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Thursday, February 17 12:25 PM SGT
Cambodian Premier Hun Sen leaves for India, MyanmarPHNOM PENH, Feb 17 (AFP) -Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen left Phnom Penh Thursday for four days of official appointments in India and Myanmar aimed at strengthening trade and political ties, officials said. The visit is the first by a Cambodian premier to India in more than 20 years, and the first to military-ruled Myanmar since Cambodia's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in April last year. "His visit is a very interesting phase in history for Cambodia and India," said M.L. Bajaj, a senior Indian embassy official in Phnom Penh. "Cambodia and India can look forward to a new chapter in their relations," he added, describing the current visit as on of "grooming commercial ties." India was one of the few countries that supported the former communist government installed by Vietnam during the 1980's -- in which Hun Sen played a senior role as foreign minister and then prime minister. In India Hun Sen is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and other senior government officials, and sign agreement in the fields of trade, economy, science and technology, tourism and agriculture. Continuing his tour in Myanmar, the premier is scheduled to hold talks with the junta chairman Senior General Than Shwe. Hun Sen was accompanied by a 35-strong delegation including cabinet minister Sok An, foreign minister Hor Namhong, commerce minister Cham Prasith, tourism minister Veng Sereyvuth and Industial minister Suy Sem Thursday, February 17 5:08 PM SGT Cambodian premier arrives in IndiaNEW DELHI, Feb 17 (AFP) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived here Thursday on a two-day official visit to India aimed at further strengthening trade and political links, officials here said. The visit is the first by a Cambodian premier to India in more than 20 years, and is likely to give a major boost to bilateral annual trade which is currently at around 14 million dollars, foreign ministry officials said. Hun Sen is accompanied by a high-profile delegation including his Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Commerce Minister Cham Prasith and Tourism Minister Veng Sereyvuth, they said. The Cambodian leader will meet Indian President K.R. Narayanan after an official reception Friday and hold talks with his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee the same day. The two countries, who have shared close ties over several decades, will sign an agreement on a joint commission to promote cooperation in the fields of trade, economy and science and technology. The two sides will also sign accords on cultural exchanges and tourism, as well as a fourth protocol on cooperation in agriculture. India is also likely to extend a 10-million dollar credit to Cambodia for its agriculture sector during the visit, officials said. After his visit here, Hun Sen would leave on a two-day visit for Myanmar, the first such trip by a Cambodian premier to the military-ruled nation since Phnom Penh's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last year. The Boston Globe 'Be firm': Burma's Suu Kyi perseveres RANGOON, Burma - It has been more than a decade since Burmese democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi was denied the power she earned in a free election by
Burma's military leaders. She was in virtual house arrest for years in
Rangoon, the capital. She spoke Saturday with Bernie Krisher, publisher of the
Cambodia Daily. Excerpts follow:
Q: How would you gauge the level of your support today inside Burma?
A: I could say with great confidence that 90 percent of the people of
Burma want democracy. Of course of those who want democracy, those who really
dare to go out and fight for it politically are in the minority because there is
so much oppression.
Q. How do you keep up your spirit in the face of all this frustration
and harassment? What keeps you going?
A. A lot of our people take their troubles with a sense of humor, but
of course basically it's a sense of commitment because it's not normal to have
to laugh, to live with the kind of laughter that comes out of our people. Having
to live in fear, that's not a normal state of being, and this is what we're
trying to get out of. We're not trying to destroy or annihilate the military
regime; they are threatening to annihilate us.
Q. Some people argue that not all countries are ready for democracy.
What is your argument to support that the Burmese are ready to live under a
democracy?
A. If you want to put it that way then you can say that in a sense a
democracy is never perfect; even in the United States of America democracy is
not perfect. We could also argue that the Japanese were not ready for democracy
in 1945, but they were given democracy, and they have worked and lived with
democracy. Sometimes - and this may be an arguable point - I think in some ways
the people of Burma are more ready for democracy now, a lot more ready now, than
the people of Japan were ready for democracy in 1945 because in Japan there was
never a struggle for democracy.
Q. Do you think the investments might be jeopardized if democracy came
to Burma? Would a new democratic regime continue to honor such investment
agreements?
A. We are not against business at all. This is the mistake a lot of
people make. They think the National League for Democracy and the democratic
forces in general are anti-business. We are not anti-business. We are for a
free-market economy. It's part of our party platform. But now we don't have a
genuine market economy. It isn't a free-market economy at all. It is very much
biased in favor of those who are connected to the regime. So why we object to
investments now is not because we are against investments per se ... By
investing now, business is supporting the military regime.
Q. How can people who wish to give humanitarian aid really help needy
Burmese without going through the military regime?
A. The first question to ask is: How effective is this humanitarian
aid? What do they mean exactly by humanitarian aid? What kind of aid is that?
And how many people is it supposed to help? In general, whatever humanitarian
aid that NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] may be able to give is a drop in
the ocean compared to what is really needed in Burma. What we really need in
Burma is substantive change; the kind of change that will enable people to help
themselves.
Q. We were photographed coming in here, and I fear they may take this
tape or film away when we leave, or at the airport.
A. You must be firm ... you always have to be firm with bullies and
basically all authoritarian regimes are bullies. |