|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Aung San Suu Kyi marks first week in
stand-off drama
Reuters - British Conservatives want tougher
line on Myanmar
Reuters - Pressure mounts on Myanmar over Suu
Kyi roadblock
Reuters - Myanmar Opposition Says Suu Kyi Won't
Back Down
Bkk Post - Deputy FM calls for end to
stand-off
Dow Jones - Myanmar To Privatize 11 More
Enterprises - Report
Guardian - The
regime is using Orwellian methods
LA Times - Myanmar: A Test Case for U.S.
Principles
IHT - Burma Draws an Internet Weapon in Its
Fight Against Dissident
Business Recorder - Ex-Burma police
pension
HRW - Burma:
ASEAN Should Help End Standoff
AP - Myanmar public shows lukewarm
interest in Suu Kyi standoff
The Straits Times - Standoff taxes Myanmar's
patience
FT - Burma protest gains
support
IPS - JUNTA-SUU KYI STANDOFF CHALLENGES ASIA BLOC FEER - Going Nowhere
BBC - Suu Kyi protest Burmese authorities
react
BBC - Second week of Suu Kyi
stand-off
SCMP - BURMA -
Generals urged to resolve stand-off
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, August 31 4:49 PM SGT
Aung San Suu Kyi marks first week in stand-off drama YANGON, Aug 31 (AFP) - Aung San
Suu Kyi may not win her roadside battle of wills with Myanmar's regime but she
has already succeeded in exposing it to renewed international scrutiny,
observers said Thursday as the ordeal went into its second week.
Aung San Suu Kyi and a dozen supporters have stood their ground since
August 24 when they were blocked from driving to a party meeting in defiance of
a ban on travel outside the capital.
Her National League for Democracy has vowed their 55-year-old leader will
fight a "war of endurance" over the right to move freely around her own country
and conduct legitimate party business.
Myanmar's generals have been equally stubborn, insisting that the Nobel
peace laureate was stopped for her own safety and must return home or continue
her "rest" outside "charming" Dallah township.
Despite its clumsy attempts to make light of the stand-off, the government
has been subjected to a barrage of criticism from the international community,
led by the United States and UN chief Kofi Annan.
And Southeast Asian neighbour Thailand has warned that if it does not find
a peaceful solution quickly, the junta will bring the whole region into
disrepute.
Even if Aung San Suu Kyi is forced to return home due to illness, as in her
last stand-off two years ago, she has severely embarrassed the government just
as it makes its faltering first steps towards the international community.
"I'm not sure she will be able to achieve her ultimate goal of forcing the
military government to allow her to travel freely and negotiate on political
issues," said Chaiwat Khamchoo of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.
"But she has been very successful in terms of winning international
attention," said the dean of political science.
"The military government will now be careful not to overly antagonise the
international community when they decide how to handle the situation."
Diplomatic sources say the latest drama has swung the spotlight back onto
Myanmar after a long period out of the headlines.
"It has served to focus international attention once again on the
violations of basic human rights in Burma. What the outcome will be though is
anyone's guess," said one Western diplomat in Bangkok.
The junta's argument that it was protecting the opposition party from the
threat of "armed insurgent groups" by preventing it from travelling on has been
met with derision.
"We find it quite extraordinary to see the line taken by the Burmese
government propaganda machine on this, describing it as a camping trip to a
charming village outside Rangoon," the diplomat said.
"They've trapped this party in a mosquito-infested swamp and I don't think
there's any doubt in the outside world that that is what has happened."
The protest is made more powerful by its timing ahead of the UN millennium
summit, and a crucial December meeting between the European Union and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Ties between the two blocs have been frosty since Myanmar was admitted as a
member in 1997 despite strong EU objections, and the meeting had been aimed at
giving a much-needed boost to the relationship.
The junta, which has been in control of Myanmar in various guises since
1962, is widely accused by the international community of gross human rights
abuses, including slave labour, rape and torture.
It rejects these allegations and contends that it intends to make
democratic changes once peace and stability has been achieved.
WIRE:08/30/2000 13:27:00 ET
British Conservatives want tougher line on Myanmar LONDON, Aug 31 (Reuters) -
Britain"s opposition Conservative Party urged the government on Thursday to
press Myanmar"s rulers to release British-Australian activist James Mawdsley,
jailed exactly a year ago for distributing anti-government leaflets. "Today
marks the first anniversary of James Mawdsley"s arrest in Burma. He was
sentenced to 17 years in prison for a crime no more heinous than handing out
pro-democracy leaflets," Conservative Foreign Affairs spokesman Francis Maude
said. Maude said he had written to Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, urging him to
step up pressure on Myanmar. "Mr Cook has often been critical of the regime in
Burma (Myanmar), which is anti-democratic and therefore a blight to the world,"
Maude said. "However his rhetoric is not matched by his actions, as illustrated
by his failure to put serious pressure on Burma to free James Mawdsley."
Mawdsley was arrested with anti-government leaflets in Tachilek, a city on the
Thai-Myanmar border, on August 31, 1999. It was the third time he had been
arrested and Myanmar officials have said there is little chance of clemency
being shown him as he has already been pardoned twice after the earlier
incidents. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said British officials had frequently
raised Mawdsley"s case with Myanmar authorities. Foreign Office Minister
Baroness Scotland had twice called in the Myanmar ambassador to express
Britain"s concern and had continued to pursue the case through official notes
and letters, the spokeswoman said.
WIRE:08/30/2000 15:04:00 ET
UPDATE 2-Pressure mounts on Myanmar over Suu Kyi roadblock YANGON, Aug 30 (Reuters) -
International pressure mounted on Myanmar"s military government on Wednesday as
pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi entered the seventh day of a
roadside confrontation with the authorities. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
called on the ruling generals to resolve the standoff with Nobel Peace Prize
winner Suu Kyi, who has been with a group of supporters in two vehicles just
outside the Myanmar capital for almost a week. "The secretary-general is
increasingly concerned about the well-being of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other
leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD), who have been denied freedom
of movement near a small town on the outskirts of Yangon since last Thursday," a
statement issued through a U.N. spokesman said. Annan was monitoring the
situation closely and called on the government to "take the necessary steps to
quickly resolve the current stand-off in a peaceful manner," the statement said.
Suu Kyi, whose NLD won an overwhelming victory at Myanmar"s last general
election in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern, is the daughter of
Myanmar"s independence hero, Aung San. She was under house arrest for six years
until 1995 and her movements remain severely restricted. Suu Kyi, her driver and
14 NLD members were halted by police in the town of Dala as they headed south of
Yangon on August 24. It was the first time Suu Kyi had tried to leave Yangon
since another roadside confrontation in 1998 that ended after 13 days, when
deteriorating health and dehydration forced her to return home in an ambulance.
The United States embassy in Yangon delivered a diplomatic note to the
government this week protesting against the action against her. The U.S. State
Department said in a statement published by the U.S. embassy in Bangkok on
Wednesday that it deplored and condemned attempts to restrict her movements.
"VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS" "The refusal of Burmese (Myanmar) authorities to
allow Aung San Suu Kyi to travel violates international human rights
instruments, which guarantee freedom of movement," it said. Canadian Foreign
Minister Lloyd Axworthy also "strongly condemned" the military for its treatment
of pro-democracy leaders in a statement issued in Ottawa. Yangon made no direct
response to the U.N., U.S. or Canadian comments but said in a statement it
"warmly appreciates the interest, concerns and opinions expressed by the
international community" and aimed to be an "anchor of regional stability."
"This is certainly time for (the) NLD to cooperate in a responsible and
meaningful way in the march towards the national goals instead of flashing
symbolic gestures designed merely to attract attention," it said. Myanmar"s
state-run newspapers have made no mention of the roadside confrontation but the
government has strongly criticized the 55-year-old Suu Kyi in comments sent to
international media. "The people of Myanmar realize that they are being used as
sacrificial lambs by the NLD in stopping all forms of foreign assistance and aid
to Myanmar," it said on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, some of the Western media and
governments have continued portraying Daw Suu Kyi as a person who is supported
by all the Myanmar people. But reality cannot be ignored," it said. The NLD said
on Wednesday Suu Kyi and her colleagues would continue with their attempt to
proceed with their journey. NLD Executive Committee member U Lwin told Reuters
the military should listen to the international community. "As for us, we"ll
keep trying until we get what we want." The NLD says the place where the NLD
leaders are being held is unsuitable for people to stay overnight and their
health could be affected after some time. The government says Suu Kyi was
stopped for her own safety as "separatist terrorist groups" were in the area. It
insists it is doing everything to ensure her comfort. It has said she is free to
stay in Dala but is encouraged to return home. Thai foreign ministry spokesman
Don Paramudvinai said Bangkok regarded the standoff as a domestic issue for
Myanmar but was concerned that it could have an impact on the Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) if it continued. Thai Foreign Minister Surin
Pitsuwan has warned it could tarnish ASEAN"s image and jeopardies a planned
meeting of ASEAN and European Union foreign ministers in Laos in December. It
would be the first ministerial meeting of the two groups since ASEAN
controversially admitted Myanmar in 1997 despite international condemnation of
its human rights record. About 400 Myanmar students in exile demonstrated in
support of Suu Kyi in front of Thailand"s Maneeloy refugee center in Ratchaburi
province, 120 km (75 miles) west of Bangkok. Several waved placards written with
their blood saying "Free Movement for Aung San Suu Kyi," witnesses said. (With
additional reporting by Chris Johnson in Bangkok)
WIRE:08/31/2000 03:41:00 ET
Myanmar Opposition Says Suu Kyi Won't Back Down YANGON, Myanmar (Reuters) -
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi entered the second week of a
punishing roadside protest Thursday with her supporters pledging she would not
back down from her confrontation with Yangon"s ruling generals. Suu Kyi"s
National League for Democracy (NLD), which won national elections by a landslide
in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern, demanded that the 55-year-old
Nobel laureate be allowed to travel south of Yangon to meet party members. "It
is hereby declared again that General-Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will not
turn back until and unless she has fully completed her intended organizational
tasks," the NLD said. In a statement, it said the site south of Yangon where Suu
Kyi, her driver and 14 NLD members have been camped since Thursday was infested
by mosquitoes and gnats. It said the authorities would be responsible if any
harm came to Suu Kyi. Photographs released by the government during the
stand-off show the group"s two vehicles -- a saloon car and a pickup truck --
parked by a dirt track and surrounded by umbrellas and tarpaulins to shade them
from the sun. Suu Kyi was halted by police on August 24 as she headed out of
Yangon to meet NLD members south of the capital. It was the first time she had
tried to leave Yangon since another roadside confrontation in 1998 that lasted
13 days until deteriorating health and dehydration forced her to return home in
an ambulance. This time Suu Kyi appears to have planned in advance for a
possible roadblock and has taken ample food and water with her and has access to
fresh supplies from local people and her supporters. Analysts say her protest
could last much longer. INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE International pressure has
mounted on Myanmar"s government to lift the restrictions on Suu Kyi. U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement earlier this week he was
increasingly concerned about the welfare of Suu Kyi and her supporters. Annan
was monitoring the situation closely and called on the government to "take the
necessary steps to quickly resolve the current stand-off in a peaceful manner,"
the U.N. said. The United States embassy in Yangon delivered a diplomatic note
to the government this week protesting about the treatment of Suu Kyi, and the
European Union and Canada have also said they deplore the travel restrictions
placed on her. Even neighboring Thailand, which traditionally avoids criticizing
Yangon, has said it is concerned about the stand-off. Countries in the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) do not usually comment on each
others" domestic affairs. Thailand says the stand-off may damage ASEAN"s image
and could scupper a planned summit of ASEAN and EU foreign ministers in Laos in
December. It would be the first ministerial-level meeting between the two groups
since relations soured after ASEAN controversially admitted Myanmar in 1997.
Myanmar"s state-run newspapers have made no mention of the roadside
confrontation but the government has strongly criticized Suu Kyi in comments
sent to international media. The government says Suu Kyi was stopped for her own
safety as "separatist terrorist groups" were in the area. It insists it is doing
everything to ensure her comfort, and says she is free to stay in Dala but is
encouraged to return home. (With additional reporting by Andrew Marshall in
Bangkok)
Bangkok Post - Aug 31,
2000.
BURMA Deputy FM calls for end to stand-off Suu Kyi crisis could affect Vientiane meet Achara Ashayagachat
Thailand has the right to voice concern over the stand-off in Burma
involving Aung San Suu Kyi and the military government, Deputy Foreign Minister
Sukhumbhand Paribatra said yesterday.
The stand-off, now in its seventh day, had a bearing on Thai efforts to
re-establish talks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the
European Union.
M.R. Sukhumbhand echoed the concern by Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan that
talks between Asean and EU foreign ministers could be jeopardised by events in
Burma.
The deputy minister said he was not interfering in Burmese affairs.
"Thailand, particularly this government, has strived since December, 1997,
to move forward the disconnected Asean-EU ministerial meeting, now scheduled in
December in Vientiane," he said.
The government had a stake in the outcome and therefore had the right to
urge restraint on the parties, he said.
Talks between the two groupings have been postponed for years because of
the EU's refusal to bring Burma into the framework.
Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, and 12 members of her
party have spent a week in a roadside stand-off on the outskirts of Rangoon
after being stopped as she tried to travel to a party meeting.
About 400 exiled Burmese rallied in the Maneeloy holding centre in
Ratchaburi to demand the Rangoon junta allow Suu Kyi free passage.
A dozen cut their arms with razor blades and wrote a banner in blood, "Free
Suu Kyi".
A protest leader said 30 residents went on hunger strike.
Thursday, August 31 1:14 PM SGT
Myanmar To Privatize 11 More Enterprises - Report BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Myanmar's
military government will be selling 11 more state enterprises of four ministries
through competitive bidding, China's Xinhua news agency reported from Yangon,
citing Thursday's state New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
The enterprises to be auctioned include one plot of land and two warehouses of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, six cinemas of the Ministry of Information, one timber shop of the Ministry of Forestry and one ice factory of the Ministry of Livestock and Fishery, located in nine townships around the country, the report said. Myanmar has been implementing privatization of state-owned economic
enterprises since January 1995, through auctioning or leasing, or establishment
of joint ventures with local and foreign investors, the report said.
The first enterprises to be privatized were factories, livestock breeding
farms and cinemas.
In 1999, a total of 118 enterprises comprising 15 factories, seven rice
mills, 85 cinemas and 11 hotels were privatized.
According to official statistics, there are 1,760 state enterprises in
Myanmar, most of them industrial enterprises, the report said.
Analysts said local partners of virtually all of the joint ventures with
foreign investors are companies controlled by military or retired military
personnel.
Guardian
Burmese days The regime is using Orwellian methods Leader Thursday August 31, 2000 International protests have rightly broken out over the latest outrage by
the Burmese military junta against the country's democracy leader, Aung San Suu
Kyi. Police blocked her car and let down its tyres on the outskirts of Rangoon
as she and several colleagues tried to visit supporters of her party's youth
wing.
For seven days they have been forced to camp in a mosquito-infested field in broiling heat. This sad confrontation is not new. Ms Suu Kyi attempted four similar
excursions in 1998 and each time was made to turn back after suffering from
dehydration. The latest clash may end the same way. Even if it does not achieve
its main purpose in allowing her to encourage her party workers to continue
their long campaign for Burma's return to democratic rule, she will have
reminded the world how ruthless the regime remains.
Its statements on the stand-off have an Orwellian ring. They tell the
readers of their international website that Ms Suu Kyi is relaxing in a scenic
riverside town because security conditions do not permit her to travel further,
since so many Burmese hate her calls for tourists and businesspeople to boycott
her country. The fact that none of Burma's state-owned press dares to publish
this nonsense or indeed any news about her thwarted excursion shows the regime
does not believe its own story. It knows it would arouse only more sympathy for
her if the truth were told.
The United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has expressed concern over
the regime's denial of her freedom of movement and called on it to resolve the
issue peacefully. Britain, the United States, and various members of the
Association of South East Asian Nations have also added their condemnation.
Ms Suu Kyi's mistreatment is by no means the worst aspect of the junta's
rule. Hundreds of Burmese political activists are in prison. Thousands have been
tortured. Burma was lucky to be accepted into Asean in 1997, but if the military
junta thought this would give it international respectability it was wrong. The
European Union refuses to deal with Burma at international meetings. The United
States has a ban on investment there. Whether the latest confrontation will
change the regime's policies towards democratisation is doubtful. But it will at
least make it harder for the regime to find fissures in the wall of
international opposition.
Los Angeles Times - Aug 30,
2000.
Myanmar: A Test Case for U.S. Principles By JIM MANN WASHINGTON--Myanmar may seem like a faraway place,
yet it serves as the best indicator in the world today of the role of values and
principles in U.S. foreign policy.
And it raises questions of considerable importance to the presidential campaign: How might a new Bush-Cheney administration, with close ties to the U.S. oil industry, reconcile the conflict between commercial interests and democratic ideals in a place like Myanmar? Over the last few days, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been trapped in a muddy field outside Myanmar's capital city of Yangon (Rangoon) because Myanmar's military junta refuses to let her travel around the country. Aung San Suu Kyi, a disciple of nonviolence, is often referred to as the leader of Myanmar's opposition forces. But in a way that term is misleading, because by rights she should be considered the country's elected leader. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won Myanmar's only election in 1990 with an overwhelming 82% of the nationwide vote. But the military leaders refused to give up power. Aung San Suu Kyi spent much of the last decade under house arrest. She is now challenging the restrictions that have prohibited her from leaving Yangon. Last Thursday, she and 14 supporters left the capital to try to meet with party leaders in a town 30 miles away. Police vehicles blocked the road and forced them into a field, where they have remained for several days, sleeping in their vehicles or in tents. Myanmar's military leaders say they want to keep Aung San Suu Kyi safe from "terrorists" or others who might want to harm her. Exactly who might want to hurt her? Perhaps the regime or its supporters, the government's own statements suggest. On Tuesday, the government added a chilling Orwellian twist to its earlier rationalizations: Aung San Suu Kyi needs to be protected, it asserted, because there are "sound reasons for resentment and indignation toward her." It accused her of encouraging foreign governments to impose economic sanctions against Myanmar. The United States is among the countries that have imposed sanctions. However much the Clinton administration has wavered in its policies toward other countries, notably China, it has been consistent and relatively tough over the last eight years in dealing with Myanmar. A 1996 law supported by the Clinton administration prohibits new American investment in Myanmar. The United States also has blocked international lending to Myanmar. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has repeatedly voiced strong personal support for Aung San Suu Kyi and for democracy in Myanmar. Privately, Clinton administration officials argue that Myanmar represents a classic example of where economic sanctions are justified. The regime is unusually repressive, and the sanctions deny it legitimacy, administration officials say. American commercial interests in Myanmar are minuscule in comparison to China. And the U.S. sanctions serve to restrain other governments, like Japan, from moving too quickly to invest in Myanmar. This week, the Clinton administration issued a strong statement supporting Aung San Suu Kyi's right to travel freely. "Freedom of movement is a fundamental, internationally recognized human right," the State Department noted. Still, the administration's unusually firm stand against Myanmar has been unpopular with the business community. The anti-boycott organization USA*Engage, set up and funded by U.S. corporations, has urged Congress to lift the sanctions against Myanmar. Oil companies like Unocal, the leading American investor in Myanmar, have been eager to expand their operations there. What would a new Republican administration do? To what extent would it support Aung San Suu Kyi's movement for democracy? Would it stick with the Clinton administration's policies of keeping economic pressure on the Myanmar junta? George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, the GOP presidential ticket, are former oil executives. Cheney, in particular, has been especially fervent in his opposition to the use of unilateral American sanctions. "They almost never work," he argued in a speech two years ago. Those facts would seem to suggest that a new Bush administration would ease up on the existing Clinton-Gore policy toward Myanmar. And yet within the Republican Party, there are also currents in the opposite direction. During the middle to late 1980s, the Republicans developed a strong tradition of support for democratic leaders and movements in Asia. The Reagan administration pressed successfully for democratic changes in the Philippines and in South Korea. Some of the leading alumni of that administration, such as Richard L. Armitage and Paul Wolfowitz, are now serving as foreign policy advisors to Bush. Moreover, one of Aung San Suu Kyi's strongest supporters has been Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has pushed to tighten, not loosen, the sanctions against Myanmar. So as Aung San Suu Kyi and the military junta continue their standoff in Myanmar, the question in Washington is what will happen to American policy there if the Republicans take the White House. Will Big Oil win out and gain an end to U.S. sanctions in Myanmar? Or will the Republicans support Aung San Suu Kyi in 2001, as they did the Philippines' Corazon Aquino in 1986? In short, what kind of foreign policy would we get in a new Republican administration? Maybe the candidates can tell us. Paris, Thursday, August 31, 2000
Burma Draws an Internet Weapon in Its Fight Against Dissident --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Thomas Crampton International Herald Tribune -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HONG KONG - Leading her roadside confrontation with Burma's military rulers into its seventh day Wednesday, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's tactics appear identical to those she used in a similar protest two years ago: Drive to the edge of Rangoon until blocked by the government and then sit in the road for as long as possible. For the rulers of Burma, however, things are different this time. They have
discovered the Internet.
Turning to the Web with the fervor of a recent convert, the Burmese
government has spent the past week sending out almost daily e-mails to just
about any journalist who has recently written about the country.
Using language that portrays Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's political standoff as a
jolly jaunt into the countryside, the government's e-mail messages have included
attached digital images of semi-nude leaders of the National League for
Democracy bathing in streams or carrying supplies.
Captions to the digital images include: ''An afternoon dip in the
Sarpachaun stream''; ''Trying to put more food and other amenities into an
already overloaded trunk'' and ''Coming back from shopping at nearby food stores
in time for high tea.'' For higher-resolution photographs of publication
quality, the government spokesman's office recommends that editors visit the
junta's official Web site: www.myanmar.com.
There, the government's graphic-intensive site plays tinny music, claims
more than 11,000 visitors since March and early this year garnered a ''Best of
Asia'' award from www.sintercom.org, a
Singapore-based Internet community.
Opponents of the Burmese government denigrate such efforts as e-propaganda
that stand in stark contrast to the continued tight control of communication
within Burma. Mobile telephones are considered military equipment, ordinary
citizens are not permitted access to e-mail or the Internet, and those found in
possession of an unauthorized fax machine have faced lengthy prison terms.
More broadly, however, the rapid upgrading of Burma's official information
dissemination demonstrates how governments embroiled in civil conflicts are now
forced to confront their physical enemies in cyberspace.
The Internet-enabled confrontation with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's
leading opposition figure, contrasts sharply with two years ago, when the only
official information about the standoff came from terse comments on government
information sheets that were faxed out to journalists specifically covering the
story.
The only pictures available then were fleeting images taken from passing
cars by local journalists who risked stiff prison sentences or foreign
photographers who entered the country in stealth and smuggled out their film.
International news agencies are permitted to hire government-approved local
staff, but foreign journalists are only allowed into Burma for brief visits at
the government's convenience.
In the period since Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's last roadside confrontation, the
government has been making a slow conversion from faxing out information sheets
to sending them via e-mail and posting them on the official Web site.
These efforts have not been without setbacks. The official Web sites have
been targets of hackers, and at least one e-mail list was hijacked by National
League for Democracy supporters.
The Internet, and especially the Burmanet daily e-mail update, has long
been a highly effective tool used against the Rangoon government by activists
wishing to spread news and coordinate consumer boycotts of Western companies
investing in the country.
The government of Sri Lanka has a undergone similar experience in its fight
against overseas supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a group
waging war for an ethnic Tamil homeland in Northern Sri Lanka.
Supporters of the Tamil Tigers and Tamil causes run a number of Web sites,
including www.tamilcanada.com, www.eelam.com and www.tamilnet.com.
Braced for heavy combat when he took over a battle command in May 1998, the
first hostile volley to hit Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne of the Sri Lankan Army
came from the Internet.
Less than two weeks after he assumed command of 2,500 men on the Jaffna
Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka, a Web site sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers
reported that Brigadier Karunaratne had used violence on civilians.
Brigadier Karunaratne had never before used the Internet and military
communications were still rudimentary, so he heard about the report from a
friend only shortly before the military launched an official investigation into
the allegations.
''I was not trained how to respond to an attack from the Internet,'' the
brigadier said. In the past year, however, the Sri Lankan government and
military have begun to embrace the Internet.
Frontline generals in Jaffna use digital cameras and log on for e-mail
daily, the army's Psychological Operations Unit monitors all Tamil Web sites and
the Foreign Ministry runs a Web site disseminating the government's
viewpoint.
Recently promoted to military spokesman, Brigadier Karunaratne said he
intended to launch an official army Web site: ''On the government side we must
learn to use the Internet weapon as effectively as the Tamil Tigers.''
Ex-Burma police
pension
BUSINESS RECORDER REPORT ISLAMABAD (August 31) : The government has decided to increase the grant of
minimum pension to the ex-Burma police pensioners. In this regard, finance division has issued an official memorandum saying that the President has been pleased to decide that the ex-gratia minimum pension of the ex-Burma police pensioners and their surviving widows drawing pension from Pakistani treasuries be raised to Rs 300 pm and Rs 150 pm, respectively with effect from August 1, 2000, without any arrears. It is also stated that any increase in the pension allowed to Pakistan pensioners will not be admissible to the aforementioned pensioners. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Burma: ASEAN Should Help End Standoff (New York, August 30, 2000 ) In letters to Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers yesterday, Human Rights Watch called on ASEAN governments to use their influence to persuade Burma's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to end the current standoff with Aung San Suu Kyi. Noting that the actions of the SPDC violated the rights to freedom of
movement, _expression_, and assembly of Aung San Suu Kyi and fellow members of the
National League for Democracy, Human Rights Watch said that ASEAN intervention
would demonstrate the organization's commitment to upholding basic freedoms.
The international monitoring organization urged the foreign ministers to add their voices to that of Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan in arguing for an end to the confrontation. In statements to the Bangkok press on Monday, Foreign Minister Surin noted his concern that the confrontation in Burma "may affect the image of ASEAN as a whole" and could sour the December ASEAN-European Union foreign ministers meeting. Myanmar public shows lukewarm interest
in Suu Kyi standoff
YANGON, Myanmar, Aug 31, 2000 (AP) -- As the roadside standoff between
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's military government entered its
second week Thursday, her fate seemed to be sparking less interest among her
fellow citizens than it has abroad.
The military junta has drawn strong criticism and statements of concern from around the world for stopping Suu Kyi from traveling to the countryside to carry out political organizing. However, interviews conducted in Myanmar by The Associated Press indicated that sentiment inside the country does not seem as passionate. Suu Kyi, 55, two other senior members of her National League for Democracy
party,and 12 members of its youth wing were stopped by police on Aug. 24, in the
Yangon suburb of Dala. Blocked from continuing to their countryside destination
50 kilometers (30 miles) away, they have since been stranded there, camping out
in their two vehicles and refusing to return to the capital.
Suu Kyi - the daughter of the country's late independence leader, Gen. Aung
San - has led Myanmar's opposition movement since 1988, when the military
smashed mass pro-democracy demonstrations and asserted its authoritarian rule.
She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent political activities, but
was held under house arrest from 1989 to 1995.
The military held a general election in 1990, but refused to allow
parliament to convene after the NLD won a landslide victory. Since then, her
party members have suffered arrest and harassment from the government.
Interviews conducted at random in Myanmar supported the government's claim
on Wednesday that while the confrontation "is making headlines in the
international media, the people of Yangon and Dala, both young and old, seem
indifferent to this incident and are carrying on with their daily life, business
and education as usual."
True public sentiment is difficult to gauge in Myanmar because of
widespread fear of government retaliation for speaking out publicly on political
matters. Even those people willing to comment about the standoff insisted on
speaking on condition of anonymity.
But universities - which the government fears are potential hotbeds of
unrest - were quiet, and the situation in Dala was not the main topic of
discussion among students.
A history student told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the talk
among students was of an illegal lottery that is wildly popular among all
segments of society.
Meanwhile, local markets were as busy as usual. The black-market exchange
rate for the kyat strengthened to around 374 kyats per dollar on Tuesday from
394 on Aug. 10, with dealers saying the boost came from a recovery in
neighboring Thailand's currency.
A Dala resident who comes to Yangon every day to sell beans said that most
people living in Dala are poor and more concerned with their livelihood than the
standoff.
A trishaw driver in Dala interviewed Thursday said - with apparent irony -
that the town's residents are happy and wish Suu Kyi to remain in Dala because
since her arrival they have had electricity every day. A nationwide shortage of
electricity means suburban areas normally don't have it each day. But it has now
been turned on in Dala, apparently for security reasons.
The current standoff was triggered when Suu Kyi made her first attempt to
travel outside the capital since two years ago, when the government blocked four
such tries. On the last occasion, in August 1998, she stayed put in her vehicle
for 13 days before returning home for health reasons.
It seemed unlikely that the current standoff will be resolved soon.
A government statement Wednesday called on the National League for
Democracy to cooperate in "a responsible and meaningful way to (fulfill)
national goals instead of flashing symbolic gestures designed merely to attract
attention."
But a statement by the NLD vowed that Suu Kyi "will definitely not return
to Yangon until she reaches her destination and accomplishes party
organizational duties."
Neighboring Thailand warned Wednesday that the standoff could hurt
relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional
free-trade group, and the European Union, which imposes sanctions on Myanmar for
its human rights record. Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a member of the
10-nation ASEAN.
On Tuesday, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Secretary-General Kofi Annan
"is increasingly concerned about the well-being" of Suu Kyi and the other NLD
leaders with her.
Eckhard noted that they "have been denied freedom of movement."
At an annual meeting of Nordic foreign ministers on Tuesday, Denmark,
Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden said they "condemn the Burmese government's
infringement" of Suu Kyi's democratic rights.
The United States, Britain and the European Union also weighed in earlier
with strong statements of concern.
By AYE AYE WIN Associated Press Writer
The Straits Times - Aug 31,
2000.
Standoff taxes Myanmar's patience YANGON -- The Myanmar government accused yesterday opposition leader Ms
Aung San Suu Kyi of craving international attention as her seven-day-old
roadside standoff with authorities received more support around the world.
Ms Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel peace prize for her pro-democracy
campaign in Myanmar, was preparing to spend a seventh night in the open in the
Yangon suburb of Dala where she was stopped by police last Thursday while
driving to the countryside for party work.
A government statement said that Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
party should cooperate in ""a responsible and meaningful way to fulfil national
goals instead of flashing symbolic gestures designed merely to attract
attention''.
But it appeared that the government's patience with Ms Suu Kyi's defiance
is wearing thin.
It said late Tuesday she and the others were blocked in order to ""protect
them from being harmed by those who have sound reasons for resentment and
indignation towards her''. --AP
Financial Times
asia pacific - Burma protest gains support By William Barnes in Bangkok August 31 2000 09:03GMT Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's opposition leader, starts her second week in a roadside stand-off with the military government as international support for her stance grew. Thailand warned that the confrontation could damage relations between the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union before a
long-delayed ministerial meeting in Laos in December. Kofi Annan, the United
Nations secretary-general, was "increasingly concerned about the wellbeing" of
55-year-old Ms Suu Kyi, said his spokesman.
Ms Suu Kyi's car and a van carrying a dozen members of her youth wing were
stopped a week ago taking a ferry across the Rangoon river. She was travelling
to visit party members around the country.
The government has responded to the stand-off - which her party officials
deny she engineered - with a mixture of heavy sarcasm and veiled threats to
close universities that fully reopened only this month.
Ms Suu Kyi, her septuagenarian deputy, Tin Oo, and the rest of the party
have been stocking up on food and drinks, suggesting that they might be prepared
for a longish stay. The last and longest of four similar, but more isolated,
stand-offs in 1998 lasted 13 days before dehydration forced her to abandon it.
Burma's entry into Asean in 1997 caused a rapid cooling of relations
between Asean and the EU, which then hardened its sanctions against the regime.
The decision to put the relationship back on track was made after European
acceptance that its relationship with Asean was too important a link to be
broken by the desire to shun Rangoon's military rulers. .
"There would be a great reluctance to abandon the Laos meeting and no one's
contemplating it at the moment," said a western diplomat in Bangkok. "But if
things turn ugly in Rangoon then that view could change rapidly."
The US charge d'affaires, Priscilla Clapp, and the British ambassador, John
Jenkins, "clearly expressed their unhappiness" to officials when they were
prevented from taking the ferry to see her at the weekend, according to one
report.
No foreign observer believes the authorities' claims that "terrorists" make
it unsafe for Ms Suu Kyi to travel outside the capital. The consensus is that
any trips she makes are seen as working against what the government hopes is the
withering away of her political party and popularity. IPS-Inter Press
Service
POLITICS-BURMA: JUNTA-SUU KYI STANDOFF CHALLENGES ASIA BLOC BANGKOK, (Aug. 30) IPS -
A seven-day-old confrontation between Burma's military rulers and opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi has again put the main grouping of Southeast Asian
nations in an awkward diplomatic situation.
Embarrassed by the regime in Rangoon, the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) will have to move decisively this time, say regional diplomacy
analysts and activists campaigning for change within Burma.
Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) has been forcibly kept
out of power despite its landslide poll victory a decade ago, today continued
her roadside protest outside Rangoon.
Although the 55-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is no longer under
house arrest, authorities are preventing her and more than a dozen NLD members
from travelling outside Rangoon.
In a repeat of incidents two years ago, Suu Kyi has refused to return to
Rangoon. The government says she is being prevented from travelling beyond the
town of Dala because of threats of violence by "armed separatist terrorist
groups."
An NLD statement has called the latest confrontation a "war of endurance"
and a central committee member was quoted as saying that it was aimed at forcing
the authorities to acknowledge the right to freedom of movement in Burma.
Foreign Ministry officials in Thailand expressed the hope that ASEAN
nations may be able to do more this time, even though the group's mandate bars
meddling in the internal affairs of member states.
They referred to the newly set up ASEAN "Troika" of past, present and
future chairs of the grouping. Proposed at a leaders summit in Manila in
November 1999, the troika was given final shape at the July meeting of the 10
ASEAN foreign ministers in Bangkok.
The troika aims to "address in a timely manner, urgent and important
regional political and security issues and situations of common concern likely
to disturb regional peace and harmony," says the document setting out the nature
and scope of the body as approved by the foreign ministers.
"This is perhaps something in which the troika might come in handy," a
senior Thai foreign ministry official told IPS, referring to Suu Kyi's roadside
protest outside Rangoon.
However, the official pointed out that any move on this would have to come
from the new Asean troika chair, Vietnam.
Although the troika's mandate clearly says that it "shall refrain from
addressing issues that constitute the internal affairs of ASEAN countries,"
analysts noted that the latest confrontation between the military regime and the
opposition leader can no longer be treated as a purely internal affair of
Burma.
Thailand has already indicated its disapproval, with Foreign Minister Surin
Pitsuwan declaring that if the standoff between Suu Kyi and Rangoon's rulers did
not end soon, "it may affect the image of ASEAN as a whole."
Surin said the situation was of "much concern" to the world. According to
foreign ministry officials here, Bangkok is "concerned that this is one incident
which might get out of hand if there is no tolerance applied by the parties
concerned (in Burma)."
Thailand is also concerned that the incident is not helpful to projecting
the ASEAN region to the world community in a positive light, the official
said.
The United States and the European Union, which have imposed economic
sanctions on Rangoon, blasted the Burmese military regime for its latest move
against Suu Kyi.
Activists campaigning for the establishment of democracy in Burma welcomed
Bangkok's statement on the Suu Kyi-Rangoon confrontation, but remained skeptical
of ASEAN's ability to do much.
"Thailand has a lot at stake. We welcome this statement by Surin that the
standoff will affect the image of ASEAN," said Anelyn De Luna of the Alternative
ASEAN Network on Burma.
"Perhaps this may be a wake up call for ASEAN members to act," she told
IPS, but added, "I'm not putting my hopes on that."
Burmese activists are lobbying ASEAN governments to move this time. A group
of pro-democracy leaders living in exile was in Manila to discuss the situation
with members of the Philippine Congress.
Meanwhile, Thailand's foreign minister expressed hope that the crisis could
be resolved by the United Nation's special envoy for Burma.
Malaysia's Razali Ismail, who is close to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohammed, has been entrusted with the task of making Rangoon comply with U.N.
resolutions on Burma.
Malaysia played a key role in Burma's admission into ASEAN three years ago
in the face of tremendous pressure from the West not to do so.
The regional bloc had defended itself by arguing that it could bring about
change in Burma more effectively by a policy of engagement, instead of
isolation, as practiced by the West.
Top among Razali's priorities is persuading Burma's rulers to hold a
dialogue with the Suu Kyi-led opposition. He will also have to take up the
question of respect for human rights in that country.
The U.N. resolution on Burma adopted in December 1999, deplored "continuing
violations of human rights in Myanmar (Burma) including extra-judicial, summary
or arbitrary executions, enforced disappearances, rape, torture."
In Bangkok for the July ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, Burmese Foreign
Minster U. Win Aung said the NLD had brushed aside "olive branches" extended by
the regime in Rangoon. "A dialogue cannot take place if the NLD continues
calling for international pressure, isolation and sanctions against
Myanmar."
The military regime has used the same argument to justify its current
action against Suu Kyi.
"The people of Myanmar realize that they are being used as sacrificial
lambs by the NLD in stopping all forms of foreign assistance and aid to
Myanmar," it said in a statement released yesterday.
However, Suu Kyi's party asserted that its leader would not back off and
return home. Nor would she accept medical help from the authorities this time,
the NLD declared.
A similar 13-day confrontation in August 1998 ended with an ill Suu Kyi
being forcibly taken back home in an ambulance.
Far Eastern Economic Review
Issue cover-dated September 7, 2000 BURMA - Going Nowhere
By Shawn W. Crispin/BANGKOK A roadside standoff points to tensions in the junta and the weaknesses of
the opposition
AFTER NEARLY two years off centre stage, Burmese opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi is grabbing the world's attention again. On August 24, Suu Kyi, in a
two-vehicle convoy en route to a meeting with an upcountry youth wing of her
party, was stopped and barricaded by the military government's police near the
Rangoon suburb of Dala.
The standoff with Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which entered a
seventh day as the REVIEW went to press, marks the first time she has seriously
upped the tempo of her opposition campaign since insisting in 1998 that the
parliament democratically elected in 1990 be convened.
At that time a similar confrontation ended violently after 13 days, with
the junta forcing the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner back to Rangoon. Hundreds of
party members were incarcerated and scores pushed to abandon their party
allegiances. Mindful of that precedent, the United States, the European Union
and Britain have weighed in, heaping criticism on the junta for restricting Suu
Kyi's movements.
Her protest came in reaction to a recent diplomatic warming towards the
junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council. Considering leverage
China has gained over Burma in recent years and the spreading realization that
U.S.-led economic sanctions aren't loosening the junta's grip on power, many
countries in the region--including heavyweights Japan, India and Australia--have
recalculated the diplomatic arithmetic and adopted more accommodating relations
with the regime.
Japan in particular seems keen to re-open financial aid, on the
understanding that the SPDC shows movement towards greater openness. It was
Japanese carrots in the form of hints of aid that goaded the SPDC into
re-opening select universities in August. Similar inducements seem to have
convinced Rangoon that Australian-sponsored human rights workshops for 50
Burmese officials in July made good sense. Yet no substantive gestures have come
toward opening dialogue with Suu Kyi and the NLD.
JUNTA'S TIGHTER GRIP
Suu Kyi has recently been more strident in criticizing international moves
that win the junta domestic credibility. "Suu Kyi is trying to remind the world
that this is the same regime that opened fire on democratic demonstrators in
1988 and annulled the results of democratic elections in 1990," says Chayachoke
Chulasiriwongs, a professor of international relations at Bangkok's
Chulalongkorn University. "She's trying to show the world that the struggle is
still on."
Typically, Suu Kyi timed her push well. As in 1998, tensions are rising
inside the SPDC. In August, the deputy minister for national planning and
economic development, Brig.-Gen. Zaw Tun, was forced to step down for giving an
uncharacteristically candid description of the country's economic rot at a
seminar. And with rumours circulating that SPDC Chairman Gen. Than Shwe is
poised to step down for health reasons, rival factions backing either the more
outward-looking intelligence chief Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt or the more hardline
former army commander Gen. Maung Aye are aggressively jockeying for
position.
Yet, Suu Kyi's actions are unlikely to push intra-junta tensions to the
breaking point. In the past five years, the junta has effectively consolidated
its grip on power. Except for pockets of resistance among the ethnic Karen, all
ceasefires brokered in the early and mid-1990s still hold--albeit tenuously.
"The SPDC believes it is winning both externally as well as internally," says a
Burmese academic. "They now see themselves as a corporate identity that, even as
generals come and go, will keep policies relatively the same."
The NLD meanwhile is in dire straits. On June 7, Aye Tha Aung, the
representative of the NLD's four ethnic-minority branches, was sentenced to 21
years in jail. Some analysts believe the systematic and brutal emasculation of
the NLD has split the party over how best to proceed with resistance.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Suu Kyi's bet is that by
bringing the junta's hardline tactics back into the spotlight, the NLD may
regain hope at home and spur fresh international criticism. Unfortunately for
her, rumbles from the West seldom, if ever, effect real change in Burma. And
rumbles at home, history shows, only beget more repression.
BBC - Thursday, 31 August, 2000, 13:41
GMT 14:41 UK
Suu Kyi protest Burmese authorities react The authorities in Burma have described a roadside protest by the
pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, as a deliberate confrontation designed
to attract world attention.
A week ago Miss Suu Kyi and a small group of supporters were stopped while
on their way to an opposition party meeting near the capital Rangoon and ordered
to return.
Instead they decided to camp by the roadside.
Thailand has expressed concern that the protest will overshadow a
forthcoming summit between South east asian nations and the European Union. and
the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan says he's increasingly
concerned about Miss Suu Kyi's welfare.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
BBC -Thursday, 31 August, 2000, 11:44
GMT 12:44 UK
Second week of Suu Kyi stand-off A roadside confrontation between the pro-democracy leader in Burma, Aung
San Suu Kyi and the country's military authorities has entered a second week.
Miss Suu Kyi and a small group of supporters were halted at roadblock in
the countryside not far from the capital, Rangoon last Thursday.
The authorities said she was prevented from going on because separatist
guerrilla activity made travel in the area unsafe.
But Miss Suu Kyi has refused to turn back and opted to camp at the point
where she was stopped.
The stalemate has attracted international attention, with the United
Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan saying he's increasingly concerned about
Miss Suu Kyi's welfare.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
South China Morning Post
Thursday, August 31, 2000 BURMA - Generals urged to resolve stand-off REUTERS in Rangoon International pressure mounted on Burma's military Government yesterday as
pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi entered the seventh day of a
roadside confrontation with the authorities.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the ruling generals
to resolve the stand-off with the Nobel laureate, who has been with a group of
supporters in two vehicles just outside Rangoon for almost a week.
"The Secretary-General is increasingly concerned about the well-being of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the National League for Democracy
(NLD), who have been denied freedom of movement near a small town on the
outskirts of Rangoon since last Thursday," a UN statement said.
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, her driver and 14 NLD members were halted by police in
the town of Dala as they headed south of Rangoon on August 24.
It was the first time she had tried to leave the city since another
roadside confrontation in 1998 that ended after 13 days, when deteriorating
health and dehydration forced her to return home in an ambulance.
The United States Embassy in Rangoon delivered a diplomatic note to the
Government this week protesting the action against her.
Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy also "strongly condemned" the
military for its treatment of pro-democracy leaders in a statement.
The ruling generals made no direct response to the comments but said in a
statement it "warmly appreciates the interest, concerns and opinions expressed
by the international community" and aimed to be an "anchor of regional
stability".
"This is certainly time for the NLD to co-operate in a responsible and
meaningful way in the march towards the national goals instead of flashing
symbolic gestures designed merely to attract attention," it said.
Burma's state-run newspapers have not reported the roadside confrontation
but the Government has strongly criticised Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, 55, in comments
sent to international media.
"The people of Myanmar realise that they are being used as sacrificial
lambs by the NLD in stopping all forms of foreign assistance and aid to
Myanmar," it said on Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, some of the Western media and governments have continued
portraying Daw Suu Kyi as a person who is supported by all the Burmese people.
But reality cannot be ignored."
The NLD said yesterday that Ms Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues would
continue to try to proceed with their journey.
NLD executive committee member U Lwin said the military should listen to
the international community. "As for us, we'll keep trying until we get what we
want."
The Government says Ms Aung San Suu Kyi was stopped for her own safety as
"separatist terrorist groups" were in the area. It has said she is free to stay
in Dala but is encouraged to return
home. |