EBO Burma News, 6 May 2003
News Summary:
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1. Suu Kyi still politically shackled one
year on
2. Road to reform runs into dead-end
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Suu Kyi still politically shackled
one year on
The Straits Times
06 May 2003
By Shefali Rekhi
HER release from house arrest last May was
to have heralded the beginning of
a new chapter in
a loosening of the political grip of the
junta.
But a year on, opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi is still struggling with shackles
that impede her political freedom.
There has been no political dialogue and
the military junta has made no effort
at reconciliation.
Progress in reorganising her party - the
National League for Democracy (NLD)
- has also been slow, her supporters say.
Members of the public who come forward to
attend public meetings at places
outside
party spokesman U Lwin
told The Straits Times from
The NLD's means
to communicate with the masses has also been severely restrained.
The party's request to print a fortnightly
journal has been turned down,
and its headquarters in
the Internet and fax machines.
Meanwhile, over a hundred of the party's
supporters remain political prisoners.
'We don't have any plans for the first
anniversary,' Mr Lwin said when asked
about celebrations today, the date that Ms Suu
Kyi was released after 19 months
of confinement.
'There is still so much to do.'
Ms Suu Kyi's
release had raised expectations of a move towards democratic
rule and greater freedom in
But little of that has happened. Sharing
her displeasure, the Nobel peace laureate
said at a media briefing in
between the authorities and ourselves that... we
should go on to a more advanced
stage of our relationship.
'But I do not think there has been any
progress.'
While the general conditions depress Suu
Kyi supporters, there is at least
one piece of good news.
Party officials at the headquarters are no
longer harassed and Ms Suu Kyi is
allowed to move about the country, after giving
48-hour notice to the authorities
- essentially so
that they can ensure her security, he said.
But on many other accounts, the NLD is
hoping for more.
Ms Suu Kyi's
priority remains the start of the political dialogue process,
the release of political prisoners and
ensuring the security of her people.
While she has been able to open 100
offices for NLD in the past year,
she is waiting for permission to open another
100. In all, 300 offices were
needed to be functional, Mr Lwin
said.
At its peak, the party boasted of a
membership of over two million. Today,
there are less than 175,000 members.
----------------------------------
Road to reform runs into dead-end
06 May 2003
ANALYSIS /
It is 12 months to the day since
Aung San Suu Kyu was freed from her second
spell of house arrest. She has been
granted more freedom of movement since
her release, and has held talks with
the junta, but there has been no progress
towards democracy.
LARRY JAGAN
from house arrest, and there is no reason to
believe they have any intention of
starting serious political talks with the
opposition leader.
The country's fragile dialogue process
remains deadlocked and in danger
of collapsing.
but do little to show their sincerity. The
euphoria that surrounded the opposition
leader's release a year ago has given way to
disappointment and frustration
as
“Ms Suu Kyi's
release is seen as a signal that the military regime is prepared
to move on to the next stage of the national
reconciliation process: substantive
talks with the opposition leader on the
country's political future,'' one senior
Western diplomat said shortly after Ms Suu
Kyi's release. The UN envoy Razali
Ismail,
who convinced the generals to free Ms Suu Kyi
and helped broker the talks
between the two sides, was sure the military was
ready for serious political
negotiations and prepared to cooperate with the
National League for Democracy.
Twelve months later, these hopes appear to
have been dashed. Instead of
progress, the two sides have slipped into a war of
words that is being fought
through press conferences and press releases.
Only a few days ago, Ms Suu Kyi went on
the offensive and told journalists at
a press briefing at the NLD headquarters:
“I have come to the conclusion that
the SPDC [State Peace Development Council] is
not interested in national
reconciliation.''
Throughout the past year, the opposition
leader has appealed to the generals
to open concrete talks and stated that she
and the NLD were prepared to cooperate
with the army. She has told them repeatedly
that the opposition does not
see the military as the enemy.
“We do not want to be the enemy,'' she
recently told the Bangkok Post in
“We are in opposition to each other at the
moment but we should work together
for the sake of the country, and we certainly
bear no grudges against them.
We are not out for vengeance. We want to
reach the kind of settlement which
will be beneficial to everybody, including the
members of the military.''
But the generals have so far rebuffed all
the opposition overtures. “It's more
than time to proceed from the
confidence-building stage to full cooperation,
especially in the humanitarian area.,'' Ms Suu Kyi
said two weeks ago.
“The SPDC has shown that it is not keen to
cooperate with us in matters
of humanitarian aid.''
Colonel Hla Min, the military government
spokesman, for his part, insists
“the government
actively welcomes meaningful and constructive suggestions
from all its citizens in all areas of national
development, particularly in education,
health-care and economic development''.
Neither side seems able to take the
initiative. The UN envoy's insistence that
the past year.
“Neither side is able to talk directly to
the other,'' a senior Western diplomat
involved in
military rulers have continually rebuffed the
envoy's repeated requests over
the last three months to return to
visits
for more than six months. In fact, it looks
as though he will not be allowed back
until early June at the earliest.
The process of national reconciliation has
clearly ground to a halt.
leaders seem keen to drag the process out as long
as possible instead of talking
to Ms Suu Kyi.
Faced with increased international
pressure _ the
of extending sanctions and banning all
textile imports from
European Union has adopted tougher
measures which will be implemented
automatically in six months time if there is no
progress in the dialogue
process _
Senior General Than
Shwe,
countries around the region as he can. In the past
six months, he has visited
Other senior ministers, including
intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt and
Foreign Minister Win Aung, have also been
active whipping up support for
the regime. Earlier this year, Win Aung made
an historic trip to
that they did not fear Western-led sanctions
as they expected to get all the trade,
investment and aid they needed from their
neighbours. The reality, of course,
is that this is not forthcoming. In the last
twelve months, the only Asean investment
was the Malaysian petroleum giant Petronas' buy-out of the British company
Premier Oil's
interests in
commercial interests in
in the country is
It is time Asean
governments reassessed their uncritical support for
Privately, United Nations officers say
their credibility will be on the line
if they continue to put their heads in the
sand.
But even after meeting Mr Razali last week in
Surakiart Sathirathai
continued to tell local journalists that the dialogue process
had not stalled and that
process. But Thai officials privately concede
that the government is fully aware
that there are no talks between the two sides
and that the whole process
is in deep trouble.
Asean countries have tried to avoid thinking
about
one senior Asean
diplomat said. ``Countries like
to be brought to bear on issues like human
rights and democratic reform.''
There currently is no real incentive for
the other Asean countries to take the
initiative. But they must change soon.
will be held in
one of the world's remaining military
dictatorships,'' said a senior UN official
privately in
But if the 12 months since Ms Suu Kyi was
freed are any indication, it is still going
to be years before
Asean leaders could help speed that process up
if privately, at two-way and
multilateral meetings, they began to put real pressure
on
to implement economic and political reform.
###
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