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Mrs. Albright Warns Of Trouble In M



Albright warns of trouble in Myanmar 
04:42 p.m Jul 27, 1998 Eastern 

By Carol Giacomo 

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

In a tough rhetorical assault on one of Asia's most repressive regimes, she
also said she was ``gravely concerned'' about the health and safety of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and would hold Myanmar's military
government responsible for her welfare. 

``We are gravely concerned about the health and safety of Aung San Suu Kyi
and will hold the Burmese (Myanmar) authorities directly responsible for
ensuring her health and welfare,'' Albright told reporters. 

She did not explain this except to ``deplore'' Myanmar's refusal to let Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), a legal political party, ``travel
freely in its own country.'' 

Albright, after telling an Asian regional meeting the situation in Myanmar
had worsened over the past year, held a news conference to press the point
even harder. 

She noted that for the past three days Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the NLD
and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and other senior party officials have been
prevented from leaving the capital Yangon to meet NLD members elected to the
parliament in Myanmar's last national election. 

``We believe that freedom of movement is fundamental and that its denial can
only increase the already dangerous state of tension in Burma,'' she said. 

Myanmar's foreign minister, Ohn Gyaw, was present during the 21-member ASEAN
Regional Forum meeting when Albright and other ministers criticized his
government and he was forced to respond. 

Albright dismissed his response as ``typical of the problem of an
authoritarian government that doesn't get it.'' 

But she said the forum would probably not adopt a statement on Myanmar
because action requires consensus. 

``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,'' Albright said. 

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

U.S. officials said the impasse over Aung San Suu Kyi's ability to move
about the country was a potential ``flashpoint'' for confrontation. 

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

It is a ``country in great and growing distress today (as) arrests aimed at
decimating the opposition continue. Members of legal political parties are
being prevented form traveling in their own country. The Burmese economy is
falling apart,'' Albright 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 epicenter
of a regional AIDS epidemic and the flow of heroin from Myanmar continues
unabated,'' she said. 

Albright said dialogue is the only way to resolve the 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 in 1995 when she was Washington's U.N. ambassador
and maintains contact with Aung San Suu Kyi. 

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

She assured Asian nations that when it comes to the year-old Asian 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 and provided direct aid to
countries in need. 

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. 

The ASEAN Regional Forum 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 Cambodia
and Papua New Guinea. 

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