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IRI returns fire over Slorc condemn
Subject: IRI returns fire over Slorc condemnation
July 9th Bangkok Post
IRI returns fire over Slorc condemnation
'Rangoon would win Orwell's recognition'
Ralph Bachoe
The president of the International Republican Institute has described as
"Orwellian" Slorc's latest condemnation of the institute's work in
Burma.
"George Orwell would recognise Burma today. He wrote about it in his
book 1984," Lorne Cramer said last week.
"It's Orwellian that the Slorc regime, guilty of forced labour, torture,
execution of dissidents and myriad other human rights abuses, could term
as 'terrorism' the non-violent work aided by IRI."
The IRI had from the beginning conducted its work in the open, said Mr
Cramer.
"We are proud that we have stood with those at the forefront of peaceful
efforts to bring change to Burma," he said.
IRI is a US-based nonprofit organisation dedicated to advancing
democracy. It conducts educational activities for political parties,
activists and governments in over 30 countries.
Mr Cramer said Slorc's opposition was an indication of the institute's
effectiveness. The institute would therefore be encouraged and so would
the thousands of Burmese the organisation assists.
The regime's statements resembled many other conspiracy theories,
typically begun by people who speak to no one but themselves, he said.
"A good start in the direction of constructive change in Burma would be
to spend less time dreaming up conspiracy theories and more time talking
to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party was elected but prevented from
taking power in 1990."
Mr Cramer's reaction came after Lt Gen Khin Nyunt accused the United
States of sponsoring state terrorism attacks against top figures in
Burma's ruling military junta.
The intelligence chief told reporters in Rangoon on June 27 that US
government funds sent to support the pro-democracy movement had been
used to finance terrorist activities by exiled opposition groups.
Lt Gen Khin Nyunt singled out Dr Sein Win, prime minister of the
parallel Burmese government, the National Council Government of the
Union of Burma based in Washington, of masterminding the attempted
assassination attempt of armed forces chief of staff Gen Tin Oo at his
home in April.
A parcel bomb, reportedly mailed in Japan and addressed to Gen Tin Oo's
home, exploded in the face of his 30-year-old daughter, killing her
instantly. The general was not home at the time.
Sources in Rangoon say the powerful blast ripped beyond recognition the
upper torso of the general's daughter, who had opened a cupboard to
examine the parcel after receiving a phone call from an unknown person
to check if the contents were intact.
Gen Tin Oo's wife, who was in the room when the blast occurred, escaped
injury. Sources say she was saved by the cupboard door which shielded
her from the explosion.
During the June 27 speech, Lt Gen Khin Nyunt named another Burmese
exile, also belonging to the NCGUB, of smuggling a satellite telephone
into the country to be used by Burmese dissidents to communicate with
their counterparts outside the country.
Lt Gen Khin Nyunt also said that Suu Kyi's close relatives were involved
in "all these acts aimed at destabilising the nation and causing unrest
among the public and students." Prime Minister Sein Win is the first
cousin of Suu Kyi.
Latest reports from sources in Rangoon say Khin Nyunt's speech is being
played every second day in all government departments and schools
explaining the contents of the intelligence chief's two-hour long tirade
against US and the Burmese dissidents.
Resistance methods taught by IRI include listening to banned broadcasts
of the Voice of America or Radio Free Asia, disseminating information on
democracy and human rights, and circulation of material about how
Burmese and ethnic groups are working to promote a democratic form of
government.
IRI claims it has never provided funding to the National League for
Democracy (NLD).
"THERE WILL BE NO REAL DEMOCRACY IF WE CAN'T GURANTEE THE RIGHTS OF THE
MINORITY ETHNIC PEOPLE. ONLY UNDERSTANDING THEIR SUFFERING AND HELPING
THEM TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHTS WILL ASSIST PREVENTING FROM THE
DISINTEGRATION AND THE SESESSION." "WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THEIR
STRENGTH, WE CAN'T TOPPLE THE SLORC AND BURMA WILL NEVER BE IN PEACE."
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