Madeleine Albright concerned about

[kyawkyaw@xxxxxxx]

Albright says U.S. fears for Myanmar's Suu Kyi 
06:44 a.m. Jul 27, 1998 Eastern 

By Stephen Powell 

MANILA, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said
on Monday Washington was gravely concerned about the health and safety of
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

The European Union also expressed alarm over Myanmar's political situation
and urged the government to enter into a dialogue with the opposition and
hold democratic elections. 

Albright made Myanmar the central topic at an Asian security conference,
telling reporters at an afternoon briefing that the United States deplored
the military government's refusal to let Suu Kyi travel freely in the
country over the past three days. 

``We believe freedom of movement is fundamental and its denial can only
increase the already dangerous state of tension in Burma (Myanmar) and we
are gravely concerned about the health and safety of Aung San Suu Kyi and
will hold the Burmese authorities directly responsible for ensuring her
health and welfare,'' she said. 

Albright spoke as Suu Kyi spent a fourth day in her car at a southwestern
village to protest against moves to stop her from meeting members of her
political party. Authorities stopped the opposition leader at the spot on
Friday. 

Earlier Albright told a plenary session of the conference that Myanmar faced
a growing danger of social explosion. 

With the foreign minister of Myanmar sitting in the same conference hall,
Albright said in an earlier speech: ``With each passing day the likelihood
of a social breakdown -- or explosion -- that would undermine regional
stability grows higher; the likelihood that a future government will be able
to tackle Burma's problems becomes smaller. 

``This is a moment of truth and of urgency for Burma and for all of us
concerned about its fate.'' 

Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel, representing the European
Union, told Reuters that he had departed from his prepared speech to the
conference to give more space to Myanmar. He called the political situation
there ``worse than ever.'' 

Myanmar's military regime suppressed a pro-democracy movement with heavy
loss of life in 1988 and has held on to power ever since. 

Suu Kyi, who has won a Nobel Peace prize for her continuing efforts to
restore democracy, is being prevented by the military from travelling within
the country to meet opposition colleagues. 

Albright said the United States supported the call made by Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy (NLD) last month to convene the parliament the
Burmese people elected in 1990. 

The NLD won those elections but the military ignored the result. 

Twenty-one countries including the United States, China, Russia and Japan
met in Manila for Monday's conference on Asian security topics, where many
issues have been jostling for attention. 

The tit-for-tat nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in May were one item of
deep concern at the meeting, ministers said. 

In a weekend statement, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
said the group ``deplored the series of nuclear tests conducted recently in
South Asia that exacerbated tension in the region and raised the spectre of
a nuclear arms race.'' 

ASEAN did not refer by name to India or Pakistan and conference sources said
Western states were pressing for a tougher statement on nuclear
proliferation from Monday's ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting, which brings
together ASEAN and its dialogue partners. 

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told a news conference there
was very deep concern at the conference about the whole issue of nuclear
testing. 

``Only one country at the ARF is putting up any defence of India -- and that
is India,'' he said. 

Pakistan was not invited to the meeting. 

The United States and the European Union, among others, on Monday reiterated
demands that India and Pakistan adhere to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. 

The EU said world stability had been seriously endangered by the decision of
India and Pakistan to carry out nuclear tests. 

Another theme overshadowing the Manila meeting is the change of government
in Japan. Japanese officials said prime minister-designate Keizo Obuchi made
a point of visiting Manila on Sunday, despite opposition within his party,
because he wanted to respond to ASEAN's call for Japan to move on its economy. 

To Albright he gave an assurance that he would try to move fast to put Japan
back on a growth path. In a statement issued at the weekend, the nine
Southeast Asian countries in ASEAN had called on Japan ``to expedite the
implementation of its economic measures in support of the economic recovery
of ASEAN countries.'' 

The delegations, most represented by foreign ministers, met in a closed
session of the ARF, a group established in 1993 as an informal multilateral
dialogue on security in the Asia Pacific region. 

Participants in the 21-member forum include all nine members of ASEAN --
Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam -- plus ASEAN observers Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.
The other 10 members are ASEAN's dialogue partners, Australia, Canada,
China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea
and the United States. 



Myanmar on political knife-edge 
01:15 a.m. Jul 27, 1998 Eastern 

By Carol Giacomo 

MANILA, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said
on Monday there was an increasing possibility of a political ``explosion''
in Myanmar that could undermine regional stability. 

``With each passing day, the likelihood of a social breakdown -- or
explosion -- that would undermine regional stability grows higher; the
likelihood that a future government will be able to tackle Burma's
(Myanmar's) problems becomes smaller,'' she said in a speech to an Asian
security meeting. 

``This is a moment of truth and of urgency for Burma and for all of us
concerned about its fate,'' she added. 

Albright spoke as Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday began
a third day in her car at a southwestern village to protest against moves to
stop her from meeting members of her political party. 

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party leader has refused to budge
from the spot where she was stopped on Friday in Anyarsu, about 64 km (20
miles) from the capital Yangon, and rejected a request by the ruling
military junta that she go back to her home in Yangon, a source close to the
party said. 

U.S. officials called the situation a potential ``flashpoint'' for political
confrontation. 

Albright spoke to the 21-member ASEAN Regional Forum which includes all nine
members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Brunei,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam -- plus ASEAN observers Cambodia and Papua New Guinea. 

The other 10 members are ASEAN's dialogue partners, Australia, Canada,
China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea
and the United States 

Burma, now known as Myanmar, is ruled by a military junta that has refused
to let a democratic legislature elected in 1990 take power. 

Albright called it a ``country in great and growing distress today,'' with
conditions worsening over the past year. 

``Arrests aimed at decimating the opposition continue. Members of legal
political parties are being prevented form travelling in their own country.
The Burmese economy is falling apart,'' she said. 

In addition, ``a whole generation of young people is being lost'' as schools
and universities stay shut for fear of unrest, the country is the
``epicentre'' of a regional AIDS epidemic and the flow of heroin from
Myanmar continues ``unabated,'' she said. 

Albright said dialogue was the only way to resolve the political crisis and
urged support for a U.N. role in this process. 

The United States would ``accept any outcome that is acceptable to the
Burmese people,'' she said. 

Albright visited Myanmar when she was the U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations and maintains contact with Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize
laureate. 

Compared to Myanmar, Cambodia, which held crucial elections on Sunday, and
Indonesia, where veteran strongman President Suharto recently handed power
over peacefully to B.J. Habibie, are ``making at least some political
progress against what are clearly great odds,'' Albright said. 

The U.S. secretary of state also told Asia that when it comes to the
region's year-old financial crisis, ``we are in this together.'' 

Washington has backed International Monetary Fund and World Bank loans to
help Asian economies recover from the crisis, provided direct food and
medical assistance to countries in need and maintains treaty alliances with
Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines. 

Asian nations should never doubt the U.S. commitment to the security and
well-being of its friends in the region ``and our desire to see that the
only dominant forces in this region remain freedom and prosperity,''
Albright said. 

She said ``our most urgent concern now is to help the Indonesian economy
recover and to help see that the urgent humanitarian needs of the Indonesian
people are met.'' 

Albright urged the ASEAN Regional Forum to encourage North Korea to comply
with a 1994 agreement that freezes its nuclear programme and suggested the
group could play a role in reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula. 

She warned against rushing to judgement on the outcome of Cambodia's
election, saying: ``We have seen the democratic process in Cambodia unravel
before. And the real test of Cambodia's democracy will come after the
ballots are counted.''