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BURMA RELATED NEWS - July 26,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Japan Min Asks Myanmar To Free More
Political Prisoners
AP - Myanmar's Military Releases Two Political
Prisoners Thu
AFP - EU asks UN to push democratic reforms in
Myanmar
Reuters - Japan tells Myanmar to free political
prisoners
Reuters - Southeast Asia seeks global role --
and global help
Dow Jones - Asean Post
Ministerial Conf Focuses On Pol, Econ Issues
Asia Pulse - Vietnam Govt to Require
Certificates of Origin for Afta Imports
BBC - Two Burmese activists
released
The Nation - FISHING
RIGHTS: Burma sets strict conditions
The Nation - Junta
under less pressure this year
SCMP - Japan calls for prisoner release
JT - Tanaka tells Myanmar to free more prisoners
held on political grounds
FEER - No News Is Bad News
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday July 26, 4:37 PM
Japan Min Asks Myanmar To Free More Political Prisoners HANOI (AP)--Japan's foreign
minister said Thursday that she has asked Myanmar to free as many political
prisoners as possible and take other steps to improve relations with Japan.
Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka met in Hanoi with Myanmar's Foreign Minister
Win Aung, during an annual conference sponsored by the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations.
Speaking afterwards with reporters, she said Myanmar's contention that it
faced "internal problems" wasn't an excuse not to make progress.
"It's true Myanmar has internal problems, but all countries have their own
problems," Tanaka said. "Myanmar should develop as quickly as possible into a
country with which we can cooperate."
Tanaka said she also discussed the situation of pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's military has been holding talks with Suu Kyi since late last
year, and recently has freed some political prisoners, but the human rights
group Amnesty International says hundreds more remain behind bars.
Win Aung told reporters earlier this week that the talks with Suu Kyi are
not stalled, as has been widely speculated.
In April, Japan broke ranks with Western-led sanctions against Myanmar,
providing it with a $28 million aid package for a dam project.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday July 26, 4:02 PM
Myanmar's Military Releases Two Political Prisoners Thu YANGON (AP)--Myanmar's military
regime freed two political prisoners Thursday, including a cousin of Aung San
Suu Kyi, who had been sentenced to 10 years for trying to smuggle abroad a video
of speeches by the opposition leader.
An official statement said that Nge Ma Ma Than and her husband Myint Swe
were released from Insein prison in Yangon at 11 a.m. (0430 GMT) and were in
good health. They had been jailed in June 1997.
Party sources of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy confirmed the
releases and said that both were well.
Nge Ma Ma Than and her husband had been sentenced to three years under the
Printing and Publishing law and seven years under the Emergency Provisions Act.
Since January, the government has released 153 political prisoners from
jails across the country, following secret talks between Suu Kyi and the regime,
the most significant move towards reconciliation in a decade of political
deadlock.
The releases are the chief sign of any progress in the talks, the substance
of which haven't been made public.
Suu Kyi's failure to appear at an official ceremony last week to honor her
late father, independence hero Gen. Aung San, fueled speculation they weren't
going well, although other analysts said the opposition leader was rather trying
to demonstrate to the international community she still faced restrictions.
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her democracy struggle,
has been under house detention since September after she tried to travel outside
Yangon for political meetings.
On July 2, Suu Kyi's other cousin Aye Win, who was her former liaison
officer, was also released from Insein prison at the end of a five-year jail
term. Political prisoners are often held after completion of their sentences.
Nge Ma Ma Than's brother Cho Aung Than, who was arrested at the same time
as her and her husband, is still in prison. He is an NLD member and aide to Suu
Kyi.
A list of Myanmar political prisoners supplied to the Associated Press in
Bangkok by the human rights group Amnesty International said all three were
arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle abroad a video tape of speeches by Suu
Kyi, and convicted of high treason and association with unlawful organizations.
Amnesty says that there are still at least 1,800 political prisoners in
Myanmar, also known as Burma.
As well as the 153 prisoners released so far, 32 NLD representatives who
won parliamentary seats in 1990 elections have also been freed from government
"guest houses."
The NLD won more than 80% of the seats in the election but was barred by
the military from taking power.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday July 26, 9:55 PM
EU asks UN to push democratic reforms in Myanmar HANOI, July 26 (AFP) - The
European Union urged the United Nations Thursday to continue prodding Myanmar to
embrace democratic reforms following the release of dozens of political
prisoners in the military-ruled Asian country.
The dissidents' release, including a couple closely related to Nobel
laureate democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, came after talks between the junta
and Suu Kyi brokered by Malaysia's Razali Ismail, a special envoy of UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan.
"We hope Ambassador Razali will be able to go back soon to Burma (Myanmar)
and resume his mission of intermediation so that the recent progress can be
strengthened," said Foreign Minister Louis Michel of Belgium, the current holder
of the EU presidency.
Michel was addressing counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) in Hanoi during annual talks.
Myanmar is a member of ASEAN, which also comprises Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung did not attend the EU dialogue, sending
instead a senior government official who rebutted point by point Michel's
statement, according to an official who was present at the meeting.
The Myanmar official, who was not identified, said Razali was welcome to
visit Yangon any time.
Myanmar's junta for the first time freed two political prisoners before
their sentences were completed.
Nge Ma Ma, a first cousin of Aung San Suu Kyi, and her husband Myint Swe
are closely related to the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has been held under de
facto house arrest since September just before she embarked on the landmark
talks with the junta.
Dozens of political prisoners have been freed in recent weeks in what have
been hailed as a sign of progress from the nine-month-old talks between the
opposition leader and the junta.
Michel said the EU hoped that the release would "put this important country
on the way back to democracy, national reconciliation and the rule of
law".
"It is essential that the current discussions between the authorities and
the opposition continue and develop into a real process of rebuilding the nation
in harmony," he said.
On Wednesday, Michel told AFP that Myanmar should do much more than release
political prisoners to show it was serious about restoring democracy.
But Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said changes in Myanmar
would occur gradually through dialogue.
The EU has imposed sanctions against Myanmar for human rights violations,
but ASEAN has adopted a policy of "constructive engagement" with the ruling
generals.
"It is more productive. You cannot isolate countries. If you isolate
countries you will not allow them to change," the Malaysian minister told
reporters.
"We think that people should bring Myanmar into the mainstream by bringing
economic development, by assisting them to grow and by interacting with them.
They will become more comfortable and they will be able to change
accordingly.
"But if we force upon them, they have been closed for a long, long time and
they have survived," Syed Hamid said.
The country also "would like to be democratic, to be free, but they also
have to tackle their ethnic differences, their economic development programmes",
he said.
Myanmar would have a family to rely on in ASEAN.
"We believe that Myanmar ultimately will be like any one of the democratic
ASEAN countries," the minister said.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday July 26, 3:33 PM
Japan tells Myanmar to free political prisoners By Teruaki Ueno HANOI, July 26 (Reuters) -
Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka urged military ruled Myanmar on Thursday
to release more political prisoners and press ahead with reconciliation talks
with pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In talks with Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung, Tanaka said Myanmar's
military government should do whatever it could to restore democracy to the
country.
Tanaka also said Japan would continue to provide Myanmar with economic aid
to improve the country's hydroelectric power generation.
"I called for the early release of many more political prisoners so Myanmar
will be able to return quickly to the international community," Tanaka told
reporters after talks with Win Aung at a regional forum in Hanoi.
She also said Myanmar should promote dialogue with Nobel Peace Prize winner
Suu Kyi so it could win back its place in the international community.
Suu Kyi has been kept confined to her Yangon house since September and only
a handful of foreign diplomats have been allowed to meet her. Her National
League for Democracy won elections in 1990 by a landslide but has never been
allowed to govern.
"We discussed the issue involving Aung San Suu Kyi," Tanaka said. "I told
him that although Myanmar may have domestic problems, I want it to return her to
society as quickly as possible so we can work together with the international
community."
Myanmar's ruling generals began talks with Suu Kyi in October, a
development welcomed by the international community.
Since then the government has released more than 150 political detainees,
although the human rights group Amnesty International says there are still more
than 1,500 political prisoners in Myanmar's jails.
RECONCILIATION
Japanese officials quoted Win Aung as saying the talks were moving towards
"reconciliation".
But Win Aung warned that excessive pressure from outside could spark a
fresh round of political turmoil in Myanmar.
"If we push for democracy too fast and too hard, we could end up inviting a
situation similar to that of Indonesia," a Japanese official quoted Win Aung as
saying.
The two ministers met on the sidelines of meetings in Hanoi of the
10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and regional powers
including China and the United States.
Win Aung said on Sunday the talks with Suu Kyi were on track, brushing
aside concern that her snub of a ceremony last week was a sign the dialogue was
in trouble.
Japan, which used to be Myanmar's biggest aid donor, suspended assistance
-- including yen loans, grant aid and technical assistance -- in 1988 after the
military crushed a pro-democracy uprising.
But even so, Tokyo has generally taken a softer approach than the West,
opting for engagement rather than sanctions.
It had provided limited assistance since Suu Kyi, who favours sanctions,
was freed from six years house arrest in 1995.
Japan gave Myanmar a 2.5 billion yen ($20.23 million) loan in March 1998
for safety projects at Yangon Airport, and a 800 million yen loan for a food
production project.
In April, Japan announced an end to a freeze on aid to Myanmar, saying it
planned to honour a suspended commitment of about 3.5 billion yen to help
upgrade a hydroelectric dam.
Japanese officials have said the decision was a reward for the start of
talks between the Myanmar government and Suu Kyi.
"Japan's basic stance is that Myanmar must not be isolated. Japan has an
access to both the Myanmar government and Aung San Suu Kyi," a Japanese
government source told Reuters.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday July 26, 2:15 PM
Southeast Asia seeks global role -- and global help By Andrew Marshall HANOI, July 26 (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian foreign ministers met the major global powers on Thursday in an
effort to recapture a credible role on the world stage and win international
assistance for their crippled economies.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is struggling to
rebuild its relevance in the face of nagging internal divisions, declining
economic clout and the growing regional political and economic ascendancy of
China.
In a series of meetings in Hanoi this week with regional big-hitters China,
Japan, South Korea and Australia, as well as the United States and the European
Union, ASEAN ministers have sought to put past arguments behind them and unite.
But the most notable development to come out of the forum was a further
thaw in the thorny relationship between the U.S. and China, illustrating the
struggle ASEAN faces to avoid being overshadowed and sidelined by its giant
neighbour.
After a meeting on Wednesday between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, Beijing said on Thursday it had
paroled two U.S.-based Chinese scholars jailed for 10 years earlier in the week
for spying.
WORLD SLOWDOWN BITES
Opening Thursday's round of talks, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy
Nien said ASEAN would be discussing regional political and economic issues,
"especially the adverse impact posed by the world economic slowdown".
Southeast Asia is struggling to recover from economic crisis, and the
slowdown in the global economy has dealt the region a fresh blow. Nien said
greater prosperity for southeast Asia was an essential step in achieving greater
regional stability.
"We are fully aware that poverty and underdevelopment are the major cause
of a series of national and trans-national problems that may lead to
instability," he said.
"Environmental destruction, increasing traffic in drugs, women and children
and other trans-national crimes all have the same root -- poverty and
underdevelopment."
But there is frustration among some ASEAN members that the forum is all
talk and no action. With China now taking the bulk of foreign direct investment
flowing into the region, countries like Singapore say ASEAN must reform or risk
being left behind.
A major theme of the week's meetings was calls by poorer countries for more
help from the world's economic powers.
"Developed countries that are the main beneficiaries of economic
globalisation should assume main responsibilities for stimulating growth of the
world economy," said China's Tang.
QUESTIONS OVER HUMAN RIGHTS
Human rights remains a major point of contention, however.
ASEAN includes pariah-state Myanmar as well as communist Vietnam and Laos,
and China's human rights record is another obstacle to better relations with the
U.S. and Europe.
Mark Malloch Brown, head of the United Nations Development Programme, told
the meeting political change was essential: "The momentum of political change
that accelerated in 1997 remains critical if the aspirations of the people are
to be met."
Little progress was made during the week on one of the region's main
concerns -- relations with North Korea.
Hopes for a resumption of high-level dialogue in Hanoi between North Korea
and the U.S. were dashed last week when Pyongyang said its foreign minister was
too busy to attend.
Officials said the two countries remained far apart, with North Korea's
representative telling the forum the U.S. was attaching too many preconditions
to a resumption of dialogue.
Powell insisted Washington was eager for fresh talks.
Arguments between Japan and China over trade, a new Japanese textbook which
critics say glosses over wartime atrocities, and a controversial planned visit
by Japan's prime minister to a shrine honouring war dead also hung over the
meeting.
Another unresolved regional spat is a dispute between China and several
ASEAN states on the Spratly Islands, a remote archipelago said to be rich in
oil.
Centre of attention at the meetings was Powell, returning to Vietnam for
the first time since he fought the communists as a soldier more than three
decades ago.
On Thursday he spoke to officials hunting for American soldiers missing in
action in Vietnam, and spoke of his emotions on arriving in the country he had
once fought.
"So much has changed, of course, but so much is the same -- the rice
paddies, the houses I remember, the people ... industrious, hard at work," he
said.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday July 26, 6:30 PM
Asean Post Ministerial Conf Focuses On
Pol, Econ Issues
By Catherine McKinley
HANOI (Dow Jones)--Foreign ministers from the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries are meeting in Hanoi Thursday with counterparts from 10 strategic "dialogue partners" to discuss Asean's economic and political integration with the rest of the world, delegates said. During an opening meeting Thursday morning, the ministers held "in-depth
and extensive discussions on political, economic, trade and financial issues,"
said a press release issued by the Vietnamese foreign affairs ministry.
It said special attention was given to the acceleration of existing
cooperation programs such as the Initiative for Asean Integration, or IAI.
According to one delegate, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell suggested
that greater market opening moves by Asean's developing members would help them
enter the global economy by improving their appeal to U.S. and other global
investors.
U.S. officials declined to release more details of Powell's speech, which
was closed to the press.
During an annual Asean Ministerial Meeting earlier this week, delegates
pushed for greater Asean integration with the rest of the world, saying that
Asean - which was formed in 1967 to enhance regional cohesion - can no longer
operate alone.
Member countries have throughout the week pushed for more political and
economic cooperation with non-Asean countries.
To maintain Asean's cohesion, they also announced plans to reduce the
economic gap between the block's richer members and its poorer ones.
Asean in recent years admitted four new members - Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos
and Myanmar - which all have less developed economies than the group's other
members. The gap between the two groups is making it hard for Asean to negotiate
trade and other global agreements as a block.
In a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings Thursday and Friday
between Asean representatives and the dialogue partners, participants said a
range of issues will likely be covered.
During bilateral talks that have taken place so far, issues such as the
U.S.'s plan to build a controversial missile defense system and the country's
shaky relationship with China were raised.
Other issues under discussion may include the resumption of talks between
North and South Korea and the impact of China's growing economic clout in Asia.
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Dialogue partners represented this week in Hanoi are the U.S., European
Union, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and
India.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday July 26, 11:04 AM
Vietnam Govt to Require Certificates of Origin for Afta Imports HANOI, July 26 Asia Pulse -
Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has ruled that all imports from ASEAN members
covered under the Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme must now be
accompanied by a certificate of origin (C/O).
The imports, which will have to conform to ASEAN standards, must also be
imported directly from their original market, the ministry said.
The imports must appear on the list of goods and tax rates that Vietnam
drew up as part of its efforts to join the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2001.
Firms wishing to import mechanical, electrical goods or electronic
components for domestic assembly must pay tariffs under the 2001 scheme or based
on their use of locally-assembled products.
They can opt for the lower of the two tax regimes, the Ministry of Finance
Circular 52/2001 says, citing Government decree 28/2001/ND-CP.
C/O must bear the signatures and seals of relevant authorities from the
exporting nation.
In Brunei, they must be officiated by the Ministry for Industry and
Resources.
In Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, the trade ministries can supply
the necessary approval.
In Malaysia, it is the Ministry for Foreign Trade and Industry.
In the Philippines, it is the Finance Ministry, and in Singapore, the Trade
Promotion Department is the relevant authority.
Vietnamese exporters should have their origin certification approved by the
Ministry of Trade or the management authorities of Industrial Zones and Export
Processing Zones.
Vietnam hopes to fully enter the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 2006 and
has committed to import tax cuts across the board.
Since last year, the country has adjusted about 4,200 tax lines to bring
them into line with AFTA-required levels.
Between 2001 and 2006, Vietnam will slash tariffs on 6,210 tax lines out of
a total of 6,400.
The original 4,200 tax lines are slated for more reductions.
---------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Thursday, 26 July, 2001, 11:26
GMT 12:26 UK
Two Burmese activists released The military government in Burma has released two opposition activists from
detention, including a cousin of the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
The two people freed - Nge Ma Ma and her husband, Myint Swe - were sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1997 for attempting to smuggle a videotape of speeches by Aung San Suu Kyi out of the country. The military has already released more than 150 detainees this year, in
what correspondents say appears to be a sign of progress in negotiations between
the regime and the democratic opposition.
However, human rights groups say the Burmese authorities still have at
least 1,500 opposition activists in detention. The Japanese Foreign Minister,
Makiko Tanaka, has meanwhile called for further releases during talks with her
Burmese counterpart Win Aung, in Hanoi, where both have been attending a
regional conference.
Japan decided earlier this year to resume aid to Burma following the
resumption of talks between the government and opposition.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation - July 26,
2001.
FISHING RIGHTS: Burma sets strict
conditions
Veena Janroung
Junta says Thai trawler operators must adhere to restrictions in exchange
for reinstatement of lost concessions
Burma has set tough conditions in return for granting fishing concessions
to Thai trawlers that were revoked last year after the seizure by Burmese
dissidents of its embassy here, Thai officials said yesterday.
Burmese junta leaders told Thai Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
during his recent visit to Burma that they had awarded all the concessions to
Singaporean firms, the officials said.
However, Lt General Khin Nyunt indicated that Burma would discuss with
Singapore about sharing half of the concessions with Thailand, said General Pat
Akanibutr, an adviser to Chavalit.
To make it easier for Burmese authorities to supervise Thai trawlers, Khin
Nyunt wanted them to operate under a single company rather than as many
companies, Pat said.
During their meeting with Chavalit, the Burmese leaders complained about
Thai concessionaires' tendency to ignore concession terms, such as by exceeding
the number of trawlers allowed per company, said Monthon Kraiwatnusorn, another
adviser to the defence minister.
Another headache for Burmese authorities was that Thai concessionaires had
the habit of selling their permit at a profit to other trawler operators, said
Monthon, a former deputy agriculture minister.
The Burmese leaders wanted Thai trawlers to adhere to strict requirements.
They should use fishing nets with broader meshes for catching tuna, trawl in
designated areas only, radio to Burmese authorities before their arrival to
establish proper communications, and refrain from transferring their catches to
other boats offshore, according to Monthon.
Monthon said the public and private sectors would closely coordinate to
ensure that the Burmese conditions were obeyed if concessions were awarded.
Among the likely measures was for the Marine Police to check that trawlers
leaving for fishing grounds off Burma met the requirements.
He expected the Burmese government to allow between 500 and 600 Thai
trawlers to operate in that country's territorial waters.
Khin Nyunt is expected to discuss the possible resumption of fishing
concessions during his visit to Thailand next month, Monthon said.
The Burmese junta revoked all fishing concessions awarded to Thai companies
in apparent reprisal for Thai authorities allowing Burmese dissidents, who took
many hostages at the Burmese Embassy in October 1999, to be released in the
jungle along the common border.Sanan Kachornprasart, the interior minister at
the time, described the raiders as "students fighting for democracy in their
homeland". The label infuriated the junta, which preferred to call them
"terrorists"
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation _ July 26,
2001.
ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM: Junta under less
pressure this year
Marisa Chimprabha
The Asia-Pacific security talks here marked a great departure from those
before them.
There was less enmity towards Burma, which has long been criticised for
maintaining a repressive regime and forcing villagers to labour for no
return.
The ministers attending the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) mostly welcomed
political developments in the military-ruled country, while urging the ruling
junta to go the extra mile and make positive steps towards national
reconciliation and democracy, according to a diplomat who was present at the
talks.
"The mood in the ARF towards Burma was better when compared with those in
the previous sessions," the diplomat said.
"Many countries expressed satisfaction and welcomed the developments, which
they considered very encouraging," he added.
Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung yesterday briefed his colleagues from
Asean, as well as representatives from dialogue partners, including the United
States, Canada, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and European Union
countries.
Win Aung later told reporters that the release of political prisoners this
month showed that watershed talks with National League for Democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi remained on track.
He said remaining political prisoners would be freed on a "case-by-case"
basis.
However, he refused to give a timeframe for multi-party elections, or
define the type of government that might emerge from a breakthrough in the talks
with Suu Kyi.
In an ARF statement, the ministers described developments in Burma,
particularly the national reconciliation process, as encouraging.
---------------------------------------------------------------- South China Morning Post
Thursday, July 26, 2001 Japan calls for prisoner release Japan's foreign minister on Thursday said she asked Burma to free as many
political prisoners as possible and take other steps to improve relations with
Japan.
Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka met in Hanoi with Burma's foreign minister,
Win Aung, during an annual conference sponsored by the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations.
Speaking afterward with reporters, she said Burma's contention that it
faced ''internal problems'' was no excuse not to make progress.
''It's true Burma has internal problems, but all countries have their own
problems,'' Ms Tanaka said. ''Burma should develop as quickly as possible into a
country with which we can co-operate.''
Ms Tanaka said she also discussed the situation of pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Burma's military has been holding talks with Suu Kyi since late last year,
and recently has freed some political prisoners, but the human rights group
Amnesty International says hundreds more remain behind bars.
Win Aung told reporters earlier this week that the talks with Suu Kyi are
not stalled, as has been widely speculated.
In April, Japan broke ranks with Western-led sanctions against Burma,
giving it a US$28 million (HK$218 million) aid package for a dam project.
In a sign that Win Aung's claims carried substance the military regime on
Thursday freed two political prisoners, including a cousin of Aung San Suu Kyi,
who had been sentenced to 10 years for trying to smuggle out a video of speeches
by the opposition leader.
An official statement said that Nge Ma Ma Than and her husband Myint Swe
were released from Insein prison in Rangoon at 11am and were in good health.
They had been jailed in June 1997.
---------------------------------------------------------------- The Japan Times: July 27,
2001
Tanaka tells Myanmar to free more prisoners held on political grounds HANOI (Kyodo) Foreign Minister
Makiko Tanaka urged Myanmar on Thursday to quickly release more political
prisoners to promote democracy in the country, a Japanese official said.
In a meeting with Foreign Minister Win Aung, she said that the release of
more political prisoners by Yangon's ruling junta is key to democratizing
Myanmar, the official said.
In Myanmar, there have been some signs of a thaw in the confrontation
between the National League for Democracy led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
and the junta since last October, when she started confidential talks with the
generals.
The NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but was
never allowed to govern. Many NLD politicians were subsequently detained, but
the government has begun freeing them in batches since the talks started.
So far this year, the military regime has released more than 100 political
prisoners belonging to the NLD.
Win Aung said Myanmar has been edging toward democracy and national
reconciliation and that he hopes the trend will continue, according to the
official.
But he also insisted that Myanmar could be thrown into confusion, such as
that in Indonesia, if democracy movements are pushed too hastily.
In the meantime, Tanaka reiterated Tokyo's readiness to resume aid to
Myanmar to repair an aging hydroelectric power station in the country.
Japan began studying the resumption of providing grants to Yangon following
the start last October of dialogue between the junta and Suu Kyi after a
seven-year hiatus. Tokyo stopped governmental grants to Myanmar in 1988 after
the junta took power.
The Cabinet is expected to approve a grant of about 3 billion yen to 3.5
billion yen in official development assistance by the end of this year.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Far Eastern Economic
Review
Issue cover-dated August 02, 2001
BURMA - No News Is Bad
News
The military junta's lack of transparency over talks
with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi could test international
patience
By Bertil Lintner/BANGKOK
IT'S SAID THAT NO NEWS is good news, but that adage could become cold
comfort for Burma's ruling junta. While the generals, apparently acting under
strong international pressure, resumed talks late last year with pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, they have given no indication of how far the
reconciliation process has really moved, if at all.
When Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy,
failed to show up for Martyr's Day ceremonies in Rangoon on July 19 marking the
anniversary of the assassination in 1947 of her father, independence hero Aung
San, speculation was rife that the talks had collapsed.
A Western diplomat, however, says the process continues and that she was
absent from the ceremony by choice because "she wanted to show that her
movements won't be dictated" by the military government, which is known as the
State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC.
But while there may still be a process there appears to have been very
little progress, and political analysts say the ball is now very much in the
generals' court. "The key thing is whether at any stage there will be a public
announcement about the talks," says the Western diplomat.
There is no sign of that at the moment and time is running out for the
generals. Says the Western diplomat: "If no real political progress can be
noticed before October, or not even an announcement a year after the first talks
were held, the international community will run out of patience."
That could include stronger United Nations resolutions condemning
human-rights abuses and urging democratization, and perhaps even tougher
economic sanctions. The United States Senate, for example, is due to decide soon
on whether or not to ban garment imports from Burma on the grounds of alleged
forced labour and child labour in the industry. Concrete signs of progress in
the junta-Suu Kyi talks could have a bearing on that decision, say
analysts.
Western and Asian diplomats in Burma and Thailand reject recent regional
press reports about an imminent breakthrough and the possibility of a national
coalition government between the generals and the NLD as wishful thinking. And
Aung Zaw, a prominent opposition Burmese journalist in exile in Thailand and
editor of the Irrawaddy magazine, dismisses the talks with Suu Kyi as "an
example of diplomatic skills and a PR offensive staged by the junta." By
pretending that some "very delicate" talks are under way, the junta has been
able to stave off international criticism, he says.
If there are some kind of talks, what are the two sides focusing on and why
the secrecy? Suu Kyi has been held almost incommunicado since September last
year. But, she did meet Malaysia's Razali Ismail, the UN special envoy to Burma,
in January and June. She also received a delegation from the European Union in
January and held private talks in April with Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian
political scientist who had just been appointed UN special rapporteur on human
rights in Burma.
None have disclosed much about their discussions with Suu Kyi and even less
has been leaked about her talks with the military government. Foreign diplomats
in Rangoon say that the SPDC most likely began talking to Suu Kyi because of
pressure from the UN and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations. But they reckon there was no special agenda for the talks.
The sources also say Suu Kyi has pressed hard for the release of NLD
supporters who are serving long prison sentences. According to Aung Zaw, she
presented a list of 200 political prisoners, mainly the sick and elderly. She
has also asked the authorities to let the NLD reopen its offices around the
country, most of which were shut down last year.
She's had some limited success. About 150 prisoners--not necessarily those
on her purported list--have been released since October.
These include San San Nwe, a 56-year old journalist arrested in 1994 and
sentenced to 10 years in jail for giving "false news" to foreign correspondents.
She was freed on July 18. Others recently released were Suu Kyi's cousin and
former aide, Aye Win, whose brother, Sein Win, leads an opposition
government-in-exile, and popular comedians Pa Pa Lay and Lu Zaw. Known as The
Moustache Brothers, the two were arrested in 1996 for making fun of the
government at public NLD gatherings. A small number of NLD offices have also
been reopened in Rangoon and elsewhere.
But, as the Western diplomat points out, "the names, not the numbers of
people who have been released, are impressive." Amnesty International says there
are still some 1,800 political prisoners languishing in prisons around Burma,
while Suu Kyi herself remains under de facto house arrest.
Meanwhile, Suu Kyi must be acutely aware that the first time she held talks
with the generals, in 1994, the negotiations were stopped when she issued a
statement reaffirming her commitment to democracy and dismissing rumours that
she was about to make a deal with the government.
That statement was smuggled out of the country, and the government accused
her of breaking her promise not to disclose what was being discussed. Hence the
secrecy this time, says a Rangoon resident: "If she said anything unilaterally,
her meetings with junta representatives would stop, and there would be no more
releases of political prisoners."
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