BurmaNet News: February 15, 1995 (r)

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Received: by pilot.physics.adelaide.edu.au (5.61+IDA+MU/UA-5.23)id AA09093; Fri, 17 Feb 1995 17:03:46 +1030
Subject: Re: BurmaNet News: February 15, 1995


HUMAN RIGHTS SUB-COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE MR HAWKE'S VIEW ON SLORC
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16 February 1995.

        Tonights  ABC-TV news broadcast the following: After returning
from a business trip to Burma in last month, the former prime minister of
Australia, Mr Bob Hawke wrote a letter in Canberra Time stating that
there are 'positive aspects' in the ruling junta in Burma( I will try
to find that letter and posted here). The junta is no where  to  be
compare with the aparthied regime of South Africa.

        The  parliamentary  Human Rights Sub-Committee is asking Mr
Hwake to clarify his statement. The inquiry will take place in near
furture and will be private. ( this is as much as I heard from T.V.)

My comment: Mr Hawke is probably the most popular prime minister  of
his  time  in  Australa: re-elected for 3 consecutive times. He has
been  commonly  known  to  be  warm-hearted, compassionate man with
lovable personalities. However, since  the  time  he   was   thrown
out   of   his prime minister post by his own party, the Australian
Labour  Party,  his behaviour seems to be changing.  After  he  was
thrown  out  of  the  PM post by the ALP, he quit from the ALP as a
protest and seems  to  be  quite  bitter  about  politics  and  his
colleagues.  He  was found to be writing lots of damaging materials
about the new Prime Minister Keating whose direct challenge has led
to the thrown-out of Hawke. He was also seen cheering as the Australian
 Labour Party poll slumped at last election( every body was  predicting
that ALP to loose last election - but they win  instead).  It  may  be
quite  improper  to  accuse  the  former PM of acting like childish
manner, or seeking of public attentions,  when considering  of  his
stature and capacities. Unfortunately, something has to be wrong.

	I simply have no clue as to why is he been necessary to go 
to Burma - even it said to be  the business trip. The Australians have
a trade office, known as AUSTRADE office in Rangoon. That office was
kept opened despite a lot of NGOs have protested to close down. What 
I mean is there is no real urgency to make contact with Burma in so
far as the business matters are concerned.

        Speaking  of  public  awareness  about  Burma in here, most
australians heard about Aung San Suu Kyi, but  other  human  rights
issues are not quite well known. With the exception to some special
people  here,  most australian people are not interested to look at
the issues more serious than a football  match  -  left  alone  for
human rights or Burmese politics.

        Like  many  australians, one  thing  certain about Mr Hawke
is he don't know enough about Burma.  Hopefully,  the  Secretary of
Human  Rights Sub-Committee would give recently published submissions
on Burma for him to read. That'll help him not  to  messed-up  with
Burma's human rights  issues next time.

\* endreport *\

> 
> The BurmaNet News: Wednesday, February 15, 1995
> Issue #108

> 11 BKK POST: EX-AUST PM BOB HAWKE DEFENDS VISIT TO BURMA
> 
> 
> *************************INTERNATIONAL*************************
> BKK POST: EX-AUST PM BOB HAWKE DEFENDS VISIT TO BURMA
> 10 February 1995
> 
> 
> FORMER prime minister Bob Hawke, under fire of his business
> dealing with Burma's military dictatorship, said yesterday that
> the junta has "positive feature" despite its record of human
> right abuse.
> 
> Foreign Minister Gareth Evens has criticized Hawke for
> visiting Rangoon earlier this month to seek lucrative business
> deal, bur failing to raise the issue of human rights. Even said
> such as approach undermines others' attempts to include Burma to
> respect human rights.
> 
> In letter to the Canberra Times and Sydney Morning Herald
> published yesterday, Hawke said Burma does not warrant
> sanctions by other countries because its offenses are not in the
> same category as the South African apartheid system which is now
> dismantled.
> 
> "It does mean that if we are to be listened to with any
> respect we should be prepared to acknowledge the positive
> feature, achievements and intentions of regimes we would
> critise on other grounds," Hawke wrote in the Canberra paper. "In
> Burma's case, he said, "there are such positive, but you would
> not know it from reading your paper or listening to the critics
> of my visit," he said.
> 
> Hawke letter did not cite any of positive aspects of the
> Burmese government that he may have had in mind.
> In this letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hawke asked,"Do we
> cause commercial contacts with Indonesia because our
> government and other in the community, disapprove of some od its
> international policies?"
> 
> Earlier this week, Evans gave Burma six months to improve this
> Human rights practices or risk new international sanction. ON the
> eve of Hawke's visit, the Burmese military launched an all-out
> assault on the Karen guerrillas, who have been fighting for
> autonomy since 1948, from base near the Thai
> border. (BP)
>