Reuters : FOCUS-Myanmar spurns West

[hlaing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

FOCUS-Myanmar spurns Western bid to see Suu Kyi 
04:58 a.m. Jul 29, 1998 Eastern 

By Ruben Alabastro 

MANILA, July 29 (Reuters) - Myanmar on Wednesday spurned a request by
leading powers for an immediate meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, and Western diplomats vowed to continue pressuring Yangon until it
heeded their call for democratic reform. 

Myanmar Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw announced his government's 

rejection of the Western request at the close of a week-long series of
meetings of the Association of South East Asian Nations, overshadowing the
main conference agenda: how to revive Asian economies ravaged by a
year-long currency turmoil. 

Suu Kyi has staged a sit-in protest in her car outside Yangon since last
Friday. 

On Tuesday, the United States and the European Union, plus Japan, New
Zealand, Canada, South Korea and Australia confronted the Myanmar foreign
minister at the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting. 

They asked that Yangon-based diplomats from the United States and Japan be
allowed to see Suu Kyi. 

Myanmar is a member of ASEAN. 

Ohn Gyaw told a news conference attended by the foreign ministers or
representatives of all the other ASEAN countries and their 10 dialogue
partners that his government had refused the request. 

``They appreciated the idea of arranging (for the) Japanese ambassador and
U.S. charges d'affaires to meet with Daw Suu Kyi,'' he said. 

``At this juncture the authorities are trying their best to have a better
situation. They believe the situation is improving. They have many means at
their disposal to improve the situation. They will resolve the situation by
various means step by step. 

``At this juncture, the meeting with (the) Japanese ambassador and U.S.
charge d'affaires is not urgently needed. Authorities will comply with the
request when necessary.'' 

Suu Kyi on Wednesday began the sixth day of protest in her car outside
Yangon after authorities prevented her last week from meeting colleagues in
her National League for Democracy political party. 

Dismay among Western diplomats was immediate. 

``We certainly are going to maintain pressure on the regime,'' New Zealand
Foreign Minister Donald Charles McKinnon told Reuters. 

``We are still looking for a timetable for a passage to democratic reform.
We hear about what they're going to do. We do not hear a timetable.'' 

Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel, representing the European
Union, and his Australian counterpart, Alexander Downer, also expressed
disappointment at the same news conference. 

``We're very disappointed to hear that... Our understanding was that there
would be no obstacle to the ambassadors meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi,''
Downer said. ``So we are looking to continuing to press for such a meeting
to take place.'' 

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright expressed grave
concern over Suu Kyi's health and safety and said Washington held Myanmar's
military government directly responsible for her welfare. 

Albright left Manila on Wednesday morning and there was no immediate U.S.
reaction to the Myanmar statement. 

``We have our ways to resolve this impasse. We are trying our best,'' Ohn
Gyaw said of the stand-off with Suu Kyi, adding that security forces had
stopped her ``for her own protection.'' 

``As far as I know her health is in good condition,'' he said. 

Ohn Gyaw added: ``If Daw Suu Kyi is involved in some accident or incident,
the government will have to be responsible. That is the reason why the
government is very much careful for her safety.'' 

The meeting between ASEAN and its dialogue partners was highlighted by a
U.S. pledge to assist Asia's battered economies by encouraging foreign
investment in the region and strengthening international institutions that
provide funds to the region. 

China pledged not to devalue the yuan while Japan said it would carry out
measures to revive its economy, a move diplomats agreed was crucial to
Asia's recovery. 

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