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PRESS RELEASE 16/98, Myanmar Em



             EMBASSY OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR                                  
                             WASHINGTON,  DC                                  

                    PRESS   RELEASE      16/98   						
                           9  October  1998

 
	
 The Minister for Foreign Affairs Addresses the UN General Assembly

Stresses Importance of UN Reform Process
Underlines Myanmar's Hard-Earned Achievements


		His Excellency U Ohn Gyaw, Minister for Foreign Affairs, addressed the UN
General Assembly on 30 September 1998. In his statement the Minister
underlined Myanmar's hard-earned achievements in the political and economic
spheres. He said that the Myanmar government had restored stability in the
country and that insurgency which burdened the country for several decades is
now virtually over and that peace and tranquility now prevails throughout the
country. 

		The Minister stated that stability had been attained in Myanmar through its
own endeavours, without imposing any burden on the international community.
Myanmar was therefore distressed that there were those who would like to use
the UN to intervene in matters that were essentially within Myanmar's domestic
jurisdiction. It was also an irony that at a time when the country had openly
and repeatedly declared that it was now in the process of building a genuine
democratic state with a market-oriented economic system, political pressure
had been applied by those who would like it not only to adopt democracy, but
also to transplant a democracy in their own mold. It was unfortunate that
those proponents of a particular type of democracy would like to use the
United Nations to interfere in Myanmar's domestic process. Myanmar strongly
believed that its chosen path was the most suitable to its tradition, culture,
national ethos and , most importantly, to the aspirations of its peoples.	

		The Minister also dealt at some length with the UN reform process stressing
that the effective functioning of the UN is of critical importance to
developing countries like Myanmar. He said that the reform of the Security
Council was one of the most crucial aspects of the entire UN reform process.

		Myanmar believes that the expansion of the Security Council in a balanced
manner was a principal element and favours expansion of both permanent and
non-permanent memberships.

		He said that if the concept of rotating permanent seats is to be adopted as
one of the viable solutions to the selection of new permanent members, the
following guidelines should be observed:

-	It should be the prerogative of a region to decide on acceptance of the
concept.
-	Regions should be free to determine the specific modalities of application
of the concept including their own methods of rotation and the term of the new
permanent member.
-	The initial decision on which country or countries should first represent a
region rests with the region concerned, subject to approval by the General
Assembly although decision to allot number of permanent seats to a region lies
with the General Assembly.
-	To maximize rotation, a retiring member should not be eligible for re-
election.
		-	This, however should not exclude its right to seek election at a time in
future.










		With regard to the relationship between the Security Council and the General
Assembly, the Minister said that Myanmar wishes to see genuine and clear
improvements.

He also stressed that the UN must maintain time-honoured principles such as:

-	Settlement of international disputes by peaceful means,
-	refrain from threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or
political independence of a state,
-	refrain from interventing in matters which are essentially within the
domestic jurisdiction of a state.



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