SLORC's Response

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The Burmese Response



                         Wednesday, May 7 1997; Page A20
                         The Washington Post 

                         The Post's April 24 editorial "When Sanctions Make
Sense"
                         supported the Clinton administration's decision to
impose economic
                         sanctions on Myanmar [Burma]. It ignored historical
precedent and
                         failed to check the facts in portraying dissident
Aung San Suu Kyi
                         as having been "democratically elected."

                         The Post's support for sanctions apparently is
based on the
                         assumption that there are widespread human rights
violations in
                         Myanmar.

                         The government has negotiated successfully the
return to the legal
                         fold of 15 armed groups that had been challenging
successive
                         governments, leaving only one, the KNU, in armed
opposition. The
                         government continues to leave the door open to that
group, which
                         after four rounds of talks last year unilaterally
ended the
                         negotiation.

                         With regard to the assertion that Aung San Suu Kyi is a
                         "democratically elected leader," I should like to
put the record
                         straight. Aung San Suu Kyi never was a candidate
for the 1990
                         elections, which were held to choose
representatives to draft
                         principles for a new constitution. In keeping with
the election laws,
                         which were established at the time of our
independence from
                         Britain, no citizen married to a foreigner is
eligible to be a
                         representative. Thus Aung San Suu Kyi -- who is
married to
                         Michael Aris, a British citizen, and who resided in
Britain all her
                         adult life, save for the two-year period prior to
1990 -- was not
                         eligible to stand for election.

                         Given the findings of the considerable research
carried out on
                         sanctions, I find The Post's conclusion that
"rarely has a nation
                         been more deserving of economic sanction"
contrived. First and
                         foremost, the Clinton administration's decision
smacks of hypocrisy
                         coming as it does at a time when the president has
not been able to
                         act on analogous situations. It is unconvincing
that Myanmar should
                         stand so starkly apart from other regimes. The
political systems of
                         some of the United States' allies are not notable
for their concern
                         with individual liberties.

                         Second, the chances that unilateral sanctions
imposed by the
                         United States would have a measurable impact on
Myanmar are
                         nil. Eighty percent of Myanmar's trade is with
other Asian
                         countries, and any void that the United States
might leave in the
                         wake of the sanctions would be quickly filled by
Asian investors.

                         It should be noted that unilateral sanctions are
particularly
                         ineffective. One need only look at U.S. policies
toward Cuba, Iraq
                         and Libya.

                         It is time to question the wisdom of the current
punitive stance
                         toward Myanmar by members of Congress and the
media. At a
                         time when there is significant change and
transformation in
                         Myanmar, when it is opening its doors, creating
opportunities for
                         other countries to make a difference not only in
the economic field
                         but also in other spheres, it is important for the
United States not to
                         be influenced by the rhetoric of dissidents. The
sooner the United
                         States realizes this, the better its chanc\es of
achieving progress on
                         bilateral issues as well as in bringing about
positive change in
                         Myanmar.

                         THAUNG TUN

                         Minister-Counsellor

                         Embassy of the Union of Myanmar

                         Washington