people at the hands of that regime.
Today marks a special anniversary, one which sets the Burmese regime apart
from many other repressive regimes around the world.
Today it is exactly ten years since the people of Burma voted in elections.
Those elections were won overwhelmingly by parties supporting democratic change:
principally Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, but
also a range of ethnic minority parties, many its partners.
The NLD won with 60 per cent of the votes and four-fifths of the seats in
parliament.
But that parliament has never been formed. Burma’s generals simply ignored
this legitimate _expression_ of the popular will.
One decade later, Aung San Suu Kyi, remains under constant intimidation.
Opposition activists are routinely arrested – almost a hundred in the last few
weeks alone.
And the military regime remain unaccountable for the slaughter of thousands
of unarmed protesters when it seized power in September 1988.
During that decade, the regime’s record of human rights abuses have put it
among the worst violators of such rights in the world today. Their soldiers kill
arbitrarily and rape at will. Basic freedoms are denied. Forced labour is
widespread. Hundreds of thousands of people, including those from Burma’s ethnic
minorities, have been forced into hiding or to seek sanctuary in neighbouring
countries.
Last month, I met some of those refugees when I visited a refugee camp on
the border between Thailand and Burma. I saw for myself how its 7,000
inhabitants struggled to live normally and with dignity. I heard moving accounts
of what they had experienced before fleeing. I will not forget those accounts or
those people.
But sympathy is not enough. We need to do all we can to make the regime
change its ways.
The most powerful lever we have is concerted international pressure. I
believe that the international community must bring that pressure to bear. That
is why Britain has been leading efforts to mobilise the international community
in a wide range of international bodies.
Last month, we secured stronger EU measures against the regime. The EU now
not only bans military exports and high-level bilateral visits, but has also
published a list of prominent regime members for whom visas are banned, and has
frozen their funds in the EU.
We have also supported action in the UN and at the UN Human Rights
Commission, and have encouraged the International Labour Organisation to take
exceptional action against Burma over forced labour.
We have taken unilateral measures too. We have withdrawn all government
support for trade missions to Burma and actively discourage British companies
from doing business there. Two months ago, my ministerial colleague at the
Foreign Office, John Battle, called in representatives of Premier Oil, the
biggest British investor in Burma, and told them that we wanted them to withdraw
from the country.
We will continue to bring all the pressure we can on the Burmese regime,
unilaterally and in concert with others. Our message to the generals is as clear
as it is simple. Stop the human rights abuses. Return to democracy and the rule
of law. Ten years of dictatorship is a decade too long.
Bangkok Post - May 27, 2000.
Chuan plans to visit Burmese
refugees
Saritdet
Marukatat Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai will visit border
camps housing Burmese refugees to underscore the government's seriousness about
ending the problem. Camps in Ratchaburi, Tak and Mae Hong Son were being considered, government
sources said. Mae Sot district, Tak, was favoured because of convenience, but the final
decision would be made by Mr Chuan and his staff. Ban Tham Hin camp sheltering the Karen ethnic minority in Suan Phueng
district, Ratchaburi, was ruled out because it was visited by British Foreign
Secretary Robin Cook last month, while the camps in Mae Hong Son might not be
convenient for the prime minister's schedule, the sources said. Most Burmese refugees live in camps in Mae Hong Son and Tak. The two northern
provinces host about 95,000 refugees from Burma, most of them from ethnic
minorities. The trip was being arranged with the aim of bringing to national and
international attention the Burmese refugee problem in Thailand, the source
said. It was intended to send a strong message to the Rangoon government that
Thailand seriously wanted to end the problem, with the co-operation of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Bangkok Post - May 27, 2000. Commentary Burma causing a major headache Kowit
Sanandang There has been quite a lot of resentment lately
regarding Thailand's support for Burma to join Asean. This resentment has come
more often than not from the military, which has expressed grave concern about
the smuggling of drugs, particularly methamphetamines, into Thailand via the
Thai-Burmese border. The prevalence of methamphetamines in Thailand has been a
major source of concern for Thailand because over time this could endanger the
country's security. Such drugs have been spreading like wild fire among Thais. It looks like the
ethnic Wa Army has been over-indulging in producing the drugs for export to
Thailand, with the Burmese government doing little to prevent it. With Burma
being an Asean member, Thailand cannot do anything much. Thailand, as well as
other Asean members, had hoped in the first place before allowing Burma into the
fold, that things in Burma would change for the better where economic, social
and political issues are concerned, and would benefit Asean as a whole. This
week, another positive move where world trade is concerned has been reported:
the US House of Representatives has voted to grant China permanent normal trade
relations (PNTR), which ends the 20-year-old annual ritual of reviewing China's
trade status. It is a major vote of confidence to a rule-based trading system
and which would lead China to become a member of the World Trade Organisation
(WTO), the global trade watchdog. The PNTR must still be approved by the US
Senate but most political observers predict a relatively smooth passage when it
votes on the bill next month. Reports say foreign companies already
manufacturing in China, particularly electronics and information technology
firms, will be the first to benefit from the WTO entry. Trade and
shipping-related companies will also benefit, while most analysts agreed that
China's WTO entry would bring more investment opportunities for foreign
companies involved in the service sector. The reciprocal nature of the WTO
tariff reductions means that while foreign firms eye the China market, China
will also have greater opportunities to invade developed markets. Now we need to know how this will affect Thailand. A Commerce Ministry
official has been quoted as saying that Thailand should pursue potential
benefits after China becomes a WTO member and has to open its farm market wider
for products such as rice and rubber. There has been a euphoria on the issue but
in reality, things will not be as easy or as rosy. Thailand has to study the
issue thoroughly and both the government and private sectors should come up with
a strategy on how to deal with the effect of China joining the WTO. Things might
not turn out the way we expect. The case where Malaysia does not want to reduce
import tax on automobile and parts under the Asean Free Trade Agreement is a
good example. Under WTO, not every country is willing to open its market and
will use every tactic possible to delay such an opening, a move which would not
make it easy to fully liberalise world trade. Countries like Thailand will
probably find it difficult not to open up their markets in some sectors, as we
will have Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi as Director-General of the WTO some two years
from now. Just to substantiate my warning, China made clear yesterday that its
entry into the WTO would not lead to "overnight changes". Certainly, there are
two schools of thought in Thailand. One wants to delay market opening, while
another wants to try to liberalise now, probably on a gradual basis, to prepare
the private sector to become more competitive and survive when the market is
actually opened. I believe Thailand needs to be very dynamic on this and has to constantly
look around so as to find the best solution to the trade liberalisation
commitment. Kowit Sanandang is Deputy Editor (Admin),
Bangkok Post. Yangon was quiet on Saturday
on the 10th anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi's nullified election victory, as
riot police surrounded her party headquarters barring non-members entry,
witnesses said. Witnesses reported the
Yangon regime had erected barricades in front of Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters, where plans had been made to
commemorate the 10th anniversary of its election victory, overturned by the
military. Riot police were screening
anyone approaching the barricades and although diplomats and journalists were
invited to the ceremonies, police were only allowing NLD members into party
headquarters, they said. The streets of Yangon were
quiet and the few people outside were simply going about their normal business,
witnesses said. In the days leading up to
the anniversary, the Yangon regime had heightened its crackdown on dissent,
warning the media and Buddhist clergy not to mark the
anniversary. The junta also requested
that the media not attend any NLD events on May 27, government sources
said. The regime also told the
country's Buddhist clergy to "protect against some monks" reportedly planning a
protest march against the junta from central Mandalay to the
capital. Officials Saturday told AFP
that about 100 protesting monks had arrived individually in Yangon from
Mandalay, but authorities were aware of their presence. The government claims there
is no significant support for either the NLD or the monks. "The world community is
being deceived into believing that a revolution is imminent in Myanmar and there
is still strong support for the NLD in the country," a government spokesman had
said. Any demonstrations or NLD
commemorations of the anniversary are "just a pure political ploy designed
merely to give a false impression of the strength and support the NLD has from
within the country," he said. Ten years ago this week
Myanmar voters overwhelmingly rejected decades of isolationist military
rule. Stunned by the defeat of its
front party, the military annulled the NLD's election victory, claiming it had
been rigged by foreigners and communists. The military has been in
control of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, in various guises since 1962. It
has branded Aung San Suu Kyi a traitor and an agent of foreign countries,
especially former colonial ruler Britain. BBC-Friday, 26 May, 2000, 18:29 GMT
19:29 UK May 27 marks 10 years since the election
victory By BBC
Burma specialist Larry Jagan Ten years ago, Burma's
National League for Democracy (NLD) convincingly won the elections. But military
rulers refused to recognise the results. Little has changed since
then. Tight security is in place
in Rangoon for the 10th anniversary. The opposition say several hundred
opposition members have been detained throughout the country in the last few
weeks. This renewed crackdown on
the opposition is in stark contrast to the situation a decade ago.
Then, on Saturday 27 May,
the people of Burma voted to send the military back to the barracks when the
military allowed a relatively free and fair election. The military had seized
power two years earlier after crushing the pro-democracy demonstrations.
The result shocked the
Burmese generals. The NLD and its allies won more than 80% of the seats, despite
the intimidation of pro-democracy candidates and Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest
the year before. The result was a clear
reflection of the mood of the country. People wanted democracy and Aung San Suu
Kyi to lead the country. New constitution
The military refused to
accept the result. It first claimed it was not an election for a parliament but
an election for a national assembly to draft a new multi-party constitution.
It took the military
government more than two years to begin drawing up the new constitution. But
when the National Convention was formed, the parliamentarians were swamped by
military-appointed delegates. As each chapter of the
constitution was slowly prepared it was clear the military authorities were
carefully controlling the process. The NLD refused to be part
of this and withdrew from the National Convention three years ago. The
constitution is yet to be completed. But what is clear is that
the military wants its role to be written into that constitution.
A quarter of the seats in
the new parliament are to be reserved for the military, and the president must
have had military experience, and therefore be a former general.
Siege mentality
Over the past decade, the
military has carefully built a state within a state. The people want Aung San Suu
Kyi to lead the country The soldiers and their
dependents have become an exclusive group within the country.
Western military analysts
believe the Burmese military leaders have developed a siege mentality. They
don't trust any civilians - even those in government - and believes only
soldiers can run the country. Indonesian
model The military has long seen
Indonesia as a model. The Indonesian constitution gave the military a permanent
political role. However, the events there
over the last two years have made the Burmese military nervous.
It drew two lessons from
President Suharto's fall: It believes Mr Suharto didn't suppress the students
early enough and that he finally fell because the country ran out of rice.
There is no doubt that the
Burmese military fear student protest - it has effectively kept the country's
schools and colleges closed for more than 10 years. Burma's military leaders are
aware that the economy could be their undoing. The government has selected
some 50 national entrepreneurs to help regenerate the economy and ensure
sufficient rice production. Most analysts remain
sceptical that the Burmese generals will be able to ensure economic growth and
reduce the widespread malnutrition in the country. At the same time the Burmese
military is slowly building its own civilian structures throughout the country.
It has a compliant
grassroots organisation, the United Solidarity Development Association, which it
claims has 11 million members. These work closely with the
military throughout the country. But the men in uniforms run the country.
The military may claim that
it is the only institution which can ensure safety and security, but, as the
people of Burma showed 10 years ago, they want democracy and they want Aung San
Suu Kyi to lead the country. Nothing has changed that The Daily Yomiuri - May 27,
2000. Aung San Suu Kyi- a decade of sacrifice for
democracy Yangon (AFP-Jiji) – Ten
years on from her opposition party’s aborted election victory, Aung San Suu Kyi
appears more isolated than ever, thwarted by a junta that has systematically
dismantled her power base. |