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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- March 15, 2002.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - EU team in rare meeting with Myanmar's
Suu Kyi
BBC - Rumours fly around EU Burma
visit
VOA News - EU Delegation Meets with
Pro-democracy Leaders in Burma
Bkk Post - Nighttime
river transport halted at border
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday March 15, 7:06 PM
EU team in rare meeting with Myanmar's Suu Kyi By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - European
diplomats held a rare meeting with Myanmar pro-democracy opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi on Friday to gauge prospects for political change in the country in
the wake of claims by the ruling junta to have foiled a planned coup.
The team of four European Union diplomats spent nearly three hours in talks
with Suu Kyi at the lakeside Yangon residence where she has been held under
house arrest for 18 months.
The diplomats, who arrived on Wednesday and leave on Friday, have met both
government and opposition figures during their rare visit.
But they were told on Thursday that powerful military intelligence chief
Khin Nyunt was not available for talks, fuelling speculation of a power struggle
in the junta.
Yangon has been abuzz with rumours and political gossip since the ruling
military announced it had arrested relatives of elderly former dictator Ne Win
for plotting to overthrow the government with help from some military commanders
and an expert in black magic hired to provide astrological advice.
Foreign diplomats are sceptical a coup was planned, saying the allegations
and arrests may stem from disagreements in the government on how to deal with
Suu Kyi and the NLD.
SECRETIVE TALKS
The military has been holding secretive talks with Suu Kyi since October
2000, and has eased some of its harsh restrictions on the NLD, which won
elections in 1990 by a landslide but was never allowed to take power.
Diplomats say a faction led by Khin Nyunt favours dialogue with the
opposition to try to end Myanmar's international isolation, but supporters of
army chief General Maung Aye are against any concessions to Suu Kyi.
Ne Win's family is seen as close to Khin Nyunt, and some analysts say the
current purge could be a bid by hardliners to get the upper hand and scupper any
easing of military rule.
Both the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as the military
government calls itself, and the NLD have said they do not expect the alleged
coup plot to derail their dialogue.
The military government says it is committed to building democracy but that
moving too fast could unleash anarchy and ethnic violence.
Allowing Suu Kyi freedom is a central demand of Western nations pushing for
political change in Myanmar. The European team aims to assess the human rights
and political situation in Myanmar a month before the EU "common position" is
reviewed.
The EU currently maintains a visa ban on the junta's leaders, as well as
trade and aid sanctions.
Myanmar's government has been making efforts to improve its image since the
talks with Suu Kyi began, freeing more than 200 political prisoners.
But the talks have yet to yield any concrete results, and the opposition
says more than 1,000 political prisoners still languish in jail.
The government said on Friday it had released a further five NLD members
from detention, and that all were in good health.
It said 25 female prisoners had also been freed, the latest batch in a
recent programme to release female prisoners who were pregnant or had young
children. Over the last month 272 female detainees have been released.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Friday, 15 March, 2002, 11:21
GMT
Rumours fly around EU Burma visit A high-level European Union delegation visiting Burma has met members of
the pro-democracy opposition amid continuing rumours of a power struggle in the
military government.
The EU team, which is expected to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
later on Friday, is in Burma to encourage the government to make democratic
reforms.
But correspondents say speculation of a power struggle among the senior
generals over how to deal with the opposition is rife in the capital Rangoon.
The rumours are being fuelled by the announcement just days before the EU
delegation arrived that the government had foiled a coup plotted by the family
of the former military ruler, Ne Win.
General 'unavailable'
Observers say the allegations and arrests of members of Ne Win's family may
indicate disagreements over the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).
Military intelligence chief Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, who favours
dialogue with the NLD, was reportedly not available for a scheduled meeting with
the EU diplomats on Thursday.
Khin Nyunt is thought to be opposed by army chief General Maung Aye, whose
supporters are against making any concessions to Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been
confined by the authorities to her Rangoon home since September 2000.
Burma analyst Larry Jagan says Khin Nyunt and Maung Aye, along with head of
state General Than Shwe make up a political triumvirate that wields complete
power in Burma.
The government has been in closed-door reconciliation talks with Aung San
Suu Kyi since October 2000, and both sides have indicated they do not expect the
alleged coup plot to derail their dialogue.
Coup arrests
The government said the alleged coup plot was masterminded by Ne Win's
son-in-law Aye Zaw Win and three of Aye Zaw Win's sons.
They were arrested last Thursday at a Chinese restaurant where they were
said to have been meeting an unnamed military commander.
Ne Win - now in his 90s - seized control of Burma in 1962 and continued to
wield influence after he stepped down in 1988.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOA News
EU Delegation Meets with
Pro-democracy Leaders in Burma
Scott Bobb Bangkok 15 Mar 2002 11:14 UTC A European Union delegation has met with pro-democracy leaders in Burma at
the end of a three-day visit. The visit comes amid political uncertainties after
the Burmese government announced it had foiled a plot to overthrow the
government.
The team of four European Union diplomats met Friday with senior leaders of
the National League for Democracy of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A
spokesman said the delegates asked about the situation in Burma following the
announced coup plot. The delegates were told the situation is a delicate matter
and it is too soon to comment upon it.
The husband and three sons of the daughter of former dictator Ne Win were
arrested last week and accused of plotting to overthrow the government. In
addition, the chiefs of the air force and police and several senior officers
were sacked for involvement in the alleged attempt.
Burmese officials said the accused were planning to kidnap the three senior
leaders of the ruling military council and press them into supporting a new
government loyal to Ne Win. Ne Win stepped down in 1988 after 25 years of
authoritarian rule, but he reportedly retained a great deal of influence in the
military leadership.
Diplomats and political observers have expressed skepticism over the
reported coup. Some say it appeared to be part of a power struggle that has
emerged amidst the weakening health of the 90 year-old former ruler. Others said
the move was aimed at sidelining the family of the former ruler, which was said
to be increasingly irritated over its loss of privileges.
Still others linked it to differences within the ruling council over talks
with the opposition. Some military leaders want to accelerate the talks in order
to end Burma's international isolation. Others reportedly are resisting any
concessions to the pro-democracy movement, which was repressed after elections
12 years ago that were won by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's party.
Opposition leaders Friday said they briefed the EU delegates on the
confidence-building talks that are aimed at leading to a transition to civilian
democracy.
Western governments and some Burmese dissidents have criticized the talks
as too slow. Others, like Professor Chaiyachoke Chulasiriwong of Bangkok's
Chulalongkorn University, note that many dissidents, including some of the
ethnic minorities that have fought the government for decades, are pleased with
the talks. "I think it is going quite well period. I was talking to some of the
minority leaders in Bangkok and they also believe that the talks have been going
well, and it is the right time even for the minorities to have some kind of
dialogue with the SPDC [ruling council]," Professor Chaiyachoke said.
The EU visit to Burma comes one month before the European Union is to
review its common position on Burma. That position currently includes a ban on
visas for council members as well as trade and aid sanctions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Friday 15 March 2002
Nighttime river transport halted at
border
Mae Hong Son _ The use of boats to transport sick villagers down the
Salween river at night was top of the agenda yesterday during talks with Burmese
officials at a border committee meeting.
Col Chainarong Tanarun, commander of the 7th Infantry Regiment's special
task force, led a delegation of Thai officials to meet their Burmese
counterparts in Mae Jae district of Burma's Loikaw province.
The use of the river to transport sick villagers was raised by the Thai
delegation, along with the replacement of poles to demarcate the border
area.
Burma previously protested against moves to sink wooden poles along the
river bank, claiming its territory was being encroached upon. However, the Thai
side argued the poles replaced similar markers that had been damaged.
Burmese authorities confirmed they would no longer allow vessels to use the
Salween river at night.
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