AP: US to Meet SLORC Minister at AS

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Subject: AP: US to Meet SLORC Minister at ASEAN Forum

 US to Meet SLORC Minister at ASEAN Forum

 By JOE McDONALD
 Associated Press Writer
   JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Burma defended its human rights record today
as Secretary of State Warren Christopher arrived for a meeting of Asian
leaders, hoping to drum up support to pressure Burmese military rulers to
end repression.
   Southeast Asian governments oppose sanctions Washington had considered
after an honorary Danish consul -- and friend of pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi -- died in one of Burma's most notorious prisons.
   Burma was admitted Saturday to the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations as an observer, the final step before full membership. The group's
foreign ministers are meeting in Jakarta.
   Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said ASEAN believed Burma's
problems could not be resolved by isolating the country or imposing
sanctions.
   Christopher said last week that he doubts ASEAN's approach will work.
Human rights groups are also skeptical.
   At a news conference, Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw rejected direct
talks with Suu Kyi -- recipient of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize -- but said
her National League for Democracy was welcome to rejoin talks on a new
constitution.
   Suu Kyi's party, which won 1989 elections that the military government
refuses to honor, pulled out of the talks last November, saying they
wouldn't produce a democratic constitution.
   Ohn Gyaw said said it could be more than a year before work on the new
constitution is finished. He insisted it would enshrine multiparty
democracy.
   In May, the government arrested 262 members of Suu Kyi's party in an
attempt to block a meeting where she had vowed to write an alternative
constitution.
   Ohn Gyaw insisted those detained weren't arrested. "They were invited
and they were asked what was the purpose of their meeting," he said.
   Foreign Minister Alexander Downer of Australia, who met with Ohn Gyaw
today, said he called for political reform, but with little apparent
effect.
   Amnesty International and other human rights groups, as well as Western
governments, have condemned Burma for torturing political prisoners, using
forced labor and committing atrocities against ethnic minorities.
   "We respect the norms and the ideals of human rights. But like in any
other country in Southeast Asia, we have to take into consideration our
culture, our history, our ethos," Ohn Gyaw said.
   "What is good in other countries cannot be good in our country."
   Ohn Gyaw said Burma, which the military government calls Myanmar, won't
permit an international inquiry into the death of James Leander Nichols, a
65-year-old Burmese citizen who had acted as honorary consul for Denmark
and other Scandinavian nations.
   He was sentenced in April to three years in prison for owning two fax
machines and a telephone switchboard. Danish officials contend he was
punished because he was a friend of Suu Kyi, who was released last year
after six years of house arrest.
   Burmese say Nichols, who suffered from heart trouble and diabetes, died
of a stroke last month. His family and human rights groups contend abuse at
Rangoon's Insein prison, notorious for poor conditions and torture,
contributed to his death.
   Denmark has demanded the European Union impose sanctions on Burma.
   Some Western companies already have withdrawn from Burma under threat of
boycotts. The Dutch brewer Heineken pulled out in July, joining a growing
list that includes PepsiCo, Amoco, Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne, Eddie Bauer
and Reebok International.
   Christopher and Ohn Gyaw aren't scheduled to meet, but they are supposed
to participate Tuesday in a session of the ASEAN Regional Forum, a military
consultation group that includes non-members.
   
KT
ISBDA