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Myanmar Ambassadors response to Was



Myanmar Ambassador?s response to Washington Post Article by R. Jeffrey Smith

								February 25, 1998
The Editor
Washington Post
Washington, D.C.

Sir,

	The egregious misrepresentation of the Myanmar Embassy?s role in Washington
by R. Jeffrey Smith (Federal page, Feb. 24) deserves a response.

	I should like to state emphatically that the Embassy does not deal in cloak
and dagger business.  The purpose of my mission and that of  Embassy officials
here is to promote good and friendly relations between the U.S. and Myanmar.
In carrying out our duties we have at all times taken care to respect rules
and regulations of the host country.

	In the light of the ?Myanmar bashing? campaign carried out by interest groups
and the media in recent years and the subsequent adoption of sanctions by  the
U.S. government, it has become necessary for the Embassy to prevent bilateral
relations from sliding further down by providing information to the U.S.
government as well as the American people.  This was done through proper
means.

	It is also not hard to fathom why private companies ? American and Myanmar ?
have been investing time and money in trying to undo the sanctions.

	The question they pose, and rightly so is, ?Are sanctions wise?? Everyone
knows that limitations of sanctions are greater than their accomplishments and
that unilateral sanctions have always fallen short of their stated goals.
More often than not sanctions exacerbate the economic distress of the
population of the targeted country.

	In the case of Myanmar, a more appropriate response by the U.S. would be to
assist in Myanmar?s transformation to a multi-party democracy.  To that end,
the U.S. should engage Myanmar and not disengage from it.  Is it any wonder
then that U.S. companies and Myanmar enterprises are employing all legal
means, including the use of U.S. lobby firms, to get their point of view
across to U.S. lawmakers and the public?

								Yours sincerely,


									sd /-
								      (Tin Winn)
                                                     Ambassador

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