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Organization: Forum for Democracy and Human Rights
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Date: Wed, 10 Jul 1996 16:49:02 +0000
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Subject: Political stalemate continues in Myanmar
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The Asian Age: Political stalemate continues in Myanmar
by Teena Gill
Bangkok, July 8: Even as the first anniversary of Burmese dissident leader=
Aung
San Suu Kyi=92s release approaches the stalemate between pro-democracy fo=
rces
and the military regime indicates no signs of a solution.
On July 19 last year, in a surprise move the Burmese government set Suu Ky=
i
free after keeping her for six years under house arrest for her role in th=
e
pro-democracy uprising that swept the country in 1988.
Since then while Suu Kyi and her supporters have managed to revive politic=
al
opposition in the country to some extent the military regime, which calls =
itself
the State Law and Restoration Council (SLORC), too has made several gains,=
largely on the international diplomatic front.
Indications, however, are that matters could come to a head soon with eith=
er the
democracy activists or the military forcing the pace of events.
=93 The Burmese (Myanmarnese) Government and the Opposition are like a pai=
r
of boxers in slow-motion circling each other without throwing any punches.=
This
situation cannot last too long, said U HIA PHAY, a Burmese writer and
political analyst here.
In late May this year Suu Kyi=92s National league for Democracy(NLD) rais=
ed
the stakes by holding a three-day meet of top party leaders in Rangoon d=
espite
the military regime=92s warnings against the event.
SLORC authorities responded by arresting over 250 NLD members who were
duo to attend the party congress.
In a victory of sorts for the pro-democracy activists most of the arrested=
NLD
leaders were subsequently released. Official Newspapers, however, denied t=
hat
the government was being lenient and stepped up their attacks on Suu Kyi a=
nd
the NLD, calling them =93destructive elements=94 and =93stooges of foreign=
power=94.
Yet another act of defiance by the NLD has been its regular weekend publi=
c
meetings outside Suu Kyi=92s house on university avenue in Rangoon where t=
he
Burmese leader addresses crowds of sometimes up to 10,000 people.
In early June, SLORC authorities passed laws empowering the home ministry =
to
ban the NLD=92s public meetings and arrest those attending but till now s=
uch
drastic action has actually been carried out.
Analysts interpret the military regime=92s passivity as being partly duo t=
o its fear
of sparking off international condemnation against any harsh steps it may=
take.
During the past year the regime has consolidated its ties with the Associa=
tion of
South East Asian Nations{ASEAN}, a grouping it wishes to join in the near
future.
For the first time SLORC officials have been invited to attend a meeting a=
t
Jakarta of the ASEAN Regional Forum{ARF}, a security body, in July this=
year and do not want to precipitate a domestic crisis before the event.
But nobody doubts the fact that the Burmese military will not hesitate to=
crack down severely on pro-democracy activists if their movement threatens=
the
stability of the regime itself.
Last month, though nothing finally happened, Rangoon was rift with rumour=
s
of Suu Kyi=92s impending arrest following her call for recognition of Bur=
ma=92s 1990
poll verdict which the NLD won by a landslide.
=93Rearresting me would probably give a new momentum to the movement for
democracy,=94 Suu Kyi told an interviewer recently though she pointed out =
that
the NLD was not trying to provoke any such action from the authorities.=
=93I don=92t think {mahatma} Gandhi or Martin Luther King courted arrest f=
or the
sake of being arrested but only to show that even at the risk of impriso=
nment,=94
one must do what one has to do,=94 she said.
For many Suu Kyi=92s youthful supporters, however, the slow pace of polit=
ical
movement since her release last year has been frustrating.
On July 4, a small bomb exploded under a government bill-board denouncing
pro-democracy activist in a downtown Rangoon park near the US embassy, the=
first violent incident in the Burmese capital on the part of the pro-demo=
cracy
forces in several years.
The bomb was a reminder to the military regime that in the absence of =
constructive dialogue with the NLD the situation can only get more turbule=
nt.-IANS
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