The BurmaNet News: July 20, 1998 (P

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 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: July 20, 1998
Issue #1052

Noted in Passing: "This time the opposition forces are better prepared to
make the transition from a military to democratic government successful." -
Moe Thee Zun (see IPS: ANOTHER UPRISING IN THE OFFING?) 

HEADLINES:
==========
(Part 1)
ALTSEAN: INTERVIEW WITH AUNG SAN SUU KYI 
ABSDF: BURMA JUNTA ORGANISES RIOT POLICE
SCMP: RIOT SQUADS PREPARE FOR ANNIVERSARY 
BBC: BURMA RESTRICTS DEMOCRACY MP'S 
IPS: ANOTHER UPRISING IN THE OFFING? 
(Part 2)
BKK POST: "SURRENDER" OF REBELS REFUTED 
BKK POST: LOSSES FORCE PART CLOSURE OF HOTEL 
THE NATION: EXPERT WARNS OF AIDS EPIDEMIC 
AFP: SENIOR OFFICIAL MAKES STOPOVER IN SINGAPORE 
AWSJ: AN LDP IS LOBBYING FOR TOKYO TO AID MYANMAR  
BBC: JAPAN WELCOMES SOUTHEAST ASIAN OPENNESS
REUTERS: MALAYSIA OPPOSES CALL ON FLEXIBLE ENGAGEMENT 
FEER: DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: RESOLUTION ON BURMA
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ALTSEAN: INTERVIEW WITH AUNG SAN SUU KYI
15 July, 1998 from <altsean@xxxxxxxxxx> 

Rangoon

Q: How do you describe the situation in the country at the moment?

ASSK: Well, it's a very interesting time for everybody, and it's also a
very crucial time. As you probably know, we have asked for a Parliament to
be convened before the 21st of August. Now we have waited very patiently
for eight years, and the people have waited patiently for eight years, for
their will to be implemented, so this is a time when we have got to see
what the government is going to do, how much goodwill they are going to
demonstrate towards the people, and towards the movement for democracy.
After all, they have always claimed that they want to democratize Burma.

Q: Do you think it is likely that the military regime will have dialogue
with the NLD soon?

ASSK: We've always said that they will have to have dialogue sooner or
later, and we've always hoped that it would be sooner rather than later! I
would have thought now was the best time, because prior to the convening of
Parliament it would be sensible for both sides to talk to each other.

Q: Will the NLD convene Parliament with or without the military?

ASSK: This is not something that I can answer now, but what I can tell you
is this, that we consider it our responsibility to implement the will of
the people, and we will certainly not fail in carrying out our responsibility.

Q: What do you think is the position of the average Burmese in the country?

ASSK: Unhappy. The economic situation is very bad, as you well know, and
the education system is very bad, health care is poor, so what do we have
left? People are poor, their children are not getting properly educated,
their health is not looked after, the future seems very bleak, unless there
is change. So I would say that the average citizen in Burma is hoping for
change, not just hoping, but longing and praying for change!

Q: And how do you think that dialogue will help the average Burmese person?

ASSK: Our idea of dialogue is a way of finding a solution that would be
beneficial to the great majority of our people. I can't see a solution that
will be beneficial for everybody, because there is hardly ever a human
solution that can be applied to everybody, but dialogue would be the means
of finding a way forward, finding a way out of these problems under which
we have been drowning for so many years.

Q: Do you think that the international community will help accelerate the
road to dialogue?

ASSK: We think that the international community can help if they have a
will to do so, because in this day and age, as no man is an island unto
himself, no country is an island unto itself, not even a country like Japan
or England, which are geographically islands. So the international
community certainly can do a lot to help accelerate the process of
dialogue, if they have the will to do so.

Q: There has been some concern among certain diplomats that NLD does not
have the transitional plan [and] that they can support?

ASSK: Well there are two reasons why we cannot talk about a transitional
plan. First of all you have to recognize the fact that we are a
much-harassed and persecuted party, and it is not in our interest to reveal
our plans, because usually that gets our people into trouble.

Also, there is another reason -- we do have a transitional plan, but we are
open to suggestions. It's a flexible plan. If it were a plan that were
inflexible, then we would not be calling for dialogue, and this is not what
we want. We have always said that we don't want a zero-sum solution.

We have our plan, of course, but we want to talk it over with the
authorities, after all, it is at present the SPDC which is in power, and
since we want to bring about change through non-violent means, that means
we want to bring about change through dialogue and negotiation, so our
plans, our hopes, our timetable as it were, is a flexible one, and it would
be subject to negotiation and discussion. If we were to present a plan as
"This is what we want" then where would be there room for negotiation?

Q: In a few days time, the ASEAN ministerial meeting will be held in
Manila, followed by the ASEAN Regional Forum which will be attended by
representatives of key countries throughout the world. How, what specific
steps should they be supporting, in regards to Burma?

ASSK: I think the first thing they can do is to support our call for the
convening of Parliament, and make a very, very firm case for dialogue
towards that process. It is the first step towards democratization. How can
we talk about democratization when the elections that took place eight
years ago have still not been honored? So we would very much like the ASEAN
countries to give full support to our call for the convening of Parliament,
in the full understanding that this call was not and is not a
confrontational move, but a positive step towards the democratization of
Burma.

Q: Certain key players, including the military regime, and some investors,
are afraid of that, because they may lose their positions in a country in
which dialogue has taken place and parliament has been convened. What is
your response to that?

ASSK: We have said again and again that dialogue is not a debate in which
there will be winners and losers. A dialogue will be a process through
which we can come to a solution which will be beneficial to the great
majority of us, which would be of benefit to both sides, or to all
participants in the dialogue process. We are not out to punish anybody, we
are not out to crush or annihilate anybody, that is not our way, that is
not our policy. What we want to do is to bring about national
reconciliation, so that as few people as possible will lose out from the
process. In fact what we want to find is a solution that will be a win-win
one, a win-win solution for everybody concerned.

Q: There has been concern that you might be threatened owing to recent
developments, for instance the attack in front of your house, being
surrounded in your car when you attempted to go out of Rangoon. What is the
situation with regard to your personal safety?

ASSK: Well, I'm as safe as anyone in Burma, which of course is not saying
much, if you are under a dictatorial regime, because when there is no rule
of law, nobody is really safe. So I can only say that I am as safe as
anybody can be in a country where there is no rule of law.

Q: Is it likely that the situation could become increasingly dangerous?

ASSK: For whom? For me?

Q: For you, and the NLD leadership?

ASSK: Well, I don't think we could be in more danger than we have been for
the last ten years.

Q: There has been concern about your personal safety, and that the NLD is
provoking a confrontation in the country, with the military. What is your
response to that?

ASSK: Well, we are not provoking any sort of confrontation. We are only
asking for what is the due, not of the NLD, but of the people of Burma.

To ask for the convening of Parliament is tantamount to asking for the
recognition of the will of the people as expressed through the elections of
1990. So we are only asking for what is due to the people of Burma. That
should not be looked upon as a provocation or a confrontation, particularly
in view of the fact that we have waited patiently for eight years. Eight
years is a long time to wait for somebody to keep his promise, so I do not
think we are provoking anybody. [If] they are afraid of anything, if
anybody is nervous that the convening of Parliament will lead to
instability within the country they only have to talk to us about it, so
that we can come to a mutual understanding, whereby there will not take
place anything that will upset the stability of the country.

Q: What will the NLD be prepared to do in the next few weeks?

ASSK: I can hardly give you a blow by blow detailed account of what our
intentions are, but I can only say that we are prepared to do everything
that we need to do in order to serve the people, and in order to keep our
promise to the people that we will work for democracy.

END
A L T S E A N - B U R M A Alternative Asean Network on Burma Tel/Fax: 66 2
693 4515 * <altsean@xxxxxxxxxx> 

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ABSDF: BURMA JUNTA ORGANISES RIOT POLICE IN PREPARATION FOR DEMONSTRATIONS
17 July, 1998 from <lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 

Media Release

The Burmese military junta has begun to form special riot police units in
large towns and cities throughout the country in preparation for
demonstrations expected to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 1988
uprising, according to sources in Rangoon.

Beginning from early July, special police units, each comprising 30
policemen and led by a police captain, have been formed to quell any
demonstrations. At the same time, a number of district police officers have
been summoned to police headquarters in Rangoon to draw up plans and
strategies on how to combat large gatherings and disperse protestors.

As part of the preparations, the Burmese military junta is also currently
organising three-week crash courses on handling small arms for the families
of all policemen and officers in all nine riot police regiments under the
Ministry of Home Affairs.

"These are unwelcome developments because the memories of riot police
beating and killing unarmed civilians in the past remain in the minds of
the people," said ABSDF Foreign Affairs Secretary, Aung Naing Oo. "These
preparations for confrontation could ignite the deep-rooted anti-government
sentiment that exists among the people."

Over the years, the riot police have been largely responsible for igniting
student demonstrations in Burma. In March 1988, riot police shot and killed
two students at Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) and 41 students also
suffocated to death in a police van at Inya Lake. In response, students
demonstrated throughout the country and their protests spread to involve
civilians.

Sources in Rangoon said that the current preparations are seen largely as
an attempt to counter any confrontation arising out of NLD's ultimatum to
convene parliament, the upcoming 10th anniversary of August 1988 and the
planned University examinations in the second week of August.

The military junta has also given a one-off bonus of 1,000 kyat to all
policemen in Regiments 1 and 8 for their service during the December 1996
student demonstrations in Rangoon and the March 1997 Monks' movement.
During these crackdowns, the police detained 187 students and about 100 monks.

All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF)
For more information please contact 01-654 4984, 01-253 9082. 

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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: RIOT SQUADS PREPARE FOR ANNIVERSARY 
18 July, 1998 by William Barnes in Bangkok 

The opposition said yesterday the junta was creating riot squads to deal
with any possible uprising during next month's 10th anniversary of mass
protests against military rule.

The special 30-strong units were being formed in all major towns and
district police officers had been called to Rangoon to be briefed on how to
crush demonstrations, the All Burma Students Democratic Front said yesterday.

The regime had also organised three-week refresher courses in handling
small arms for all police and riot squad officers, the statement added.

With the economy in deep trouble and no visible prospect of any easing of
the military's iron rule, the generals are obviously taking no chances that
the anniversary will release pent-up frustrations.

The army is thought to have massacred hundreds of people at the height the
protests a decade ago when millions of Burmese took to the streets on
August 8, 1988, a day that has become branded on the nation's collective
memory.

Amnesty International called on Thursday for the release of elderly and
sick prisoners of conscience, improved prison conditions and an end forced
labour to "defuse possibilities for conflict" ahead of the anniversary.

The London-based human rights group said it was deeply concerned that the
recent wave of political arrests and harassment had heightened tension
before a day of symbolic significance.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) said earlier this week that as many
as 80 of its members who won seats in the disbanded parliament had been
detained after refusing to sign pledges that restrict their travel.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party has deeply irritated the regime
by calling last month for parliament to be reconvened in August along the
lines of the 1990 general election when it trounced the military's party.

The junta, which ignored that election, said on Wednesday that Ms Aung San
Suu Kyi did not deserve her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize and that she is "no
Nelson Mandela".

"One is a disgruntled housewife turned politician who desperately seeks to
be popular . . . the other is a self-effacing nationalist who has devoted
his entire life to free his people from the shackles of apartheid," said a
letter aimed at rebutting a Washington Post editorial that praised Ms Aung
San Suu Kyi's courage.

NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo said the Burmese Supreme Court had thrown out a
petition by the party seeking the lifting of restrictions that require its
MPs to report twice a day to their local police station.

"This [law used against the MPs] was assigned for criminals and thieves and
it is not appropriate to apply it on dignified MPs elected to represent the
people," Mr Tin Oo said. 

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BBC: BURMA RESTRICTS DEMOCRACY MP'S 
17 July, 1998 

The Burmese military government says it is preventing about eighty members
of parliament belonging to the National League for Democracy from leaving
their home townships.

But they denied the MPs had been arrested.

A spokesman said the restriction was introduced to ensure that colleges
would not be disrupted by political unrest when they re-open.

Burmese colleges were shut in 1996 following student protests.

Earlier this month, the military authorities said they would increase
surveillance of NLD MPs and told them to report to police and local
officials twice daily.

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INTER PRESS SERVICE: ANOTHER UPRISING IN THE OFFING? 
16 July, 1998 by Satya Sivaraman 

Moe Thee Zun, one of the student leaders of Burma's 1988 democracy movement
has been in exile for the past 10 years. But he still remembers that
fateful day vividly.

"It was the morning of August 8, 1988. We had a hard time convincing people
in Rangoon to come out on the streets against the military regime. But by
afternoon the mood changed dramatically. The masses poured out by the
thousands and the rest is history," he recalls.

It was that day in 1988 when the Burmese military violently dispersed
peaceful protest rallies, killing and arresting thousands of people and
clamping down on opposition.

Hundreds of activists and other professionals fled Burma as the military
tightened its grip on power.

And as the 10th anniversary of the 8-8-1988 movement nears, Burmese
activists say the time is ripe for yet another uprising.

Only this time they hope not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Looking back, observers now say that the pro-democracy movement's lack of
political organization and astute leadership in 1988 allowed the shaken
military to regain its bearings and hang on to power through its brutal
crackdown on demonstrators.

Though long-time Burmese dictator General Ne Win stepped down following the
agitation, he was replaced by his own handpicked successors from the military.

In the aftermath of the crackdown, a junta -- then called the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) -- took power.

Though initially meant to be a transitional government, the SLORC never
gave up power despite losing heavily to the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) in the 1990 general election.

Last year the highly unpopular council renamed itself the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC).

"This time the opposition forces are better prepared to make the transition
from a military to democratic government successful," says Moe Thee Zun who
has spent the last ten years in exile in Thailand forming a students army
and an underground movement to combat the Rangoon regime.

Arousing expectations of a fresh round of protest actions in Burma soon are
the country's bleak economic situation, the poor health of former military
strongman General Ne Win and a recent ultimatum to the military government
by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to convene a meeting of parliament
members.

During the eighth anniversary celebration of the NLD's 1990 election
victory in late June, Suu Kyi demanded that the SPDC convene parliament by
August 26 to facilitate a session of the duly elected members of parliament.

The ultimatum is being interpreted by many as a signal to the public from
Suu Kyi -- who has so far advocated patience and dialogue with the military
junta - to start an agitation.

The military junta has responded to Suu Kyi's call by threatening to take
legal action against her. The warnings were carried in commentaries in
three state-owned newspapers which said:  The government and its people can
no longer tolerate the acts of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who ignores the
interest of the nation and people."

Similar warnings appeared in the media in the days prior to Suu Kyi's house
arrest in 1989. The Nobel Peace prize laureate was "freed" in mid-1995.

"This time, if the military attempts to arrest Suu Kyi again or harm her in
any way, the action will certainly trigger off a mass protest from the
public," says a Rangoon-based political analyst.

According to him, frustration among various sectors of Burmese society has
reached a peak and the mood is similar to that which fuelled the 1988
democracy movement, when rising unemployment, soaring prices and lack of
basic freedoms led people to the streets.

The economic situation in Burma, already a basket case, has deteriorated
further in recent months because of the financial crisis which struck its
southeast Asian neighbors.

The country, which ventured on the path of economic liberalization in the
early 90s, has relied largely on foreign investment to fuel growth. But
with the Asian crisis, the trickle of overseas funds has almost dried up.

Like any other ailing Asian economy, its foreign exchange reserves are
dwindling, inflation is rising, budget deficits are ballooning and its
agricultural sector is not helping the economy either.

While many of the social and economic factors conducive to public unrest
have been there for the past several years, a political wild card that has
come into play is the imminent death of the aging former dictator Ne Win.

Rumors of his death have been circulating in Rangoon and Bangkok for the
past few weeks.

Despite stepping down from power in 1988, Ne Win -- who ruled Burma for 36
years -- is still believed to be a key factor in preserving the unity of
the military.

With his demise, observers expect a definite split in the Burmese armed
forces between reformists and a faction in favor of a status quo, a
development Burma's pro-democracy forces are waiting to exploit.

Many now hope that if not his life, at least Ne Win's death could be a
catalyst for much-needed change in Burma.

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