Mainichi Shinbun - Japan's Policy

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This is one of very few articles which have appeared in the Japanese
vernacular press criticizing the policy of the Japanese government.
Mainichi Shinbun is one of the three major daily newspapers in Japan. 

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Mainichi Shinbun, June 12, 1996
Originally in Japanese
(Unofficial translation)

Japanese policy toward Myanmar. 
Reviewing Japan's "Sun policy"

Through the eyes of a journalist
by Shun Ono, Senior Staff Writer

The situation involving Myanmar is moving again. 
SLORC has arrested over 200 elected representatives
belonging to National League for Democracy (NLD), led
by Aung San Suu Kyi.  They have also passed a new law
to prohibit the activities of NLD.  

When Aung San Suu Kyi was released last year, it was
expected that the dialogue between two parties would
begin soon, but that expectation has evaporated, and the
political tension is increasing.   Let me discuss the
Japanese policy toward Myanmar which is supporting the
suppression by the military junta and encouraging
enterprises which want to invest in this country with the
cooperation of the military junta.

There is an expression in Japanese, Burma melomelo. 
This comes from a Burmese fan who is fascinated by the
tender heart of the Burmese people.  After the release of
Aung San Suu Kyi, I visited Yangon twice, and I
developed this Burma melomelo.   Under the eyes of
security police, citizens very kindly helped me understand
the situation.  After I got to know them and began to
understand their life style, it put a great burden on my
shoulders.  

One public official said to me with tears in her eyes, "My
husband was arrested just because he was a member of
NLD.  He has been in prison for over six years.  Recently,
I have not been allowed to see him, and I don't even
know where he is."

One of the farmers living in an area scheduled for an
industrial park said to me with sad eyes, "Most of my
land has been confiscated by the government, and they are
ordering me to pay the expenses for relocation."  

There is forced labour under the name of voluntary labor. 
I also heard about press ganging of porters.  The army
forces people to walk through land - mined areas under
conflict.  I found that there are no human rights in
Myanmar.  Even the right to life is not respected.  

When Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest,
the people of Myanmar  expected that a dialogue would
start between NLD which won a majority of votes in the
election in 1990 and SLORC which is ignoring the result
of this election and continuing to hold onto power. 
SLORC, however, increased repression of NLD because
the party boycotted the national convention which is
controlled by SLORC and has announced that they will
draft their own constitution.  In spite of a ban on  political
meetings, NLD dared to hold its first congress last month.

NLD is opposed to foreign enterprises which have
cooperated with the military junta, but they are frustrated
with this situation.  Foreign investment in Myanmar was
approximately 3.2 million dollars at the end of April.  The
top investor is Singapore, and second is Thailand.  The
companies involved in this investment on the Myanmar
side are run by soldiers or retired soldiers.  Aung San Suu
Kyi claims that the only people who benefit from these
investments are related to the military.  She is saying that
it is not the time to invest.  

The ASEAN countries have their own policy called
"constructive engagement."  This policy is different from
that of the United States and the European Community,
which are calling for sanctions.  The ASEAN countries
are saying they want to encourage a dialogue, but the
reality is that they want to invest in Myanmar which has
abundant resources and manpower.  I would say that their
real intention is just to take advantage of Myanmar. 
ASEAN has decided to grant observer status to Myanmar
and has  invited the regime to the Asian Regional Forum,
which the United States, China, Russia, and Japan will
attend. The Japanese government applauds this decision,
claiming that it has widespread support.  Inviting the
representative of SLORC, however, is recognition of the
authority and legitimacy of the military junta which
continues to ignore the results of the election.  

In talking about the different policies of various nations
toward Myanmar, we can use the analogy of the North
Wind and the Sun.  This comes from the Aesop Fable in
which the North Wind and the Sun have a contest to see
which one can cause a man to remove his coat.  Since the
Japanese government is against economic sanctions, their
policy seems to be like that of the Sun.  Five months after
the coup d'etat, the Japanese government recognized the
regime and resumed part of the Official Development
Assistance (ODA) which had been stopped.  Then the
government resumed the ODA again just before the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi. 

Behind these acts is the attitude of the Japanese economic
community which says, "After Vietnam, there will be
Myanmar."   

I met the manager of a big enterprise in Yangon.  He said
to me, "Full resumption of ODA is important to improve
Japan's economic situation."  This enterprise has applied
to build an industrial park in the suburbs of Yangon.
Another enterprise has already been granted permission
from the authorities to build another industrial park.
These enterprises will be criticized in the future, however,
because they are cooperating with the military junta
which ignores human rights.  

Eleven months after the release of Aung San Suu Kyi
democratization has received a great setback.  Aung San
Suu Kyi maintains that it is not good for the Japanese
government to continue a policy that does not produce
results.  

After the mass arrest of elected representatives, Japanese
Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda asked Myanmar Foreign
Minister U Ohn Gyaw to take moderate measures, but I
think Japan should seriously review its "Sun" policy
toward Myanmar.  The Japanese government should take
measures to start a dialogue between SLORC and the
NLD as the first step toward democratization.  The
government should also take active diplomatic measures
toward ASEAN countries which are preparing for
Myanmar's entry into ASEAN.  The international
community expects this from one of the biggest investors
in Myanmar.  We have a definite responsibility to do this.


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