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BurmaNet Editor's Note: This message was posted to burmanet-l on 5
November, 1998 and it has come to my attention that it was never received
so I am re-posting.



Subject: DBSO statement regarding DNA affair
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 22:24:22 +1100

Democratic Burmese Students Organization (USA)

November 2,1998.

Democratic Burmese Students Organization (USA) would like to express its
strong opinion regarding Dr Naing Aung's controversial  social affair.
DBSO finds it very unsettling and unacceptable to our Burmese social
standard and ethic. We believe Dr Naing Aung, as the chairman of the All
Burma Students Democratic Front a student revolutionary organization,
must behave as a role model for its members and the Burmese democratic
community.
Dr Naing Aung may argue that it is his own personal matter. However, the
fact of the matter is it clearly affects our struggle as a whole. He as
a leader broke the code of the organization he swears to lead. He
clearly betrays the members of  ABSDF and our cause as a whole. We
helped and treated him with respect during his stay in the US. We felt
betrayed and insulted by his behavior.
We strongly denounce the behavior of Dr Naing Aung. Our student
community in the USA does not welcome him. We will not recognize and
treat him as a leader of a student revolutionary organization. It is
DBSO?s legitimate right to make a decision about its relationship with
individuals and organizations. We understand that it is the
responsibility of the ABSDF members to decide to keep Dr Naing Aung as
the chairman. However, we sincerely believe that keeping Dr Naing Aung
as  the chairman of ABSDF will tarnish its name and adversely affect the
relationship with other student organizations around the world. We would
like to urge our brothers in ABSDF to take this matter seriously since
it will not only affect the future of ABSDF, a leading revolutionary
organization, but also the future of our cause.
Democratic Burmese Students Organization (USA)

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Subject: No Confidence and Trust in Dr.Naing Aung
Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 21:01:46 PST

                No Confidence and Trust in Dr.Naing Aung

         A leader is someone his/her followers trust to lead them in 
their concerted efforts for a common cause. A leader is someone whose 
leadership skills in a given cause,political or otherwise, are above 
average and whose character is deserving of his/her followers' trust and 
confidence at moments of crises or moments of triumph.

         With this in mind, we, democracy advocates for Burma, have 
certain reasonable expectations of our own leaders in our long struggle 
to bring democracy and justice to our country. At the same time, we 
understand that our leaders are human and not without reproach or flaws. 
As much as we entrust our leaders with executive perks and privileges to 
perform their duties effectively as leaders, we have a clear 
understanding that they are not above law or discipline. And we have had 
organizational mechanisms in place as a check- and - balance measure to 
ensure that individuals in leading roles would not abuse their power and 
betray the trust of their followers.

          Not long ago, there were some incidents in which the integrity 
of our particular leader was challenged. Regrettable, this leader turned 
out to be a total failure at maintaining his integrity, which immensely 
disturbed many of us. He is no other person than Dr.Naing Aung, who is 
the chairperson of the student organization, ABSDF ( the ALL-Burma 
Students Democratic Front ). These incidents exposed his own character 
flaws, crossed the ethical boundaries expected of a friend, violated the 
code of conduct as an organizational leader, and manifested his 
manipulations of facts to deceive his followers.

           Although he had made some mistakes in the past, his followers 
tolerated and forgave him. But recently he blatantly stepped on many 
people's toe to pursue his outrageously selfish interests, thus nagging 
the conscience of his friends, colleagues, and followers alike who made 
him what he is today and undermining their confidence and trust which is 
the core of a purposeful organization. We do not expect him to be a 
saint but we do not expect him to be a rogue either. He has indeed 
passed the threshold of our tolerance!

            In this statement, we opted for no mention of the nature and 
details of the above-mentioned incidents for various reasons. We, 
however, believe that all individuals who have been actively involved in 
the struggle for democracy in Burma are aware of Dr.Naing Aung's actions 
and behavior. We, therefore, express our rightful anger at his behavior 
and demand the Central Committee of the ABSDF to take action on Dr.Naing 
Aung's reckless behavior for the sake of the larger and long-tern 
interests of our cause.

Burmese student activists
Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C, New York,California,

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