Burma Related News - July 19, 2001.

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BURMA RELATED NEWS - July 19, 2001.

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HEADLINES

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AP - Myanmar Leader Skips Ceremony

Reuters - Malaysia lauds Myanmar moves, awaits news

AFP - Myanmar accepts it must move to democracy, says Malaysian FM

AP - Myanmar's Suu Kyi Fails To Turn Up At Annual Ceremony

AP - Rights Groups Welcome Release Of Noted Myanmar Journalist

AP - Malaysia: Shouldn't Pressure Myanmar On Democracy At Mtg

AFP - Economic slowdown to dominate ASEAN security forum, Kelly

Reuters - Doubts over Myanmar talks as Suu Kyi misses ceremony

Reuters - Suu Kyi snub raises doubts over Myanmar talks

Reuters - ASEAN forum moves toward preventive diplomacy

AP - Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi a no-show at Martyr's Day ceremony

BBC - Burma's Suu Kyi stays away

BBC - Analysis: Burma talks stalled

Xinhuanet - Myanmar Marks Martyrs' Day

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Thursday July 19 6:46 AM ET
Myanmar Leader Skips Ceremony

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - In a possible snub to Myanmar's military rulers, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi did not appear Thursday at an annual ceremony to honor her slain father, independence hero Gen. Aung San.

Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, has attended the official Martyr's Day ceremony for the past six years. There was no indication the government had barred her from the event.

Representatives of the Nobel Peace Prize winner's National League for Democracy went instead. Suu Kyi, Myanmar's most prominent dissident, remained at her suburban home and gave no explanation for skipping the ceremony.

``This is her decision. She asked us to go there,'' said NLD secretary Lwin when asked whether she had been prevented from coming. He refused to elaborate on her decision.

The no-show by Suu Kyi at the only government ceremony she is allowed to attend has fueled speculation that secret talks between her and the military regime that started late last year aren't going well. No details of the discussions have been made public.

Lwin was one of three NLD representatives at the ceremony. Under a monsoon downpour, they laid three baskets filled with roses and other flowers at the mausoleum, located at the foot of Yangon's soaring Shwedagon Pagoda.

Minister for Culture Win Sein represented the military government at the ceremony, a solemn occasion held each year to commemorate nine people assassinated on July 19, 1947.

Aung San, six of his cabinet members and two others were gunned down while they were holding a meeting six months before Myanmar's independence from Great Britain. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since Sept. 22, when she tried to travel outside Yangon in defiance of official restrictions.

Diplomats and local political analysts in Yangon said Suu Kyi's absence at the ceremony could have been intended to make clear to the international community that she remains under detention.

Later Thursday, more than 350 NLD members attended a private ceremony with songs and poems eulogizing Aung San at the party's headquarters in Yangon, which Suu Kyi did not attend either.

In a speech, Lwin urged party members to be disciplined and to consolidate unity to achieve democracy in the country.

The NLD won general elections in 1990 but was barred by the military from taking power. The secret talks are the most tangible step yet towards breaking a decade of bitter political deadlock.

On Wednesday, the government released 11 political prisoners associated with the NLD, including four elected members of parliament and a prominent woman writer. It was the latest in a series of conciliatory moves by the junta since it started negotiations with Suu Kyi last year.

The government has released more than 150 people since January.

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Thursday July 19, 2:07 PM

Malaysia lauds Myanmar moves, awaits news

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Reuters) - Malaysia praised near-neighbour Myanmar on Thursday for progress towards reconciliation between the government and its political foes, attributing it to the soflty-softly school of diplomacy.

"We are very happy with the development that's taking place in Myanmar," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said during a briefing on next week's ASEAN foreign ministers meeting.

"The most important thing is that there have been signs, indications of reconciliation between the two parties," he added.

Malaysia was among the main backers of Myanmar's accession to the Association of South East Asian Nations in 1997, causing diplomatic ructions between ASEAN and European countries concerned with Yangon's human rights record.

Last April, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution praising Myanmar's generals for their talks with pro-democracy leaders but alleged major violations of human rights including executions, mass arrests and forced labour.

Myanmar's military regime has been in stop-start talks in recent months with the opposition, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, though with progress made being hard to ascertain.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won 1990 elections but the military refused to let her take power.

Syed Hamid, whose country provides the United Nations with its Myanmar special envoy Razali Ismail, predicted a progress report by Myanmar's foreign minister at ASEAN's meeting in Hanoi.

"I believe that maybe we will be updated on the situation in Myanmar," he said, stressing the ASEAN tradition of non-interference in other members' internal affairs.

"We believe that by engaging with all the countries, there will be change.

"We have to allow Myanmar to evolve itself into a system that is acceptable. They accept that the democratic process is necessary."

ASEAN groups the countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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Thursday July 19, 3:52 PM

Myanmar accepts it must move to democracy, says Malaysian FM

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (AFP) - Myanmar's ruling generals accept they must move towards democracy to engage with the outside world, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Thursday.

"They accept that the democratic process is necessary. They want to find reconciliation (with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi).

"That is a positive move by Myanmar," he told a press conference before next week's meeting of regional foreign ministers in Vietnam.

Syed Hamid said Myanmar is expected to brief ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) about political developments.

The junta Wednesday released prominent journalist San San Nwe along with 10 other political prisoners.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been held under de facto house arrest since September just before she embarked on landmark talks with the junta.

The talks were brokered by Malaysia's Razali Ismail, a special envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Syed Hamid said ASEAN adheres strictly to the policy of non-interference in the affairs of members but believes that by "engaging there will be changes."

Since Myanmar has expressed its intention to bring changes, ASEAN should allow Myanmar to evolve into an acceptable system, he said.

"We cannot tell Myanmar what to do. It should do what it thinks is best for its country.

"Definitely, what is happening in the region and what is happening globally in terms of democratisation will have an influence on Myanmar's decision and the type of action it will take," he added.

After meeting among themselves, the ASEAN foreign ministers will hold talks with their counterparts from Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

The talks with their dialogue partners will be held under the umbrella of the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Syed Hamid said the gloomy world economic outlook would dominate the July 23-28 meeting.

"ASEAN faces an economic problem. We want to strengthen our economies to ensure the region remains stable," he said.

The Malaysian minister said stability in the Korean peninsula, the South China Sea and the situation in Indonesia were among potential regional "flashpoints" which would be discussed.

Developments in Indonesia were a real concern to ASEAN, he said.

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Thursday July 19, 10:41 AM

Myanmar's Suu Kyi Fails To Turn Up At Annual Ceremony

YANGON (AP)--Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, placed under house arrest by the military regime, failed Thursday to participate in a special ceremony she has pointedly attended for the past six years.

Only representatives of her National League for Democracy paid tribute to her slain father, independence hero Gen. Aung San, on the occasion of Martyr's Day.

Suu Kyi, who remained at her suburban home, gave no immediate explanation.

There had been speculation in recent days that the Nobel Peace Prize winner was planning to snub the country's rulers by not showing up. The two opposing sides have been holding talks in recent months and a no-show, the speculation went, would indicate these weren't going well.

Minister for Culture Win Sein represented the military government at the ceremony, a solemn occasion held each year to commemorate nine people assassinated on July 19, 1947.

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since last Sept. 22 when she tried to travel outside Yangon in defiance of official restrictions.

Martyr's Day was the only official event the regime allowed Suu Kyi to attend, and there was no indication she had been barred from Thursday's event.

The NLD was planning to hold another, private ceremony at the party headquarters later Thursday.

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Thursday July 19, 11:23 AM

Rights Groups Welcome Release Of Noted Myanmar Journalist

BANGKOK (AP)--Reporters' rights groups welcomed Thursday the release of San San Nwe, a prominent Myanmar journalist who had been jailed for passing "false" news reports to foreign journalists.

The New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists urged the ruling military to release all jailed journalists and undertake broader reforms to guarantee press freedom in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"While we celebrate the release of San San Nwe, we are sobered by the fact that journalists in Burma remain extraordinarily vulnerable to imprisonment and official harassment," the committee's executive director Ann Cooper said in a statement received in Bangkok.

San San Nwe, co-winner of the 2001 Golden Pen of Freedom award from the World Association of Newspapers and a leading female journalist in Myanmar, had served seven years of a 10 year sentence at Yangon's Insein Prison. She was among 11 political prisoners released Wednesday.

It was the latest in a series of conciliatory moves by the military regime since it started closed-door political negotiations late last year with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.

More than 150 opposition activists have been released since the start of the year, but there is little other sign the talks have eased Myanmar decade-long bitter political deadlock.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in a statement that at least 12 journalists are still in jail in Myanmar. The military, which has ruled since 1962, keeps tight control on the media and stamps on any sign of dissent.

The group said it was still "very worried" about Sein Hla Oo, a journalist who suffered a heart attack last year in Myitkyina jail, in northern Kachin state, and recently underwent surgery for a hernia.

It also expressed concern for Win Tin, a founding member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. A co-winner of the Golden Pen with San San Nwe, he has been held in Insein Prison since 4 July 1989 and has been severely weakened by several diseases, the statement said.

The NLD swept general elections in 1990 but was barred by the military from taking power.

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Thursday July 19, 5:06 PM

Malaysia: Shouldn't Pressure Myanmar On Democracy At Mtg

KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--A summit bringing together Southeast Asian nations, the U.S. and other countries next week shouldn't be used to pressure Myanmar to speed up democratic reforms, said Malaysia's foreign minister Thursday.

"We cannot tell Myanmar what to do. It should do what it thinks is best for the country," Syed Hamid Albar told a news conference ahead of the annual Asean Regional Forum starting Monday in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Myanmar was admitted into the Asean in 1997 despite objections by the U.S. and other countries over human rights issues and suppression of the democracy movement led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Malaysian diplomats are credited with helping engineer meetings in recent months between the ruling generals and Suu Kyi, but there is little sign that their long deadlock is near an end. The military government has also released some 150 opposition members from jail.

Next week's summit brings together ministers from Asean and other countries important to regional security. The U.S. and E.U. will hold separate sessions with Asean ministers and are expected to raise the pace and depth of Myanmar's democratic reforms.

Syed Hamid said Myanmar's officials will brief Asean.

"I believe we would be updated on the situation on Myanmar," Syed Hamid said, "to show that they are taking action but they want to take action at a pace that they feel they can do it."

"The most important thing is that there has been signs of reconciliation between the two parties," Syed Hamid said.

Suu Kyi didn't appear Thursday at an annual ceremony honoring her assassinated father, independence hero Aung San. Her absence was seen as a snub to the country's rulers and a sign that things aren't going well.

One of Asean's chief tenets is to not interfere in the affairs of member states. The group comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Syed Hamid said Asean will also discuss the impact of the U.S. economic slowdown, which has hit exporting countries hard, and prospects for invigorating the stalled contacts between North Korea and South Korea, both members of the Asean Regional Forum.

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Thursday July 19, 2:13 PM

Economic slowdown to dominate ASEAN security forum, Kelly

SINGAPORE, July 19 (AFP) - The United States said Thursday it expects economic concerns, stemming from a US-led global slowdown, to put security issues in the back seat at a regional security forum in Hanoi next week.

Asian countries have made it clear they see a sound Sino-US relationship as key to regional security, but that will be overshadowed at next Thursday's meeting, said US Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs James Kelly.

While the United States will seek "honest direct dialogue" with China, it is economic issues that will dominate the ASEAN Regional Forum, he said from Washington in a satellite interview with journalists in Asia.

The meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and dialogue partners, including US Secretary of State Colin Powell, is the region's main multilateral security forum.

"Unquestionably this time economic concerns are what dominate each nations' wishlist and desires even if the forum is intended to talk about security issues," Kelly said.

The United States has "cutback in demand and therefore the number of imports we receive from countries in Asia is going down -- just a bit but enough in a difficult time that it is quite severely felt.

"So I think there is going to be an interesting exhange among Secretary Powell and his colleages from ASEAN, not to mention those from Japan, China Korea and other places."

The forum will deal with issues that "upset stability in East Asia" such as the Korean Pensinsula and the South China Sea, but there was a limit to the depth of discussion in a one day meeting, Kelly said.

On relations with China, he said Powell, who is to visit Beijing after Hanoi, will focus on areas of common interest.

Having won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games, and being on the verge of entry to the World Trade Organisation, China has a right to feel proud of its recent accomplishments, Kelly said.

"That pride is well deserved and we not going there to stick pins in it. We are going there to have good, honest, direct dialogue of common interests which at the moment are considerably greater than matters of dispute.

"At the same time there are things that go on in China which we simply don't approve and without being disrespectful or arrogant in any way we have to point these out."

Kelly said the aim with Korea was to have North and South renew contact and he expressed hope North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-Il would visit the South this year.

Washington had not received a response to its offer of talks with Pyongyang, but it was possible Powell would meet with North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun on the sidelines of the forum.

The ASEAN Regional Forum involves the 10 ASEAN members -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- as well as Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia and the United States.

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Thursday July 19, 2:55 PM

Doubts over Myanmar talks as Suu Kyi misses ceremony
By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed to turn up for a major national ceremony commemorating the death of her father on Thursday in a possible sign that talks with the military government are in trouble.

The democracy movement leader was represented by senior party member U Lwin, who laid a wreath on her behalf at Martyr's Mausoleum at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda in central Yangon.

The annual ceremony, marking the anniversary of the 1947 assassination of independence hero General Aung San, began in the early morning in heavy rain, attended by several thousand government officials, civil servants and foreign diplomats.

The ruling military was represented by Minister for Culture Win Sein, who laid a laid wreath on behalf of the government.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the 1990 elections but the military refused to let her take power. The two sides have been engaged in delicate political negotiations since October last year.

There had been rumours that restrictions on Suu Kyi, under de facto house arrest since September, would be lifted ahead of the Martyrs' Day ceremony.

No information has been released on the progress of the talks and only a handful of foreign diplomats have been given access to her.

Despite her rift with the ruling generals, Suu Kyi has always attended the ceremony in recent years. But diplomats and officials said last week Suu Kyi had decided not to attend Thursday's ceremony.

TALKS MAY BE IN TROUBLE

Foreign diplomats and observers said if she failed to appear, it would be widely interpreted as a sign that her talks with the government were not going well.

Earlier this year, diplomatic sources said the talks appeared to have stalled, but subsequent prisoner releases and a visit by United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail, who helped broker the talks, stirred hopes the negotiations were still on track.

Since the start of the talks in October, 151 NLD detainees have been released and the party has been given permission to reopen 18 of its branch offices.

Eleven party members were released on the eve of Martyrs' Day, the anniversary of the assassination of Suu Kyi's father and eight senior officials on July 19, 1947.

Suu Kyi failed to attend Martyrs' Day when under official house arrest from 1989 to 1995. She attended the 1995 ceremony, which occurred after her release.

NLD sources said the party planned a low key ceremony to mark Martyrs' Day at the party's headquarters later in the afternoon.

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Thursday July 19, 7:49 PM

Suu Kyi snub raises doubts over Myanmar talks
By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi snubbed a major national ceremony on Thursday commemorating the murder of her father, fuelling fears that landmark peace talks with the military government are in trouble.

Diplomats said the surprise refusal of the 56-year-old Nobel Peace Prize Winner to attend the ceremony was a signal to the outside world that despite attempts by the ruling generals to extend an olive branch, the two sides remain deeply divided.

The military has been holding regular secret meetings with Suu Kyi since October in a bid to break the political deadlock that has gripped the impoverished country for more than a decade.

No news on the progress of the talks has emerged.

Suu Kyi has been kept confined to her Yangon residence since September, out of contact with even her closest aides. Only a handful of foreign diplomats have been allowed to see her.

"It is not good news," said one foreign diplomat in Bangkok. "She can't say anything about the talks but by staying away she is sending a message. We know very little about the talks but this is not a good sign and we are concerned."

In recent years, she had always attended the ceremony, despite her rift with the ruling generals.

A Yangon diplomatic source close to the government told Reuters the ruling generals had been taken by surprise by Suu Kyi's refusal to attend the ceremony.

"They didn't expect this kind of response from her, since understanding is being achieved at the secret talks," he said.

The annual ceremony in Myanmar commemorates the assassination of Suu Kyi's father, independence hero General Aung San, and eight other cabinet ministers.

They were gunned down in 1947 during Myanmar's transition to independence from Britain, when Suu Kyi was just two years old.

SECRET TALKS

The ceremony began in the early morning in heavy rain, attended by several thousand government officials, civil servants and foreign diplomats.

Suu Kyi was represented by U Lwin, a senior member of her national League for Democracy (NLD). He laid wreaths on her behalf at Martyrs' Mausoleum at the foot of the soaring, golden Shwedagon Pagoda.

U Lwin said he had been asked by Suu Kyi to represent her at the ceremony.

Asked why Suu Kyi had not attended the ceremony, one senior NLD member said: "It was her decision."

The NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but was never allowed to govern. Over the last decade its members have faced harassment, arrest and imprisonment.

But since the secret talks began in October, more than 150 detained NLD activists have been released and the party has been given permission to reopen 18 of its branch offices.

The government and opposition have agreed to refrain from open criticism of each other while the talks are going on.

On Wednesday the government released 11 prisoners, including San San Nwe, a noted writer and close friend of Suu Kyi.

Earlier this year, diplomatic sources said the talks appeared to have stalled, but subsequent prisoner releases and a visit by United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail, who helped broker the dialogue, stirred hopes the negotiations were still on track.

Malaysia, a key ally of Myanmar, said on Thursday it was pleased with political developments in Myanmar.

"The most important thing is that there have been signs, indications of reconciliation between the two parties," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told a briefing on an ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Vietnam next week.

But in an atmosphere where signs are all-important, Suu Kyi's failure to turn up on Thursday will be widely seen as a rebuke to the government.

On Thursday afternoon, around 350 NLD members held a separate Martyrs' Day gathering at their Yangon headquarters.

In a speech, U Lwin called for party unity and said he remained hopeful that democracy would emerge in the country.

"We will see the emergence of a genuine democratic state before too long," he told the gathering.

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Thursday July 19, 7:43 PM

ASEAN forum moves toward preventive diplomacy

HANOI (Reuters) - The annual regional forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is maturing into a new phase of preventive diplomacy, Vietnam said on Thursday as it prepares to host a meeting of the forum next week.

The Eighth ASEAN Regional Forum is expected to adopt a paper outlining the concept of heading off potential conflicts between countries, Vietnam's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Le Cong Phung, told a news conference.

"The ARF...will go through three stages, namely confidence building, preventative diplomacy and management and settlement of conflicts," he said.

"The papers expected to be adopted at this conference are necessary preparations of ARF to move to the second stage of preventive diplomacy."

Phung said the move would be a natural progression of the ARF's role in bringing together ASEAN's 10 member states with top officials from world and regional powers such as the United States, Japan, China and South Korea.

ASEAN would remain true to its commitment to non-intervention in member countries' internal affairs, however, and any conflict resolution would have to be done by consensus, he added.

Foreign ministers of member states are expected to adopt a Hanoi Declaration on narrowing the development gap between richer and poorer members at the ASEAN ministerial meeting ahead of the ARF next week.

"The main thrust of this initiative is that ASEAN member countries help their less developed members including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam," he said.

The ASEAN Regional Forum has been noted in past years for its sideline diplomacy.

This year all eyes were expected to be on U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and whether he would meet North Korea's foreign minister to resume stalled talks with the communist state.

North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun was "too busy" to attend the meeting, one of the country's diplomats said on Thursday.

There also appears little hope of adopting a code of conduct for the South China Sea, where China and several ASEAN countries claim ownership of the Spratly Islands.

Phung said ASEAN and China both wanted to adopt a code of conduct quickly. "However, there are still differences," he said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Hanoi this year holds the rotating post of association chair.

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WIRE: 07/19/2001 6:35 am ET

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi a no-show at Martyr's Day ceremony

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) In a possible snub to Myanmar's military rulers, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi did not appear Thursday at an annual ceremony to honor her slain father, independence hero Gen. Aung San.

Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, has attended the official Martyr's Day ceremony for the past six years. There was no indication the government had barred her from the event.

"This is her decision. She asked us to go there," said NLD secretary Lwin when asked whether she had been prevented from coming. He refused to elaborate on her decision.