NEWS - Myanmar Vows to Block Interf

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Myanmar Vows to Block Interference in Its Affairs

            Reuters
            28-JUL-98

            YANGON, July 28 (Reuters)- Myanmar's military junta on
Tuesday
            vowed to fight recent moves by fellow ASEAN members to allow
open
            discussion of the internal affairs of the regional
grouping's members. 

            Commentaries carried in all three official newspapers, which
are
            mouthpieces for government policy, said: ``Myanmar is a
sovereign
            nation. Myanmar will not allow interference in her internal
affairs.'' 

            They said the Philippines had supported a Thai proposal to
the
            Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to change the
            group's policy of ``constructive engagement,'' or
non-interference in the
            internal affairs of members, to ``flexible engagement,'' in
which
            members could freely discuss each other's problems. 

            The proposal made at an ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in
Manila
            was rejected by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. 

            On Monday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said
the
            people of Myanmar should stage a bloodless uprising like the
one in
            the Philippines which led to the overthrow of dictator
Ferdinand
            Marcos in 1986. 

            Myanmar, which has been accused by the West and rights
groups of
            abusing human rights and curbing the political freedom of
the
            opposition led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi,
            became a member of the nine-nation ASEAN last year. 

            ASEAN also groups Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, the
            Philippines, Singapore, Laos and Vietnam. 

            ``These days I hear unnatural and unrealistic remarks of
some
            ministers of some nations advocating interference in the
internal
            affairs of Myanmar,'' said the author of the commentary
entitled
            ``Myanmar will not on any account, allow interference.'' 

            ``The aims, basic principles and concepts of the association
have
            categorically resolved already that it will not for any
reason interfere in
            the internal affairs of member nations.'' 

            ``The West bloc or neo-colonialists for long have been
insisting that
            the resolve should be amended and interference in internal
affairs of
            member nations allowed,'' the commentary said. 

            ``Surprisingly, some ministers have echoed the words of the
West bloc
            to interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs.'' 

            ``Are the nations of those ministers who made such remarks
free from
            problems with no hitches?'' the commentary asked, adding
that the
            Western bloc would like to destroy united, regional
groupings. 

            ``It wants them divided and to fight among themselves. Only
then, will it
            be able to dominate them.'' 

            ``Accordingly, the West bloc and its lackeys are engaged in
            propaganda war interfering in others' internal affairs.'' 

            ``It will be useless for the internal and external
subversives to talk ill of
            Myanmar. Myanmar, on her part, will not allow interference
in any way,''
            the commentary said. 

            Tensions have escalated between the military government and
the
            National League for Democracy party led by Suu Kyi after she
called
            on the government to convene by August 21 a parliament
comprising
            candidates elected in the May 1990 elections. 

            The NLD swept those elections but the result was ignored by
the
            military.