New name, old plicies for Myanmar m

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New name, old policies for Myanmar military regime 
11:23 p.m. Mar 07, 1998 Eastern 
By Deborah Charles 

BANGKOK, March 8 (Reuters) - Less than four months after a sudden overhaul
of the government and attempted image enhancement, Myanmar's (Burma's)
ruling military has not really changed much, analysts and diplomats said. 

``It's the same old thing,'' said one Rangoon-based diplomat, after a news
conference last weekend by the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) to announce the arrest of 40 people suspected of being involved in a
conspiracy to sabotage the country and create unrest. 

The SPDC sounded a lot like its predecessor -- the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) -- in the news conference where it said there
were links between the arrested people and the opposition party of Nobel
Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. 

It said the 40 arrested, mostly students, were also linked with an exiled
student group, the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), and the
outlawed Burma Communist Party (BCP). 

``This was all driven by arrests of the ABSDF members, then the government
justified it by linking them with the NLD (Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy), and the BCP,'' another diplomat said. ``It was just a way to
frame the arrests.'' 

In the past the SLORC accused the ABSDF, the NLD and BCP of being involved
in bomb attacks and other subversive activities. 

A government spokesman from the military intelligence unit, who had the same
position under the SLORC, told the news conference the SPDC also had
evidence that the ``terrorists'' who had been arrested were also planning to
bomb some embassies of members of the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN). 

``The terrorist attacks on ASEAN embassies is new,'' the second diplomat
said. ``It's not a positive thing that...(they) linked that with the NLD in
this era of supposed rapprochement.'' 

The NLD and the government are in a political stalemate, after the NLD
refused to hold talks as proposed by the SPDC unless Suu Kyi was included. 

But although the SPDC will not invite the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate to the
table, some diplomats say there are talks going on between the two sides at
lower levels. 

The SPDC was formed in November in a surprise shakeup that abolished the
SLORC, fired some ministers and reshuffled others in an effort to clean up
its image and revitalise the economy. 

But analysts say little has changed in the government's policies and the
economy is still in trouble. 

More than 1,000 political prisoners, including several relatives and
advisors of Suu Kyi, remain in jail and are serving long prison sentences. 

Suu Kyi remains under virtual house arrest, with the road leading to her
home blocked and her visitors limited and monitored. Her telephone is tapped
and few calls get through. 

Most universities and colleges are still closed, 15 months after the
government shut them in December 1996 to prevent unrest following
anti-government protests. 

A government spokesman told Reuters at least one technical institute would
reopen on Monday, and universities would likely resume in the ``very near
future.'' 

The closure of the universities and colleges, which affected more than
200,000 students, brought back memories of 1988 when the SLORC shut down the
higher education system for two years following nationwide pro-democracy
uprising. 

But some Yangon residents say they do not care if the new government is just
like the old one -- all they want is for the economy to improve. 

``Those of us who live from hand to mouth don't have time to think about
what they say. What we need is peace and stability,'' said a fruit vendor.
``It's getting even harder to make a living. Things are already bad...we
can't afford to let it get worse.'' ^REUTERS@ 

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.