TRIBUTES with full state honours were paid to
assassinated independence hero General Aung San and eight others during
ceremonies last Thursday to commemorate the 54th anniversary of Martyrs’
Day. The State Peace and Development Council was represented at the
tributes by the Cultural Minister U Win Sein, Chief Justice U Aung Toe and
Attorney-General U Tha Tun and the other senior military and civilian
officials. Unlike previous years, the late General’s only surviving son, U
Aung San Oo, who lives in the United States, and his daughter, Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, did not attend the tributes. Wreaths were laid at General
Aung San’s tomb at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum north of the Shwedagon Pagoda by
family members on behalf of General Aung San’s son, and by NLD central
executive committee member U Lwin and two other party members on behalf of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Government officials, members of the
diplomatic corps and representatives of United Nations agencies and
non-government organisations also attended the solemn ceremony at the
Martyrs’ Mausoleum. In a statement released Friday, a government spokesman
said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been "expected" to attend the Martyrs’ Day
ceremony. The statement said the government had expected the NLD figure to
attend because she had done so in previous years, and because it was a
national celebration of the memory "of her own father". "Besides, on
account of the recent positive development taking place between the SPDC
government and the NLD party, the government believes that the road for
better understanding and cooperation has been paved optimistically,
anticipating the best," the statement continued. "In this regard, not only
was the invitation officially extended but transportation as well as an
escort officer was being arranged for maximum convenience." The statement
implied the media had sought an explanation from the NLD in response to
"speculation on whether Daw Aung San Suu Kyi made a political statement by
not attending". "One senior NLD member" said "it was her decision",
according to the SPDC statement. "The nation regrets her absence and the
government has nothing to say but to respect her decision," the statement
concluded. Myanmar Times was unable to confirm the reasons for Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi’s absence.
FMs’ challenge: to put focus
on Asean
SOUTH East Asian foreign ministers gather in Hanoi this
week, desperate to use key talks with international partners to refocus
attention on the region in the face of the growing pull exerted by a
resurgent China. The guest list, including US Secretary of State Colin
Powell, EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten, Chinese Foreign
Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, ensures
the talks a high-profile platform. But diplomats say a host of external
issues from Korea to Japanese school history textbooks already threatens
to overshadow the region’s efforts to put itself back on the map as the
guests queue up to organise separate talks on the sidelines. As Powell
makes his first diplomatic foray into Asia, all eyes are likely to focus
on the new US administration’s policy towards North Korea. The US State
Department has said it is "possible" the secretary of state will meet
North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun on the sidelines of the Hanoi
talks in a bid to break a deadlock over President George W. Bush’s terms
for a resumption of dialogue. Bush insists he will only resume talks with
Pyongyang if they are broadened to include the size of the north’s huge
army as well as its missile and nuclear programs, something which the
north’s official media has so far rejected. Strained relations between
South East Asia’s three key Asian partners – Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo –
also threaten to overshadow the talks. FULL
STORY
FOREIGN Minister U Win Aung left Yangon yesterday to attend the Asean Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, which starts today. U Win Aung will chair a sideline but important meeting between Asean and its key dialog partner, Japan, in Hanoi on Thursday and Friday. Details on the agenda for discussions at the Hanoi Asean forum were sketchy last week; a foreign office official in Yangon told Myanmar Times it would be premature to talk specifics. However, U Win Aung is expected to hold separate consultations with his Thai counterpart Surakiart Sathirathai to mark a date for the resumption of Joint Commission meetings between the two countries. The commission is headed by two foreign ministers and it has not been convened since 1999. It is expected that repatriation of displaced people camped in Thailand, border security and the boosting of cross border trade will be tabled at such a time as the commission meets. The Thai capital is expected to host the first meeting, which in the past has been held alternately in Bangkok and Yangon. Coinciding with the one-day Asean meeting the Vietnamese capital will also host a range of meetings between the bloc’s FMs and their counterparts from the nine Asia Pacific countries. EU Representative Chris Patten and Foreign Ministers from South Korea, China, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Russia will be in Hanoi along with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka. Myanmar hosted an informal meeting of Asean Foreign Ministers in May this year. – Thet Khaing