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BURMA RELATED NEWS - June 11,
2003.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - Myanmmar
junta under intense pressure to release Suu Kyi
AFP - Philippines
welcomes report on Suu Kyi's condition
AFP - US ramps up
bombast against Myanmar as Bush demands Suu Kyi release
AP - Myanmar
Opposition Press For Suu Kyi's Immediate Release
AP - Myanmar
opposition welcomes U.N. envoy assurance on Suu Kyi
Reuters - Australia
suspends human rights talks in Myanmar
Reuters -
ANALYSIS-More sanctions on Myanmar may have scant impact
Reuters - Myanmar
says Suu Kyi to be freed soon
Reuters - U.S.
Reviews Myanmar Policies, May Expand Sanctions
Reuters - Myanmar's
Suu Kyi Held for 12th Day by Junta
The Star online -
Mahathir: We want to see quick release of Suu Kyi
The Nation -
Opinion - When nationalism becomes self-serving
The Nation -
Terrorism a key topic in US talks
The Nation -
Letters to Editor - Just one missile could help Burmese
NYT - Burmese
Junta's Remedy: Crackdown
ST - U.S. team
details attack on Suu Kyi in Myanmar
CSM - Silence in
Southeast Asia
WP - Where Is She?
WP - U.S. Asks for
Pressure to Release Burmese Activist
ABC online -
Australian foreign minister says no to Burma sanctions
ABC online - US in
process of banning Burma imports
Washington File -
House Panel Chair Decries Burma Regime's 'Long Train of
Abuses'
Kyodo News - Japan
may have to review its aid policy for Myanmar
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Wednesday June 11, 4:44 PM
Myanmmar junta under
intense pressure to release Suu Kyi
YANGON, June 11
(AFP) - Myanmar's junta was under
intense pressure to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with a renewed
appeal from the United Nations and protests from the United States which called
her detention "shameful".
UN envoy Razali Ismail, who met with the
National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Tuesday in the closing hours of his
mission to Myanmar, pronounced her "well and in good spirits" and said he
expected her to be freed in two weeks.
"I'm hoping and praying she will
come out earlier than that," the Malaysian diplomat told reporters in Kuala
Lumpur. "They gave assurances that she will be released but did not give any
details," he said.
He said he had asked the junta to release her
immediately "but they say it will take time and they have to look at other
circumstances."
Aung San Suu Kyi has been held incommunicado at a
military camp outside Yangon since May 30 clashes in northern Myanmar which
pitted her supporters against a pro-junta gang, reportedly leaving as many as
100 dead.
Amid growing fears that she had been injured in the violence,
there was relief that Razali had been able to see her and check on her health,
but the junta's last-minute move did not alleviate the pressure for her
release.
The United States, which has led an international outpouring of
anger over her detention, stepped up its rhetorical war overnight, calling the
situation "outrageous," "shameful" and "unacceptable."
As President
George W. Bush and visiting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra demanded the
Nobel peace laureate's immediate release, the State Department said her
detention had "turned back" the clock of Myanmar's progress toward
democracy.
The two leaders "agreed on the need for immediate release of
Aung San Suu Kyi" and members of the NLD, said Fleischer, while declining to
comment on the possibility of stepped-up US sanctions.
Deputy State
Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Washington had been pleased to learn
that Aung San Suu Kyi had been unharmed in the melee that broke out during a
political tour of the north.
But he stressed that the United States
remained "deeply concerned" about her welfare and that of other NLD members who
have been detained in a wider crackdown on the pro-democracy
opposition.
"The Burmese regime's continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi
and other members of her party is outrageous, is shameful, is unacceptable," he
said. "They should be released immediately."
UN chief Kofi Annan called
overnight for the ruling generals to revive a stalled reconciliation process
with the democratic opposition which Razali initiated in October
2002.
Annan said the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi was "not merely a
question of 'law and order,' but rather one that derives from the political
aspirations of the Myanmar people."
Razali said Suu Kyi had told him "she
wants to go forward with the national reconciliation" and that he had received
similar assurances from the military junta.
"I got assurances from her,
but the UN has to play a sterling role to see that despite the problems
encountered they could still sit down and work out the national reconciliation,"
he said.
The May 30 incident, which the US has termed a "premeditated
ambush" on Aung San Suu Kyi by "government-affiliated thugs" has prompted a
review of US policy that has already led to an expansion of its visa
blacklist.
That review could result in other sanctions including asset
freezes and a ban on remittances sent by Myanmar families in the United States
to their relatives in the country, as well as restrictions on travel-related
transactions by US citizens visiting Myanmar.
The European Union has also
threatened to heap more sanctions on the military government if the opposition
leader is not released.
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US ramps up bombast against Myanmar as Bush demands Suu
Kyi release
Tue Jun 10, 3:22 PM ET
WASHINGTON
(AFP) - The United States stepped up
its rhetorical war against Myanmar's military rulers over their treatment of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, calling her continued detention
"outrageous," "shameful" and "unacceptable."
As President George W. Bush
and visiting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra demanded the Nobel
laureate's immediate release, the State Department said her detention had
"turned back" the clock of Myanmar's progress toward democracy.
Bush and
Thaksin "expressed their deep concern over the recent developments in Burma, in
particular the violence that occurred on May 30," when the activist was
arrested, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
They further "agreed
on the need for immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi" and members of her
National League for Democracy (NLD), he said.
Shortly after his
comments, deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Washington had
been pleased to learn from UN special envoy Razali Ismail that Aung San Suu Kyi
had been unharmed in the May 30 melee that engulfed her convoy.
But he
stressed that the United States remained "deeply concerned" about her welfare
and that of other detained officials from her party.
"We welcome the
news that Aung San Suu Kyi has not been injured, but clearly the clock of
Burma's progress towards democracy has effectively been turned back," Reeker
said, using the country's former name.
"The Burmese regime's continued
detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of her party is outrageous, is
shameful, is unacceptable," he said. "They should be released immediately."
Earlier Tuesday, Razali met Aung San Suu Kyi at a military camp near the
capital, Yangon, and said he believed the junta intended to release her within
two weeks.
The May 30 incident, coupled with a more general crackdown on
the NLD that followed, has prompted a review of US policy toward Myanmar that
has already led to an expansion of Washington's visa blacklist from members of
the government to affiliated organizations and state-run businesses.
That review is ongoing and may result in other possible sanctions which
could include asset freezes and a ban on remittances sent by Myanmarese families
in the United States to their relatives in the country, as well as restrictions
on travel-related transactions by US citizens visiting Myanmar.
The
State Department said on June 5 it believed the convoy attack had been a
"premeditated ambush" by "government-affiliated thugs," and it has rejected
Yangon's explanations for the incident as "lacking credibility."
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Philippines welcomes report on Suu Kyi's
condition
MANILA, June 11 (AFP) - The Philippines welcomed Wednesday a report
by UN special envoy Razali Ismail that Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
was safe and unharmed and expressed hope the ruling junta would soon free the
Nobel Peace laureate.
"This is welcome news ineed," Foreign Secretary
Blas Ople said in a statement. "Now that we know that she is found to be safe,
we hope to see the day when she will be freed."
Ismail on Tuesday met
the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader while on a mission to Myanmar and
later pronounced Aung San Suu Kyi "well and in good spirits."
Ople said
the Philippines was hoping that the decision of Myanmar's ruling junta to allow
the UN envoy's visit could be an indication that it will "begin heeding the call
of the international community, particularly on matters relating to the rights
and freedom of Madam Suu Kyi."
Myanmar envoy to Manila U Tin Htun was
summoned by Ople last Friday to question him about Aung San Suu Kyi, who was
placed in "protective custody" by the ruling military junta following clashes
between her supporters and a pro-government mob that left dozens dead.
Ople said he and other Southeast Asian diplomats may informally ask
Myanmar's foreign minister to give developments on Aung San Suu Kyi when they
meet in Cambodia later this week.
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Wednesday June 11, 2:40 PM
Myanmar Opposition Press
For Suu Kyi's Immediate Release
YANGON (AP)--Myanmar's opposition groups on Wednesday
welcomed assurances by a U.N. envoy that Aung San Suu Kyi is doing well in
military detention, but echoed demands by world leaders for her immediate
release.
U.N. envoy Razali Ismail ended a five-day mission to Myanmar on
Tuesday after meeting with Suu Kyi for an hour - the first outsider to see her
since her arrest on May 30 following clashes between her supporters and
government backers.
Razali, a Malaysian diplomat, later told reporters
that Suu Kyi was unhurt in the clashes and that he expects Myanmar's military
government to free her in about two weeks.
However, Suu Kyi's supporters
and world leaders - including U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.S. President
George W. Bush and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad - say they want her
freed immediately.
"We are very happy to learn that Aung San Suu Kyi is
in good health and in good spirit," said San Aung, a senior member of Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy party living in exile in Australia. He was
contacted by phone from Bangkok, Thailand.
"Now our concern is not about
her health but our concern is whether (the junta) will release her soon," he
said. "We are calling on the international community, especially United Nation,
to put more pressure" on the government, he said.
Khun Tun Oo, the
chairman of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, a second opposition party,
said he was "happy to know" that Suu Kyi wasn't injured.
Myanmar's
state-controlled media blacked out the news of Suu Kyi's meeting with Razali.
The current junta has steadily ignored international demands to give up
power it seized in 1988. The generals called national elections in 1990 but
refused to honor the results that gave NLD a thumping victory. The following
year Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent struggle for
democracy.
A national reconciliation dialogue between Suu Kyi and the
junta was initiated by Razali in October 2000, but no tangible results have
emerged. The May 30 incidents have further strained the government's
credibility.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in a statement Tuesday
that Annan "remains seriously concerned" by the Suu Kyi's continued detention.
"He, once again, strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to release her
and other NLD leaders from the continued detention immediately and begin a
dialogue aimed at national reconciliation without further delay," Eckhard said.
On Tuesday, Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win issued a
statement saying the "safe custody measures" against Suu Kyi would be lifted,
but he didn't say when.
Maung Win reiterated the government's assertion
that the clashes that led to Suu Kyi's arrest were sparked when her motorcade
tried to plow through thousands of pro-government protesters blocking the unlit
road at night.
This resulted in a fight that left four people dead and
38 injured, he said.
He denied assertions by exiled opposition figures
in Thailand that pro-junta thugs started the violence and that as many as 70
people were killed. The U.S. State Department has said evidence corroborates
accounts of a premeditated ambush by junta supporters.
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Myanmar opposition welcomes U.N. envoy assurance on Suu
Kyi
ASSOCIATED PRESS
YANGON, Myanmar, June 11 ?
Myanmar's opposition groups on Wednesday welcomed assurances by a U.N. envoy
that Aung San Suu Kyi is doing well in military detention, but echoed demands by
world leaders for her immediate release.
U.N. envoy Razali Ismail ended
a five-day mission to Myanmar on Tuesday after meeting with Suu Kyi for an hour
? the first outsider to see her since her arrest on May 30 following clashes
between her supporters and government backers.
Razali, a Malaysian
diplomat, later told reporters that Suu Kyi was unhurt in the clashes and that
he expects Myanmar's military government to free her in about two weeks.
However, Suu Kyi's supporters and world leaders ? including U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, President Bush and Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad ? say they want her freed immediately.
''We are very
happy to learn that Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health and in good spirit,''
said San Aung, a senior member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party
living in exile in Australia. He was contacted by phone from Bangkok, Thailand.
''Now our concern is not about her health but our concern is whether
(the junta) will release her soon,'' he said. ''We are calling on the
international community, especially United Nations, to put more pressure'' on
the government, he said.
Khun Tun Oo, the chairman of Shan Nationalities
League for Democracy, a second opposition party, said he was ''happy to know''
that Suu Kyi wasn't injured.
Myanmar's state-controlled media blacked
out the news of Suu Kyi's meeting with Razali.
The current junta has
ignored international demands to give up power it seized in 1988. The generals
called national elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results that gave the
National League for Democracy a resounding victory. The following year Suu Kyi
won the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent struggle for democracy.
Suu
Kyi and the junta began talks with Razali help in October 2000, but no tangible
results have emerged. The May 30 incidents have further strained the
government's credibility.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in a
statement Tuesday that Annan ''remains seriously concerned'' by Suu Kyi's
continued detention.
''He, once again, strongly urges the Government of
Myanmar to release her and other NLD leaders from the continued detention
immediately and begin a dialogue aimed at national reconciliation without
further delay,'' Eckhard said.
On Tuesday, Myanmar Deputy Foreign
Minister Khin Maung Win issued a statement saying the ''safe custody measures''
against Suu Kyi would be lifted, but he did not say when.
Maung Win
reiterated the government's assertion that the clashes that led to Suu Kyi's
arrest were sparked when her motorcade tried to plow through thousands of
pro-government protesters blocking the unlit road at night.
This
resulted in a fight that left four people dead and 38 injured, he said.
He denied assertions by exiled opposition figures in Thailand that
pro-junta thugs started the violence and that as many as 70 people were killed.
The U.S. State Department has said evidence corroborates accounts of an ambush
by junta supporters.
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Australia suspends human rights talks in
Myanmar
CANBERRA, June 11 (Reuters) - Australia said on Wednesday it had
suspended human rights talks with Myanmar but ruled out imposing sanctions after
the country's military government arrested pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was very concerned about
the detention of Suu Kyi, who has been in government custody since a May 30
clash between her supporters and pro-government groups.
But Downer said
copying the United States and Britain in imposing sanctions against Myanmar
would not achieve anything as those measures had not been effective in the past.
``We have certainly postponed for the time being our latest round in
human rights dialogue with the Burmese officials,'' Downer told reporters.
``But whether we have sanctions or not it is not going to make any
difference. We have virtually no trade and investment with Burma anyway but we
nevertheless need to engage with (countries) of our region.''
Australia
has long taken a more conciliatory approach to Myanmar than many other Western
countries, funding workshops in the Southeast Asian nation to teach human rights
to officials.
Canberra has been a vocal critic of the detention of
political prisoners in Myanmar in recent years but has used its embassy in
Yangon to keep diplomatic channels open.
The United States and European
Union have imposed economic and military sanctions on the ruling military junta
over its human rights record and refusal to relinquish power to Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy, which won 1990 elections but has never been
allowed to govern.
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Wednesday June 11, 3:45 PM
ANALYSIS-More sanctions on
Myanmar may have scant impact
By Jane Macartney,
Asian Diplomatic Correspondent
SINGAPORE, June 11
(Reuters) - International pressure
is mounting on Myanmar to release, again, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
and on its neighbours to back sanctions if the military rulers do not loosen up.
Diplomats say a stiffening of the U.S. sanctions that have been in place
for years would scarcely take a bite out of Myanmar's trade because of the
interests of regional business partners and ingenious methods to circumvent such
punishment.
The timing could hardly be worse, however, for the military
government. Next week Myanmar joins partners in the Association of South East
Asian Nations and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) for meetings in the Cambodian
capital, Phnom Penh, when pressure is almost certain to be applied -- at least
behind closed doors.
"The leaders should talk about the norms and ethos
of the area," U.N. envoy Razali Ismail said of ASEAN after he met Suu Kyi in
detention in Yangon on Tuesday. "We are all going towards a situation where we
are determined by how people look at how we govern. There's no reason why it
should be any different in Myanmar."
So said U.S. President George W.
Bush when he met Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand, Myanmar's
neighbour, on Tuesday and used their White House talks to pile on the pressure.
Washington hopes regional powers may do more to sway Myanmar's military
rulers into more open engagement and towards reconciliation with Suu Kyi. The
ASEAN and ARF meetings offer just such an opportunity.
IT CAN'T
BE IGNORED
"They cannot ignore what has happened. Obviously
there will need to be a pronouncement," said Razali.
But diplomats said
ASEAN, which operates under the principle of not interfering in the internal
affairs of its members, may prefer to keep the issue under the table.
"It may be discussed in closed session or informally rather than in a
formal way," said a Western diplomat.
"What is clear is that there is a
great deal of concern on the part of ASEAN partners," he said, adding that he
expected Myanmar to have to offer some action towards reconciliation to satisfy
its partners even if little is ever made public.
"At the very least the
other members should tell Burma, thought to be in line to take over the chair of
ASEAN soon, that it is not fit to do so," wrote Asian commentator Philip Bowring
in the International Herald Tribune on Wednesday.
"If it wishes to be a
hermit state run by military thugs, that may be its affair," he wrote. "But
there is no reason for others to accord it the dignity of presiding over an
international group."
ASEAN members are clearly embarrassed by their
partner, but reluctant to see open divisions in the grouping.
They are
keen not only to see greater engagement by Myanmar but to nudge their neighbour
out of the sphere of influence of China, which has long provided injections of
aid, without appearing to pander to U.S. pressure.
A group of U.S.
lawmakers is already turning up the heat by pushing for a ban on imports from
Myanmar.
Asian Development Bank figures for 2000 show the United States
as the biggest buyer of Myanmar exports, mostly textiles. U.S. imports in 2002
were worth $356.2 million while exports were just $10.3 million. In the first
quarter of this year, imports were $99.8 million and exports $2 million.
"As I understand it, there has been a lot of preparation done by the
companies exporting to the U.S. in anticipation of this kind of legislation,"
said one Rangoon-based diplomat.
CIRCUMVENTING
SANCTIONS
They circumvent sanctions by making it appear that
the made-in-Myanmar goods originated elsewhere, a ploy that is possible because
no other country will apply trade sanctions.
"These are quite easy to
circumvent and always will be," the diplomat said. In fact, Myanmar's textile
factories are now operating at full tilt.
Measures imposed by the
European Union include a ban on the arms trade, a visa ban on members of
Myanmar's military government and their families and no top-level meetings --
except under the ASEAN umbrella.
International investors are nervous but
not fully deterred.
Britain's Premier Oil is to end its interests in
Myanmar when a restructuring places its Yetagun gas project in the hands of
Malaysia's Petronas this month.
France's oil giant Total has a presence,
as does California-based driller Unocal Corp. Investments in the oil and gas
sector totalling $2.4 billion have been committed to Myanmar since it opened to
foreign investors in 1988.
Razali Ismail reminded ASEAN of the dangers
of dealing with Myanmar even though top military leaders have said Suu Kyi would
be released "as soon as possible".
"This incident should be a reminder
to all parties that things can go wrong very badly. I am confident but I need
the support of the region, that's for sure."
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Wednesday June 11, 1:43 AM
Myanmar says Suu Kyi to be
freed soon
By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON
(Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling
military says pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will soon be freed and a
U.N. envoy who saw her in custody says the Nobel laureate is in good health.
"The safe custody measures instituted are temporary and they will be
lifted as soon as the situation returns to normal," Deputy Foreign Minister Khin
Maung Win said in a statement, referring to Suu Kyi's detention.
United
Nations envoy Razali Ismail said Suu Kyi was in good health and good spirits,
adding military leaders had given assurances she would be freed as soon as
possible.
International concern has intensified over the health and
whereabouts of the pro-democracy activist since violence erupted on May 30 as
she was touring a provincial town in the north. The junta has detained Suu Kyi
at undisclosed locations since the incident.
Razali met Suu Kyi for an
hour at the junta's headquarters in Yangon at the end of a four-day mission to
persuade the military to free her.
"I have been given clear assurances
by both Secretary One and Maung Aye that they will lift the protective custody
on her as soon as possible," Razali said in Singapore hours later.
Secretary One is military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt and Maung Aye is
the powerful army commander.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed
news that Suu Kyi was unhurt, but remained seriously concerned about her
detention, a spokesman said.
Annan "once again strongly urges the
government of Myanmar to release her and other National League for Democracy
(NLD) leaders from the continued detention immediately and begin a dialogue
aimed at national reconciliation without further delay," chief U.N. spokesman
Fred Eckhard said.
Speaking earlier to reporters at Yangon airport,
Razali, a Malaysian diplomat, said of Suu Kyi: "She's well. She's in very strong
spirits. It's the person I've always known."
Suu Kyi gave Razali no
details on casualties from the clashes in which her supporters said up to 75
people died. "She did not see it all. She was in the front car," Razali said.
Myanmar's deputy foreign minister said in the statement early findings
showed the violence had been sparked when Suu Kyi's convoy tried to plough
through a crowd of bystanders.
ALLEGATIONS UNFOUNDED
It said four people were killed and 48 injured in the violence between
Suu Kyi's supporters and pro-government groups, denying reports that dozens had
died and hundreds were injured.
"Allow me to say categorically that the
allegations that the attack was premeditated are unfounded," the minister said.
Suu Kyi has spent much of the past 14 years under house arrest and her
latest detention has triggered widespread international condemnation of
Myanmar's military rulers.
"The government will have to get her out of
protective custody. That also applies to the others," Razali said, of NLD
leaders who were also detained.
He said the stalled dialogue between the
government and opposition, which he brokered three years ago, needed to get back
on track.
"I believe this incident has woken up a lot of people in
Myanmar itself to the necessity of moving this process very quickly," Razali
said, adding he would return to Myanmar at any time if invited by the
government.
INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE
The United
States, Britain and the European Union said they were considering more trade and
investment sanctions because of Suu Kyi's treatment.
Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad called for Suu Kyi's immediate release and said her
detention might affect the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, to
which Myanmar belongs.
After her release from a spell of house arrest in
May last year, Suu Kyi made a series of trips to the provinces to meet party
workers and supporters.
Drawing big crowds and turning up the pressure
on the military to begin talks on a transition to democracy, her trips attracted
an increasingly hostile response from backers of the military government.
Dissidents in exile had said 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 her entourage and villagers with bamboo and iron bars in the May 30
violence.
They said Suu Kyi received head and shoulder injuries although
her car sped off soon after the violence erupted.
The NLD swept to a
landslide election victory in 1990 but was never allowed into office by the
military, which has ruled Myanmar in various guises since a coup in 1962.
--------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Reviews Myanmar Policies, May Expand
Sanctions
Tue Jun 10, 2:23 PM ET
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - President Bush enlisted
Thailand's help on Tuesday in pressing for Myanmar to immediately release
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and threatened to expand travel
restrictions and other sanctions on the country's military rulers.
"We
are reviewing our policy with regard to the current situation," a Bush
administration official said.
Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
of Thailand, Myanmar's neighbor, used their White House meeting to keep up the
pressure.
"The president and the prime minister in the meeting expressed
their deep concern over recent developments," White House spokesman Ari
Fleischer told reporters.
"The two leaders agreed on the need for
immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other National League for Democracy
members," he added.
Washington hopes pressure from Thailand and other
regional powers will have more sway.
Myanmar's ruling military said
earlier on Tuesday that Suu Kyi would soon be freed, and a U.N. envoy who saw
her in custody said the Nobel laureate was in good health.
If Myanmar
fails to follow through, the United States could expand existing travel
restrictions on military leaders and impose new sanctions.
"We're
looking at expanding visa restrictions. There are other possible things we could
do," the administration official said. "It will depend on what they do."
A
group of U.S. lawmakers is pressing for a ban on imports from Myanmar.
Fleischer said the Bush administration had already extended a
prohibition on "new investment in Burma by all persons in the United States."
Washington calls Myanmar by its old name of Burma as a sign of displeasure with
its military government.
International concern has intensified over the
health and whereabouts of the pro-democracy activist since violence erupted on
May 30 as she was touring a provincial town in the north. The junta has detained
Suu Kyi at undisclosed locations since the incident.
The United States
and other governments have called on Myanmar to give a full account of the
incident.
Suu Kyi has spent much of the past 14 years under house arrest
and her latest detention has triggered widespread international condemnation of
Myanmar's military rulers.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar's Suu Kyi Held for 12th Day by
Junta
Wed Jun 11, 7:06 AM ET
YANGON, Myanmar
(Reuters) - Myanmar pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent her 12th day in detention on Wednesday as world
demands for her immediate release mounted and some countries considered
tightening sanctions on the Southeast Asian nation.
Myanmar's military
government said on Tuesday her detention was temporary and a U.N. envoy, allowed
to meet Suu Kyi earlier that day, said two of the country's top generals had
assured him they would release her "as soon as possible."
Her
whereabouts since meeting envoy Razali Ismail are unknown.
Suu Kyi and
about two dozen senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) have
been held at undisclosed locations in the capital since they were taken into
custody on May 30, sources in the party say.
Razali was the first
outsider to see the Nobel laureate since her detention following clashes between
her supporters and members of a pro-military group during a tour to the north.
Razali told reporters in Singapore, after ending his five-day visit to
Myanmar, Suu Kyi had suffered no injuries in the violence and was "well and in
good spirits."
The democracy icon has spent much of the past 14 years
confined to her home, but was freed last year after a series of "confidence
building" talks that Razali brokered between the junta and the NLD.
But
her detention again after the May 30 clash, which the United States said it
suspected was staged by "government-affiliated thugs," has raised fresh
international concern. Several leaders from across the world have condemned the
Myanmar junta for detaining Suu Kyi and the United States, Britain and the
European Union have threatened more economic sanctions to further isolate the
impoverished country.
A drive in the U.S. Congress toward imposing a ban
on all imports from Myanmar advanced on Tuesday.
At a White House
meeting on Tuesday, President Bush enlisted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra's help in pressing Myanmar to immediately release Suu Kyi.
Next
week Myanmar joins partners in the Association of South East Asian Nations and
the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) for meetings in Cambodia, when pressure is almost
certain to be applied -- at least quietly.
The government has given no
indication on when it will release Suu Kyi or whether it plans to give her
unconditional freedom or confine her to Yangon, or even her home.
The scene
outside her lakeside home in central Yangon on Wednesday was the same as it has
been for months, giving no clue as to whether see was inside.
Half a
dozen plain clothes security officials milled around in the street leading to
her residence, where barriers, put up in 2000 when she was last placed under
house arrest, blocked entry.
After her release from a spell in detention
in May last year, she was allowed to make political trips outside Yangon, but
the junta showed signs of unease at the big crowds drawn by the charismatic
daughter of independence hero Aung San.
Suu Kyi and the junta have been
at loggerheads since the generals refused to hand over power after her party's
landslide victory in 1990 elections. The military have wielded power in the
country since a coup in 1962.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Star Online
Mahathir: We want to
see quick release of Suu Kyi
Wednesday, June 11,
2003
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia wants to see the release of Myanmar
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi immediately.
Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Kuala Lumpur, however, would not indulge in
any pressure for her release because ?we don?t indulge in that kind of
thing.?
Dr Mahathir was asked to comment on United Nations special
envoy Tan Sri Razali Ismail?s meeting with Suu Kyi who has been detained since
May 30 after violence erupted as she was touring a provincial town in
Myanmar.
The United States, Britain and the European Union have
said they were considering trade and investment sanctions because of Suu Kyi?s
treatment.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the
development in Myanmar would also be discussed at the Asean Ministerial Meeting
starting on Monday, together with the developments in Aceh.
However, he said the two issues would be discussed along the lines of
how they would affect the stability and economy of the region without touching
on the internal matters of the countries involved.
On Myanmar,
Syed Hamid said Malaysia was happy with its willingness to initiate
reconciliation among the feuding factions in the country.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The
Nation
Opinion - When nationalism becomes self-serving
Published on Jun 11, 2003
Much criticism has
recently been laid against the advert for the Carabao Dang energy drink, which
portrays Thai gladiators brutally beating each other in a Coliseum-style
setting. This advert sparked controversy because it conveys a dubious image of
Thai culture and identity.
Some Thai patriots become infuriated when
their beloved Thai culture is tainted with violence. Some are proud of their
past heroes who, through the pages of history, defended the country with their
blood and lives. But who can clarify the true elements of Thai culture and
identity? Perhaps Yuenyong Ophakul, or Ad Carabao, can.
I am not a fan
of Ad Carabao, but do admire his inspiration and talent in provoking Thai
nationalism. During his heyday, Ad's songs effectively aroused Thai nationalist
sentiment amongst those who may have forgotten the essence of being Thai and
preferred what was regarded as Western values.
The song "Made in
Thailand" became his personal trademark. It aimed to boost Thai mercantilism in
the face of the growing popularity of Western products. Home-made products were
presented as being closely associated with the Thai heritage through various
periods of the old kingdoms, thus aggregating the imperativeness of local
subsidies and trade protection. Not so surprisingly, his records were part of
this aggressive nationalist campaign too.
When the stone carving of the
god Narai sleeping in the underworld went missing in 1960, only to be found
later in the US, Ad used his song to instigate a Thai sense of national
possession. In this song, Michael Jackson, America's most famous pop icon, was
depicted as a symbol of the invading American culture, attempting to blemish
venerable Thai culture. Here, Ad simply refused to take the imported American
star in exchange for the return of a priceless Thai artefact to its rightful
location.
But Ad was probably confused: the stolen stone carving
belonged to Khmer heritage. What he was defending so strongly was not Thai
identity or culture, but his own obscure nationalism.
Today, Ad has
decided to employ his world of visual arts and his pride at being Thai to serve
commercial purposes. As a result, Thais are indoctrinated with the idea that by
drinking Carabao Dang, they are claiming their kwam-pen-thai (Thai-ness) and
patriotism.
His commercial strategy was in fact purposefully launched to
battle against arch-rival "Red Bull" which has become a world phenomenon as a
trendy drink for youngsters. To win this war, nationalism is revived as part of
aggrandising Ad's own personal interests.
Nationalism is a powerful
notion. It is a sacred precept for practitioners. It draws people of different
nations into dreadful conflicts. It compels people to feel, consciously or
otherwise, a strong obligation to defend, perhaps irrationally, their
much-revered identity and culture.
All this was reflected in Carabao
Dang's first advert featuring war with the Burmese, the Thai heroine in the
battlefield, and the latest war against ya ba trafficking.
The advert
brilliantly narrates the ideals of Thai nationalism and how past and present
heroes sacrificed their lives to safeguard the country against external threats.
What I consider here as Ad Carabao's masterpiece is the way he elaborated
the nature of Thai identity and the cause of Thai nationalism. He carefully
crafted positive and negative identifications of Thai identity, with the Thai
heroine and warriors as representatives of positive values and the Burmese and
drugs as representatives of devilish elements that have sought to destabilise
the nation.
The advert for Carabao Dang follows the pattern of a classic
Hollywood film in which demons must be defeated at the feet of saints. As
always, Thai identity is the winner. It must be clean and immaculate, and
deserves to be eulogised as a national trait. This is how Ad Carabao wants the
consumers to see his products.
Thus, instead of criticising how the
Carabao Dang advert presents Thai culture in the wrong way, the Thai public
needs to focus more on how Ad is taking advantage of discursive Thai
nationalism. He has moulded the image of Thai identity and culture as his
business has dictated, requiring public adherence to his products, at the
expense of and unnecessary employment of nationalism, and of a possible revival
of feelings of hatred between Siam and Burma.
Nationalism is like a wild
fire; it burns and knows no bounds. Ad Carabao is in danger in following in the
footsteps of past Thai leaders who played with the fire of nationalism. Once the
smoke has gone, we realise that nationalism is merely a cover for some ugly
motives.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun
Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a guest
lecturer, Thai Studies Section, Faculty of Arts, at Chulalongkorn
University.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
Terrorism a key topic in US
talks
Published on Jun 11, 2003
Controlling
terrorism was expected to be the core issue in talks late last night (Bangkok
time) between Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and US President George W Bush,
the premier said prior to the meeting.
Thaksin's four-day visit to the
US has been upgraded from an informal one to a working visit and will conclude
with a joint statement with the US President on various topics including
combating terrorists, according to a statement issued by the prime minister
en-route to the US.
Thailand conceded just last week that terrorist
operatives were active in the Kingdom.
Thaksin said both sides would
exchange intelligence information on the movement of terrorists that would lead
to the suppression of their activities.
"We will detect their financial
transactions and unearth their hiding places in an attempt to root them out," he
said.
Thai authorities admitted earlier that members of the regional
militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) had visited the Kingdom. JI, which
allegedly has connections with al Qaeda, was blamed for the huge bombing on the
Indonesian island of Bali last year.
Defence Minister Thamarak
Isarangura, who is accompanying the premier, said the US needed Thailand's
cooperation as Washington suspected that JI members who are active in Indonesia,
Malaysia and the Philippines have links with Muslim communities in southern
Thailand.
"We are ready to cooperate with the US on the campaign," he
was quoted as saying by the state-run Thai News Agency.
US experts say
the threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia has increased since the Iraq war, he
said.
Thai cooperation and moves to suppress the militants' network is
expected to result in closer relations with Washington, enabling the US to have
a greater role in security matters in the Kingdom.
Thaksin, in return,
is expected to get increased recognition from the White House following cool
relations due to his lack of public support for the war against Iraq.
Bangkok-based Western diplomats and senior Thai politicians involved
with foreign-affairs believe Thaksin's meeting with Bush could lay the
groundwork for the possible future deployment of troops in Thailand, in line
with the US policy of extending its global war on terror into Southeast Asia,
according to a regional newspaper.
Thailand is also widely seen among
diplomats as a potential future base for storing US military equipment, in line
with the Pentagon's new "forward positioning" strategy for the region, the Asian
Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
The situation in Burma following
the re-arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was also likely to discussed
by Thaksin and Bush, the government statement said.
The US has expressed
deep concern about the situation in Burma and threatened to impose more economic
sanctions on Rangoon.
Prior to his departure for the US, Thaksin made a
rare demand on Burma, calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. The
opposition leader was arrested last month after a bloody clash between her
supporters and pro-government protesters north of Mandalay.
The two
leaders were also due to discuss a future free-trade agreement due to be inked
next year, aimed at opening markets and providing trade privileges in both
markets and bypassing stalemated World Trade Organisation negotiations.
The free-trade pact would liberate two-way trade for mutual benefit,
Thaksin said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
Letters to Editor - Just
one missile could help Burmese
Published on Jun 11, 2003
A letter to US President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair:
Many people accused you of waging the war over Iraq mainly because of your own
benefits (oil).
However, I (a Burmese girl) strongly believe that the main
purpose of this war was to eradicate "the dictator" Saddam Hussein.
If
you wish to prove that the Iraq war was just for "the liberation of the Iraqi
people" not for "your own benefits", please eliminate the Burmese dictators
immediately. We need only one missile. Help us, please.
Thank you very
much.
Konmari (exiled Burmese)
BANGKOK
--------------------------------------------------------------
The New York Times - June 10, 2003
Burmese Junta's Remedy: Crackdown
By SETH
MYDANS
NEW DELHI, Tuesday, June 10 ? A brutal
attack on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her pro-democracy supporters a week ago has
put an end to a faint spring in Myanmar and signals a return to the harsh
repression of the past, diplomats and political analysts say.
As much as
anything, they say, the military junta has learned that in a country where it
enjoys little public support, nothing works as well as sheer force.
If
Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's new freedom to travel and meet supporters in the last
year was an experiment in conciliation by the ruling generals of the former
Burma, it was a disaster for them.
As they have in the past, they badly
misjudged the public mood when they released her from 19 months of house arrest.
The wildly enthusiastic crowds she drew reaffirmed her place as a political
force that is apparently unstoppable by anything short of a harsh
crackdown.
"They found that even though they rule with an iron hand, the
people still believe in another," said Sunai Phasuk, a Thai member of the human
rights group Forum Asia who is an expert on Myanmar. "People are afraid of the
generals but they respect Aung San Suu Kyi."
The generals' response was
to clamp down on her, and to do so with a level of brutality that served as a
warning to the rest of the country.
Late on the evening of May 30,
military-backed hooligans attacked her motorcade in northern Myanmar with
sticks, stones, slingshots and apparently with firearms, killing perhaps scores
of people.
The State Department has said that American diplomats who
visited the scene said the attack was premeditated and carried out by forces
supported by the government, while the Burmese government referred to it as a
clash instigated by Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters.
Mrs. Aung San Suu
Kyi and 19 of her lieutenants were detained. Around the country, scores of newly
opened offices of her party, the National League for Democracy, were padlocked.
A new roundup of her supporters has reportedly begun.
"If they can get
away with it, this is the end of Aung San Suu Kyi, if not as a mythical figure
then as a real threat to them," said Josef Silverstein, an expert on Myanmar at
Rutgers University. "If people accept that she can be locked away and nobody can
see her, and that other leaders can be silenced and that the party can be
silenced, then they've won the day."
At the moment there are few signs of
popular protest. The government has locked universities to prevent student
uprisings, and the army reportedly has been placed on alert around the
country.
When Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in May
2002, she was given more freedom than she had had since the junta took power in
1988 after crushing a peaceful nationwide revolt at the cost of hundreds of
lives.
In 1989 she was put under house arrest, which lasted six years,
and in 1990 the generals made their first great public blunder by holding free
parliamentary elections. Their candidates were trounced by the National League
for Democracy.
Their response to that mistake was similar to their
actions now: they simply annulled the result and started imprisoning their
opponents.
Fifteen years after taking power, the ruling generals are back
where they started, employing the method at which they are most successful,
force.
"They are back to ground zero," said Aung Zaw, the editor of a
Burmese exile magazine, Irrawaddy. "There is such a deep scar, how are you going
to reconcile, how are you going to heal it? This is the ugliest political
violence since 1988."
This is the third time ? since 1988 and the
election of 1990 ? that the generals have stepped in with force to cut short a
moment of hope.
As in the past, they are hunkering down to take on the
world, whatever the cost, said Mr. Sunai of Forum Asia.
International
condemnation has been led by the United States, and President Bush said last
week that he backed a move in Congress to toughen current economic penalties
against Myanmar by cutting off virtually all imports.
Other Western
nations have also protested, along with the United Nations.
But Myanmar
is banking on a different, more forgiving set of partners now ? its giant
neighbors China and India as well as the Southeast Asian nations with which it
shares a loose political alliance.
In public at least, none of those
nations have spoken out strongly against the crackdown.
News agencies in
Myanmar reported on Monday that the Chinese ambassador had told a United Nations
envoy that his country considered the events there "an internal political
affair."
The envoy, Razali Ismail, has met with the junta's top leaders
during a five-day visit and said today that he had received permission to meet
Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi at her home. She was reported to have been injured in the
attack last week and has been in custody since then.
Mr. Sunai said the
timing of the attack just before the envoy's visit had been deliberate,
emphasizing the junta's determination to defy outside pressure.
Mr.
Razali is the representative of Secretary General Kofi Annan, who spoke out
strongly last week, saying the people of Myanmar were "overwhelmingly in favor
of change."
Publicly, the ruling generals have closed ranks. The military
intelligence chief, Gen. Khin Nyunt, who is believed to have been behind last
year's softer approach, made two speeches over the weekend blaming Mrs. Aung San
Suu Kyi and her supporters for the violence.
In what seemed a veiled
warning, the general referred to the crackdown of 1988 and said the popular
uprising then showed the need to maintain law and order.
"Everyone needs to
abide by the rules and regulations to be observed everywhere," he said, adding,
"It is to be noted that the basic human rights would not protect those who
violate an existing law."
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Seattle Times - Wednesday, June 11, 2003
U.S. team details attack on Suu Kyi in Myanmar
By Los
Angeles Times and The Christian Science Monitor
CHIANG MAI,
Thailand ? Some of the attackers were convicts disguised as monks. Others were
Myanmar soldiers, police and members of a pro-government militia paid to join
the mob. Together they numbered in the thousands, according to witness accounts.
Armed with sharpened bamboo sticks and metal pipes, they were waiting
when Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi approached the town of Dipeyin
after dark on May 30. When a barbed-wire barricade forced her motorcade to halt,
the thugs surged forward and began beating her followers.
At least four
of the opposition leader's supporters were killed. Some had tried to protect Suu
Kyi with their bodies, witnesses reported. She narrowly escaped the attack but
was detained soon after and has been held ever since.
Last week, the
U.S. mission in Myanmar, also known as Burma, sent a team to investigate the
scene of the attack and found evidence consistent with the witness accounts,
including weapons and bloody clothing that had been left behind.
The
attack on Suu Kyi appears to be the latest in a series of attempts by Myanmar's
military government or its supporters to crush the democracy movement and Suu
Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy.
Some of Suu Kyi's
supporters believe the attack was an attempt to assassinate the charismatic
57-year-old, who would have become the country's leader 13 years ago if the
military had honored the results of parliamentary elections.
But the
government has blamed Suu Kyi for the violence, saying she had angered people by
criticizing the regime. U.N. Special Envoy Razali Ismail, who spent five days in
Myanmar trying to negotiate Suu Kyi's release, left the country yesterday
without success.
Shortly before his departure, Razali was allowed to
meet with Suu Kyi for an hour at the government's headquarters. He said
afterward that she showed no signs of having been injured in the melee. Razali
was the first visitor permitted to see her. It remains unclear where she is
being held.
In Yangon, Myanmar's capital, officials said Suu Kyi would
be released soon but did not specify when. In uncharacteristically harsh
language, the U.S. State Department issued a statement last week calling the
incident a "premeditated ambush" carried out by "government-affiliated thugs."
In addition to Suu Kyi, authorities arrested 18 party leaders, including
Vice Chairman Tin Oo, and closed party offices nationwide.
Suu Kyi has
been kept under house arrest for more than seven of the past 14 years. After her
latest release a year ago, she traveled around the country rebuilding her party
and in recent months had demonstrated growing popularity.
Observers say
senior leader Gen. Than Shwe, a hard-liner who loathes even the mention of Suu
Kyi's name, has now dropped any pretense of peaceful coexistence with
pro-democracy forces.
His control over the civilian militia that carried
out the May 30 ambush puts him squarely in the driving seat of that bloody
operation, they say.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Christian Science Monitor
Commentary >
The Monitor's View
from the June 10, 2003 edition
Silence in Southeast Asia
One
reason many people don't know about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
or ASEAN, is that its 10 member-states have a pact not to criticize each other's
records on democracy and human rights.
When Burma's military junta, for
instance, organized an attack on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on May
30, the best ASEAN could say is that Burma's action hurt the group's "image."
Europe and the US, meanwhile, may impose new sanctions on Burma (or Myanmar) and
have demanded access to Ms. Suu Kyi, who may have been injured in the
attack.
Thailand, too, faced no ire from ASEAN for its three-month
campaign to shoot any known drug dealer. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
ordered police "to produce results at any cost." An estimated 2,275 people were
summarily executed.
ASEAN also is silent on Indonesia's refusal to
prosecute the senior officer who commanded forces in East Timor in 1999 when
local militias went on a killing rampage.
And it won't comment as
Indonesia's military currently attacks common villagers - using rape, burning,
and murder as tactics - in an attempt to wipe out some 5,000 pro-independence
rebels in the northern Sumatran province of Aceh.
The US, meanwhile, is
trying to get ASEAN members to help stop a rise in political violence in
Cambodia. But don't hold your breath.
Regional groupings of countries
have the potential to force reforms in member states. The European Union sets
the model. The Organization of American States likewise has had some clout in
Latin America. The African Union has expressed the willingness, but not shown
the will, to bring change to troubled places such as Zimbabwe and
Liberia.
ASEAN, which was formed in the 1960s to fend off communist
aggression from China, and later Vietnam, still has too many members in which
democracy is weak or nonexistent and rights are regularly abused. But unless it
takes a strong stand against the region's worst atrocities, its nations won't
see the expansion of freedom needed for sustained prosperity.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Washington Post
Where Is She?
Tuesday, June 10, 2003; Page A20
THERE IS AT LEAST
one true statement in the letter we publish today from the embassy of Myanmar,
the Southeast Asian nation more commonly known as Burma. In the letter, an
embassy spokesman takes issue with our earlier criticism of the regime's
decision to kill, injure and imprison a number of democracy advocates on May 30
while shutting universities and opposition party offices. This was not a
crackdown, the spokesman explains: The regime took these measures and confined
the unarmed and nonviolent leader of Burma's democracy movement, Aung San Suu
Kyi, for her own good, "to ensure her safety and for the sake of national
security."
That is not the one true sentence we earlier referred to. The
embassy's unassailable point is that "this unfortunate incident will not derail
the national reconciliation and democratization process in Myanmar." You can't
argue with that, because there never has been such a process; despite repeated
promises to the contrary, the generals who run Burma have not permitted one. The
question, now that the regime has cracked down so brutally, is whether nations
that have an economic stake in pretending that democratization is taking place
-- notably Thailand, a neighbor, and Japan -- will admit that their strategy of
"engagement" with Burma's dictators has failed.
An alternative strategy
is available. The Senate is scheduled to vote today on legislation sponsored by
Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would bar the
import into the United States of goods manufactured in Burma and freeze the
assets here of the regime's leading generals. Since those dictators control the
nation's economy, an import ban would affect those most responsible for Burma's
repression, and senators supportive of democracy in Asia should vote for the
bill without conditions or expiration dates. A House subcommittee today may mark
up a similar bill sponsored by Reps. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Peter T. King
(R-N.Y.). President Bush, meanwhile, is scheduled to meet with Thai Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been an active backer of the Burma regime.
The meeting, like Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's imminent trip to
Southeast Asia, offers the administration an opportunity to press its arguments
for a united front in favor of democracy.
Aung San Suu Kyi has not been
seen by any credible source since the attack on her convoy by
government-sponsored goons 12 days ago. A United Nations representative,
Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail, is in Burma, but as of yesterday the regime
had not allowed him to visit her. Reports from the scene say she was injured in
the attack, but no one knows for sure. Odd behavior for a government so
concerned about her safety.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Washington Post
U.S. Asks for
Pressure to Release Burmese Activist
By Alan Sipress and
Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday,
June 10, 2003; Page A14
BANGKOK, June 9 -- U.S. envoys in many
Asian countries have called on their host governments to pressure Burma's
military rulers to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, held
incommunicado since May 30 after a violent attack on her and supporters, U.S.
and other diplomats said today.
By delivering formal diplomatic requests
in at least 11 capitals over the last week, U.S. officials are seeking to enlist
countries deemed to have the most influence over the Burmese government: its
immediate neighbors, particularly Thailand and China.
In recent years,
most Western governments have opted in varying degrees to use sanctions to try
to put pressure on Burma to improve its human rights record. But most
governments in the region argue that engaging the military authorities there and
continuing trade would be more productive in the long run, and some reiterated
that stance in recent days.
Diplomats said that President Bush would make
an appeal about Burma Tuesday when he meets with Thailand's prime minister,
Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been one of Burma's closest supporters over the last
two years. Thaksin's visit to Washington was scheduled before the attack on Suu
Kyi.
In a bid to resolve the crisis, a U.N. special envoy, Razali Ismail,
met today with two senior generals in the Burmese capital of Rangoon, but he did
not see Suu Kyi, a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
[Razali told Western
diplomats in Rangoon early Tuesday that he had secured permission to meet with
Suu Kyi within hours. The meeting, he said, would also be attended by a Burmese
government representative.
[The diplomats said the envoy, who planned to
depart Burma Tuesday, told them that he did not expect the meeting to be long
and that his priority was checking on Suu Kyi's condition.]
Razali has
urged the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to drop
the organization's policy of nonintervention. "ASEAN has to break through the
straitjacket and start dealing with this issue," he said in Kuala Lumpur, where
he lives, before flying to Rangoon on Thursday. "The situation in Burma can only
be changed if regional actors take their positions to act on it."
The
United States and some other Western countries have asked the military junta to
release Suu Kyi and her supporters and resume negotiations over a political
settlement. But diplomats in Southeast Asia concede that after isolating Burma
for more than a decade, Western governments have limited leverage with Burma's
generals.
"What's important to them is what countries in the region do,"
a European diplomat said. "The attitude of countries in the region is the
absolutely decisive thing."
Over the last six months, Burmese officials
have toured the region, seeking to improve ties. Gen. Than Shwe, Burma's top
leader, has visited China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Bangladesh. Foreign
Minister Win Aung made a visit to India earlier this year.
"They were
deliberately cultivating their regional support," a Western diplomat said. "What
they see as their success in cultivating this regional support has made them
perhaps less concerned about the reaction of the larger community beyond the
region."
U.S. diplomats said all U.S. embassies in Southeast Asia were
instructed last week to deliver formal diplomatic requests, or démarches, to
their host governments. "What we're doing is conveying the theme that a country
simply cannot regard this as the internal business of Burma," one of the
diplomats said. He added: "Our concern is not just letting [Suu Kyi] go. It's a
broader concern about the overall circumstances in Burma."
A European
diplomat familiar with the appeal said: "It was strongly worded. It seems the
American reaction is the toughest and they are doing whatever they can to have
the [Southeast Asian] countries influence the government of
Burma."
Thailand's stance is considered crucial by diplomats and human
rights activists. Thailand is the "main pressure point," said Kavi
Chongkittavorn, a columnist at the Nation, an English-language newspaper in
Bangkok and longtime Burma watcher.
After Thaksin's election in 2001, he
reversed the critical stance Thailand had long taken toward Burma because of its
repression of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. Instead, analysts said,
Thaksin has sought to improve coordination with the Burmese authorities in
stemming the flow of methamphetamines, refugees and illegal immigrants across
their 1,500-mile frontier, and to increase cooperation in fighting ethnic rebels
along the border.
He has encouraged Thai companies to invest in their
neighbor while promoting the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Salween
River along their border, and he approved the construction of a new bridge to
foster trade between the countries. Thaksin's critics, such as Kavi, said the
prime minister, an entrepreneur turned politician, is interested in furthering
the prospects of his telecommunications business in Burma. Although Thailand has
voiced concern about Suu Kyi's detention, officials here have so far balked at
placing sanctions on Burma, which is also known as Myanmar.
"We are
neighbors of Myanmar," said Sihasak Phuangketkaew, spokesman for the Thai
Foreign Ministry. "We have so many other factors to take into consideration. . .
. We don't think isolation and sanctions are the right way. We believe that
talking with the regime, cooperation -- that's the best approach."
After
a tepid initial response to the May 30 attack, Thaksin took a tougher line
Saturday, calling for Suu Kyi's "immediate release." A diplomat in Bangkok said
that appeared to be a direct result of the U.S. appeal delivered last
week.
Western diplomats said the United States had also passed a similar
message to Japan and China, which has been a key supporter of
Burma.
Chinese officials have repeatedly said they consider Burmese
politics to be an internal affair. These officials have also refrained from
encouraging Suu Kyi's movement because they have been reluctant to see a
democracy emerge on their southern flank, according to Kavi.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Australian foreign minister says no to Burma sanctions
11/06/2003 23:02:53 | ABC Radio Australia
News
Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has
ruled out trade sanctions against Burma in response to a new crackdown on the
pro-democracy movement.
Mr Downer says he is pleased a UN envoy was able
to visit detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday, and confirm she
survived an attack in the country's north without injury.
The minister
says Australian officials will postpone human rights talks with the Burmese
government, but says sanctions are pointless as Australia's trade with Burma is
not extensive.
However, he says Australia will keep arguing its case in
Burma.
"There's a point in international affairs where other countries
have to understand that their prospects of successful interaction with the rest
of the world and successful economic development, is going to depend on them
meeting international norms of behaviour," Mr Downer said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
US in process of banning Burma imports
11/06/2003 15:10:54 | ABC Radio Australia
News
In the United States, a move towards imposing a ban
on all imports from Burma has taken another step forward.
The House
International Relations Committee's subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific has
approved the measure.
Observers say the full committee could take up the
legislation later this week.
The push towards new sanctions on Burma has
been accelerated by the detention of the country's opposition leader, Aung San
Suu Kyi more than a week ago.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Washington File
10 June 2003
House
Panel Chair Decries Burma Regime's 'Long Train of
Abuses'
(Leach says new sanctions must not affect
humanitarian aid) (1120)
The chairman of the House International
Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific denounced the attack on Aung San
Suu Kyi by "henchmen" of the Burmese government June 10, while hailing the news
that the Nobel Peace Prize recipient was in good health.
In opening
remarks for a hearing of his panel's review of the situation in Southeast Asia,
Representative James Leach (Republican of Iowa) said: "We are all of course
pleased with the news overnight that UN Special Envoy Rizali Ismail was allowed
to see Aung San Suu Kyi and that she is apparently in credible
health."
The United States, Leach said, has watched "with growing
frustration and dismay as prospects for political change in Burma have withered
away in the face of the ruling military regime's determination to maintain an
iron grip on power."
"The brutal attack by the junta's henchmen on her
traveling party, the broader crackdown against pro-democracy forces, and the
vastly diminished prospects for a democratic transition," he warned, leave the
United States with no option, "but to reassess its already limited relationship
with the Government of Burma."
Congress and the Bush administration,
Leach said, "must work together to utilize the full range of U.S. diplomatic and
economic policy options likely to bring about a restoration of democracy and
national reconciliation" in that country.
"The long train of abuses
perpetrated by Burma's military regime leaves the United States -- and possibly
other members of the international community -- with no ethical or political
alternative but to embrace a more comprehensive trade ban," said
Leach.
The Iowa Republican urged that care be taken to exclude from any
new sanctions humanitarian assistance provided through non-governmental
organizations, including assistance to Burma's ethnic
minorities.
Following is the text of Representative Leach's June 10
opening remarks, as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
Committee
on International Relations
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
20515-0128
Representative James A. Leach, Chairman
Subcommittee on
Asia and the Pacific
Hearing on Recent Developments in Southeast
Asia
June 10, 2003
On behalf of the Subcommittee, I would like to
welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses for what we hope will be a timely
and important hearing on several dilemmas confronting U.S. foreign policy in
Southeast Asia. Here to join us today are Ms Sidney Jones, Indonesia Project
Director, International Crisis Group; Ms. Catherine E. Dalpino, Fellow, Foreign
Policy Studies, the Brookings Institution; Ms. Maureen Aung-Thwin, Director,
Burma Project/Southeast Asia
Initiative, Open Society Institute; and Mr.
Daniel Calingaert, Director of Asia Programs, International Republican
Institute.
In addition, as Members have been noticed, immediately
following the hearing the Subcommittee will consider two pieces of legislation:
H.R. 2330, "The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003"; and H. Res. 199,
"calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Yang
Jianli."
Before turning to our witnesses, I would just like to make the
following observations.
Over the last several months the U.S. has watched
with growing frustration and dismay as prospects for political change in Burma
have withered away in the face of the ruling military regime's determination to
maintain an iron grip on power.
We are all of course pleased with the
news overnight that UN Special Envoy Rizali Ismail was allowed to see Aung San
Suu Kyi and that she is apparently in credible health.
However, the
brutal attack by the junta's henchmen on her traveling party, the broader
crackdown against pro-democracy forces, and the vastly diminished prospects for
a democratic transition leave the U.S. with no option but to reassess its
already limited relationship with the Government of Burma.
In this
circumstance, it is self-evident that Congress and the Administration must work
together to utilize the full range of U.S. diplomatic and economic policy
options likely to bring about a restoration of democracy and national
reconciliation in Burma.
While economic sanctions are seldom successful,
the long train of abuses perpetrated by Burma's military regime leaves the
United States - and possibly other members of the international community - with
no ethical or political alternative but to embrace a more comprehensive trade
ban. Nonetheless, too often we forget the distinction between governments and
their people, and too often sanctions aimed at punishing governments punish
people.
Care should be taken, therefore, to exclude from any new
sanctions humanitarian assistance that is provided through non-governmental
organizations, including assistance to Burma's rich and varied ethnic
minorities.
With respect to Indonesia and the ongoing campaign in Aceh,
it is apparent that Jakarta has been seized with a new nationalist temper likely
to further constrain American influence in Southeast Asia's - and the world's -
largest Muslim country. For example, vigorous Administration efforts to promote
a peaceful resolution of the conflict and, failing that, gain access to Aceh by
international human rights monitors have to date proven
unsuccessful.
Although the U.S. has compelling reasons to seek to remain
engaged with Indonesia, a common concern to combat terrorism being a
self-evident one, the Administration has also repeatedly stated that our
relationship will be set back unless those responsible for the August 2002
ambush and murder of American citizens in Papua are identified and brought to
justice.
By contrast, one of the clear successes for U.S. diplomacy in
Southeast Asia has been the strengthening of the natural and historic
partnership between the U.S. and the Philippines, as symbolized by the
exceptionally warm state visit last month by President Arroyo.
One of the
areas in which the U.S. and the Philippines have pledged greater mutual
cooperation is in the fight against terrorism in Mindanao and elsewhere in the
southern Philippines.
As Washington and Manila contemplate additional
joint exercises against the Abu Sayyaf Group, and perhaps other insurgent
groups, how deeply should the U.S. become involved in combating terrorist
insurgencies in the Philippines? To what extent do these conflicts have deep
roots in Philippine history, and what are the ties of insurgent groups to
transnational terrorist organizations, such as Jemaah Islamiya and Al
Qaeda?
Finally, Cambodia will hold its National Assembly elections on
July 27. It will be only the second such election since the current Prime
Minister, Hun Sen, staged an armed coup in 1997. Here the Subcommittee is
interested in assessing the credibility of the current electoral process,
including access to media, and the prospects for creating a political
environment conducive to free _expression_ as well as the development of an
election administration that commands confidence
across Cambodian
society.
We appreciate your appearance before us today and look forward
to your testimony.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of
International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Japan may have to review its aid policy for
Myanmar
TOKYO,2003 June 9 Kyodo - Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi
hinted Monday Japan may have to review its aid policy for Myanmar unless
the military
government releases pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
other members of the National League for Democracy (NLD).
''It is
questionable that Japan will maintain current policy (for Myanmar) as if
nothing has happened,'' Takeuchi said at a regular news
conference.
Takeuchi said the government will consider steps depending on
future developments in Myanmar, after the junta placed Suu Kyi and NLD members
in ''protective custody.''
Takeuchi said Japan will continue
efforts to urge the junta to give immediate assurance that it will not restrict
the political activities of Suu Kyi.
Japan has been providing small
grants to Myanmar in such areas as health and welfare, education and technical
assistance to encourage the country to promote
democracy.