Burma News in International Herald

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Burma's Image
International Herald Tribune
7 March 1998
 
The odious military regime that misrules Burma recently arrested 81
year-old U Ohn Myint, a respected democratic politician. His whereabouts,
according to Amnesty International, are unknown, his health a worrisome
question. One wonders whether this latest assault on civilized norms
reflect the advice Burma's military rulers have been receiving from their
recently retained American image-makers.
 
These U.S. public relations employees of the cruel regime apparently have
persuaded it to change its name from the unappetizing SLORC (State Law and
Restoration Council) to the equally mendacious but more neutral sounding
State Peace and Development Council. But the arrest of U Ohn Myint, the
continuing detention of the heroic Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the recent
detentions of 40 other activists show that even with a new name, it is
business as usual for the ruling junta.
 
The junta seized power in 1988. Two years later, misjudging its own
popularity, it permitted elections. The National League for Democracy won
in a landslide, even though the junta had put many of its leaders under
house arrest. The regime then refused to honor the result of the election.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Burma's independence leader and a Nobel
Peace laureate, has been under house arrest pretty much ever since, and
Burma- a naturally wealthy nation of 47 million people- has slid ever
deeper into poverty.
 
Increasingly isolated, Burma's rulers have caught on that they have an
image problem in Asia and the west. According to recent post article by R.
Jeffery Smith (IHT, Feb.25), companies with close ties to the junta have
spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on U.S. public relations firms and
lobbyists.
 
It's not known exactly what advice the Burmese have gotten for their
money. But for far less than what their lobbyists charge, we could give
them a few hints on how to improve their image: Put an end to forced labor
and the press-ganging of peasants to become military porters. Stop
torturing political prisoners and release them from the infamous (and not
yet renamed) Insein prison. Open a dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
let her meet freely with her supporters.
 
On one front, the regime's battle for legitimacy gained some ground in
recent days. Japan's government has let it be known recently that it is
planing to resume foreign assistance to Burma after a decade of
withholding all about humanitarian aid. Why the Japanese would want to
break ranks with most of the world now, when there has been no improvement
in Burma's human rights record, is a mystery: Japan says it wants to help
rebuild Burma's international airport, which is even more of a mystary:
Why encourage investment and tourism? Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has stated
clearly that any aid and investment would benefit not her compatriots but
only Burma's corrupt rulers. It's not clear why Japan would want to weigh
in on their side.
- The Washinton Post-
 
Burma Info (CCN)
New Delhi.