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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURMA RELATED NEWS - January - 28, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Myanmar's Military Rule Entrenched
AFP - European mission to test the waters
in Myanmar
Dow Jones - EU Delegation To Arrive In
Myanmar Sunday - Kyodo
Bkk Post - Rangoon asked to free student
leader
BBC - EU looks at Burma
progress
BBC - EU mission examines Burma
'thaw'
Mainichi - Mahathir presses Burma to hold
elections
Saturday January 27 1:29 PM ET
Myanmar's Military Rule Entrenched By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -
Myanmar's ruling military has eased its withering pressure on pro-democracy
activists, raising hopes for some that a Western economic boycott is finally
having an effect.
But even as a European Union (news - web sites) delegation is scheduled to
arrive Monday to press for more liberalization, some analysts say the junta is
unlikely to meaningfully loosen a nearly 40-year grip on power.
Hope was recently sparked that a decade-old deadlock between the generals
and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi could be broken after word emerged the
two sides have been holding secret talks for nearly four months.
This dialogue, the first since 1994, is being called a ``landmark'' by
dissident exiles and hailed by the United Nations (news - web sites). Some
Western diplomats in the region say it's evidence the junta is in desperate
economic straits.
But several Myanmar intellectuals, who spoke on condition of anonymity to
avoid trouble with the junta, don't expect a resolution in the foreseeable
future. Some foreign analysts agree.
``The dialogue is very much a show for the European Union, Japanese and the
new Bush administration,'' said Josef Silverstein, an American political
scientist who has studied Myanmar for a half century. ``It's a play for the
international community.''
For a start, both Suu Kyi and the top military leaders are true believers
in their competing political views, say observers who know the key players
personally. Such people rarely are willing to compromise.
The generals regard themselves as Myanmar's saviors, and their hostility to
Suu Kyi is almost visceral. Their core position - that they will retain power as
long as they see fit - appears nonnegotiable.
``The Lady,'' as she is widely known, is a passionate democrat whose
uncompromising stance sometimes borders on arrogance. This, and the Nobel Prize
laureate's great popularity in the West, further infuriates the military.
On the surface, the capital of Yangon has rarely looked better. Traffic
jams, shopping malls and high rises that indicate some people have benefitted
from economic liberalization by a military group that seized power after
brutally crushing a Suu Kyi-led uprising in 1988.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, had locked itself away from the world
following a 1962 military coup. The ensuing regime - a mix of military rule and
socialism - proved disastrous.
The economy is clearly the current regime's Achilles' heel and it has been
deteriorating. Foreign investment has plummeted since 1997, hard currency is
scarce, and rice, a key export, faces a glut on the world market.
This is worsened by continuing economic sanctions by Washington and the
European Community. Japan, once the leading aid giver, is waiting for signs of
political change before opening its pocketbook.
Myanmar says it wants sanctions lifted, and some concessions to Suu Kyi and
her National League for Democracy might prove enough to lessen international
pressure. The EU delegation will assess the situation during its four-day
visit.
The junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council, has stopped
virulent attacks on Suu Kyi's party and has released some political prisoners,
although Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since Sept. 22.
That's far short of meeting Suu Kyi's unswerving demand that the regime
recognize the results of a 1990 election that her party won by a
landslide.
Making such a concession to end sanctions would be unprecedented. Myanmar's
military has been up against the wall many times, but never meaningfully yielded
to foreign demands.
Western analysts say many in military ranks want the dialogue to fail,
fearing that Suu Kyi's side might win and seek revenge for the imprisonment,
torture and killing of democracy activists.
On the pro-democracy side, calls for demonstrations and other public action
to pressure for change have fizzled in recent years.
``I think Suu Kyi's popularity is higher than ever. But I don't think
people are going to pick up a weapon and go out on the streets - unless they
kill her,'' Silverstein said.
Some in Myanmar are even more skeptical, saying that while antimilitary
sentiment has risen, Suu Kyi's support is eroding as people grow frustrated with
political stalemate and economic hardship.
``I don't trust anybody,'' said Aye Hla, a 21-year-old student, when asked
if she backed Suu Kyi.
A bitter joke making the Yangon rounds recalls a Buddhist acceptance of
fate that has been a key element of the modern political scene:
``The socialist regime did nothing and lasted 26 years. This regime has a
done a few good things so it will last 52 years.''
Sunday, January 28 3:09 PM SGT
European mission to test the waters in
Myanmar
BANGKOK, Jan 28 (AFP) - A
European Union delegation is to visit Myanmar this week on a mission to judge
the new mood in the military-run country and encourage the junta and the
opposition to embark on an historic dialogue.
The four-member team arrives in the capital Yangon three weeks after the
United Nations announced that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had held
face-to-face talks with the junta's powerful number-three.
UN envoy Razali Ismail, who brokered the secret contacts, reported that
they were paving the way for "more substantive discussions" which could end a
decade of political deadlock.
Since then the regime has extended a series of concessions that have gone
some way to improving the poisonous atmosphere between the two sides.
The septuagenarian vice-chairman of the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD), Tin Oo, was released from four months in detention last
Thursday in a gesture aimed squarely at the European officials' visit.
The developments have been greeted enthusiastically by the NLD as well as
Yangon's diplomatic community and the network of dissidents living in
exile.
But the views of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for four
months and largely out of touch with the outside world, remain unknown.
Sweden's ambassador to Bangkok Jan Axel Nordlander said the European Union
team's three-day trip to Yangon beginning late Sunday, where they have been
assured of a meeting with the Nobel peace laureate, comes at a critical
time.
"It will give the Union an opportunity to get first-hand knowledge of what
the opposition thinks about the dialogue so far," he said. "After that we will
know better the prospects for the future."
The ambassador said there were signs Aung San Suu Kyi had temporarily
accepted the house arrest restrictions with the view they would help cement
plans for a dialogue before they are exposed to public scrutiny.
"It seems at this time that Aung San Suu Kyi herself is accepting for the
time being, in a temporary way, these conditions as long as the dialogue goes
on.
"It appears that the dialogue is more important than her own personal
situation ... and that is of course a very courageous attitude."
For now, a mood of "cautious optimism" reigns among those closely involved
with the talks, who are excited about the process but actuely aware that the
junta holds all the cards and will be loath to relinquish its grip on
power.
"This is only the beginning and things will take time ... but events are
definitely moving in the right direction," said one European diplomatic source
in Yangon.
"This is a good start. Both sides are trying to find a way out of the
deadlock," said another source in Bangkok. "There is an atmosphere and a
momentum now that will be difficult to roll back."
The opposition Democratic Voice of Burma also welcomed the olive branches
extended by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which has
also ordered the state-run media to stop haranging Aung San Suu Kyi.
"We should give some credit to the SPDC for stopping slanderous writings
against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, and for not hearing the usual daily
arrest and torture of NLD members," it said in a recent broadcast that quoted a
party representative.
"Together with the news that the talks between the SPDC and NLD leaders
have produced some understanding, sources close to the SPDC said a new
transition government could emerge in Burma in the near future."
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has become one of the
regime's leading allies, has also reportedly urged Yangon's generals to hold a
general election within the next few years.
Myanmar "should hold a general election a few years later ... People's
interests should take precedence over political parties' interests," he told
Japan's Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.
Mahathir said the junta's leader Senior General Than Shwe told him during a
visit to Yangon earlier this month that he understood the recommendation and
expressed constructive opinions about holding a dialogue with the junta.
The EU team, made up of representatives from Sweden and Belgium -- the
current and future holders of the bloc's rotating presidency -- as well as the
EU commission and its foreign policy chief, also plans to see Lieutenant-General
Khin Nyunt and Foreign Minister Win Aung.
But the results of its talks are unlikely to be known before Wednesday when
they have agreed to speak with the press on their return to the Thai capital
Bangkok.
Sunday January 28, 2:37 PM
EU Delegation To Arrive In Myanmar
Sunday - Kyodo
YANGON, Myanmar (Dow Jones)--A
three-member European Union delegation will arrive in Myanmar Sunday evening
ahead of two days of meetings in Yangon with government officials and opposition
leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, Kyodo News reported, citing diplomatic
sources.
According to Kyodo, The delegation, comprising officials from France, Belgium and Sweden, will hold talks with government officials Monday and will call on Foreign Minister Win Aung later in the day, the sources said. The delegation will meet Suu Kyi, leader of the pro-democracy National
League for Democracy, Tuesday before leaving the country Wednesday, Kyodo
reported, citing the sources.
The EU delegation visit was agreed on at a ministerial meeting between the
E.U. and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last December.
The 15-member E.U. objected in 1997 to allowing Myanmar - then a new ASEAN
member - a seat in the talks, citing the country's poor human rights record and
suppression of democratic opposition forces.
Bangkok Post - January 28,
2001.
Rangoon asked to free student leader Supamart Kasem A pro-democracy Burmese student organisation is calling for the ruling
junta to free Min Ko Naing, a student leader in the August 1988 uprising.
A statement issued by the All Burma Federation of Students Union was
distributed along the Thai-Burmese border on Friday.
Min Ko Naing, alias Paw Oo Htun, was elected chairman of the ABFSU in 1988
to lead the uprising which led to a nationwide military crackdown. Thousands of
students were killed, wounded, or arrested.
Min Ko Naing was arrested on March 13, 1989 together with many protest
leaders. He was sentenced to long-term imprisonment on subversion charges.
At present he is being detained in Sittwe prison in Arakan state, western
Burma, and reported to be in poor health.
Last Thursday the ABFSU and Min Ko Naing were awarded the Student Peace
Prize for 2001 by the Student Peace Prize Committee, based in Trondheim,
Norway.
The ABFSU, in the statement, vowed to continue with the struggle for
freedom of politicians, students and those who fought for democracy in
Burma.
BBC - Sunday, 28 January, 2001, 13:01
GMT
EU looks at Burma progress A delegation of senior European Union officials is due in Burma later today
1200G to assess whether there's been any progress towards national
reconciliation.
They'll be meeting senior members of the military government and the
National League for Democracy, headed by Aung San Suu Kyi.
The party has never been allowed to take power despite overwhelmingly
winning a general election in 1990 -- and the junta has kept Miss Suu Kyi under
house arrest for much of the past decade.
The EU visit comes at a time when the Burmese military government has just
restarted talks with Aung San Suu Kyi and released more than eighty of her
supporters from detention.
But analysts say they have yet to be convinced that it intends to introduce
any real form of democracy.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
BBC - Sunday, 28 January, 2001, 14:16
GMT
EU mission examines Burma 'thaw' By Jonathan Head in Bangkok A delegation from the European Union has arrived in Burma to assess whether
there has been any progress towards national reconciliation.
They will be checking on the outcome of talks between the military
government and the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, at the end of last year.
The contents of the meetings, the first for several years, have not been
revealed.
But they've raised hopes that the government may eventually be willing to
consider sharing power with the opposition.
Malaysian mediation
The delegation has been promised a meeting with the National League for
Democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still living under house arrest in
the capital, Rangoon.
Only then will they know her views on the meetings she is reported to have
had with one of the most important military officers.
Those meetings occurred after mediation by a Malaysian diplomat working for
the United Nations.
Malaysia and other members of the Association of South East Asian Nations
(Asean) have been applying diplomatic pressure to the regime in Rangoon to make
concessions to the opposition because of the damage Burma's membership of Asean
is doing to the bloc's relations with Western governments.
Power monopoly
The EU delegation will also be meeting key officials in the military
government to try to assess their intentions.
Until now, there have been few indications that the regime may be willing
to relax its monopoly on power.
Aung San Suu Kyi has also not yet abandoned her demand that the generals
accept the results of the 1990 elections, which were won by her National League
for Democracy.
If there is any prospect of a compromise in Burma, it could still be a long
way off.
Mahathir presses Burma to hold
elections
By Akiko Kato Mainichi Correspondent - Mainichi Shimbun HONG KONG -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad recently urged the
head of Burma's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to hold a general
election for national reconiliation in a few years, the prime minister has told
the Mainichi in an interview.
Mahathir visited the Burmese capital of Rangoon as a representative of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Jan. 3 and 4.
Mahathir's recommendation that Burma should hold a general democratic
election apparently shows a major turn around in the "noninterference policy"
for ASEAN member countries.
In the interview with the Mainichi, Mahathir disclosed that he had
discussed politics in Burma with Gen. Than Shwe, the chairman of the SPDC, which
controls the nation's military junta.
During the discussion, Mahathir told the SPDC chairman that Burma "should
hold a general election a few years later ... People's interests should take
precedence over political parties' interests."
In response, Than Shwe said he understood Mahathir's recommendation and
expressed constructive opinions toward carrying out dialogue between the
military junta and the leader of the country's pro-democracy movement, Aung San
Suu Kyi, Mahathir said.
Asked why he and ASEAN are taking such a bold step to abandon their
nonintervention policy and have begun talking with Burma's military junta, the
prime minister said that it is ASEAN's role to foster democracy in Burma.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian prime minister railed at the United States and
European countries for criticism of Burma and their support of the pro-democracy
campaign. With less intervention by Western nations, more compromise will be
likely in the future, Mahathir said.
Burma joined ASEAN in 1997.
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