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http://www.smn.co.jp/opinions/0092o01e.html
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Burmese junta has no right to rule the country
Sugawara Shu, Journalist
Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democracy leader, has since her release from
house arrest last July found the fax machine and telephone indispensable
tools for continuing her appeals to the international community in the
face of restrictions the government has imposed on her access to foreign
journalists.
Mysterious death of Mr. Nicoles
Amidst such supervision of foreign correspondents and wire-tapping by
the authorities, Leo Nicoles, a 65-year old British Burmese, was the
liaison between Suu Kyi and the outside world until his death in June.
Nicoles was an honorary consul for Norway and had for some time acted as
consul on behalf of the governments of Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and
Switzerland. The whole of Norway has supported democratization of Burma
while Sweden and Denmark have also been active in support of such
movements. Despite a repeated call from his family living in Australia
to settle in that country, he stayed on, believing his own presence in
Burma was necessary for supporting democratization. His cooperation was
quite important for those Nordic countries' understanding of Burma's
domestic situation because nearly all the information supplied by the
ruling junta is misinformation. It was through Nicoles that a series of
articles written by Suu Kyi, "A Letter from Burma," were sent to Japan's
Mainichi newspaper.
The junta, in an attempt to sever the relationship between the two,
arrested Nicoles last April on account of "using a fax without
permission from the authorities," and sentenced him to a three-year
prison term.
On June 20, he collapsed while incarcerated in Rangoon's Insane Prison
and it wasn't until 10 the following morning before he was transferred
to Rangoon General Hospital, where he died an hour later. His body was
cremated on the following day and buried in Soubagee Cemetery near the
Prison. None of his family nor friends were allowed to attend the
funeral witnessed by forty junta-related personnel.
According to the official announcement, an autopsy found him to have had
apoplexy, and despite appropriate treatment, he passed away. It is well
known that Burmese people keep one's remains for three days before
cremation as a courtesy to the deceased. The junta, however, buried his
remains in secret. It is therefore impossible for the international
community to buy the official account.
Norway and Sweden quickly dispatched a special envoy to investigate the
matter. Though the result of the investigation has not been released,
the government of Denmark has expressed its intention to deal with the
issue in a resolute fashion, and announced that on July 15 it would call
upon the entire European Union to impose economic sanctions against
Burma.
"Sun, not the north wind" policy: Is it appropriate?
In Japan, nothing has been reported on human rights abuses by the junta
against the Burmese people and ethnic minorities. A simplistic view
prevails here that it is just two forces, the junta and the democratic
camp led by Suu Kyi, that are against each other. If such a view
prevails, the question of democracy comes down to Burmese themselves,
and international support for Suu Kyi becomes an intervention in Burma's
domestic affairs. However, such a view does not prevail in any of the
leading democracies except for Japan.
Backed by its overwhelming military power, the junta has committed a
number of heinous crimes that include murder, forced labor, torture,
forceful arrest, rape, forced emigration, violation of its own rules,
and the use of germ and chemical weapons against ethnic minorities. The
details of these crimes have been reported in Western countries and
neighboring Thailand. Despite that, it is the junta that holds
representation at the United Nations as the one that governs the nation.
A source of headache for other nations
The junta arrested 300 officially-elected members of the parliament last
May, and forced the death of Nicoles. Western countries will stop
recognizing this military government as legitimate as early as mid-July.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds onto the view that the junta
will achieve democratization after establishing stability in the
nation's economy. But is it realistic?
In accordance with the Ministry's "sun, not the north wind" policy
toward Burma, Japan's main industrial organization, Keidanren, has been
sending economic missions to Rangoon since 1995 to upgrade the nation's
infrastructure. Moreover, a Japanese company has built a hotel in time
for Burma's tourism year starting in October. Behind these moves lies a
lack of recognition that the junta is violating human rights. Japanese
companies have not realized the danger, when they exchange letters with
the junta, of dealing with criminals. How could they not know? A simple
investigation would suffice. I wonder if they are obsessed with
immediate gains.
A half-hearted attitude of "not hating people" may come from the lack of
consideration for the suffering people of Burma. If they do not withdraw
from Burma while knowing about Nicoles' death, they have no choice but
to be called merchants of death.
7/08/96
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The page is interactive. You can submit your opinion! (Imre Der)
Japan's Minisry of Foreign Affairs's view that the junta will achieve
democratization after establishing stability in the nation's economy is
totally wrong. The people who are running businesses in Burma are all
related to military government. They are son, daughter, and relatives of
slorc or partner who bribe them big time. How can we achieve economic
stability when only a few people monopolizing the country both
economically and politically? Here is an example: I read the article a
couple of weeks ago, Burma is going to use Apple Computer as standard pc
for schools. This person who got the contract with the slorc must be a
relative or businessman who bribed the slorc. I sometime use Apple but I
don't think it is wise to standardized over IBM Compatible. It is not for
the advantage of Burmese People, but for the pocket of slorc.