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Myanmar military official in Japan



Myanmar military official in Japan
03:12 a.m. Jan 20, 1999 Eastern
TOKYO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - A top Myanmar military intelligence official
arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday for a 10-day visit at the invitation of the
Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Brigadier General Kyaw Win, deputy chief of the Office of Strategic Studies
of the country's Defence Ministry, is in Tokyo to exchange views on the
relationship between Japan and Myanmar, government officials of the two
countries said.

``This is a very important visit, because General Win is here upon the
invitation of the Japanese government,'' said an official at the Myanmar
embassy in Tokyo.

``The Japanese government is trying to improve relationship with us although
there is pressure from the United States and European nations not to,'' the
official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

Win is believed to be the top aide to Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, the
powerful Secretary One of Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development
Council.

Waiting for Win when he arrived at his Tokyo hotel were about 30
pro-democracy supporters who shouted slogans denouncing the military
government.

``We will stage demonstrations even if we are arrested by police,'' said
Kyaw Lun Tin, leader of an umbrella group of five pro-democracy Myanmar
groups in Japan.

The group sent a letter to Japanese Justice Minister Shozaburo Nakamura
urging Tokyo to ban Myanmar military officials from visiting Japan.

Japan has taken a softer stance towards Myanmar's military junta than the
United States, opting for engagement rather than sanctions.

In 1995, Tokyo lifted its 1988 freeze on economic aid after pro-democracy
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest,
announcing it would resume aid for humanitarian purposes.

The latest round of major aid programmes includes a 2.5 billion yen ($22.1
million) loan in March 1998 to be used for safety projects at Yangon
Airport, and 800 million yen for a project to increase food production.

No new yen loans have yet been offered to Yangon and analysts said one of
Win's missions was likely to be to sound out Tokyo about the possibility of
resuming yen loans.

The most recent visit to Japan by a senior Myanmar government official was
that by Deputy Prime Minister Rear-Admiral Maung Maung Khin in June 1998.