General In No Rush To Open Suu Kyi

[soewin@xxxxxxx]

Subject: General In No Rush To Open Suu Kyi Talks

GENERAL IN NO RUSH TO OPEN SUU KYI TALKS

Recent Parcel Bomb Could Have Come From  Japan, He Says 

By Katsuhiko Meshino; staff writer

YANGON   Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, secretary 1 of the Myanmar State Law
and Order Restoration Council, accused Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the
National League for democracy, of assisting anti-government organizations
and calling for ethnic minority groups to take up arms against the government. 

In an exclusive interview last week with The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Khin
Nyunt stressed that he was reluctant to resume talks with Suu Kyi, saying
that she also boycotted the so-called constituent assembly that was
responsible for the drafting of a new constitution. 

Khin Nyunt said that an April 6 parcel bomb explosion at the home of
Lieutenant General Tin Oo was probably instigated by a Japan-based
anti-government group. "We have strong reasons to believe that an
anti-Myanmar government organization within Japan, with the collaboration of
an external organization," was involved in the attack, he said. "What we
cannot understand is how this bomb could come through the high-technology
security measures at Japanese airports. The general speculated that
anti-government forces may have used special route to send the bomb. He
suggested that the Japanese government conduct an investigation. The
general, however, declined to give details to support his assertion. When
asked about Japan's continued freeze of yen loans to Myanmar, the general
grumbled, then said he would welcome the resumption of such loans at any
time. The Myanmar government recently decided to go ahead with the country's
airport expansion project without the assistance of yen loans. While
conceding that allowing Myanmar into the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations was a decision for member states to make, Khin Nyunt said he is
confident that the country will be admitted soon. 

He also predicted that Myanmar will be admitted to the ASEAN free Trade Area
with "no difficulties."