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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - January - 11, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dow Jones - UN
sees breakthrough in Burma
AFP - More troops
deployed along tense Bangladesh, Myanmar border
AP - Thailand To
Hand Over Drug Suspect To US Within 60 Days
AP - Malaysia To
Erect Watch Towers At Thai Border
Xinhua - Myanmar,
Bangladesh Border Now Quiet: Bangladeshi FM
The Times of
India - Historic Myanmar talks lauded by all
The TImes of
India - Annan calls for Myanmar parties to reconcile
The Times of
India - Vietnam sticks to non-interference line on
Myanmar
The Times of
India - Myanmar amassing troops along Bangladesh border
WP - Burma's Opposition Sees 'Progress' in Dialogue With
Rulers
BBC - Burmese
talks welcomed, but with skepticism
The Nation
- Suu Kyi meetingleaves room for cautious
optimism
SCMP - Junta
leaders playing their own game
SCMP - Mahathir proves his
loyalty
The Straits Times - Junta talks with Suu Kyi spell
hope
UN sees
breakthrough in Burma
Jan 11 Dow Jones Newswires In a significant breakthrough, Burma's military junta and
Nobel laureate Ms Aung San Suu Kyi have launched face-to-face talks and plan to
start substantive discussions on national reconciliation shortly, the United
Nations announced on Tuesday.
The announcement came after UN envoy Mr Razali Ismail
concluded a five-day mission to Burma on Tuesday and briefed the
Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, on his talks with the military government and
the pro-democracy leader, Ms Suu Kyi.
"The secretary-general was encouraged to learn that during
his mission, Mr Razali was able to confirm that the two sides had started a
direct dialogue since last October and that they were satisfied with the results
achieved so far in the area of confidence building," said a statement from UN
spokesman Mr Fred Eckhard.
"The two sides are expected to start more substantive
discussions shortly," he said.
UN officials said Ms Suu Kyi herself had taken part in
more than one round of talks since October with Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, a
senior leader in the ruling junta.
Burma's military government has consistently refused to
negotiate with the opposition if Ms Suu Kyi took part.
The military government has come under intense
international criticism for repression of Ms Suu Kyi's party, use of forced
labor and repression of minority ethnic groups. It never allowed Ms Suu Kyi's
party to take power after a sweeping general election victory in 1990.
Mr Razali's mandate is to discuss issues related to a UN
General Assembly resolution adopted in December 1999 that urges Burma's
government to stop widespread human rights violations.
It also calls for Burma, also known as Myanmar, to "take
all necessary steps" to restore democracy, open a dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi and
other political leaders, and to immediately release political prisoners.
With word of a breakthrough, Mr Annan urged both sides in
Burma to "seize the momentum and work to achieve national reconciliation in
Myanmar at an early date," Mr Eckhard said.
He also urged the international community to support the
dialogue.
Earlier Tuesday, Mr Razali told The Associated Press that
his mission had been "very satisfactory" and that he intended to return soon.
Mr Razali's trip coincided with a visit by Malaysia's
Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his first visit to Burma in two years.
Dr Mahathir's "visit definitely helped the UN effort, but
it is a separate Malaysian initiative," Mr Razali said.
Dr Mahathir's possible involvement spurred speculation
that a breakthrough had occurred involving a face-to-face meeting between Ms Suu
Kyi and junta members.
He is known to be interested in promoting a solution to
Burma's political deadlock. Contributing to a dialogue would improve his own
reputation, which has suffered in recent years because of his government's harsh
treatment of its own political opposition, diplomats in the region have noted.
Thursday, January 11 10:27 PM SGT
More troops deployed along tense Bangladesh, Myanmar border DHAKA, Jan 11 (AFP) - Tensions remained high on the Bangladesh
border with Myanmar Thursday as both sides reinforced troops after a shootout
over the construction of an illegal embankment, officials said.
Border guards, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), reinforced
troops after Myanmar brought in additional forces, a security source here said,
adding Dhaka was maintaining a strict vigilance.
BDR officials were quoted by the local media as saying
they would retaliate if Myanmar moved to try to resume work on the
dam.
However, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad on
Thursday told reporters the border was "now quiet and both sides are in constant
(diplomatic) contact to avoid any fresh trouble."
The two sides had communicated three times since Monday's
firing, he said.
"The two sides (border guards) assured each other of
honouring the agreement concerning sharing of rivers and Myanmar has now stopped
the construction of the embankment," Azad said.
The Daily Star newspaper said border guards armed with
"heavy equipment" had been moved to the southeastern border, but the report
could not be confirmed.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire until Sunday, after
they exchanged fire near the frontier post of Teknaf on Monday, officials said.
Mynamar also agreed to suspend work on the dam for seven days.
Teknaf is opposite the Tutardip area of western Myanmar
across the narrow Naaf river that divides the two countries.
The foreign ministry is awaiting a reply from Yangon that
it would stop construction of the dam.
Some 100 Myanmar labourers, backed by armed Nasaka
frontier troops, have completed a two-mile stretch (1.25 kilometers) of a
six-mile, eight-foot high dyke, earlier reports said.
Bangladesh said it had not been told about the
construction adding it violated a 1966 border river agreement between the two
countries.
Border skirmishes between the two neighbours are not
uncommon as Myanmar rebels from the separatist Rohingya Solidarity Organisation
regularly seek refuge in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh accuses Yangon of planting hundreds of
landmines along the border, defying international law, under the pretext of
curbing insurgency and smuggling. At least three people have been killed in mine
blasts.
Thursday, January 11 7:42 PM SGT
Thailand To Hand Over Drug Suspect To US Within 60 Days BANGKOK (AP)--Thai police will hand over in 60 days a
suspected Golden Triangle drug dealer to the U.S., which had set a $2 million
reward for his capture, a Thai news agency said Thursday.
Yang Wan-Hsuan, also known as Lao Tai, was arrested on a
U.S. request on Tuesday night in Chiang Rai, 680 kilometers north of Bangkok.
The U.S. says he was the accountant for what used to be the world's largest
heroin smuggling syndicate, the Shan United Army.
Narcotics Suppression Bureau commissioner Lt. Gen.
Priawpan Damapong said local investigations into Yang's activities are expected
to be complete in 60 days, the state-run Thai News Agency reported.
Yang will be extradited to the U.S. after that, he was
quoted as saying.
Yang's arrest was part of an ongoing joint Thai-U.S.
operation launched in 1994 that targeted top members of the Shan United Army,
formerly headed by Khun Sa, also known as Chang Chi-fu.
According to the U.S. State Department, Yang used to be
Khun Sa's confidential secretary and worked as the Shan United Army's
accountant.
Khun Sa was once the biggest heroin trafficker in the
Golden Triangle, the opium and heroin-producing region where the borders of
Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. More than a dozen top members of his ring have
been arrested, and many extradited to stand trial in the U.S.
Khun Sa remains at large in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The country is the world's second largest producer of heroin after
Afghanistan.
Thursday, January 11 12:07 PM SGT
Malaysia To Erect Watch Towers At Thai Border KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--Malaysia will build watch towers and place
guards along its border with Thailand in yet another effort to check rampant
smuggling between the two countries, a news report said Thursday.
The Star daily quoted Consumer Affairs Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin as saying that the government had approved the construction of the towers
to stem smuggling, especially of fuel and rice, which is on the rise.
The towers will reinforce a wall built the length of the
154-kilometer border by Malaysia in 1996 for the same reasons.
Organized gangs use the porous, hilly border to bring in
foreign workers from countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh. Muhyiddin did not
say how much the additional security measure would cost.
Despite beefing up enforcement and fencing its border with
Thailand, which sprawls across three provinces, Malaysia has had little success
in checking smuggling activities, which have been going on for decades.
In recent months, the smuggling of Thai rice, which is
cheaper and higher quality than local rice, has affected local farmers and
triggered a glut in the market.
Government officials have estimated that Malaysia lost
more than 400 million ringgit ($1=MYR3.8) in fuel subsidies last year because of
smuggling of diesel from Malaysia into Thailand, where the fuel costs nearly
double.
Although the government hiked fuel prices marginally in
September, diesel smuggling into Thailand has continued unabated. Diesel fuel
worth nearly 1 million ringgit was discovered stolen from a plant in northern
Malaysia last Friday.
On Friday, The Star quoted Muhyiddin as saying that his
ministry would recruit more than 700 men, plus police and custom officials, to
deploy on the border and check smuggling.
Myanmar,
Bangladesh Border Now Quiet: Bangladeshi FM
2001.01.11 21:51:34 DHAKA, January 11 (Xinhuanet) -- After several days of tension,
Bangladesh-Myanmar border along the Naf river, some 480 kilometers southeast to
Dhaka, is now quiet and both sides are in constant contact to avoid any
fresh trouble, Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad said here
Thursday.
Briefing newsmen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
this afternoon, the foreign minister said there had been flag
meeting between the two countries to ease the tension arising out of
unilateral construction of embankment by the Myanmar authorities on the
Naf river.
Referring to the steps taken by the government, Azad said
the Myanmar ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on
January 8 to register Bangladesh's protests for the incident of shooting
centering the construction of embankment.
There had been communications with them for three times
after the flare-up of tension, he added.
Azad said Bangladesh Rifles and Nasaka, Myanmar border
forces, had had contact Thursday and the two sides assured each other
of honoring the agreement concerning sharing of rivers.
The foreign minister also informed newsmen that Myanmar
has now stopped the construction of the embankment.
It was reported that since Monday the border forces of the
two countries had exchanged fire along the Naf river as Myanmar had
unilaterally resumed construction of an embankment on the Naf river,
violating an agreement signed between the two countries that prevents
construction work on the dam.
This embankment, if built, would alter the course of the
Naf river, causing flooding and erosion in Bangladesh, damaging
large areas dedicated to shrimp farming.
The Times of India -
January 11, 2001.
Historic Myanmar talks lauded by all YANGON: Myanmar's military rulers and opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi have a great responsibility to ensure the success of their
groundbreaking reconciliation talks, a senior Suu Kyi colleague said on
Wednesday. Myanmar dissidents, foreign governments and human rights groups also
welcomed the news of the face-to-face talks between Suu Kyi and the junta
leaders, which have been going on in secret since October.
The breakthrough was announced on Tuesday by the United
Nations after its special envoy, Razali Ismail, concluded a 5-day mission to
Myanmar where he met with government leaders and Suu Kyi.
This was Razali's third trip to the country to end
Myanmar's 10-year political stalemate over the junta's refusal to hand power to
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which won the 1990 general
elections.
Instead, the government routinely arrests and harasses NLD
members. Top junta leaders had last met with Suu Kyi in late 1994 before she was
released from six year of house arrest. Her movements were heavily restricted
thereafter.
She has been forced to stay in her Yangon home since Sept.
22 when she tried to travel outside the city on party business. "This (meeting)
is what we have been working for and since it has begun, the responsibility now
is bigger on both sides," U Lwin, an executive committee member of Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy Party, said.
"To maintain the momentum of the process and to make it a
success, both sides have to be careful not to do anything to derail the process
of confidence building," he told The Associated Press. He said the NLD has noted
that there have been no provocative articles in government newspapers in recent
days. Therefore, "we decided not to do anything to irritate the authorities," he
said.
U Lwin was released from restrictive custody on Dec. 1
together with five other NLD leaders.
On Tuesday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New
York that Suu Kyi had had taken part in more than one round of talks since
October with Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of the State Peace and
Development Council, as the junta is known.
"It's a historic breakthrough," Sonny Mahinder of the
Thailand-based dissident group, the All Burma Students' Democratic Front, told
the AP in Bangkok.
Chaiyachoke Chulasirwongs, an expert on Myanmar at
Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said the fact that the U.N. disclosed the
secret meetings indicates that the talks "must have been going quite
well."
He told the AP in Bangkok that the prospect of more
foreign aid if it starts a dialogue with Suu Kyi - a condition sought by key
donors such as Japan - would have been a likely motive of the
generals.
"The deadlock has been going on for so long, neither side
benefits from it continuing. Perhaps they realize the need to find common ground
for the sake of the development of the country," he said.
The news was also hailed by foreign governments. Thai
Foreign Ministry spokesman Don Pramudwinai said his government welcomed any
moves toward national reconciliation in its neighboring country.
But the United States urged caution. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright said in Washington that Suu Kyi must be respected by the
regime as a political leader not a "little sister" under their
guard.
The talks were not reported in Myanmar's government
controlled press. When told about the talks, people on the streets reacted with
expressions of hope.
"I am very glad a meeting had taken place ... but I would
rather wait for the results of the meeting. A dialogue is the first step... but
the outcome is more important" Myint Maung, a 45-year old history tutor,
said.
Talks a positive step: Singapore
Singapore on Wednesday welcomed the "positive development"
in Myanmar where the military junta had opened dialogue with opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.
"We welcome this positive development," a foreign affairs
spokesman said in a brief statement. "It shows the importance of patient and
quiet diplomacy." Singapore has been a staunch defender of non-interference in
Myanmar, despite international pressure to use its influence to bring about
reconciliation.
Last November, Singapore unsuccessfully tried to raise
support to block the International Labour Organisation from recommending
sanctions against Yangon over the issue of forced labour. Singapore Prime
Minister Goh Chok Tong also threatened to call off last month's talks between
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union amid
reports some European ministers would not attend because of Myanmar's presence.
"Myanmar is a member of ASEAN and we would meet the EU
together as an ASEAN group," said Goh. "If EU wants to exclude Myanmar and the
dialogue is going to be called off, then let it be called off because we can't
allow an external organisation to dictate who should be in ASEAN when we have
such a dialogue." ASEAN's policy of consensus and non-intervention has largely
shielded Myanmar, which joined in 1997, from open criticism.
(AP/AFP)
The Times of India -
January 11, 2001.
Annan calls for Myanmar parties to reconcile UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has
reiterated his call for the ruling junta and the democracy activists in Myanmar
"to seize the momentum" generated through their direct dialogues over the past
few months and work to achieve national reconciliation.
A spokesman for Annan said in a statement that the
secretary-general also
appealed to the international community to continue to
support the ongoing process of dialogue.
Annan's call came just as his special envoy for Myanmar,
Razali Ismail, concluded a five-day mission to the country. During his stay in
Yangon, Ismail held talks with representatives of the government, including Lt.
Gen. Khin Nyunt, secretary of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
and Foreign Minister Win Aung, spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters.
Razali also had two meetings with Nobel laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, general Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD). The
special envoy's meeting with Suu Kyi was the first contact by an outside visitor
in nearly three months, Eckhard said.
According to the spokesman, Annan was "encouraged to learn
that during his mission, Razali was able to confirm that the two sides had
started a direct dialogue since last October and that they were satisfied with
the results achieved so far in the area of confidence building."
The two sides are expected to start more substantive
discussions shortly. The five-day visit is the third by Razali since his
appointment as special envoy in April last year.
In response to a question on possible follow-up trips to
the country by the secretary general's special envoy, Eckhard said after the
briefing that
there would be another trip soon. In response to another
question on whether Suu Kyi herself had met with members of the government,
Eckhard that she had met directly with Lt. Gen Khin Nyunt. (India Abroad News
Service)
The Times of India -
January 11, 2001.
Vietnam sticks to non-interference line on Myanmar HANOI: Vietnam declined to comment on Wednesday on news
the military junta in Yangon was engaged in talks with opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, sticking to its longstanding line that outside countries should not
interfere in Myanmar.
"We do not make any commentaries on the domestic affairs
of other countries," said a terse one-line statement from foreign ministry
spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh.
As current holder of the rotating presidency of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Hanoi has made every effort to prevent
the 10-member grouping from heeding mounting international pressure to
intervene.
On the eve of a breakthrough ministerial meeting with the
European Union in Laos last month, at which ASEAN finally broke its silence on
Myanmar and issued a joint statement calling for an "early dialogue" between the
junta and the opposition, Hanoi insisted it would brook no discussion of the
issue.
Myanmar's political situation was "its internal affair and
will not figure on the agenda of the Vientiane meeting," a foreign ministry
statement said, even though Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien signed up to the
joint statement just four days later.
Itself a regular butt of Western human rights criticism,
Vietnam routinely insists on the principle of non-interference in other
countries' internal affairs and also roundly criticised Western intervention in
the former Yugoslavia. (AFP)
The Times of India -
January 11, 2001.
Myanmar amassing troops along Bangladesh border DHAKA: Myanmar has started deploying regular troops along
Bangladesh's southeastern border since Tuesday morning, according to sources
here.
Myanmarese army personnel have moved to forward positions
within one-and-a-half kilometers of the border on the river Naf, which separates
the two countries sources said. Soldiers were being deployed across the
paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border outposts at Ulubonia, Palangkhali,
Rejupara, Chakdala and the Ashartali, they added.
On Monday, Nasaka, the border force of Myanmar, traded
fire with BDR personnel, they said.
The deployment of troops within eight kilometers or five
miles of the Zero Line that separates the two countries is in violation of
international
border regulations, the sources said. The troop movement
across the border has prompted the BDR to call for additional reinforcements
from southeastern areas like Cox's Bazar, Bandarban and Rangamati. The
Bangladesh Army, however, has not made any move as yet.
Meanwhile, tension prevails near the border outpost in
Ukhia, 48 km from Cox's Bazar. Reports said that some villagers of the Ulobonia
and Palangkhali areas had already fled their homes following Monday's skirmishes
that lasted for several hours. A company-level flag meeting between the BDR and
the Nasaka on Monday had resulted in both sides agreeing to a weeklong
cease-fire and suspension of construction of an embankment.
The government is closely monitoring the situation along
the southeastern border. The foreign ministry, it is learnt, is expecting a
reply to its complaint lodged with Myanmar's Ambassador in Dhaka U Ohn Thwin on
Monday regarding the construction of an embankment on the Naf.
Authorities here said they were expecting assurances from
their counterparts in Myanmar about not erecting any permanent embankment on the
river, since it would lead to flooding, erosion and shrimp farming losses in
Bangladesh territory. (India Abroad News Service)
The Washington Post
Burma's Opposition Sees 'Progress' in Dialogue With Rulers By Aung Hla Tun Reuters Thursday, January 11, 2001; Page A28 RANGOON, Burma, Jan. 10 -- Burma's opposition National
League for Democracy confirmed today it has held secret talks with the military
government and said the dialogue appeared to have achieved some
progress.
A member of the party's central executive, U Lwin, said
the direct talks between party leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling generals
would require patience on both sides.
"We are very glad," he said. "The meeting is what we have
been working for. Since [news of] it has appeared, the responsibility has become
greater on both sides not to interrupt the momentum of the process. Both sides
have to be careful not to irritate the process."
Party members were told of the dialogue in December. "The
meeting seemed to have achieved some progress then," he said. He gave no
details.
The United Nations announced on Tuesday that Suu Kyi and
the Burmese government had held initial direct talks and were expected to open
more substantive discussions soon.
The meetings started in October and so far have involved
talks between Suu Kyi and Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, a top member of the ruling State
Peace and Development Council, officials said.
The talks have raised hopes that Burma might finally move
toward democracy after years of international isolation and political standoff
between the National League for Democracy and the military.
The National League for Democracy won Burma's last general
election in 1990 by a landslide but was not allowed to govern. Instead, Suu Kyi
and NLD members have been harassed and imprisoned. Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1991, has been under de facto house arrest since
September.
The All Burma Students' Democratic Front, exiled opponents
of the Burmese military, hailed the talks, calling them a "truly historic
breakthrough after 12 years of struggle."
"We hope this dialogue will begin to overcome the major
problems of civil war and bring about democratization," the group said in a
statement. "This will start the process of healing and reconciliation. This is
the most positive sign we've seen since the general election held in
1990."
The government of neighboring Thailand, with which Burma
has often had frosty relations in recent years, said it was delighted by news of
the talks.
"Thailand is pleased to learn of the positive development
in Myanmar [as Burma is also known], which will lead to a possible
reconciliation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Rathakit Manathat. "It is the
hope and desire of Thailand and the world community to see the parties concerned
continue their efforts."
BBC -Wednesday, 10
January, 2001, 22:49 GMT
Burmese talks welcomed, but with skepticism The British government has said it's encouraged by the
announcement that the Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been
holding talks with the military government.
But a Foreign Office Minister, John Battle, said Britain
had no intention of relaxing pressure on the Burmese authorities to respect
democracy and human rights, until there was evidence of real progress.
Governments around the world cautiously welcomed the news
of the talks on Wednesday.
Analysts warned the process towards reconciliation would
proceed slowly. The meetings were the first since 1994, when similar discussions
-- also between Aung San Suu Kyi and Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt -- made no
progress.
From the newsroom of the BBC World
Service
The Nation - January
11, 2001.
WHAT OTHERS SAY: Suu Kyi meetingleaves room for cautious optimism HONG KONG - US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's
cautionary reaction to the meeting between the Burmese military and
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is prompted by long experience of the
junta.
Its capricious nature, and tendency to cancel all contact
with outside envoys if news of it leaks out is reason enough not to get euphoric
over recent developments.
Five supporters arrested with the National League for
Democracy leader when she tried to leave for Rangoon by train in September were
recently sentenced to 21 years in jail, which hardly suggests a softening of
attitude. Media attacks on the party at that time compared members with
poisonous snakes locked up for their own good.
Nevertheless, now, perhaps, there is room for cautious
optimism. Global pressure has been increasing on the regime, not only because of
the economic crisis, but through a series of damning reports by the United
Nations, the World Bank, and a call by the International Labour Organisation to
its 174-member states and private companies to impose sanctions on the regime
because of its use of forced labour.
UN accusations about rape, torture, mass arrests and
summary executions have made the junta an uncomfortable bedfellow for Asean,
which welcomed Burma into its ranks three years ago, claiming that international
isolation simply increased the junta's intransigence.
Since then, a few democratically-minded countries have
urged a more critical approach to Burma, and there are practical reasons for
this.
The organisation is looking ahead to an important meeting
with the European Union in 18 months, and it does not want a repeat of the
embarrassment it suffered in Laos in December when every European foreign
minister boycotted its meeting.
There are also suggestions that internal power struggles
may be behind the decision to meet Aung San Suu Kyi; it is certainly not a
sudden conversion to the merits of power sharing. Even if this is genuine
progress, it is unlikely to yield immediate results that will answer the
people's dreams of democracy and freedom.
South China Morning Post
South China Morning
Post
Thursday, January 11, 2001 BURMA BREAKTHROUGH Junta leaders playing their own game A power struggle at the top could explain military's new-found willingness to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok The Burmese military, determined as it is to resist
outside pressure, is still vulnerable to division within its ranks, say
observers seeking to explain a junta chief's decision to talk to opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The man, powerful intelligence leader Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, may require a political success to come out on top in his tussle with army chief General Maung Aye, said Josef Silverstein, a US academic and Burma-watcher. "This may only be part of it. There are, I believe, rumblings of discontent coming up through the ranks and particularly from the powerful regional commanders. This is telling the leaders that things can't go on as they are." On Tuesday, a UN spokesman said members of the military
Government, which has stopped Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
from governing despite its landslide election victory in 1990, had held initial
talks with her and are expected to hold more substantive discussions soon. The
meetings began in October.
He was speaking after UN special envoy Razali Ismail ended
a five-day trip to Rangoon by saying he was optimistic about prospects for
dialogue between the 1991 Nobel peace prize winner and the Government. Aung San
Suu Kyi has experienced years of isolation and harassment at the hands of
Burma's military leadership. She spent six years under house arrest by the
military until 1995 and three months ago was again padlocked inside her house
after a nine-day protest against government restrictions on her freedom of
movement.
Most Burma-watchers accept that Khin Nyunt and Maung Aye
are engaged in a subtle but earnest skirmish to see who replaces the ailing
General Than Shwe, the ostensible junta leader, who has wanted to retire for
some time.
Since, in effect, the army chief controls the guns, he
should ultimately be able to check any moves the intelligence chief makes. If,
however, Khin Nyunt can finesse a political opening that pleases the regime's
foreign critics while at the same time protecting the army's dominance, he will
have arguably cemented a claim to the centre of power.
"Maung Aye has recently been to India, Laos, China and
other places saying, 'I'm in charge'. It would be a tremendous feather in Khin
Nyunt's cap if he could pull this off. Much harder to knock him to one side,"
Professor Silverstein said.
The intelligence chief and his intelligence establishment
have a reputation for being more pragmatic and sophisticated than the line
commanders. Yet no one thinks this makes them more liberal. The army prizes
loyalty above all other virtues and runs a firm united front, although the
overwhelming evidence must have made clear to even the most blinkered officer
that the country is sinking.
No Burma-watcher claims to be able to discern with any
certainty how far the regime might be prepared to risk taking dialogue and
negotiations.
"When push comes to shove, I don't think these guys will
be willing to share power. I doubt they even think about it. That doesn't mean
that ultimately there won't be a big change because they may underestimate their
ability to control the pace of events," said one Bangkok-based military analyst
yesterday.
He said: "When it goes public on this, the army will try
to pretend that it is talking from a position of strength. That's where the UN
may be useful because it could be a fig leaf of cover.
"The army's win-win solution would be to start talks
without the population getting excited. That's why I think this will be a slow
process." he said.
South China Morning
Post
Thursday, January 11, 2001 BURMA BREAKTHROUGH Mahathir proves his loyalty IAN STEWART in Kuala Lumpur On his return from a six-day visit to Burma on Tuesday,
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he found that the "negative
situation" often presented in foreign reports about the country was untrue.
"I find that the [Burmese] Government gives emphasis to development, including that involving its people in rural areas," he said, adding that there were "great investment opportunities" in the country for Malaysian companies. It was the kind of upbeat remark that the Burmese
authorities have come to expect from Dr Mahathir, regarded as a loyal friend of
the regime. That friendship, analysts believe, has made the job of Razali
Ismail, the United Nations special envoy to Burma, and a Malaysian, somewhat
easier.
It may also have been used by Dr Mahathir to persuade the
Burmese junta to make a gesture to appease critics within the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and improve its international image. That may
have led to the start of dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Analysts believe Dr Mahathir's visit to Burma, which
started as Mr Razali was on his third mission to Rangoon and ended just before
the talks between Ms Aung San Suu Kyi and junta leader Lieutenant-General Khin
Nyunt were revealed, was intended to reaffirm his support for the regime and
reinforce its commitment to continuing the dialogue.
Malaysia has been critical of Burma in the past. Rangoon
was attacked in the Malaysian media before its admission to Asean in 1997 over
its alleged ill-treatment of Muslims and the destruction of mosques. An Islamic
youth movement called for the deferral of its acceptance into Asean.
But Dr Mahathir was determined to bring all Southeast
Asian countries into Asean and he was the driving force behind Burma's entry
despite American and European opposition.
He also resisted efforts to change Asean's approach of
"constructive engagement" towards Burma, insisting members must stick to their
policy of "non-interference in the internal affairs of another state".
Responding to suggestions Asean should be more
interventionist, Dr Mahathir said the group's policy had produced "tremendous
results".
Dr Mahathir, a caustic critic of the West, nevertheless
follows a pragmatic approach to the sort of foreign investment that leads to
development and wants other countries, such as Burma, to adopt the Malaysian
system.
Analysts say Dr Mahathir believes an economically stronger
Burma will benefit Asean in its efforts to become an influential economic
region.
Junta talks with
Suu Kyi spell hope
Observers say the fact that a dialogue between the two sides in Myanmar is taking place is a major breakthrough By James East BANGKOK - Secret talks between Myanmar's junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have given frustrated exiles, Western diplomats and Asean's statesmen hope that the country is about to put years of political and economic stagnation behind it and open up to the world. Although there are few details of the substance of the discussions, the fact that they are taking place at all is a major breakthrough. For years, the regime has criticised Ms Suu Kyi, calling her variously an enemy of the people, a witch and a traitor. News that Secretary One General Khin Nyunt has met the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) 'more than once' since October shows Myanmar's military regime may have finally accepted it can no longer go its own way. 'This is a truly historic breakthrough after 12 years of struggle. We're very optimistic. It has been a long conflict. This is the most positive sign we've seen since the general election held in 1990,' said Mr Sonny Mahinder, Secretary of Foreign Affairs at the All Burma Students' Democratic Front. Activists from the organisation have been in exile for more than a decade following the 1988 crushing of student-led demonstrations and the failure of the regime to recognise Ms Suu Kyi's 1990 election victory. The last previously reported meeting between the junta and Ms Suu Kyi took place in 1994. Myanmar has met with criticism, not only from the West but also from some Asean members, particularly Thailand and the Philippines, who have had difficulty standing by a country which has a reputation for being brutal. Myanmar joined Asean in 1997. Years of economic mismanagement and the military's attitude towards democracy have taken its toll. Myanmar is now more often in the news for its 'exports' - amphetamines and refugees; its activists, locked up and reportedly tortured; and for Nobel peace prize-winner Suu Kyi, now under house arrest. News of the meetings, released by United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail after talks in Yangon, has taken the diplomatic and Myanmar's exiled community by surprise. But if there is any Asean country likely to help broker them, it is Malaysia - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad sponsored Myanmar's Asean entry and has stood by the country despite being lambasted by the West. His arrival on a 'working holiday' just before Mr Razali last week was seen as significant by diplomats. He was met by the junta's top brass and is thought to have forcefully conveyed the message that they needed to be more conciliatory. Dr Mahathir has reason to persuade Myanmar to open up to the world. It has been a constant thorn in the side of Asean-European Union relations, and the EU has made it clear that it would not let up on the junta, threatening future inter-group relations. Myanmar may also feel some allegiance to Dr Mahathir, who has faced Western criticism for his leadership style. Western diplomats say the breakthrough has proven the value of Asean's softly-softly approach as well as the tough stance of the EU towards the regime. The talks have come not a moment too soon. Although the West would have stood by Ms Suu Kyi, her cause in the country was beginning to look hopeless. With more high-level talks expected, the hard part has now begun.
SINGAPORE: Patience pays off 'We welcome this positive development. It shows the importance of patient and quiet diplomacy.' - Spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, replying to queries on reports on talks between the Myanmar junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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