SLORC'S ECONOMIC REFORMS VS NLD'S S

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: SLORC'S ECONOMIC REFORMS VS NLD'S STAND FOR PEOPLE'S RIGHTS

SLORC'S ECONOMIC REFORMS VS NLD'S STAND FOR PEOPLE'S RIGHTS

7/7/97

SLORC,the ruling military junta has just ruled out NLD's recent demand of
having a dialogue.
It was NLD,the people's party that has always opened ways for fruitful
dialogues while SLORC
was persuading ASEAN to admit Burma into the regional group. Once officially
confirmed by
ASEAN to admit Burma as a member ,SLORC has got more and more confident in
clinging to
their own agenda ,the firm decision of holding to power without regards to
the promises the junta 
made regarding transfer of power.

ASEAN's major mistake was its decent thinking of influencing SLORC after its
membership.
The flaw  of ASEAN regarding "constructive engagement " was confirmed  when
SLORC
rejected ASEAN's  request of having  a dialogue with the opposition. Why is
SLORC so arrogant
 and overconfident? According to the recent intelligence reports, China has
never said  "No" to 
SLORC's requests to strengthen its defence and help restructure Burma's economy.

Is it too late for ASEAN to regret its arrogant mistake?Or is NLD going to
engage more in political
violence as accused by SLORC's generals? 

As for NLD, its  stand has always been straightforward. To restore democracy
for its people as
soon as possible is the first aim. 

 Many rights activists and analysts believe SLORC won't give in peacefully
as SLORC's agenda
of economic reforms would take another ten years while Aung San Suu Kyi and
NLD,her party
had always been a pawn for detering international sanctions.

Tun Myint, a graduate student from Indiana University said ,"SLORC has
"faith" in economic 
reform not because they want to open people's mind, eyes, and intellectual
growth and to 
develop the nation of people in Burma but because they fear that they will
loose power, which 
would bring them to face justice for what they have done against people in
Burma during their
 time.  Therefore, their faith in economic reform is just a fake faith.  If
they have real faith, why
 don't SLORC let intellectuals in Burma have freedom to exercise their skills ?"

Who benefit from SLORC's economic reforms?Currently only SLORC's cronies
do.Will it last?
So far SLORC seems to reckon the nation to be in peace but SLORC shouldn't
forget the saying
"There's a calm before a storm".Will it be the storm of the impatient
Burmese people or the political
violence that has been warned by SLORC's generals themselves?

By Julien Moe for IntelAsia
IntelAsia@xxxxxxx
IntelAsia@xxxxxxxxxxx