--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday July 30, 11:32 AM
Amnesty International
urges May 30 culprits be brought to justice
BANGKOK, July
30 (AFP) - Amnesty International has
urged Myanmar's military junta to bring to justice the culprits behind the May
30 attacks on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her
party.
The violent attack in northern Myanmar, in which dozens are feared
to have been killed, led to the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and an unknown
number of National League for Democracy (NLD) supporters, prompting a global
outcry.
"We are gravely concerned by the violent attack on the NLD and
the subsequent crackdown on all political opposition activities," it said in a
statement on the report, released Wednesday some two months after the
attack.
"We urge the (ruling) State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
to permit an independent, impartial and prompt investigation into the violent
attack on NLD members," it said.
The report, focusing on justice in the
Southeast Asian military state, called on the SPDC to explain how many people it
had detained after the attack, which occurred during a political tour by Aung
San Suu Kyi.
"It is imperative that the SPDC clarify the whereabouts of
those who are either missing or in detention after the 30 May events," it
said.
The junta said earlier this month that it had released 91 people
detained after the attacks, but an unknown number remain in custody.
The
international community has reacted furiously to the detention of Aung San Suu
Kyi, whom the ruling junta says it is holding under "protective custody", and
subsequent crackdown on democracy activists.
The United States and
European Union has beefed up sanctions, while the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) made an unprececented call for her release last
month.
"Sustained and concerted efforts on the part of the international
community should continue until these problems are solved. The people of Myanmar
must not be forgotten," Amnesty said.
Myanmar's foreign minister Win
Aung, on a visit to Jakarta Monday, claimed that Aung San Suu Kyi would not
remain in detention for "a long period" but again refused to reveal a timeframe
for her release.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday July 30, 6:10 PM
Myanmar junta "regrets" sanctions but will not yield to
pressure
YANGON, July 30 (AFP) - Myanmar's ruling military government said
Wednesday it would not yield to pressure and intimidation after the introduction
of tough new US sanctions it described as "most regrettable".
US
President George W. Bush imposed the sanctions on Monday, in response to the
junta's ongoing detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, by signing the
Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.
"The world has already shown
that sanctions and embargoes do not work. They only hurt the ordinary people and
are deemed as being counter-productive," Myanmar's junta said in a statement.
"It is therefore most regrettable that the US has decided on this route
instead of trying to work together with Myanmar for achieving the common aim of
establishing democracy in the country...
"Myanmar people have never
yielded to pressure and intimidation, and they will never do so," it said.
The sanctions, effective from next month, include a ban on all imports
from the Southeast Asian nation and are aimed especially at the crucial textile
trade in an economy near collapse.
The legislation also authorises the
president to aid Myanmar democracy activists, freezes the regime's financial
assets in US banks and property in the United States, and widens a visa ban on
Myanmar officials.
"This action will in no way be helpful to the
relations between the two nations," the junta said.
Aung San Suu Kyi was
placed under "protective custody" after a junta-backed mob brutally attacked a
convoy she was travelling in on May 30. The ruling generals put the death toll
at four, but eyewitnesses say dozens were killed.
A crackdown on
democracy activists countrywide since then has led to an unknown number of
arrests, while the party offices of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) party have been shuttered.
The regime in Yangon earlier
this month condemned the US House of Representatives vote in favour of the
sanctions, which along with US Senate support paved the way for the legislation.
It said then that tightened economic sanctions represented "weapons of
mass destruction" and warned they would create havoc by depriving people of job
opportunities and hurting health care and education.
The junta has
already sent Bush a petition signed by 350,000 textile workers appealing the
ban, which the Myanmar Times said would threaten annual exports worth 356
million dollars, mostly in the textile sector.
Both Canada and the
European Union have also imposed tougher sanctions on Myanmar, while the
impoverished country's largest donor Japan has suspended new economic aid.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday July 30, 5:45 PM
Amnesty fails to deliver petition on Suu Kyi's release to
Myanmar
TOKYO, July 30 (AFP) - Human rights group Amnesty International
failed Wednesday to deliver a petition calling for the release of detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the Myanmar embassy here, an AFP
correspondent at the scene reported.
The gates of the mission remained
firmly closed as a group of around 30 people, including 20 Myanmar refugees,
gathered outside hoping to hand in a petition seeking the immediate release of
Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD).
"We have gathered about 23,000 signatures of support and we want to
present them now to the Myanmar officials at the embassy to protest against the
attacks of May 30," said Amnesty International Japan campaigner Sonoko Kawakami.
Aung San Suu Kyi and an unknown number of NLD members and supporters
were detained after a mob backed by the military junta attacked her convoy as
she travelled in the north of the country on May 30.
Kawakami said
Amnesty would now deliver the petition, which was signed by British film star
Sean Connery and 27 Japanese lawmakers among other signatories from round the
world, by registered mail, to ensure the Myanmar officials got it.
Earlier Wednesday Amnesty released a report urging Myanmar's military
junta to bring to justice the culprits behind the May 30 attacks in which dozens
are feared to have been killed.
Also on Wednesday, Indonesian Foreign
Minister Hassan Wirayuda said Yangon had assured Jakarta that the issue of Aung
San Suu Kyi's detention would be "resolved" before the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on October 7-8.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday July 30, 3:35 PM
Rights group slams Myanmar FM's "public relations tour"
BANGKOK, July 30 (AFP) - Rights group Forum-Asia Wednesday slammed
as a waste of time and money a regional tour by Myanmar's foreign minister Win
Aung to attempt to calm the furore over the detention of democracy icon Aung San
Suu Kyi.
Win Aung carried a message to Indonesia this week from junta
chief General Than Shwe saying that Myanmar, formerly called Burma, was doing
what it could to normalise the situation before releasing the opposition leader.
"If the Burmese military junta wants to convince ASEAN countries that
the situation in Burma is improved, they should focus on the restoration of
democracy and human rights standards, beginning with the release of all
political prisoners, rather than wasting time and money on a PR (public
relations) tour," group secretary-general Somchai Homlaor said in a statement.
Myanmar's foreign minister is due to travel to Thailand Thursday for a
discussion on Thailand's proposal for a "road map" for democratic reform and
national reconciliation in the military-ruled state.
He will also attend
talks on economic development with his counterparts from Thailand, Cambodia and
Laos on Friday.
But Forum-Asia said Thailand should demand the release
of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners as a precondition to economic
talks. She was detained after a junta-backed mob attacked her convoy as she
travelled in the north of the country on May 30.
It also urged the
restoration of democracy and improvement of the human rights situation in
Myanmar before any talks.
Myanmar said Wednesday that Aung San Suu Kyi
may be freed before October, according to Indonesian foreign minister Hassan
Wirayuda.
"Myanmar has told Indonesia that they hope that before the
ASEAN summit (Aung San Suu Kyi's case) will be resolved," he told reporters.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called last month for
Myanmar to releaes the Nobel peace laureate in an unprecedented statement on the
internal affairs of a member.
In an attempt to explain the junta's
actions, Win Aung and his deputy Khin Maung Win have visited an number of
regional countries in recent weeks, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and
Japan.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday July 30, 3:35 PM
Myanmar vows to resolve Suu
Kyi issue
By Achmad Sukarsono
BANDUNG, Indonesia (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta has promised
to resolve an impasse over the detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi
before an October summit of Southeast Asian nations, Indonesia's foreign
minister says.
But the public comments by Hassan Wirajuda, at a meeting
of Asian and African officials in the West Java city of Bandung, appeared to
catch his Myanmar counterpart Win Aung by surprise.
Win Aung would only
say Suu Kyi's arrest would not be prolonged.
Wirajuda told reporters
Indonesia, which currently chairs the 10-member Association of South East Asian
Nations, was also "heading" in the direction of mediating Myanmar's political
crisis.
"The Myanmar side has told Indonesia they hope that before the
ASEAN summit, this problem will be resolved. We have received a guarantee that
the Aung San Suu Kyi case will be over before the ASEAN summit," Wirajuda said
on the sidelines of the Bandung meeting.
The 58-year-old Nobel Peace
laureate was arrested on May 30 after a clash between her supporters and
pro-government groups, drawing international condemnation. This week the United
States imposed fresh economic sanctions on the troubled country.
Campaign group Amnesty International said on Wednesday that rights
abuses in Myanmar had risen sharply since her detention.
Win Aung told
reporters he did not know why Wirajuda made his comments. He did not appear
irritated.
Asked if Suu Kyi would be freed by October, Win Aung said:
"May I say there is only one thing that I will tell you, we don't have
any intention to prolong that arrangement."
Wirajuda did not say if
Myanmar's timeframe was acceptable to ASEAN, but made clear the organisation
could not ignore an issue that has stained its image.
LET'S
TALK
ASEAN, which holds its annual summit on the Indonesian
resort island of Bali on October 7-8, is one of few groups that accepts Myanmar
as a member. Last month it gave Yangon an unprecedented rebuke over Suu Kyi.
"Actually, if they can do it themselves, we will be very appreciative.
But we know that there is a gap of perceptions here, and we need to tighten the
contacts, including through mediation," Wirajuda said.
"By talking to
them we are heading that way (to mediation), but we cannot pinpoint the timing
of that mediation."
On Tuesday, Win Aung told Reuters that Myanmar's
ruling generals wanted to resolve the impasse themselves, although he would not
say if he rejected outright any mediation offer.
Thailand has said
Indonesia wanted to take a leading role in brokering fresh talks between the
military junta and Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
Speaking
in Bangkok on Wednesday, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said
Myanmar should not reject help.
"It's up to all parties in Myanmar to
decide how they want to proceed, but as a neighbour we can help provide some
options," he told reporters.
Red Cross officials, allowed to meet Suu
Kyi for the first time since her detention two months ago, said on Tuesday she
was in good health and high spirits.
Myanmar's military has ruled the
country since a 1962 coup and ignored a 1990 election victory by the NLD.
Win Aung on Tuesday said the junta did not hate Suu Kyi but he added she
was a product of the West and accused the outside world of being fixated with
her. He travels to Bangkok on Thursday for talks with his Thai counterpart.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday July 30, 00:16 PM
Rights abuses by Myanmar junta on the
rise-Amnesty
BANGKOK, July 30 (Reuters) - Rights abuses in military-ruled Myanmar
have risen sharply since the junta detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi
on May 30, campaign group Amnesty International said on
Wednesday.
Amnesty, denouncing what it called a culture of impunity, said
the ruling generals had taken no action against a pro-junta group that attacked
Suu Kyi's supporters with clubs on May 30 when she was touring a town in central
Myanmar.
"The violent attacks on that day, which resulted in the deaths
and injuries of an unknown number of people...and the arrests of scores of
political activists, have strengthened the culture of impunity in Myanmar,"
Amnesty said in a report.
The group said at least 10 people died in the
attack.
It said Myanmar authorities immediately detained 64 supporters of
the Nobel laureate, put 53 in "temporary custody" in following days and put
eight senior leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party under de
facto house arrest.
Amnesty said 53 pro-democracy activists had
"disappeared" since May 30.
The Myanmar government blames Suu Kyi for
provoking the May clash and says four people died. The junta said last week it
had freed 96 people it detained but was still holding 40, all but one of whom
were NLD members.
Amnesty urged the Myanmar junta to allow an independent
investigation into the clash and punish those responsible.
"No progress
can be made on the protection of human rights in Myanmar until the SPDC hold
accountable those found responsible for the May 30 events and its aftermath,"
the group said, referring to the junta by its official name, the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC).
International pressure has mounted in recent
weeks on the junta to free Suu Kyi, with Washington imposing new sanctions, key
donor Japan cutting off new aid and Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbours
delivering an unprecedented public rebuke.
Suu Kyi has spent much of the
past decade under house arrest. Her NLD swept to an election victory in 1990 but
was never handed power by the military, which has ruled since a 1962
coup.
Amnesty said there were over 1,300 political prisoners locked up in
Myanmar, including those arrested on or after May 30.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Story last updated at 10:15 p.m. on
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Foreign radio stations most popular source of
news in Myanmar
The Associated Press
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Shelly Culbertson, traveling in Asia on an academic fellowship, wrote this
story for The Associated Press after a recent visit to Myanmar.
By SHELLY CULBERTSON
YANGON, Myanmar
((AP) - Myo, a taxi driver, has
memorized the entire daily broadcast schedule of the BBC, the Voice of America
and two other foreign radio stations.
Driving a visitor around Yangon in
his beat-up, white Toyota, he proudly recited the schedules from early morning
until night: "VOA is 6 in the morning. BBC is at 6:30. Radio Free Asia is from 7
to 8. Voice of America is 6 in the evening again."
He continued through
the list, counting off times excitedly on his fingers, shifting gears between
gestures, and turning around in his seat to ensure his passenger understood.
Myo, who did not want to give his full name, is among millions of people
in Myanmar who listen to foreign radio broadcasts as the main source of news
about the country. Along with the U.S. and British government stations VOA and
BBC, the most popular stations are Radio Free Asia, also financed by the United
States, and the Democratic Voice of Burma, an opposition station based in
Norway.
Although not strictly illegal, listening to news on foreign
radio stations is considered a defiant gesture unlikely to be looked on
favorably by the authorities in Myanmar, or Burma, as it's also known.
The military, in power since 1962, is paranoid that independent
information may dent its hold on power and add to the popularity of the
pro-democracy opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. It limits sources of outside
information by requiring licenses for fax machines and blocking Web sites
critical of the government.
Aside from foreign stations, the only other
news comes from state-controlled media, which are devoted to recording the
activities of junta leader Gen. Than Shwe and his Cabinet. The newspapers Myanma
Ahlin, Botahtaung and Kyemon publish no news of Suu Kyi and her party - unless
it is to berate them.
Foreign radio stations' listenership has shot up
since the May 30 arrest of Suu Kyi, and Philippe Latour of the international
press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said their listeners could face
the government's anger.
"They are at risk of getting into really big
trouble for getting news from outside," said Latour, who is based in Bangkok in
neighboring Thailand.
However, in a faxed reply to a query, a government
spokesman said this was not the case: "There is no such law concerned with
listening to foreign radio stations and watching foreign TV stations. ...
Telling what you have heard or watched on the radio or TV is not against the law
unless you are doing it with the intention to agitate, incite or cause some sort
of public unrest."
The spokesman, who asked that his name not be used,
added that the Democratic Voice of Burma and Radio Free Asia "are not very much
accepted by sensible listeners" because of their weak signals and the "black
propaganda" they broadcast.
Taxi driver Myo said that 90 percent of the
people he knows listen to foreign broadcasts on small, easily hidden transistor
radios. As if to show how it is done, Myo crouched low in his driver's seat with
his hand cupped over a pretend radio next to his hear.
According to
Intermedia, a private firm hired by the BBC and VOA to survey their impact in
Myanmar, 39 percent of the country's 42 million people listen to the BBC and 30
percent to VOA.
"Our purpose is long term, to empower people with
information," the VOA's Jay Henderson said in a telephone interview from
Washington.
Kyaw Zen Tha, the chief of the BBC Burmese service based in
London, said: "The BBC is only out there so that the Burmese people can hear
from the outside what is true. News from the Burmese government is only
propaganda. Our programs are often the only source of information."
The
few Myanmar journalists who have tried to be independent in their reporting have
faced harassment, censorship and very often prison.
Latour of Reporters
without Borders said 16 journalists were in prison in Myanmar at the end of
2002, compared to 11 in China, whose population is more than 30 times greater.
He added that a few more reporters have been jailed since the detention of Nobel
laureate Suu Kyi in May.
The only foreign journalist based in Myanmar is
from China - an ally of the Myanmar government - and other reporters working for
foreign news organizations in the country are from Myanmar, and can be
intimidated by the authorities.
One Western diplomat recounted that
diplomats who are allowed to attend news conferences are usually the ones asking
tough questions as the Myanmar reporters sit silently, fearful of directing
pointed questions at military officers.
Myanmar does not have any
privately operated daily newspapers. It has up to 100 private weeklies or
monthlies but these publications - and their individual articles - must be
approved by a government board.
One editor of a monthly news journal,
who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that the board rejects many of his
articles and even prohibits the use of many words.
"We can't use the
words like warlord, inflation or exchange rate," he said, chuckling over the
junta's intolerance to any mention of the country's problems.
The
editor's combined home, office and print shop suggested his own - and the
country's - economic troubles. The walls were a smudged fluoride-green, and he
talked from behind a scratched and dented desk.
The editor said he has
never been detained, but that he has been threatened with arrest and his
previous publication was once shut down. Now he publishes his journal under
someone else's name and seemed pleased that - in some small way - he could flout
the system.
"I'm so envious of foreign reporters who can say whatever
they want," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 10:23PM EDT
Rights group calls
for Myanmar opposition leader's release
By GRANT
PECK, ASSOCIATED PRESS
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Amnesty International urged Myanmar's
military government Wednesday to release Aung San Suu Kyi and allow an
investigation into a clash between her supporters and a pro-junta group.
The London-based human rights group, in a report on justice in Myanmar,
also called for the release of members of the Nobel Peace laureate's opposition
National League for Democracy party.
Myanmar's government said in a
statement that it hasn't seen the report but "looks forward to studying (Amnesty
International's) recommendations and observations and welcomes any constructive
commentary."
Suu Kyi and her colleagues were taken into custody after a
May confrontation between her party members and government supporters while she
was on a political tour of northern Myanmar.
The crackdown triggered
worldwide condemnation of Myanmar's military government. To pressure Myanmar,
President Bush on Tuesday signed a law banning the import of products from
Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The government said Suu Kyi's supporters
provoked a fight, but opposition sources described it as an ambush by
government-supported thugs in which up to several dozen people were killed.
"The events of 30 May show all too clearly the need for accountability,"
said the Amnesty report. "We urge the (government) to permit an independent,
impartial and prompt investigation into the violent attack on NLD members."
Scores of opposition members were detained after the incident. The
government last week announced that 91 had been released, and that 40 - all but
one of them NLD supporters - remain in jail.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thailand to propose ideas for plan to move toward
democracy in Myanmar
BANGKOK, Thailand
(AP) - Thailand will give
neighboring Myanmar proposals toward national reconciliation and democracy _ and
its first step must be the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi _ a
government spokesman said Wednesday.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai will present the plan to his Myanmar counterpart Win Aung during
talks on Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at a
news conference Wednesday.
Win Aung will attend a four-country economic
meeting in Bangkok on Friday.
``We believe it's time for Myanmar to have
a plan toward developing national reconciliation toward democracy in Myanmar,''
Sihasak said. ``There have to be several steps, and the first, for sure, is to
release Aung San Suu Kyi.''
Myanmar's military government has come under
intense international criticism after detaining Suu Kyi and a number of her
supporters on May 30 following a clash in northern Myanmar between the democracy
activists and a pro-government mob.
The government has refused to give a
time frame for Suu Kyi's release, or say where the Nobel Peace Prize laureate is
being held.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a national
election more than a decade ago, but the junta has refused to yield power.
The United States on Monday imposed strong trade sanctions on Myanmar.
The European Union already had sanctions in place.
Surakiart had said
earlier this month that Thailand would present Myanmar with a proposed ``road
map'' toward more democracy.
But Thailand appears to have backtracked
after the junta gave a cold shoulder to the plan, saying domestic problems
should be solved internally.
Sihasak said Thailand doesn't have a road
map for Myanmar, but that it can give the country ideas and that Myanmar's
government should prepare the final plan.
``Myanmar should draft the
plan themselves to show the world how Myanmar is moving toward national
reconciliation,'' he said. ``They should come out clearly to show us the steps
from A to Z.''
Also Wednesday, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said
the Thai government can only encourage the Myanmar government to adopt a
democracy plan.
``We're doing everything so that Myanmar would be spared
from (sanctions) and improve herself ... for Myanmar people's better
livelihood,'' Thaksin said.
``If they reject the offer, we don't know
what to do,'' he said. ``We really want to help the Myanmar government and the
people because we're neighbors and we're inseparable.''
--------------------------------------------------------------
Philippines expresses disappointment over Suu Kyi's
continuing detention
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine government expressed
disappointment Wednesday over the continuing detention of Myanmar's
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and told the country's visiting diplomat
to free her, the Philippine foreign secretary said Wednesday.
Blas Ople
said he relayed the government's message to Myanmar's Deputy Foreign Minister
Khin Maung Win, who traveled to Manila on Tuesday to brief Ople on recent
political developments in his country.
During the meeting, Ople said he
reiterated the appeal of the Philippines and other members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations for Suu Kyi's early release so she could pursue her
political activities, but that Maung Win could not commit to a date.
``I
was a little disappointed that no decision has yet been taken by Myanmar on this
issue,'' Ople said.
Ople also reiterated a plan by ASEAN foreign
ministers to send a diplomatic mission to Myanmar. He did not elaborate.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has been detained since a May 30
clash in northern Myanmar between her supporters and a pro-junta mob. Despite an
international clamor for her release, including from the normally
non-interventionist ASEAN, Myanmar's military government has remained defiant,
refusing to say where she's being held or when she would be freed.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has sent envoys to several Asian countries
to explain Suu Kyi's detention, which has halted a reconciliation process that
started in October 2000 with talks between her and the government. The dialogue
made little progress.
The Philippines and Myanmar are among ASEAN's
members, along with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Cable News Network
Hopes raised for
Suu Kyi release
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 Posted: 3:48 AM EDT (0748
GMT)
BANDUNG, Indonesia -- Hopes have been raised that Myanmar
democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi may be freed from government detention in
the next few months.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda told
reporters Wednesday that his government had been assured the Nobel Peace prize
would be released before October's ASEAN summit being held in Bali, Indonesia.
"The Myanmar side has told Indonesia they hope that before the ASEAN
summit, this problem will be resolved," Reuters reports Wirayuda saying.
The minister added that Indonesia, which has been quietly trying to
persuade Myanmar's ruling military government to release Suu Kyi, was heading in
the direction of mediating in the political crisis the detention has created.
Despite enormous pressure from many nations for her release, Suu Kyi has
been detained since late May following a clash between her supporters and a
pro-government group.
Speaking on the sidelines of an Asian and African
ministerial meeting in Bandung, Indonesia, Wirayuda's comments appeared to catch
Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung by surprise.
The minister said he
did not know why Wirayuda made his remarks.
Asked if Suu Kyi would be
freed by October, Reuters reports Win Aung saying: "I have trouble replying to
that question. May I say there is only one thing that I will tell you, we don't
have any intention to prolong that arrangement."
The release comments
come a day after Red Cross officials said Suu Kyi was in good health and high
spirits.
Myanmar's military rulers allowed the officials to meet with
her Monday morning.
"I can confirm that I was able to meet with Suu
yesterday morning in the place where she was detained, and had a private talk
with her," Michel Ducreaux of the International Committee of the Red Cross told
CNN.
In good health
The discussion with the
pro-democracy leader focused on the general conditions of detention.
"I
will unfortunately not be able to elaborate a lot on what was the exchange of
views," Ducreaux said.
"This is a confidential matter, but what I can
tell you is that she in good health. She was not injured during the event."
Myanmar earlier hit out at tough new sanctions imposed on the Southeast
Asian nation by the United States.
"Sanctions are one-sided, unilateral
actions taken by some without any regard for the people," Wing Aung told
reporters Tuesday.
Indonesia's Ali Alatas -- a former foreign minister
and adviser to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri -- said ASEAN would
not follow the U.S. in closing markets to imports from Myanmar.
"ASEAN's
policy is clear. We don't believe that isolating Myanmar or applying economic
sanctions is either correct of effective," Reuters reports Alatas saying
Wednesday.
Move welcomed
The U.S. bill bans
imports from Myanmar, freezes the assets of senior officials and prohibits
virtually all remittances to the country.
"By denying these rulers the
hard currency they use to fund their repression, we are providing strong
incentives for democratic change and human rights in Burma [Myanmar]," U.S.
President George W. Bush said in a statement Monday after signing the bill.
The world should make clear, he added, through word and deed that the
people of Myanmar deserve "to live in dignity and freedom under leaders of their
own choosing."
Human rights group Amnesty International welcomed the
move and called for the immediate release of Suu Kyi.
"Sustained and
concerted efforts on the part of the international community should continue
until these problems are solved. The people of Myanmar must not be forgotten,"
the group said in a statement Tuesday.
Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy won a sweeping victory in a general election in 1990, but Myanmar's
military rulers refused to recognize the vote and held on to power.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Tribune
Nations demanding release of Suu
Kyi
By Rafael D.
Frankel, Special to the Tribune. Tribune news services
contributed to this report
Published July 30, 2003
BANGKOK --
Two months after a crackdown on democracy groups in Myanmar, the military junta
finds itself besieged by growing demands from governments around the world to
release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of her
followers.
Yet rather than showing signs of flexibility, the military is
taking an indignant stance, analysts said, and ratcheting up the rhetoric
against the National League for Democracy, which is headed by Suu
Kyi.
The 58-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, who has spent much of the past
13 years under house arrest, has been held incommunicado by the junta since May
30 when she and hundreds of her supporters were arrested after a rally in
northern Myanmar. The junta originally said Suu Kyi was being held "temporarily"
in "protective custody."
Red Cross officials visited the pro-democracy
leader Monday for the first time since she was detained. Michel Ducreaux, the
agency's Myanmar representative, told Reuters on Tuesday that she was in good
health and in "high spirits." He did not disclose where she is being
held.
Condemnation of the junta for Suu Kyi's detention has come from
around the world.
President Bush on Monday signed into law economic
sanctions against Myanmar that had been quickly approved by Congress. The
sanctions impose a ban on imports from Myanmar, freeze assets of the military
government, expand a ban on granting U.S. visas to Myanmar officials and bar
virtually all remittances to the country.
Myanmar, formerly Burma,
exported about $356 million in products to the United States in 2002, mostly
garments.
The European Union has taken similar steps, and Japan, the
largest economic donor to Myanmar, has cut off all of its
funding.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad recently warned that
Myanmar could be expelled from the 10-member group of Southeast Asian nations,
which previously had a strict policy of non-interference in each other's
domestic affairs.
There is "a lot of coordination between certain
governments that think the same way" to put pressure on the junta, a Western
diplomat said in Yangon, Myanmar's capital. "And there is a lot of effort by the
U.S. to influence many governments to adopt similar positions."
But with
each criticism from the international community, the junta has intensified its
attacks on Suu Kyi and the league.
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The White House
For Immediate
Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 28, 2003
Statement
on Burmese Democracy Act
Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003
and Executive Order
Today, I have signed into law the Burmese
Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 and an executive order sending a clear signal
to Burma's ruling junta that it must release Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, along with all other political prisoners, and move down the path toward
democracy. These measures reaffirm to the people of Burma that the United States
stands with them in their struggle for democracy and freedom.
The
Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is the result of close cooperation between my
Administration and Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, especially
Senator Mitch McConnell and Representative Tom Lantos. Among other measures, the
legislation bans the import of Burmese products. The executive order freezes the
assets of senior Burmese officials and bans virtually all remittances to Burma.
By denying these rulers the hard currency they use to fund their repression, we
are providing strong incentives for democratic change and human rights in Burma.
In May of this year, the Burmese government tightened its grip on the
people of Burma when it organized an attack on the motorcade of Aung San Suu
Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD). Since then, Burmese
officials have ignored requests from around the world to release Aung San Suu
Kyi and other members of the NLD and to re-open NLD offices.
The
repression of the Burmese regime contributes to problems that spill across
Burma's borders, including refugee flows, narcotics trafficking, and the spread
of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. These problems affect Burma's neighbors, and
these nations must play an important role in resolving the current crisis. I
urge the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to continue to make
clear to the regime that its behavior is inconsistent with ASEAN's standards and
goals. Burma should not be permitted to tarnish ASEAN's record as a positive
force for progress. I also welcome the measures taken by the European Union and
Japan to bring about democratic change in Burma.
The United States will
not waver from its commitment to the cause of democracy and human rights in
Burma. The United States has raised the situation in Burma at the United Nations
Security Council, and will do so again as developments warrant. The world must
make clear -? through word and deed -? that the people of Burma, like people
everywhere, deserve to live in dignity and freedom, under leaders of their own
choosing.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
US wants Asean to exert more influence
Published on Jul 30, 2003
The United States has
urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to play an active role
in solving the political deadlock in Burma and force the junta to meet Asean
standards.
President George W Bush said in a statement as he signed a
sanction bill to punish the junta that Rangoon's behaviour is inconsistent with
Asean's standards and goals.
"Burma should not be permitted to tarnish
Asean's record as a positive force for progress," he said.
Asean is
waiting for consent from the junta to send a mission to Rangoon to end a
political deadlock after the May 30 incident that led to the detention of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The US, the European Union and Japan have
imposed sanctions to secure her release. Repression by the Burmese regime
contributes to problems that spill over borders, including refugees, drug
trafficking and the spread of HIV/Aids and other diseases, Bush's statement
said. "These nations must play an important role in resolving the current
crisis," it said.
Thailand, an immediate neighbour, is working to hold a
forum on a "road map" toward national reconciliation.
Foreign Affairs
Minister Surakiart Sathirathai will meet with his Burmese counterpart Win Aung
tomorrow to discuss the proposal. Many countries, including China, Malaysia,
United Kingdom and most recently Australia, have expressed strong support for
the discussion, he said.
"Much work has been done on the road map,
however, it is diplomatically inappropriate to reveal it before discussing it
with Burma," he said.
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Myanmar
criticizes U.S. sanctions as counterproductive
YANGON,
July 30, Kyodo - The Foreign
Ministry on Wednesday expressed regret over the U.S government decision to slap
economic sanctions on Myanmar over the junta's detention of pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.
The ministry said in a statement that the action will
neither help relations between the two nations nor contribute to Myanmar's
efforts to consolidate national reconciliation and build a democratic society.
''The world has already shown that sanctions and embargoes do not work.
They only hurt the ordinary people and are deemed as being counterproductive. It
is therefore most regrettable that the U.S. has decided on this route instead of
trying to work together with Myanmar for achieving the common aim of
establishing democracy in the country,'' the statement said.
''On its
part the Myanmar government is determined to build a peaceful, modern and
developed state. It is committed to the path of national reconciliation and
democracy,'' it said. ''Myanmar's people have never yielded to pressure and
intimidation, and they will never do so.''
U.S. President George W. Bush
on Monday signed into law legislation slapping economic sanctions on Myanmar
including a three-year ban on imports. The United States imported $256 million
in clothes and other products from Myanmar last year.
The junta has been
detaining the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi and some members of her
National League for Democracy (NLD) since May 30 following what it claimed were
violent clashes between NLD supporters and pro-junta demonstrators in northern
Myanmar.