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BurmaNet News: July 11, 1995 [#198]
- Subject: BurmaNet News: July 11, 1995 [#198]
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 20:31:00
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Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 20:30:45 -0700
The BurmaNet News: July 11, 1995 [#198]
"The rights of 45 million people in the country are more important
than the rights of an individual."
Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, July 8 <See NATION: BURMESE
GENERAL DASHES HOPES OF SUU KYI'S RELEASE
THIS MONTH>
"Like all of us, we are simply waiting to hear it from her own lips. But I
am very hopeful
Michael Aris <See PA NEWS: BRITAIN
WELCOMES RELEASE>
"It's a bit puzzling, too good to be true. I just don't feel this is real.
I'd wait another two or three days before I rejoiced."
A Bangkok-based diplomat <See REUTERS: ASSK FREED>
*********************************
URGENT APPEAL: BurmaNet readers (especially in Europe), please post all
news of local reaction to: reg.burma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
**********************************
BURMANET: SITUATION ON THE MORNING OF THE 11th
AP: DISSIDENT'S RELEASE RAISES HOPES OF DEMOCRACY FOR BURMA
AP: ASIA HAILS FREED AUNG SAN SUU KYI
PA NEWS: BRITAIN WELCOMES RELEASE
WHITE HOUSE: CLINTON WELCOMES RELEASE
AP: ASSK RELEASED
AP: AUSTRAILA WELCOMES RELEASE OF SUU KYI
BURMANET: AUNG SAN SUU KYI HAS BEEN RELEASED
REUTERS: CLINTON HAILS RELEASE
FRDC: AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S RELEASE
ABSDF-MTZ: SITUATION AT DASSK'S HOME IN RANGOON
VOA: ASSK RELEASED
REUTERS: SUU KYI MEETS COLLEAGUES
SCB: AUNG SAN SUU KYI FREE!
NATION: BURMESE GENERAL DASHES HOPES OF SUU KYI'S RELEASE THIS MONTH
NATION: US LAWMAKERS INTENDING TO BAN TRADE TIES WITH BURMA
NATION: MON CEASEFIRE: TOWARDS LASTING PEACE
THE NATION; 20,000 REFUGEES FLEE
THE NATION: BORDER VILLAGERS THREATENED BY SPREAD OF DISEASE
BURMANET: SITUATION ON THE MORNING OF THE 11th
July 11, 1995
At long last, he SLORC has restored a bit of law and order to Rangoon by
releasing Aung San Suu Kyi a day before her legal detention order would
expire. She is scheduled to make a statement today in Rangoon at 1:00pm
local time. Crowds of several hundre d gathered outside her compound last
night and larger crowds are expected today. According to a journalist on
the scene, the people in Rangoon are simply stunned at the turn of events.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was technically the number three ranking member of
the National League for Democracy, has after six years, met with the other
leaders of the party. U Tin Oo and U Kyi Maung, who were number one and
two respectively in the party, wen t to the compound last night to see
her. With them was U Aung Shwe, who is now officially the number one in
the party. U Aung Shwe was forced by the SLORC to eject DASSK, U Tin Oo
and U Kyi Maung from the party.
The first person to get official word of the release was U Sein Win, the
Associated Press correspondent in Rangoon. A DDSI official close to Kyaw
Win, the Deputy Commander of the secret police, phoned him with the news.
U Sein Win filed the story and wo rd raced through Rangoon within minutes.
According to one usually well informed source, the final decision by the
SLORC to release her was taken last Wednesday. Some journalists were
tipped in advance to be there for an important event that would happen by
the 11th. A few diplomats also had wi nd that something was up.
The SLORC does not seem to be doing this out of weakness or as an attempt
to ward of sanctions from the U.S. The mood of the SLORC officials who
put out the news appeared confident, even excited. TV Myanmar and Radio
Rangoon carried no news of the rele ase. Instead, they featured a speech
by Than Shwe and the visit of the Chinese Defense minister.
According to U Tin Oo, she has been released unconditionally. He went on
to say that she was free to do what she wants as long as she doesn't break
any laws. One Burmese expatriate noted however that "she has been
released into a police state." It is w orth remembering that so many
things are illegal in Burma that it is difficult to breathe without
breaking a law. News of her release has also brought worries about her
safety. "Anything could happen to her now" said one resident of Rangoon.
Her release, assuming it's real, is far from the end of Burma's misery.
The hardline position of the SLORC on all other issues is unchanged.
BurmaNet is beginning to pick up reports from the Mergui-Tavoy area that
beginning within the last week, more vi llages near the Total/Unocal
pipeline are being forcibly relocated. There are as yet unconfirmed
reports of fatalities involved with the relocations. Details are as yet
sketchy as the SLORC is attacking the KNU headquarters in the area. More
informatio n will be posted as it becomes available.
AP: DISSIDENT'S RELEASE RAISES HOPES OF DEMOCRACY FOR BURMA
SECOND DAYLEAD
By Aye Aye Win of The Associated Press
RANGOON, July 10 AP _ The champion of Burma's democracy
movement, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, ended almost six years of house
arrest today, raising hopes that the military junta might be easing its
lock on power.
Several hundred colleagues, supporters and journalists gathered
in a light rain outside Suu Kyi's lakeside home in Rangoon as the
unofficial news of her release spread.
"What more can I say? I am very happy. The country is happy,"
said General Tin Oo, former defence minister and one-time chairman of Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy.
Other party leaders entered the compound, but Suu Kyi said
through a security guard that she did not immediately want to talk to the
media.
Suu Kyi, 50, would have completed her sentence July 19. She was
placed under house arrest in 1989 for leading a pro-democracy uprising
that the military brutally repressed.
Authorities had hinted recently that they might extend her
sentence, and her release came as a surprise. An official source told The
Associated Press of the release this afternoon, and the Burmese Embassy in
Bangkok, Thailand, confirmed the release.
"The order to restrict Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi to her compound has been
revoked as of today," said a statement dated today.
Suu Kyi's husband, Michael Aris, said in Oxford, England, that
he was still awaiting confirmation of her release, and declined further
comment. A professor at Oxford, he lives with the couple's sons, Alexander
and Kim.
The news of the release was greeted by dissidents, human rights
activists and foreign leaders as a sign that the military leadership of
Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, might be moving towards democracy.
"If her release enables her to participate freely in a genuine
process of political reconciliation leading to the installation of a
democratically elected government, today's development would mark a major
milestone towards the restoration of peace and stability in Burma," said a
statement by White House spokesman Mike McCurry.
He cautioned, however, that many more dissidents remained
jailed and there remained "a number of serious and unresolved human rights
problems in Burma."
Amnesty International, in a statement from its London
headquarters, said Suu Kyi's freedom "marks the beginning of a new policy
to fundamentally improve Myanmar's human rights record."
"We hope that her release heralds an era of national
reconciliation, freedom and democracy for the people of Myanmar," the
Indian foreign office said in a statement.
The military seized power in Burma in 1988 after killing
hundreds of people to quell a pro-democracy uprising led by Suu Kyi. She
was arrested the next year for allegedly inciting unrest.
The National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in
1990 general elections, but the military refused to honour the results,
and has suppressed virtually all dissent.
Suu Kyi had advocated non-violent resistance invoking the name
of India's Mahatama Gandhi and that of her father, Burmese independence
leader Aung San. In 1991, she won the Nobel Peace Prize.
During her detention, she refused offers of freedom in exchange
for exile and remained steadfastly committed to democracy. She also
remained the symbol of the pro-democracy movement, referred to in
reverential whispers as "the Lady."
"This news gives more hope for us in fighting for more
democracy," said So Aung, a spokesman for the All Burma Students'
Democratic Front, a group of exiles in Thailand. "When she comes out, she
can do many things for people."
The military government seemed likely to reap international
political benefits from her release, which was already reflected
today in statements from across the world.
The French Foreign Ministry said the release "allows the chance
to resume dialogue with Burma," and "augurs favourably of the will
of Burmese authorities to put the country on the road to
democratisation."
Japan, a major investor, called the release "an important
advance for Myanmar's democratisation and improvement of human
rights conditions."
The Burmese government has said it would yield power to a
civilian government after the drafting of a new constitution, but
it has given no timetable.
Even so, it has freed hundreds of political prisoners in recent
years. Many more remain jailed.
AP mkg
REUTERS: ASSK FREED
July 10
RANGOON, Burma (Reuter) - Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
was freed unexpectedly Monday after nearly six years under house arrest
and immediately began talks with fellow democracy campaigners.
The slight but steely rights campaigner, awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1 991, was detained for her outspoken attacks on the military,
which killed and imprisoned thousands while supressing pro-democracy
uprisings in 1988.
U.S. Rep. Bill Richardson, the first foreigner to visit Aung San Suu
Kyi wh ile she was in detention, said he was "enormously pleased and
surprised" by her release and exp ected her to resume the leadership of
the pro-democracy movement.
But a diplomat monitoring developments in Burma from his post in
Bangkok, Thailand, said: "It's a bit puzzling, too good to be true. I just
don't feel this is real.
I'd wait another two or three days before I rejoiced."
He said the military leaders felt "very confident partly because of
the lev els of foreign investment in Burma. That's not to say they
understand how the international eco nomy works, but the pledges of
investment make them feel they've been accepted."
Witnesses standing outside Aung San Suu Kyi's home said she was
meeting Tin
Oo and Kyi Maung, two recently released senior members of the National
League for Democracy party she helped found in 1988.
Small groups of people gathered in the rain outside her Rangoon house
after
the news of her release spread, witnesses said. The gates to her compound
were closed, but m any cars were parked outside the house.
Official Burmese media made no mention of her release in early
evening news broadcasts, but a military spokesman told reporters the
50-year-old Nobel laurea te was freed in the late afternoon.
Aung San Suu Kyi neither appeared in public nor made any official
announcem ents, but a military official said she would be holding a news
conference Tuesday.
A statement from the Japanese Foreign Ministry, issued in Tokyo, said
Aung San Suu Kyi was freed unconditionally and was still being guarded at
her request.
She was placed under house arrest July 20, 1989 for "endangering the
state. " She was never charged or tried.
Last Friday, Burma's most powerful general, Khin Nyunt, hinted that
she wou ld not be released any time soon, telling a Rangoon meeting the
rights of Burma's 45 milli on people had to come before the rights of "any
single person."
Aung San Suu Kyi had two highly publicized meetings with top
officials from
the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) last year, but
diplomats speculated they failed because the SLORC wanted to put
conditions on her release.
She later said she would not make any secret deals in exchange for
her free dom. "I am enormously pleased and surprised by her release. When
I went to Burma
two weeks ago every expectation was that she would be detained
indefinitely," Richardson, a New Mexico Democrat, told Reuters in
Washington.
Richardson, who visited Aung San Suu Kyi in February last year but
was deni ed access last month, said the move was a step in the right
direction he hoped would lead to more democracy.
"I think the significance is that Aung San Suu Kyi can now take her
rightfu l role as the leader of the pro-democracy movement in Burma, since
she was released unconditionally," he said.
Richard Bunting of the London-based Amnesty International human rights
group
told BBC radio: "We are extremely delighted, over the moon that after
this very long time
she is finally free."
Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, who inspired a "people
power" ca mpaign to topple autocrat Ferdinand Marcos, said "I am truly
happy for her and her people and I am glad that her years of suffering
have finally come to an end.
"Hopefully, she will be able to work with her people in bringing
about the freedoms that she has been fighting for."
Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said his government welcomed the
relea se "as important progress toward the democratization of Burma and
the improvement of it s human rights situation.
"We expect the Burmese government to take still more positive steps
toward improving human rights and realizing democracy."
REUTER
PA NEWS: BRITAIN WELCOMES RELEASE
10 July
By Charles Miller, Diplomatic Correspondent, PA News
Britain said tonight it was delighted at the release from house arrest
of Bur mese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- just days before she
would have completed six years in detention.
The restriction order on Nobel Prize winner Mrs Suu Kyi, who is married
to Br itish academic Dr Michael Aris, was unconditionally lifted,
according to official sources.
Foreign Office minister Jeremy Hanley said: "We are delighted to hear
that Au ng San Suu Kyi has today been released from house arrest. "We
hope that no conditions hav e been attached to her release".
She was expected to hold a press conference tomorrow, Mr Hanley added.
Colonel Kyaw Win, Burma's deputy intelligence chief, went to Mrs Suu
Kyi's la keside residence to inform her of the government's decision. "At
her request, guards ar e still kept at her house but she is an ordinary
citizen," said a Burmese official, who asked no t to be named.
The decision to lift the restriction order will allow the mother-of-two
to go
anywhere and meet anyone just like an ordinary citizen, as long as she
does not violate any laws, officials said. Western governments including
Britain have continually demanded the release o f Mrs Suu Kyi, 50, who was
the leader of the National League For Democracy which won a landslide
victory in Burma's 1990 general elections -- a result the military junta
refused
to accept.
She decided to challenge the military after soldiers killed hundreds of
people as they quelled a mass uprising against autocratic rule.
The junta placed her under house arrest in July 1989, allegedly for
inciting unrest. No outsiders, apart from her immediate family, were
allowed to visit.
The Burmese government has adopted a less autocratic style in recent
years an d made strenuous efforts to break its international isolation.
However, Mrs Suu Kyi's release came as a major surprise to foreign
analysts worldwide. The military junta has successfully suppressed
virtually all open dissent in recent years. Yet Mrs Suu Kyi, who won the
1991 Nobel Peace prize, has remained the powerful s ymbol of the
pro-democracy movement.
She has steadfastly maintained that she will never give up the struggle
for d emocracy in Burma, where she is always referred to as "the lady".
Her husband Dr Aris is an expert in Tibetan studies at Oxford
University. The
couple have two sons -- Alexander, 22, and Kim, 17.
A spokesman for St Antony's College, Oxford, where Dr Aris is a Fellow,
said attempts were being made to contact him.
Amnesty International said it was "delighted" to hear reports that
restrictio ns had been lifted after six years of worldwide campaigning.
"We hope that no conditions are placed on her freedom and that she is
allowed
to participate fully in her country's political process," said the
organisation.
It hoped the release marked the start of a new policy to improve
Burma's huma n rights record.
Amnesty said it was renewing its call for the 40 other prisoners of
conscienc e still imprisoned to be released. "The organisation is also
concerned about 20 member s of parliament-elect who, instead of taking
office after the 1990 elections, were th rown into jail," it added.
At his Oxford home this afternoon, Dr Aris was still waiting for
official con firmation of his wife's release. He has always refused to
discuss her plight for fear of jeopardising her chances of release. Dr
Aris, 49, briefly emerged from his home in Park Town, Oxford, to say: "I
am still waiting for confirmation. "I am try ing to get that confirmation
from various sources. Whether or not I receive confirmation I know that it
is my wife's wish that I do not give any comments in public."
Later, Dr Aris said he was "very hopeful" about his wife's release.
Speaking from outside his home he said: "Like all of us, we are simply
waiting
to hear it from her own lips. But I am very hopeful."
AP: ASIA HAILS FREED AUNG SAN SUU KYI
July 10
BURMA AUNG ASIA (HONG KONG)
Asian countries have warmly welcomed the release of Burmese
opposition leader AUNG SAN SUU KYI after nearly six years under
house arrest.
Japanese Foreign Minister YOHEI KONO says the move is a major
step forward in the democratisation of Burma and in improving its
record on human rights.
The Indonesian foreign ministry has hailed the release of the
Nobel peace prize laureate as good news which can only improve
relations between the countries.
A Burmese military spokesperson in Rangoon, Colonel KYAW WIN,
earlier said the ruling military junta had freed the 50-year-old
pro-democracy campaigner from house arrest.
Amnesty International says its pleased with the decision and
hopes no restrictions are placed on SUU KYI's freedom.
AFP RTV mkg/jv
WHITE HOUSE: CLINTON WELCOMES RELEASE
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Nashville, Tennessee)
_______________________________________________________
For Immediate Release July 10, 1995
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
President Clinton welcomes the announcement
earlier today by the Burmese authorities that Aung San
Suu Kyi has been unconditionally released after almost
six years of house arrest. The President, who has
repeatedly called for the Nobel Prize winner's freedom
since the beginning of his Administration, expressed
gratification that the efforts of the international
community had finally secured her release. If her
release enables her to participate freely in a genuine
process of political reconciliation leading to the
installation of a democratically-elected government,
today's development would mark a major milestone
towards the restoration of peace and stability in
Burma.
Even while welcoming her release, President
Clinton expressed concern about a number of serious and
unresolved human rights problems in Burma, including
the continued detention of other political opponents,
the failure to permit the International Red Cross to
visit prisoners and the ongoing military campaigns
against a number of ethnic groups.
AP: AUSTRAILA WELCOMES RELEASE OF SUU KYI
AP: AUSTRAILA WELCOMES RELEASE OF SUU KYI
10 July
BURMA AUNG AUST (CANBERRA)
The Australian government has welcomed reports that Burmese
dissident leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner AUNG SAN SUU KYI has
finally been freed from house arrest.
While still awaiting official confirmation of Mrs SUU KYI's
release, Acting Foreign Minister BOB MCMULLAN says he welcomes the
decision by the Burmese military regime.
Australia has repeatedly raised concerns with Burma over human
rights violations and Mrs SUU KYI's continued house arrest.
Women members of federal parliament last November signed a
letter urging the Burmese government to release Mrs SUU KYI.
A motion passed by the Senate condemning the Burmese government
also noted that Mrs SUU KYI had won a landslide victory as leader
of the National League for Democracy at the 1990 election, despite
being unable to campaign, and was the nation's rightful leader.
AAP RTV sc/jp
AP: ASSK RELEASED
By AYE AYE WIN
Associated Press Writer
RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- The champion of Burma's democracy movement,
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was freed from her almost six-year-long
house arrest Monday, awakening hopes that the military junta might be
easing its lock on power.
Several hundred colleagues, supporters and journalists gathered in a
light ra in outside Mrs. Suu Kyi's lakeside home in Rangoon as the
unofficial news of her new freedom spr ead. She said through a security
guard that she did not immediately want to talk to the media.
The release was greeted by dissidents, human rights activists and
foreign lea ders as a sign that the military leadership of Burma, which is
also known as Myanmar, migh t be moving toward democracy.
President Clinton welcomed the news in a statement Monday.
"If her release enables her to participate freely in a genuine process
of pol itical reconciliation leading to the installation of a
democratically elected government, today's development would mark a major
milestone towards the restoration of peace and st ability in Burma," he
said.
But Clinton expressed concern about "serious and unresolved human
rights prob lems in Burma," including the continued detention of other
political opponents, the fail ure to permit the International Red Cross to
visit prisoners and the "ongoing military campaigns a gainst a number of
ethnic groups."
Mrs. Suu Kyi's supporters and associates in Rangoon were ecstatic.
"What more can I say? I am very happy. The country is happy," said Gen.
Tin O o, former defense minister and one-time chairman of Mrs. Suu Kyi's
National League for Dem ocracy. Mrs. Suu Kyi, 50, would have completed her
sentence July 19. She was placed under house arrest in 1989 for leading a
pro-democracy uprising that the military brutally r epressed.
Authorities had hinted recently that they might extend her sentence,
and her release came as a surprise. An official source told The Associated
Press of the release Monday afternoon, and the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok,
Thailand, confirmed the release early Tuesday.
"The order to restrict Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi to her compound has been
revoked
as of today," said a statement dated Monday.
Mrs. Suu Kyi's husband, Michael Aris, said in Oxford, England that he
was sti ll awaiting confirmation of her release, and declined further
comment. A professor at Oxford, he lives with the couple's sons, Alexander
and Kim.
Amnesty International, in a statement from its London headquarters,
said it h oped Mrs. Suu Kyi's freedom "marks the beginning of a new policy
to fundamentally improve Myan mar's human rights record."
The military seized power in Burma in 1988 after killing hundreds of
people t o quell a pro-democracy uprising led by Mrs. Suu Kyi. She was
arrested the next year for a llegedly inciting unrest.
The National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in 1990
general ele ctions, but the military refused to honor the results, and has
suppressed virtually all diss ent.
Mrs. Suu Kyi had advocated non-violent resistance invoking the name of
India' s Mohandas Gandhi and that of her father, Burmese independence
leader Aung San. In 1991, sh e won the Nobel Peace Prize.
During her detention, she refused offers of freedom in exchange for
exile and
remained steadfastly committed to democracy. She also remained the symbol
of the pro-demo cracy movement, referred to in reverential whispers as
"the Lady."
"This news gives more hope for us in fighting for more democracy," said
So Au ng, a spokesman for the All Burma Students' Democratic Front, a
group of exiles in Tha iland. "When she comes out, she can do many things
for people."
The military government seemed likely to reap international political
benefit s from her release, already reflected Monday in statements from
across the world.
The French Foreign Ministry said the release "allows the chance to
resume dia logue with Burma." Japan, a major investor, called the release
"an important advance for My anmar's democratization and improvement of
human rights conditions."
The Burmese government has said it would yield power to a civilian
government
after the drafting of a new constitution, but it has given no timetable.
Even so, it has freed hundreds of political prisoners in recent years. Many m
ore remain jailed.
ASIA: AMNESTY DELIGHTED AT BURMESE DISSIDENT'S RELEASE
BURMA AUNG AMNESTY
LONDON, July 10 Reuter - Amnesty International said it was delighted by
the release of Burmese dissident leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi and hoped the
move heralded greater respect for human rights in Burma.
"We are extremely delighted, over the moon that after this very
long time she is finally free," Amnesty spokesman Richard Bunting told BBC
radio.
The London-based human rights group has campaigned on behalf of
Suu Kyi ever since she was detained in 1989, under an anti-subversion law.
Bunting said Amnesty was also wary of the release decision.
"We are injecting a note of caution ... because we hope that no
conditions are placed on her freedom and that she is allowed to
participate fully in her country's political process."
"I think we would also remind people that wide-ranging human
rights violations are still taking place in the country.
"We hope this is more than just a token move by the authorities,
BURMANET: AUNG SAN SUU KYI HAS BEEN RELEASED
July 10, 1995
Bangkok
Aung San Suu Kyi has been release. According to diplomats in Rangoon,
she was released as f 4:400pm, Rangoon time.
Crowds of supporters are gathering around her house. The gate of the
compound is open and about ten camaramen and TV crews are inside.
Rumors of the rlease have been circulating for a couple of hours but
confirmation is just now coming in. The first report apears to have
come from the Japanese Embassy. Reuters is also reporting that Kyaw
Win, the Deputy Head of Burma's secret police went to the compound on
University Avenue to tell her that she was rleased, but reportedly she
requsted that the troops remain at the compund.
What the SLORC's motive is in releasing her is as yet, unknown. Among
the possible reasons are the impending introduction of sanctions by the
United States government. Sen. Mitch McConnell is set to introduce a
bill in the Senate as early as tomorrow that would cut off all trade
with Burma. Rep. Bill Richardson is exptected to introduce similar
legislatoin in the House
Another possibilty is that the Japanese were the prime movers in
securing the release. Perhas most likely of all is that whatever the
SLORC is doing has more to do with internal politics than external pressure.
REUTERS: CLINTON HAILS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuter) - President Bill Clinton on Monday
welcomed the release of Burmese Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
after almost six years under house arrest.
The White House said in a statement that Clinton was gratified by the
relea se and hoped she would be able to participate freely in political
reconciliation in Burma lea ding to the installation of a
democratically-elected government.
But it said that "even while welcoming her release, President Clinton
expre ssed concern about a number of serious and unresolved human rights
problems in Burma."
It cited the continued detention of other political prisoners, the
failure to allow the International Red Cross to visit prisoners and
continuing military campaigns aga inst ethnic minorities.
The State Department said it hoped Aung San Suu Kyi's release
signalled "th e Burmese government's commitment to free all political
prisoners and engage in a genuine political dialogue with all political
forces in Burma."
Before improving ties with Rangoon, Washington wanted to be sure
there was "a genuine effort to try to improve the political situation in
Burma, and to permit a much greater measure of political expression,"
spokesman Nicholas Burns said.
"We're just not quite sure of any strings that might be attached to
this pa rticular release or if in fact there are some conditions that may
been applied to her actions after hav ing been released," Burns told a
news briefing.
"I think it's important we hear from her and we satisfy ourselves
through o ur embassy in Rangoon to the specifics of this particular case."
A U.S. congressman who was the first foreigner to visit Aung San Suu
Kyi du ring her detention said on Monday he was surprised and pleased by
her release.
"I am enormously pleased and surprised by her release. When I went to
Burma
two weeks ago every expectation was that she would be detained
indefinitely," New Mexico D emocrat Bill Richardson told Reuters.
Richardson, who visited Aung San Suu Kyi in February last year but
was deni ed access last month, said the move was a step in the right
direction and deserved credit.
He said he hoped it would lead to more steps towards democracy in Burma.
"I think the significance is that Aung San Suu Kyi can now take her
rightfu l role as the leader of the pro-democracy movement in Burma since
she was released unconditionally," he said.
In the Senate, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also welcomed
her rel ease but said it would not alter his plans to offer sanctions
legislation on Tuesday.
"In my view, it is more important than ever to keep the pressure on
the SLO RC regime to fully implement the 1990 election results," McConnell
said in a statement, refer ring to Burma's ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC).
The 1990 elections were won by the main opposition party but the
military r ulers refused to hand over power.
Richardson said the United States in future should seek to engage
rather th an isolate Burma, but Rangoon must take steps including allowing
International Red Cross pr ison visits and releasing thousands of other
political prisoners.
"This is a welcome first step," he said.
REUTER
FRDC: AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S RELEASE
frdc reg.burma 7:27 AM Jul 10, 1995
Dear Friends of Burma:
I have just heard the news that Aung San Suu Kyi has been released.
The full details are not yet clear. However, it appears that she may
have been released unconditionally.
Here are a few thoughts:
I think we should approach this news with hope and caution. It is a
development we all hoped for. However, we do not yet know what
conditions the SLORC will place on her. The SLORC's track record on
human rights and the restoration of democracy requires us to treat
their actions and statements with a certain degree of skepticism.
Aung San Suu Kyi's release does not mean the end of the campaign for
economic sanctions on Burma. We do not yet know what Aung San Suu
Kyi's position will be on sanctions now that she is released. We
should remember that Nelson Mandela did not call for the lifting opf
sanctions on South Africa until he had reached a political settlement
with the National Party, a couple of years after his release.
The SLORC has blinked. With US Congressional support for economic
sanctions building daily, the SLORC appears to have made an important
concession. But more concessions and the restoration of democracy in
Burma will take more, sustained pressure. Let us continue to press
for economic sanctions, selective purchasing legislation and boycotts
of companies doing business in Burma until Burma is free.
Simon Billenness
Franklin Research & Development
(617) 423 6655 x225
(617) 482 6179 fax
ABSDF-MTZ: SITUATION AT DASSK'S HOME IN RANGOON
Situation at DASSK's home in Rangoo
lurie reg.burma 8:57 AM Jul 10, 1995
(at mozart.inet.co.th)
Subject: Situation at DASSK's home in Rangoon
Hi Friends,
A lot of our friend are calling us from inside Burma and holding
the parties as they are very happy for her release.
It is a victory of Aung San Suu Kyi who sacrificed for the causes
of Burmese people and democracy, and refused to leave Burma as a
Slorc's previous condition for releasing her.
According to the updates information coming from inside Burma,
She is now at a meeting with U Tin Oo and U Kyi Maung. They are
drafting a press-statement which will be issue tomorrow morning.
We welcome it, but we have to be very careful about it as the
Slorc may trick to escape from the prayer ceremony and peaceful
demonstration inside Burma tomorrow, as this news was not yet
announced by the Slorc's news media.
ABSDF
VOA: ASSK RELEASED
DATE=7/10/95
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-181596
TITLE=BURMA / SUU KYI (L)
BYLINE=DAN ROBINSON
DATELINE=BANGKOK
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: BURMA'S MILITARY GOVERNMENT HAS FREED AUNG SAN SUU KYI,
AFTER NEARLY SIX YEARS OF HOUSE ARREST. SHE IS A SYMBOL OF
DEMOCRACY FIGURE AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE. V-O-A'S DAN
ROBINSON REPORTS FROM OUR SOUTHEAST ASIA BUREAU THE RELEASE CAME
AS A SURPRISE AFTER RECENT STATEMENTS FROM RANGOON INDICATING
THAT RESTRICTIONS AGAINST AUNG SAN SUU KYI -- BEGUN IN 1989 --
WOULD BE EXTENDED:
TEXT: A SENIOR OFFICIAL OF BURMA'S INTELLIGENCE SERVICES IS SAID
TO HAVE GONE TO AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S RESIDENCE ON UNIVERSITY AVENUE
IN RANGOON AT ABOUT 4 P-M MONDAY TO GIVE HER THE NEWS.
REACHED BY TELEPHONE, A MILITARY GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL TOLD V-O-A,
IN HIS WORDS -- THE NEWS IS CORRECT -- BUT DECLINED TO GIVE
FURTHER DETAILS.
A JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT QUOTED BURMESE OFFICIALS AS
SAYING THE RELEASE WAS UNCONDITIONAL. HOWEVER, MILITARY
OFFICIALS ARE QUOTED AS SAYING AUNG SAN SUU KYI ASKED THAT GUARDS
REMAIN POSTED AT HER HOUSE FOR THE TIME BEING.
RANGOON-BASED DIPLOMATS ARE, FOR THE MOST PART, SURPRISED AT THE
ANNOUNCEMENT. ONLY A FEW DAYS AGO, A SENIOR JUNTA OFFICIAL
(LIEUTENANT GENERAL KHIN NYUNT) MADE STATEMENTS SEEN AS AN
INDICATION THAT THE RESTRICTION ORDER AGAINST THE DEMOCRACY
LEADER WOULD BE EXTENDED AGAIN.
HOWEVER, ONE RANGOON SOURCE TOLD V-O-A LATE MONDAY THERE WERE
INDICATIONS IN RECENT DAYS THAT SOMETHING MIGHT HAPPEN ON JULY
11TH.
// OPT // AUNG SAN SUU KYI WAS PLACED UNDER HOUSE ARREST ON JULY
20, 1989. HOWEVER, UNDER BURMESE LAW JULY 11TH WAS CONSIDERED
THE DAY ON WHICH THE EXTENSION ORDER WOULD HAVE TO HAVE BEEN
RENEWED. // END OPT //
THE REASONS BEHIND THE DECISION TO FREE THE DEMOCRACY FIGURE
REMAIN UNCLEAR. MOST OBSERVERS THOUGHT THE JUNTA WAS DETERMINED,
AT MINIMUM, TO COMPLETE A TIGHTLY CONTROLLED CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION BEFORE MAKING ANY MOVE.
SENIOR OFFICIALS ALSO MADE CLEAR ANY DECISION DEPENDED ON HIGH
CONFIDENCE THAT A RELEASE WOULD NOT LEAD TO RENEWED PUBLIC
UNREST.
BEFORE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RELEASE, ANALYSTS WERE DEBATING
HOW MUCH THE RANGOON JUNTA REALLY CARED ABOUT EXTERNAL CRITICISM
AND PRESSURE.
HOWEVER, BURMA IS DUE TO ATTEND IMPORTANT SOUTHEAST ASIAN
REGIONAL MEETINGS IN JULY AND DECEMBER. OBSERVERS SAY THE
DECISION TO FREE AUNG SAN SUU KYI IS LIKELY TO YIELD HUGE
DIVIDENDS FOR THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT'S EFFORT TO END ITS
ISOLATION.
ALSO, SOME MEMBERS OF THE REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED U-S CONGRESS --
ANGERED BY WHAT THEY CALL RANGOON'S POLITICAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS
REPRESSION -- ARE PUSHING PROPOSED LEGISLATION CALLING FOR TRADE
AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST RANGOON. HOW MUCH FREEDOM AUNG
SAN SUU KYI WILL ACTUALLY HAVE REMAINS TO BE SEEN. DISSIDENTS
RELEASED FROM PRISON ARE ROUTINELY WARNED NOT TO ENGAGE IN
POLITICS AND NOT TO VIOLATE MILITARY LAWS.
MONDAY NIGHT AUNG SAN SUU KYI -- NOW 50 YEARS OLD -- REMAINED
INSIDE HER HOME IN RANGOON -- OFFICIALLY FREE BUT PROBABLY
CONSIDERING CAREFULLY WHAT STEPS TO TAKE NEXT. (SIGNED)
NEB/DR/CF
10-Jul-95 10:40 AM EDT (1440 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America