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Myanmar says Aung San Suu Kyi will not remain detained for
"long period"
Mon Jul 28,12:20 AM ET
JAKARTA
(AFP) - Pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi will not remain in detention in Myanmar "for a long period," the
country's Foreign Minister Win Aung said.
Asked by reporters if it was
possible the Nobel peace prizewinner would be freed, he replied Monday: "Yes of
course. She will not remain there for a long period."
But Win Aung,
speaking after a meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, again
declined to set any timeframe.
After his arrival Sunday, he had said
there was no "timeframe right now" for her release.
Asked about that
comment, Win Aung told reporters: "I did not say indefinite.
"You know,
timeframe means you are asking me about tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or
next week or something like that... we are working on that."
Win Aung
was later to meet President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Indonesia and other
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are pressing fellow member
Myanmar to free Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aung San Suu Kyi was detained after
she and her supporters, who had been making a political tour of northern
Myanmar, were ambushed on May 30 by a pro-government mob in an incident feared
to have left dozens dead.
The military junta says it is holding Aung San
Suu Kyi for her own safety but has come under intense international pressure to
free her.
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Myanmar junta accuses democratic opposition of plotting to
seize power
Sun Jul 27, 1:59 PM ET
YANGON
(AFP) - Myanmar's ruling junta
launched a new attack on Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, accusing
them of plotting to seize power from the regime and insisting it would never
stand aside.
The comments came a day after the military government
announced it had foiled a scheme hatched by rebel and dissident groups to
overthrow the junta by assassinating its leaders and mounting a campaign of
civil unrest.
It said the campaign involved inciting monks, students,
workers and opposition parties to rise up against the regime, and was mounted in
support of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
On
Sunday it stepped up its rhetoric, saying violence on May 30 which triggered
Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest and continuing detention was the result of the NLD's
"strategy to plot the downfall of the existing government."
Eyewitnesses
to the clashes say Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters, who had been making a
political tour of northern Myanmar, were ambushed by a pro-government mob in an
incident feared to have left dozens dead.
But in a commentary in the
official press, the junta said the May 30 incident showed that if the NLD seized
power "the country will be a whirlpool of anarchy and civil conflicts."
Myanmar's military, which has been in power in various guises for the
past four decades, has long cited the threat of civil strife as reason for its
refusal to stand aside and introduce democratic reforms.
The latest
commentary, part of a series denigrating Aung San Suu Kyi and aimed at
justifying its actions on May 30, blamed the NLD for Myanmar's ills since 1988
when a pro-democracy uprising was brutally put down.
Elections held two
years later were won in a landslide by the pro-democracy party but the results
were never recognised by the regime, leading to a political deadlock which
exists to this day.
In Sunday's article the government ruled out ever
standing aside in favour of the pro-democracy opposition, saying the only way
forward was for them to work together.
"The true programme for democracy
is ... accepting the existing Tatmadaw (military) government as an ally and
joining hands with it," it said.
On Saturday, military intelligence
officials said that 12 people had been arrested over the assassination and
overthrow plot, including the editor of a Myanmar sports magazine Zaw Thet Htwe,
and that explosives were seized.
Political analysts said the situation
now appeared extremely grave for the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi, and that she was
not likely to be released in the near future.
"They're saying they have
evidence of an attempted coup and I think this is more evidence that they really
are leading up to looking at banning the NLD as a legal organisation," said one
Yangon diplomat.
The allegations were "completely made up, complete
rubbish," he said.
"We're hearing from the government side very strongly
that she broke the rules, whatever they might have been, and that's certainly
the message coming through the articles, that they must now suffer the
consequences."
Myanmar's junta is under intense international pressure
to release Aung San Suu Kyi.
But despite moves from the United
States and the European Union to tighten sanctions over the crisis, they have
remained unmoved.
On Sunday Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung said
Sunday that there was no schedule for her release.
"We will announce it
when the time comes. I can't see a timeframe right now," he said shortly after
arriving on an official visit to Indonesia.
On Saturday, Deputy Foreign
Minister Khin Maung Win reacted coolly to a Thai proposal for an international
forum to look at ways of securing Aung San Suu Kyi's release and introduce
democratic reforms.
"Myanmar's policy continues to be that it would
rather solve its own problems from within," he said.
In a fresh warning
from one of Myanmar's few allies, Malaysia on Sunday said the generals must free
Aung San Suu Kyi or risk intervention from the United Nations or other
countries.
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British tour operator drops Myanmar
Mon
Jul 28,8:12 AM ET
LONDON, July 28 (AFP) - An upmarket British tour operator said
Monday it will no longer promote trips to Myanmar, following an appeal from the
British government for a travel boycott of the military-run Southeast Asian
nation.
"We won't be actively promoting Myanmar as such until further
notice," said a spokeswoman for Abercrombie and Kent, adding that Myanmar would
be dropped from its next brochure, due out this autumn.
Customers
enquiring about Myanmar will be offered tours to other Southeast Asian
destinations, though "if someone calls up and absolutely insists on going, we
will make bookings for them," she said.
In a strongly-worded letter to
the Association of British Travel Agents earlier this month, the Foreign Office
appealed to British tour operators to stop arranging holidays to Myanmar.
There were "compelling reasons" not to take a holiday there, including
human rights abuses and the economic and political benefits reaped by the junta
from tourists, said junior foreign minister Mike O'Brien.
Abercrombie
and Kent said only a "handful" of its customers went to Myanmar. Its current
catalog offered a 12-day "Mysteries of Myanmar" tour for up to 3,130 pounds
(4,430 euros, 5,075 dollars) per person.
Its announcement Monday was
welcomed by Burma Campaign UK, a group that supports Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel
Peace Prize winning leader of Myanmar's democracy movement.
"This is
excellent news," said Anna Roberts, its campaigns officer, who added in a
statement that it would "isolate" other tour operators, which she named as
Orient Express, Carnival Cruises and Noble Caledonia.
"We will be
stepping up pressure on them to withdraw as well," she said.
Myanmar,
formally known as Burma, was a British colony until its independence in 1948,
and the British government has been at the forefront of diplomatic efforts to
isolate its military regime led by General Than Shwe.
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Monday July 28, 3:25 PM
Myanmar Rebuffs Pressure to Free Suu Kyi
Quickly
By Muklis Ali and Joanne Collins
JAKARTA (Reuters) -
Myanmar Monday brushed aside growing pressure for the early release of democracy
icon Aung San Suu Kyi, insisting she would not be held indefinitely and saying
the ruling military junta was working on her release.
In Jakarta to
convey the junta's views to the leaders of Indonesia -- currently chairing the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Foreign Minister Win Aung
said conditions in Myanmar needed to cool down before she could be freed.
He gave no timetable.
That response is unlikely to please
Indonesia or other key members of ASEAN, which last month delivered an
unprecedented rebuke to Myanmar over Suu Kyi's detention despite the grouping's
traditional policy of non-interference in other members affairs.
Myanmar
faces international anger over the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, detained since a
May 30 clash between her supporters and a pro-government group. ASEAN is one of
the few international groups to accept Myanmar as a member.
"It's not a
delay...We are working for everything to become normal," Win Aung told reporters
after meeting Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
"Maybe the
time will come after the cooling down."
The junta blames Suu Kyi for the
May 30 clash, accusing her of whipping up unrest. Saturday, authorities said
they had arrested 12 people with links to opposition parties for planting deadly
bombs and hatching a plot to kill junta members.
Indonesian Foreign
Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Win Aung's public comments were similar to the
message he gave to Megawati.
"They expressed hopes that the Madame Suu
Kyi issue will be able to be resolved through dialogue, quieter, not too much
under the glare of the media, or even public debate that will only bring
setbacks," Wirajuda told reporters without elaborating.
Indonesia has
made clear that ASEAN was unwilling to wait forever for a positive response.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has suggested Myanmar might eventually
have to be thrown out of ASEAN.
Asked earlier if comments he had made
Sunday that there was no time frame for Suu Kyi's release meant she would be
held indefinitely, Win Aung said:
"I did not say indefinite. Time frame
means you are asking me about whether it is tomorrow, the day after or next
week, like that. We are working on it."
Win Aung said there had been
discussions about sending an ASEAN envoy to Myanmar, although he did not
elaborate. He was later heading to West Java for a two-day meeting of Asian and
African officials before flying to Thailand.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra said Monday that Suu Kyi should walk free at once as part of a
process to launch democratic reforms in her military-ruled country.
Thailand, usually careful not to upset its delicate relations with
Myanmar, has proposed the generals sit down with their Asian neighbors and key
Western countries to hammer out a plan for a democratic transition. Few details
of the plan have emerged.
Myanmar said Saturday it should be left alone
to solve its internal problems.
Last week a meeting of Asian and
European (ASEM) foreign ministers issued a joint demand for Suu Kyi's immediate
release.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, speaking in
Singapore, paid tribute to ASEAN's response.
"I am pleased with the
strength of ASEAN on this issue," he said, adding that Indonesia was trying to
persuade the junta to accept a visit by "an ASEAN troika" for talks on defusing
the crisis.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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Monday July 28, 11:03 AM
INTERVIEW-Thailand's Thaksin
calls for Myanmar reform
By Patrick Chalmers
LANGKAWI, Malaysia, July 28 (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
said on Monday Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi should walk free at
once as part of a process to launch democratic reforms in the military-ruled
country.
Thaksin has taken a lead in efforts by Myanmar's neighbours in
Southeast Asia to resolve a crisis over the latest detention of the Nobel Peace
Prize winner and democracy activist.
"We experienced transforming
ourselves to democracy from a very military-led government and we would like to
see a more democratic process moving in Myanmar," the prime minister told
Reuters in an interview on Malaysia's resort island of Langkawi.
"Even
if it (is an) internal affair we think the whole world is concerned about
developments over there and especially the minorities around the border with
Thailand," Thaksin said after a meeting with the United Nations envoy to
Myanmar, Razali Ismail.
Myanmar locked up Suu Kyi once again on May 30,
along with dozens of her supporters, after pro-government forces attacked her
convoy during a provincial tour, killing several opposition members and
provoking international condemnation of the regime.
Thailand, usually
careful not to upset its delicate relations with its neighbour, has proposed the
generals sit down with key Western countries and their Asian neighbours to
hammer out a plan for a democratic transition. But few details have emerged.
Myanmar said on Saturday it knew little about such a "road map", but
said the country should be left alone to solve its internal problems.
Thaksin suggested Thailand's own transition to democracy could be a
possible framework.
"The democratic system doesn't have to be 100
percent immediately, but at least we should have some starting point," he said,
his words punctuated by the sound of hornbill calls and waves lapping on the
hotel beachfront.
THAI TRANSITION AN EXAMPLE
"In the past, like Thailand for example, we had two houses.
During the transition period, the upper house was appointed and had more power
than the lower house, and the lower house came from elections."
"We
would like to invite Myanmar to participate, of course, and (say) which option
is suited to their situation."
Thaksin, who was speaking prior to
departure from Langkawi, explained the plan to his Malaysian counterpart,
Mahathir Mohamad, during a private meeting on Sunday.
Asked about his
position on Suu Kyi, Thaksin said she should be freed immediately.
"If
we were to be able to specify the date, it should be yesterday. But it's (an)
internal affair. We just voice the concern that this is the whole world's
concern."
But he added more was at stake than the fate of one person.
"If we talk to Myanmar, just only to ask them to release Aung San Suu
Kyi, what's next? This is going to be the complete step if Myanmar (is) involved
in the process."
UN envoy Razali, a Malaysian diplomat who has been to
Myanmar almost a dozen times in the last couple of years trying to promote
reform, welcomed Thailand's initiative.
"I can see that if Thailand
plays a role it may help to accelerate the process, the role of Thailand is
critical," he told Reuters after the meeting.
"Without talking of
specific time frames, people know that after the incident, we have to move fast.
"Now we have the region understanding its responsibilities, drawing the
line on what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. There is now a continuing
role of ASEAN in this."
The Association of South East Asian Nations
groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung said
on Sunday there was no immediate schedule for Suu Kyi's release.
"I
can't see a time frame right now," Win Aung told reporters shortly after
arriving in Indonesia.
Win Aung was due to meet Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirajuda and President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Monday to discuss what he said
were "issues of mutual interest" before heading to the West Java city of Bandung
for a two-day Asia-Africa meeting.
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Monday July 28, 4:40 PM
Australia eyes ASEAN trade
pact after Singapore deal
SINGAPORE, July 28
(Reuters) - Australia said it hopes
a free trade agreement (FTA) with Singapore that took effect on Monday would
speed up a similar deal with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN).
"I want to make it perfectly clear that as a long-term
objective, we would really like an FTA with ASEAN," Australian Foreign Affairs
Minister Alexander Downer said at a press conference in Singapore.
"We
believe we can benefit very substantially and so would ASEAN benefit very
substantially."
Australia hopes to convert an economic cooperation pact
it has signed with ASEAN and New Zealand into a full free trade deal, Downer
said.
But a queue is beginning to form at the doorstep of ASEAN, which
groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
China has proposed reaching an
agreement with ASEAN to forge the world's largest free trade zone within a
decade. Last week Taiwan also sought an FTA with the group to protect the island
from being marginalised by China.
Australia's FTA with Singapore,
Australia's first such deal in 20 years, was signed in February and will provide
tariff-free entry for about S$10 billion ($5.7 billion) of two-way trade.
The agreement gives Australia a foothold in Asia for its banking, legal
and educational service industries, while putting Singapore businesses, which
often include a large element of government ownership, on a more even playing
field.
Singapore estimates it will save only S$31.6 million from tariff
concessions in the deal.
In the first half of 2003, Australia was
Singapore's 10th largest trading partner, with trade amounting to S$5.85
billion.
The FTA took effect just days after the U.S. House of
Representatives overwhelmingly approved a free trade agreement with Singapore,
the first for the United States with an Asian country.
Asked about the
prospect of an "open skies" agreement on liberalising air services between
Australia and Singapore, Downer said another round of discussions was due to
take place in September in his country.
Singapore has "open skies" pacts
with the United States, New Zealand, Brunei, Chile and Peru.
Australia
is currently negotiating free trade deals with Thailand and the United States.
Singapore has similar agreements with Japan, New Zealand and the
European Free Trade Area of Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
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Monday July 28, 4:40 PM
Thailand urges China, India to pressure
Myanmar
BANGKOK, July 28 (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
said on Monday that China and India should get involved in regional efforts to
persuade Myanmar to release pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
Thaksin, who has led efforts by Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbours
to resolve the crisis over the detention of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, said
enlisting the help of Yangon's main ally China and large neighbour India would
be of immense help.
He made the remarks after returning from weekend
talks with Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad and a top United Nations envoy
to Myanmar in Malaysia.
"I have more hope after talking with Mahathir and
(U.N. envoy) Razali Ismail... They both agree with our efforts and we should
discuss this with China and India," Thaksin said.
Thaksin said earlier on
Monday Suu Kyi should walk free at once as part of a process to launch
democratic reforms in the military-ruled country.
Thailand, usually
careful not to upset its delicate relations with Myanmar, has proposed that
Myanmar's ruling generals sit down with their Asian neighbours and key Western
countries to hammer out a plan for a democratic transition.
Few details
of the plan have emerged.
Myanmar said on Saturday it should be left
alone to solve its internal problems.
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Razali urges coordination between ASEAN and U.N. over
Myanmar
Monday July 28, 1:21 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia
(AP) - The U.N.'s envoy on
Myanmar said Monday the global body should work closely with the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations to try to end a deadlock between Myanmar's military
rulers and Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy movement.
Suu Kyi, the 1991
Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been detained in a secret location since May 30
when her supporters clashed with a pro-junta mob in northern Myanmar.
After her arrest, the military cracked down on her National League for
Democracy party, halting a reconciliation process brokered in October 2000 by
the U.N.'s special envoy to Myanmar, Razali Ismail.
``The United Nations
and ASEAN should coordinate their efforts to send similar signals that Aung San
Suu Kyi should be released immediately and the reconciliation process should
move forward,'' Razali told The Associated Press on Monday.
The NLD won
national elections in 1990, but was denied the chance to rule because the
military refused to relinquish power.
Razali, a Malaysian diplomat who
has led international efforts to end the long-running standoff between Myanmar's
ruling junta and the NLD, is the only person who has been allowed to see Suu Kyi
since she was detained.
Suu Kyi's arrest has prompted intense pressure
on Myanmar, including the threat of international sanctions and an unusually
strong stand from ASEAN, which stepped outside its core policy of not commenting
on member countries' internal affairs to urge the junta to immediately release
Suu Kyi.
During talks with Razali on Monday, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra urged the United Nations to persuade Myanmar's other neighbors, such
as China and India, to play a bigger role in ending the deadlock.
Razali
said his discussion with Thaksin had been ``very useful'' but didn't mention if
they had discussed Thailand's ``road map'' _ a plan announced last week that
proposes bringing together ``like minded'' countries and groups within Myanmar.
Razali said he would stay in close touch with Thailand's Foreign
Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, and would soon travel to Jakarta for talks with
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Win
Aung was in Jakarta, scheduled to hold talks with Indonesian President Megawati
Sukarnoputri and Wirayuda later Monday.
Indonesia currently holds the
chair of ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The group is
expected to send a delegation to Myanmar soon to try to end the deadlock.
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Myanmar lays foundation for controversial Bagan
tower
Monday July 28, 3:33 PM
YANGON, Myanmar
(AP) - A top Myanmar military
leader has laid the foundation for a 60-meter (198-feet) -high viewing tower in
Myanmar's ancient temple city of Bagan despite concerns from preservation
experts of the United Nations.
In a traditional Buddhist ceremony
Sunday, the junta's third ranking leader, Gen. Khin Nyunt, drove a golden stake
into the ground, placed a gem casket there and sprinkled scented water on the
foundations, the official Myanma Ahlin daily reported Monday.
Bagan,
which has thousands of 11th and 12th century temples on an 80-square-kilometer
(32-square-mile) area in central Myanmar, is the most important archaeological
heritage site in the country, attracting thousands of tourists.
The
tower project has drawn criticism from UNESCO _ the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization _ which says the tower would be out of
scale with the rest of the site, and would detract visually from the historical
monuments.
But tourism chief Khin Maung Latt has defended the tower _
intended to provide tourists with an unfettered view of the historical site _ by
saying it would prevent tourists from climbing on fragile pagodas and stupas and
damaging them.
The temples of Bagan, also known as Pagan, are among
Southeast Asia's most important archaeological heritage sites, along with
Cambodia's Angkor Wat and Indonesia's Borobodur.
The cylindrical tower,
to be built by a private company near Bagan's golf course, will be 42 meters
(140-feet) wide at its base and will house observation decks, meeting rooms,
offices, souvenir shops and a restaurant. Construction will take one year.
According to official figures, Bagan attracted more than 75,000 foreign
tourists in 2002-2003, generating US$751,660 in revenue.
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