--------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday June 8, 7:23 PM
UN mission to Myanmar in
jeopardy as Suu Kyi meeting hopes fade
YANGON
(AFP) - UN envoy Razali Ismail has
only a slim chance of seeing detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
raising fears his mission to Myanmar to secure her release may end in failure,
sources said.
Razali is expected to cut his trip short if the government
refuses to allow him to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, who was taken into custody
after violent clashes in northern Myanmar in which she is believed to have been
hurt.
After talks with military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt and
Foreign Minister Win Aung, Razali indicated Saturday he had not yet been granted
a meeting, but that he was still hopeful of securing one.
"I am still
discussing this with the government," he told reporters.
But officials
with the envoy in Yangon said he had made little progress in his goals of
securing a meeting and pushing for her release.
"There is a 10 percent
chance that he can see her. It will depend on the meeting tomorrow morning with
the highest officials," the source said, adding that the talks would be with one
of the junta's top-three generals.
"If he doesn't he could leave as soon
as tomorrow," he said. The visit by Razali, who brokered landmark talks between
the government and Aung San Suu Kyi three years ago, began Friday and was due to
run until Tuesday.
The source said the regime's unwillingness to allow
Razali to see Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being held at a military camp outside the
capital, lent weight to suspicions she was injured in the May 30
violence.
"It's very logical to think this, and also she's the number-one
witness," he said. "The officials still say she wasn't hurt, but we won't be
able to verify this as long as we haven't seen her with our own
eyes."
Dozens of people are believed to have been killed in the brutal
confrontation between a pro-junta mob and democracy supporters in northern
Myanmar, where Aung San Suu Kyi had been making a political tour.
The US
State Department, citing reports by embassy officials who visited the scene,
said Aung San Suu Kyi had been the victim of a "premeditated ambush" carried out
by "government-affiliated thugs".
Sources in Yangon said Aung San Suu Kyi
sustained non-life threatening head and shoulder injuries when the mob shattered
her car windscreen.
The United States has led global outrage over her
detention and a wider crackdown on her National League for Democracy (NLD) that
has seen its offices closed down nationwide and its leadership put under house
arrest.
It raised the stakes on the weekend by adding more members of the
junta to its visa blacklist, and threatened further sanctions against the Yangon
regime, which has never recognised the results of 1990 elections won easily by
the NLD.
In a series of vitriolic speeches that indicate the junta has no
intention of backing down, Khin Nyunt blamed Aung San Suu Kyi for the violence
and accused her of smearing the country's reputation.
"With the
assistance of foreign nations, they are committing sabotage acts ... and
manufacturing accusations to tarnish the image of the state," he said, without
mentioning the opposition by name.
Thailand on Saturday also called for
Aung San Suu Kyi's release, and said the junta had given assurances she was
unharmed and that her detention was temporary.
Thailand rarely comments
on the internal affairs of its neighbour, with which it has prickly ties, and
its concern indicates growing unease among Southeast Asian nations over the
worsening political situation in Myanmar.
On Sunday Razali met with
western ambassadors in Yangon as well as leaders of ethnic pro-democracy parties
who issued a strongly worded statement Saturday condemning the crackdown against
the NLD as a "terrorist act".
--------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar authorities deny rumours of Suu Kyi lieutenant's
death
YANGON, June 8 (AFP) - Myanmar authorities Sunday denied
persistent rumours that a top figure in Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy
opposition was killed during bloody clashes in the country's north last month.
Dissident groups said National League for Democracy (NLD) vice-chairman
Tin Oo, 76, was accompanying Aung San Suu Kyi on a political tour of the region
when their car was attacked by a pro-junta mob on May 30.
Sources in
Yangon said the opposition leader was injured in the head and shoulder when the
gang smashed the car's windscreen, and that in the absence of any news about Tin
Oo they feared rumours of his death could be true.
"The rumours are
totally false, he is very much alive and well and we have even sent him some
medicine he has asked for from his family," a source close to the military
government told AFP.
In the first comments on Tin Oo's fate since the
unrest, which is believed to have left as many as 100 people dead, the source
said he was being held at Kale prison in Sagaing division on the India-Myanmar
border.
Aung San Suu Kyi was brought back to Yangon and is being held at
a military camp outside the capital, while the rest of the NLD leadership is
under house arrest in Yangon.
Nearly 20 members of the NLD's youth wing
who made up the rest of Aung San Suu Kyi's entourage are believed to be held at
Yangon's notorious Insein jail.
Tin Oo served as defence minister and
commander in chief of the military under former dictator Ne Win, and held the
rank of full general until he was sacked on March 6, 1976.
After falling
out of favour with Ne Win, he was accused of bribery and corruption. He was
later charged with involvement in a coup plot and jailed for seven years.
Tin Oo was released from jail in May 1980 under a general amnesty and
entered the monkhook for two years before pursuing legal studies and then
becoming the co-founder of the NLD along with Aung San Suu Kyi.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Outrage over Suu Kyi but Myanmar people too beaten down to
protest
YANGON, June 8 (AFP) - While Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest has
provoked outrage across the globe, there has been little reaction from Myanmar's
impoverished people who have been worn down by four decades of brutal military
rule.
Myanmar's economy, which is barely functioning after years of
mismanagement and international sanctions, has left the vast majority of people
more concerned about finding their next meal than thinking about political
change.
"Economically they've been so put down. What they're concerned
with is educating their kids and getting enough to eat. The greater politics
doesn't really affect them," a western diplomat told AFP.
"That's the
bizarre thing at the moment, it's outwardly calm. But you don't have to dig very
hard to see that there is some concern about what's going on."
Democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi was put under "protective custody" by the ruling
military following violent clashes on May 30 between her supporters and a
military-backed group.
US President George W. Bush has led a barrage of
international criticism against the regime's move, but the mood in Yangon and
the rest of the country has remained calm with no evidence of increased
security.
"People have accepted it in their stride and it won't bring
them out on the streets, but they know what happened," the diplomat said.
A combination of grinding poverty and the sheer might of the regime has
left the population ill-equipped to launch a repeat of the 1988 pro-democracy
protests that were bloodily repressed by the military, she added.
"There's not the capacity here to do an '88. The government has learnt
over the last 14 years how to emasculate the people."
Gross
mismanagement by the ruling generals has turned a once-thriving and
resource-rich nation into an economic basket case, and ordinary people face a
daily battle to make ends meet.
Sanctions have also decimated the
economy since being imposed by an alarmed international community after the 1988
protests and the 1990 elections won by Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition but which
the junta refused to recognise.
A currency depreciation early last year
raised the prices of basic commodities and was compounded by a banking crisis
which unfolded in February after a panicky run on banks.
After Aung San
Suu Kyi's arrest, Mandalay businessman Ko Kyaw Kyaw told AFP that people were
bracing themselves for worse to come.
"People are expecting that the
incident will cause rising commodity prices and currency exchange rates but
nothing has changed too much yet," he said.
"Business is going as usual
but has been no good since February anyway when the banking crisis began."
Many Myanmar citizens keep up with the news through banned international
radio broadcasts, but while this small act of defiance is common, they are still
too frightened of the military's power to take to the streets.
"The
military intelligence agents and their informers are spreading everywhere. Most
of the people would support anyone who acts openly against the government but
many are too scared to be involved," the businessman said.
"People are
sharing news with each other but not in the public arena."
Despite the
lack of public reaction on the streets, Aung San Suu Kyi's immense popularity
has never been in doubt.
Thousands of excited people thronged to see the
charismatic leader in every village and town as she made roving political tours
across the country following her release from house arrest in May last year.
"Her travels have shown how popular she still is and that has surprised
the military because she has been suffocated for publicity," the diplomat
said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday June 8, 1:25 PM
Myanmar steps up Suu Kyi
criticism
By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON
(Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta
has stepped up its criticism of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
on Sunday, indicating a visit by a United Nations envoy to secure her freedom
may end in failure.
International concern has intensified over the
health and whereabouts of the Nobel Peace Prize winner since a deadly clash
between her supporters and those of the junta on May 30 as Suu Kyi was touring a
provincial town in the north.
Military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt,
the third-ranked general in Myanmar's leadership, was quoted by state media on
Sunday blaming Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) for the violence.
"The untoward events occurred because some people were misled into
following a misinterpretation of democracy," Khin Nyunt was quoted as telling
trainee teachers in a speech on Saturday. "These events will serve as lessons."
Dissidents in exile say members of a pro-government group, which had
been following Suu Kyi's convoy in four trucks, beat to death as many as 75
members of Suu Kyi's entourage and local villagers with bamboo and iron bars.
They say Suu Kyi received head and shoulder injuries although her car
sped off soon after the violence erupted. The government has said four people
died and 50 were injured.
Khin Nyunt's reported comments marked his
second verbal assault on the NLD in two days and coincided with his meeting on
Saturday with U.N. envoy Razali Ismail. He had earlier blamed the clashes on
what he called the NLD's "course of confrontation".
ENVOY MAY
CUT SHORT TRIP
Veteran Malaysian diplomat Razali emerged from a
meeting with Khin Nyunt on Saturday saying he was "still talking" to the
government.
But aides to the envoy say he may cut short his visit on
Monday in protest if the ruling generals deny access to Suu Kyi.
Razali's trip was planned several weeks ago and scheduled to end on June
10, but events changed his mandate. He is now trying to persuade the junta to
free Suu Kyi and at least let him see her rather than encourage dialogue between
the two sides.
Razali also saw foreign ministry officials and foreign
diplomats on Saturday and was due to meet leaders of key ethnic minority
opposition parties on Sunday. The junta's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, was
away from Yangon, Razali's aides said.
The NLD easily won Myanmar's last
free elections in 1990 but was never allowed to rule. The military has ruled the
country since a 1962 coup.
Suu Kyi has spent much of the past 14 years
under house arrest and was last released in May 2002. Since May 30, the junta
has kept her in undisclosed locations and confined NLD leaders to their houses.
The junta has also shut NLD offices and closed universities, which are
seen as hotbeds of support for Suu Kyi.
International pressure has
mounted on the Myanmar regime in recent days, with the United Sates, Britain and
the European Union saying they are considering slapping on more trade and
investment sanctions because of Suu Kyi's treatment.
The Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which usually avoids commenting on the
internal politics of members, such as Myanmar, expressed concern on Saturday
about developments in Yangon, saying they were harming the group's image.
But Khin Nyunt suggested in his speech that Myanmar was unworried by the
external pressure.
"The Union of Myanmar, with or without foreign
assistance, will continue to strive for the emergence of a peaceful, modern,
developed and democratic nation," he was quoted as saying.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday June 8, 1:40 PM
ANALYSIS-Asia diplomacy call
for Myanmar risks falling flat
By Patrick
Chalmers
KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (Reuters) - If the fate of Myanmar's pro-democracy
activists hinges on Asian governments pressuring Yangon generals to change,
their prospects may be bleak.
Yet that was what United Nations envoy
Razali Ismail was seeking this week before going to Myanmar on what could be his
toughest visit yet.
The much-delayed trip, Razali's 10th since taking
office more than three years back, came despite a crackdown on opposition forces
and the detention of their leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Razali began a third
day of meetings in Yangon on Sunday, awaiting word on whether he would be
allowed to meet Suu Kyi.
"I cannot do the job on my own. I have to have
support. Regional players must come into action," he told Reuters in an
interview before he left on Friday.
"I think the Americans have a big
role to play," he added.
China, one of the countries Razali called on to
help, could hold the most sway over its neighbour and land route to the Indian
Ocean.
Whether Beijing would care to push political issues in a place
where its money and businesses loom large is a big if.
Yet Alan Dupont,
senior fellow specialising in Asian security risks at the Australian National
University, said China's recent change in president could play a part.
MORE WILLING TO COMPROMISE
"The current Chinese
leadership under Hu Jintao has shown itself much more willing to compromise with
the U.S. on these sorts of issues," he said, pointing to Beijing's engagement in
North Korea's nuclear crisis.
"The Americans are clearly going to react
quite strongly to what's happened in Myanmar and they are going to go to China
to see what they can do," he added.
Razali himself admits nothing else
has worked so far, neither Western governments' direct pressure nor the softly,
softly engagement line pushed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The envoy's call for action included the other two regional powers,
India and Japan, and Myanmar's nine partners in the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"Japan has a very comprehensive relationship with
Myanmar. It claims to understand the military better than any other country. The
onus now is on Japan to try to help," he said on Thursday.
But one Asian
diplomat in Kuala Lumpur, who asked not to be identified, doubted Tokyo's
influence on Yangon, noting its efforts to contact the generals since Suu Kyi's
arrest had proved fruitless.
Japan did back Razali's efforts in public
on Friday, pledging continued support for his mission.
India's Ministry
of External Affairs was more circumspect.
"India is watching the
developments in Myanmar closely but believes that solution to internal problems
must come from within," a spokesperson told the Indian Express.
ASEAN
diplomats in Kuala Lumpur said outspoken statements were unthinkable from the
bloc, which Myanmar joined in 1997 when Mahathir suggested membership could
bring progress via less grating methods than those used by Western capitals.
"I don't think ASEAN as a whole will want to go against one of its own,"
one diplomat said.
"At most, what you can expect is for the individual
ASEAN countries to speak directly to the Myanmar leadership," he added.
ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong put it clearly during a visit to
Kuala Lumpur last Tuesday.
"You cannot go in and tell your family member
you cannot do this, you cannot do that," Bernama news agency quoted him as
saying after a meeting with Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
--------------------------------------------------------------
U.N. Envoy to Push Myanmar Junta Head on Suu
Kyi
2 hours, 51 minutes ago
By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON, Myanmar (Reuters) - A U.N. envoy visiting Myanmar to secure
the release of Aung Saan Suu Kyi will meet the head of the ruling junta Monday,
an aide to the envoy said, in what may be a final bid to see the detained Nobel
laureate.
The junta stepped up its criticism of Suu Kyi Sunday, blaming
her for a deadly clash between her supporters and those of the junta on May 30
that sparked international concern over whether the pro-democracy leader had
been injured.
The aide to United Nations envoy Razali Ismail said the
junta's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, was out of Yangon but was expected
back in time for the planned meeting Monday.
U.N. sources in New York
said Razali's orders from U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan were to meet Suu Kyi
and leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and said he would cut
short his mission and leave Myanmar if these requests were denied.
Razali met ethnic minority leaders Sunday. These leaders also said the
veteran Malaysian diplomat expected to meet a top leader of the junta Monday
morning, at which time he would find out whether he would be allowed to see Suu
Kyi.
"He doesn't seem to have lost his optimism yet," Khun Tun Oo, the
chairman of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, told Reuters after he
met Razali.
SUU KYI BLAMED
Military
intelligence chief Khin Nyunt, the third-ranked general in Myanmar's leadership,
was quoted by state media on Sunday blaming the NLD for the violence, which
erupted as Suu Kyi toured a provincial town in the north.
"The untoward
events occurred because some people were misled into following a
misinterpretation of democracy," Khin Nyunt was quoted as telling trainee
teachers in a speech on Saturday. "These events will serve as lessons."
Dissidents in exile say members of a pro-government group, which had
followed Suu Kyi's convoy in four trucks, beat to death as many as 75 members of
Suu Kyi's entourage and local villagers with bamboo and iron bars.
They
say Suu Kyi received head and shoulder injuries although her car sped off soon
after the violence erupted. The government has said four people died and 50 were
injured.
Khin Nyunt's reported comments, his second verbal assault on
the NLD in two days, coincided with his meeting Saturday with Razali. He had
earlier blamed the clashes on what he called the NLD's "course of
confrontation."
INTERNATIONAL
PRESSURE
Razali's trip was planned several weeks ago and
scheduled to end on June 10, but events changed his mandate, which had been to
encourage dialogue between the two sides. He is now trying to persuade the junta
to free Suu Kyi and at least let him see her.
The NLD easily won
Myanmar's last free elections in 1990 but was never allowed to rule. The
military has ruled the country, which is also known as Burma, since a 1962 coup.
Suu Kyi has spent much of the past 14 years under house arrest and was
last released in May 2002.
Since the May 30 clash, the junta has kept
her in undisclosed locations and confined NLD leaders to their homes.
The junta has also shut NLD offices and closed universities, which are
seen as hotbeds of support for Suu Kyi.
International pressure has
mounted on the Myanmar regime in recent days, with the United Sates, Britain and
the European Union saying they are considering more trade and investment
sanctions because of Suu Kyi's treatment.
The Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN), which usually avoids commenting on the internal politics
of members, such as Myanmar, expressed concern Saturday about developments in
Yangon, saying they were harming the group's image.
But Khin Nyunt
suggested in his speech that Myanmar was unworried by external pressure.
"The Union of Myanmar, with or without foreign assistance, will continue
to strive for the emergence of a peaceful, modern, developed and democratic
nation," he was quoted as saying.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar's Rulers Lash Out at Critics
By AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press Writer
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)
- Myanmar's military rulers lashed out against pro-democracy forces as a special
U.N. envoy on Sunday failed for a third day to secure the release of opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
U.N. envoy Razali Ismail, on the third day of a
five-day mission, has received no public indication that he would be able to
even meet with Suu Kyi, who is being held at a secret location following a
bloody clash May 30 in northern Myanmar.
Instead, the country's
intelligence chief and third-ranked leader Gen. Khin Nyunt lashed out at
"internal destructive elements" ? a reference to Suu Kyi and her National League
for Democracy. He said they were undermining Myanmar's peace and stability.
"Untoward events occurred on May 30 since some people were misled into
following the misinterpretation of democracy," he said in a speech Saturday to
school teachers in the central Myanmar town of Maymyo.
The speech was
carried in state-run newspapers Sunday.
Myanmar has not allowed access
to Suu Kyi since her followers clashed with pro-junta supporters during which at
least four people died. Authorities have only said that she is unhurt and in
custody at "a safe place." Offices of her NLD party have been shut and other
opposition members detained.
Exiled opposition figures in Thailand say
Suu Kyi may have received head injuries in the violence, which they say left up
to 70 people dead.
Her detention has drawn sharp international criticism
and U.S. threats of tighter economic sanctions against Myanmar's ruling junta.
But its rulers have remained defiant.
"With or without foreign
assistance, the Union of Myanmar will continue to strive for the emergence of a
peaceful, developed and democratic nation," Khin Nyunt said.
In an
earlier speech Khin Nyunt, who met with Razali on Saturday, accused the NLD of
corruption and triggering the May 30 violence by seeking a confrontation with
the government.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said he is
"gravely concerned" about the detention of Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders.
The United States also is demanding that Razali is granted access to Suu
Kyi.
Washington has tightened visa restrictions against the Myanmar
regime, to cover all officials of the government-linked social organization, the
Union Solidarity Development Association, said to have orchestrated rallies
against Suu Kyi.
The Bush administration also said it wants Congress to
impose more sanctions. The United States already has some economic and
diplomatic restrictions against Myanmar.
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1991 for her nonviolent struggle for democracy, spent six years
under house arrest from 1989-95. Her party won general elections in 1990 but was
blocked by the military from taking power.
Razali in late 2000 brokered
reconciliation talks between Suu Kyi and the government, and helped secure her
release from another 19 months of house arrest in May 2002.
--------------------------------------------------------------
San Francisco Chronicle
Pro-democracy
workers under siege in Burma
Larry Habegger, James O'Reilly, Special
to The Chronicle
Sunday, June 8, 2003
Burma: The military
junta cracked down on democracy advocates and placed opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi under house arrest after at least four died and as many as 70 were
injured (according to independent reports) in clashes in northern Burma between
her supporters and a junta-sponsored group. Universities across the country have
been closed indefinitely because they have been the sites of pro-democracy
fervor in the past. Many of Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters have been arrested,
her party's offices padlocked and their phone lines cut; some analysts speculate
this could lead to Burmese student protests.
China: For the first time
in more than 50 years, foreigners will soon be able to stay anywhere they wish
in Beijing. A trial plan began May 28 to lift restrictions that force foreigners
to stay in government-approved hotels or apartments. The formal lifting of
restrictions is scheduled for Oct. 1, the only exclusion being "non-open areas
or military areas."
Pakistan: If the usual risks of terrorism,
anti-Americanism and sectarian violence aren't enough, there's now another
danger to add to the list in Pakistan: going to the circus. A mob of more than
100 youths led by a cleric in Gujranwala, near Lahore, attacked the audience
with sticks and clubs, then torched the circus because they felt it was obscene
and un-Islamic. Hundreds were injured in the stampede to safety. Police closed
another circus and eight theaters to prevent further attacks. No arrests were
made.
Thailand: Authorities have protested Australia's recent travel
advisory stating that "Australians in Thailand, including Phuket and Pattaya,
should exercise extreme caution, particularly in commercial and public areas
known to be frequented by foreigners." Thailand feels it and its neighbors
deserve praise rather than sanctions for their anti-terrorism efforts. Security
experts have also raised concerns that terrorist activity in Thailand and
Cambodia might increase as extremists flee security clampdowns in Singapore,
Malaysia and Indonesia. The recent arrests in Cambodia of two Thai Muslims
believed to be members of Jemaah Islamiah suggest that these concerns may be
valid.
--------------------------------------------------------------
BBC News - Sunday, 8 June, 2003
Burma
defiant over Suu Kyi
The Burmese military leadership has
maintained its defiant posture in the face of mounting world criticism over the
detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
General Khin Nyunt -
the junta's number three - criticised the pro-democracy leader for allegedly
provoking the "untoward events" of 30 May, when a violent confrontation erupted
in a northern provincial town.
Dozens are feared to have died, and Aung
San Suu Kyi is herself thought to have been injured, but there is as yet no
independent confirmation of what happened.
Meanwhile, a UN envoy in
Burma said he was "still talking" to the government about Aung San Suu Kyi, but
had as yet been unable to secure a commitment to her release or any agreement
that he will be allowed to see her.
Razali Ismail arrived on Friday and
is scheduled to stay in Burma until Tuesday.
But UN officials have
hinted strongly that he may leave early if he is not allowed to see Aung San Suu
Kyi.
General's rebuke
In a speech to a group of
school teachers quoted in state media on Sunday, General Khin Nyunt said:
"Untoward events occurred on 30 May since some people were misled into following
the misinterpretation of democracy.
"With or without foreign assistance,
the Union of Myanmar will continue to strive for the emergence of a peaceful,
developed and democratic nation enlisting our own national forces in accordance
with the national objectives, Myanmar social values and social norms," he said.
Myanmar is another name for Burma.
On Saturday, he blamed Aung
San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy for steering a "course of
confrontation" that resulted in the 30 May violence.
She was taken into
what military authorities described as "protective custody" after the violence,
which the military junta said had left four people dead and 50 injured.
The military authorities said she was not injured during the clashes,
but no-one has been allowed to see her and there is mounting concern for her
health and safety.
Exiled opposition figures in Thailand say up to 70 people
died in the incident.
Officials from the United States embassy in
Rangoon, who have visited the scene, said it appeared to have been a deliberate
attack by "government-affiliated thugs".
Mr Razali helped broker peace talks
between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military more than two years ago.
It
led to her release last May after nearly 20 months under house arrest, but
progress has since stalled.
Burma has been condemned for its apparent
retreat from reconciliation with Aung San Suu Kyi, with threats of added
economic sanctions from the United States and European Union.
Thailand protests
UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan on Friday said he was "gravely concerned" about her detention, and the
reported detention of other leaders in her National League for Democracy.
In an unusual step, Thailand has called for her release and said it had
been given assurances she was unharmed and the detention was temporary.
Thailand, which has prickly relations with its secretive neighbour,
rarely comments on Burmese affairs.
Since her release, Aung San Suu Kyi
has attracted large crowds during her travels around the country.
Under
her leadership, the National League for Democracy won 1990 elections by a
landslide but the military junta refused to hand over power.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
Thaksin calls for release
of Suu Kyi
Published on Jun 8, 2003
In a rare
diplomatic move, Thailand yesterday urged the Burmese junta to immediately
release Aung San Suu Kyi.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday
said that the Thai government had talked to the junta and called for the
immediate release of Suu Kyi ?so that the process of national reconciliation
could proceed?.
Thaksin said that Burma?s Foreign Minister Win Aung had
reassured his Thai counterpart Surakiart Sathirathai that Suu Kyi was safe and
had not been hurt.
Meanwhile, an eyewitness at the clash near a village
in Sagaing Division?s Depayin township between opposition and pro-government
supporters last Friday week said Suu Kyi was injured.
The Burmese
witness wrote in a letter obtained by the Thai-based Irrawaddy Magazine that
thugs broke the windows of Suu Kyi?s vehicle and beat her with bamboo sticks.
The letter said that the attack was sparked by members of Union Solidarity
Development Association, an organisation headed by General Than Shwe, who leads
the military clique that runs the country.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Editorial:
Burma shame / Repression in Myanmar takes an economic toll
Sunday,
June 08, 2003
Burma, which since 1989 has called itself Myanmar,
is living proof of the contention that political liberty and economic
development go hand in hand and that political backwardness takes a toll in
prosperity.
Economically, the primarily Buddhist nation of some 43
million is a sick pussycat among the Asian tigers. After a period of a more
relaxed political climate, its government again has cracked down hard on the
political opposition, putting popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi under "protective
custody."
Burma's political history since independence from the British
in 1948 can be characterized only as violent and sad. Successive governments
have faced internal revolts from different political and ethnic groups. The
invariable response has been the imposition of military rule.
Heavy-handed military dictators and a military council headed by Senior
Gen. Than Shwe, in power since 1988, have smothered the country's economy,
taking more than a tiger's share of revenues and stamping out virtually all
private enterprise. Myanmar maintains a standing army of nearly a half-million.
The star of the political opposition is Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung
San Suu Kyi. Ms. Kyi's party won an overwhelming victory in the 1990 elections,
garnering 80 percent of the vote in the first free elections to be held in 30
years. The military refused to hand over power. She has been locked up off and
on since 1989.
Freed most recently last year, Ms. Kyi is now once again
under detention. The United States has maintained economic sanctions against
Myanmar since 1997. Gen. Than Shwe's government is most likely to pay attention
to economic pressure that can be applied by two regional organizations, APEC
(Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) and ASEAN (Association of Southeast
Asian Nations). APEC and ASEAN should turn up the heat on the junta to set Ms.
Kyi free.
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The Age
Generals ignore pleas for Suu
Kyi's release
June 8 2003
Reaffirming that it would
follow its own hardline policies, Burma's ruling generals took a defiant stand
as a special UN envoy today sought the release from military custody of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
On the third day of a five-day
mission, envoy Razali Ismail has received no public indication that he would be
able to even meet with Suu Kyi, who is being detained at a secret location
following a bloody clash in northern Burma 10 days ago.
Instead, the
country's intelligence chief and third-ranked leader General Khin Nyunt lashed
out at "internal destructive elements" - a reference to Suu Kyi and her National
League for Democracy - which he said were undermining the peace and stability of
the country.
"Untoward events occurred on May 30 since some people were
misled into following the misinterpretation of democracy," he said in a speech
yesterday to school teachers in the central Burma town of Maymyo.
The
speech, which referred to the clash, was carried in state-run newspapers today.
"With or without foreign assistance, the Union of Myanmar (Burma) will
continue to strive for the emergence of a peaceful, developed and democratic
nation enlisting our own national forces in accordance with the national
objectives, Myanmar (Burmese) social values and social norms," Khin Nyunt said.
Suu Kyi's detention has drawn sharp criticism from around the world and
threats of more economic sanctions from the United States.
In an earlier
speech Khin Nyunt, who met with Razali yesterday, accused the NLD of corruption
and triggering the May 30 violence by seeking a confrontation with the
government.
Burma has not allowed access to Suu Kyi since the clash
involving pro-junta supporters and her followers in which at least four people
died, saying only she is unhurt and in custody at "a safe place".
Offices of her NLD party have been shut and other opposition members
detained.
Exiled opposition figures in Thailand say Suu Kyi may have
received head injuries in the violence, which they say left up to 70 people
dead.
Adding to criticism from around the world, UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan has said he is "gravely concerned" about the detention of Suu Kyi and
other NLD leaders.
The United States also is demanding Razali access to Suu
Kyi and her release.
Washington has tightened visa restrictions against
the Burmese regime, to cover all officials of the government-linked social
organisation, the Union Solidarity Development Association, said to have
orchestrated rallies against Suu Kyi.
The restrictions previously barred
entry only to senior government officials and their immediate families.
The Bush administration also said it wants Congress to impose more
economic sanctions against Burma and was reviewing legislation to prohibit
imports from the impoverished country.
The United States already has
some economic and diplomatic restrictions against Burma, including a ban on new
investments.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Friday
the Bush administration believed the May 30 violence was a premeditated ambush
of Suu Kyi's motorcade, which suggests the military government had decided to
end efforts at national reconciliation.
Tight media controls and the
remote location of the clash have made it difficult to confirm independently
what happened.
The junta says the violence was sparked when Suu Kyi's
motorcade drove through a crowd of thousands of government supporters and denies
the government was behind the unrest.
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace
Prize for her nonviolent struggle for democracy, spent six years under house
arrest in 1989-95. Her party won general elections in 1990 but was blocked by
the military from taking power.
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