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"Someday democacy will prevail in B



Subject: "Someday democacy will prevail in Burma...." AEN

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ASAHI EVENING NEWS 
OPINION
Friday April 12 1996

POINT OF VIEW/ Hiroyuki Yamamoto

DIALOGUE COULD NUDGE BURMA TOWARDS
DEMOCRACY

Asahi Shimbun

During my two - year stint as a member of Asahi Shimbun's
Asian General Bureau in Bangkok, I visited Burma almost
every month to meet people there. Back here in Japan, I
still think of those who had the courage to criticize the
military regime. My heart broke when I heard them recount
their hardships.

There is no freedom of speech in Burma, so it is not easy
for people to talk to foreign reporters. But some of those I
met did speak out, brushing aside fears they might be
arrested.

Terror is etched in the minds of Burma's people. Many
have been arrested and tortured since the pro - democracy
movement picked up momentum in 1988.

"Prisoners were packed like sardines in a single ward and
slept side - by - side like logs," said a former political
prisoner, his eyes flashing with rage. "The whole room
smelled awful because of the toilet in a corner and the body
odor. Some prisoners did hard labor at quarries."

But when he finished speaking, he said, 'Please don't
mention my name." I heard that same request for
anonymity many times.

The crackdown on dissidents continues still.

"Officials show up at midnight or at dawn to arrest
suspects," said a member of the pro - democracy camp,
who himself has been arrested before. "I can't sleep well
because I'm afraid they might get me again."

Countless other people continue to live in the shadows of
fear and anxiety. They all have a strong desire to live
peacefully with their families and to speak without fear -- a
desire that only democracy can deliver.

But with the country mired in a standoff between the ruling
junta and the democratic forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi,
democracy and peaceful life in Burma still seem a long
way off.

Leaders of the pro - democracy movement often asked me,
"Do you have any good news from Japan?" Japan was the
largest aid donor to Burma before the full - scale
democracy movement got underway.

That question, of course reflects an expectation that Japan
will help promote democratization in Burma. But it also
mirrors fears that Japan's economic power might again
prop up the military regime.

In fact, the junta stands firm, in part because investment
from foreign firms, including those in America and Europe,
is increasing.

Investment from Japan is also rising, with one company
pushing a project to build an industrial park.

Conventional wisdom says economic development creates
a middle class and leads eventually to democratization.
Under Burma's authoritarian regime, however, it is
doubtful whether the fruits of development can be
distributed sufficiently to the people to develop the middle
class.  Chances are that the economic benefits will be
concentrated in the hands of the privileged few.

Burmese flush with money show up at pricey discos in cars
and pay the equivalent of 800 yen per head for admission.

By contrast, young women working at road construction
sites in the suburbs of Rangoon make only about 40 yen a
day. I once visited one of these sites, where a 16 - year - old
girl laboring under the scorching sun still smiled and told
me, "The work here isn't harder than I can bear."

"In order to achieve both political stability and broad -
based economic development, the military and the
democratic forces must cooperate," says Yozo Yokota, a
Tokyo University professor who has compiled fact -
finding reports on Burma for the U.N. Commission on
Human Rights.

Pro - democracy activists say much the same thing.  The
ruling junta should hold dialogues with Suu Kyi and other
opposition leaders and listen to what they have to say. 

Burma, which was once colonized by Britain and occupied
by Japanese troops, has a historical aversion to foreign
involvement in its internal affairs. The present regime is no
exception.

Diplomats in Rangoon say that pressing the junta toward
democracy at this stage could be counterproductive. But
just watching on the sidelines means tolerating the way the
generals are running the country.

What is needed is for foreign countries, including Japan, to
conduct broad dialogues and exchanges with both the junta
and the democratic forces. In the process, the military
leadership can be induced to start moving toward
democratization.

Someday democracy will prevail in Burma, with its people
beginning to talk freely. And then the Burmese people will
evaluate the role that Japan and other countries played in
Burma's democratic process.

The writer is an Asahi Shimbun staff writer who served
formerly as correspondent in Bangkok. 



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