EBO “
News Summary:
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The Straits Times,
By Lee Kim Chew
In an unprecedented move,
the United States about the country's
political future.
It wants 'pragmatic, useful advice on
making the transition to a stable democracy',
the
World Bank loan in return for democratic
change declared last Thursday.
But don't bet on the apparent turnaround
signifying a change of heart among
True, several hundred political prisoners
have been freed recently and the regime
has opened the doors to Amnesty
International, the Red Cross and the International
Labour Organisation.
United Nations Special Rapporteur Paulo
Pinheiro notes that prison conditions for
political prisoners have improved, with fewer cases
of beatings and torture.
On the other hand, the junta is still
arresting political dissidents and National
League for Democracy (NLD) activists, and
refusing to start a dialogue to engage
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party.
Which makes it clear
why the generals are making peace overtures to
because they hope to ward off new sanctions which
the Bush administration plans
to impose on the regime.
The
the
sanctions,' warned Mr Lorne Craner,
the US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.
a year, in tandem with a currency falling
in value, cannot afford new sanctions.
Symptomatic of the crisis was the massive
run on its banks last week, which forced
the central bank to restrict money transfers
and limit withdrawals from private banks
to a paltry 200,000 kyat (S$317) a week,
bringing business to a standstill.
On top of that,
thus hampering bilateral trade and adding to
According to aid agencies, the refugee
flow into
and about a million people have been
displaced within
the war with ethnic minorities.
The ostracised regime gets little foreign
aid, and it is starved of soft loans from
international lending agencies.
Although the European Union (EU) lifted
its visa embargo and allowed
to join the Asean-EU
ministerial talks in
countries to put more pressure on the junta to
undertake political reforms.
In contrast to the junta, Ms Suu Kyi, a
Nobel peace laureate, has the support
of the West.
Last week, the US-based Freedom Forum
awarded her the Al Neuharth Free Spirit
of the Year Award and US$1 million for her
advocacy of democracy.
The Bush administration is insisting on
genuine democratic change in
as a precondition for dropping its sanctions.
The signs point however, to a renewed
standoff between her and the generals,
as mutual restraints give way to mutual
recriminations.
According to foreign diplomats, the
regime's grassroots organisation is distributing
pamphlets that vilify her and her cause.
She, in turn, has called for international
sanctions to stay as long as the regime
procrastinates in starting a political dialogue with her
party.
Given the intransigence on both sides,
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