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NLD AWAITS DIALOGUE (25.8.97-THE NA



Subject: NLD AWAITS DIALOGUE (25.8.97-THE NATION)

NLD AWAITS DIALOGUE
25.8.97/THE NATION
THE BURMESE OPPOSITION IS GROWING INCREASINGLY CONFIDENT THE
MILITARY GOVERNMENT WILL SEEK TALKS SOON, THE NATION'S ANDREAS
HARSONO AND YINDEE LAERTCHAROENCHOK REPORT.
The residence of U Tin Oo is located in the elite Golden Valley
area in Rangoon and the Burmese dissident was still listening to
an English language foreign radio service. He had the volume set
high as if to taunt the military intelligence officers who
frequently inspect his house.
"In Burma, listening to foreign radio stations is a rare
phenomenon. People are afraid. They don't talk about politics in
public. They could end up in jail even by mentioning the names of
some opposition figures.
"Everybody wishes to talk. But the day will come. It is not far
away," smiled the square-faced and bespectacled Tin Oo, a retired
army general and currently the vice-chairman of the opposition
National League for Democracy whose secretary-general is 1991
Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Clad in light blue longyi, white collarless shirt and grey
Burmese jacket, Tin Oo hinted that the time is now appropriate
for the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) to
have talks with the NLD.
"They [Slorc] once said they are not going to talk with Khun Sa.
The next day they drank tea together," said Tin Oo, referring to
the infamous drug lord who in January last year surrendered
himself to the Slorc and who has since claimed to have washed his
hand off illicit heroin trade in the Golden Triangle area and now
live quietly in a 6 mansion in Rangoon.
Tin Oo is not alone in thinking so. Scores of Asean diplomats in
Rangoon and prominent Burmese figures believed that both the
Slorc and NLD are now interested in opening a dialogue in a bid
to resolve Burmese political stalemate since Slorc's refusal to
hand over power to NLD after winning the 1990 general election.
Many believed if Burma could find a solution, it would not only
benefit the Burmese people who had suffered from brutal military
rule since 1962, but also contribute to stability in Southeast
Asia.
"Thailand, at least, will have no refugees on its western
border," said an Asian diplomat.
Poerwanto Lenggono, the Indonesian ambassador to Burma, said the
Slorc had taken steps to open a dialogue with NLD after the
country's membership in Asean was confirmed in the Asean
ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur last month.
He said since then both sides of the Burmese divide are
restraining themselves and appear to "soften" their political
stance.
Poerwanto said the situation is now relatively "peaceful"
although the University Avenue remain closed where people are
barred from going to Suu Kyi's residence on that famous street
where the NLD had held public gatherings every weekend since her
release in July 1995 until they were stopped late last year by
the Slorc.
To many exiled dissidents and foreign diplomats, the unexpected
meeting on July 17 between Slorc Secretary Lieutenant General
Khin Nyunt and NLD Chairman U Aung Shwe was actually the
beginning of a bilateral Slorc-NLD dialogue.
Although some critics believed the meeting was organised purely
for "international consumption" in a move to avert any possible
last-minute hurdle to Burma's admission into Asean, several
Burmese activists - including an exiled NLD MP in Bangkok - were
ready to give the Slorc the benefit of the doubt.
Despite an obvious lack of any essential substance, the latter
hoped that the "cordial discussions" as the Slorc put it would
lead to more talks between the two Burmese political antagonists.
Khin Nyunt, also chief of the notorious Directorate for Military
Intelligence Services, reportedly told Aung Shwe that he would
like to have further dialogue, but the NLD leader also clearly
notified that further talks should include Suu Kyi. "We're not
going to have dialogue without her," Aung Shwe reportedly said.
Poerwanto said over the last three months, NLD has not made any
new overtures especially after the Slorc had accused it of
involving in the fatal parcel bomb attack in April that killed
the eldest daughter of Slorc Secretary Number Two Lieutenant
General Tin 00.
He doubted whether Suu Kyi, who is a strong supporter of
non-violence movement, could have order such a move, adding that
the 52-year-old NLD leader had perhaps expected Asean to ask the
Slorc to be "a good boy" after becoming an Asean member.
Some critics said that Slorc decision to have the talks was
because the generals are facing difficulties in running the
country under strong international pressure. The military junta
cannot keep the prices of basic needs under control, prompting
criticism of the military regime.
Burmese journalist Sein Win, however, has another explanation. He
believed that Suu Kyi is "lying low" after Khin Nyunt's serious
allegations in June that she and the NLD had received over
US$80,000 from American organisations.
Under the Burmese law, it is illegal for any political party to
receive financial support from foreign countries.
When asked whether Burma could get out of the current political
stalemate, Sein Win, who worked for the then privately-run New
Light of Burma before it was nationalised in 1965, said it might
happen after the constitution is passed. But as to when this will
happen, nobody knows. The National Convention had stopped
convening after NLD pulled out of the constitution-making body in
November 1995.
Sein Win said- after the passing of the constitution, Slorc
promised to hold a general election but want to exclude Suu Kyi
because she is married to a foreigner.
Burma's laws ban politicians married to foreigners from
involvement in parliamentary or governmental affairs. Suu Kyi,
who is married to British scholar Dr Michael Aris, however, has
repeatedly said she would not seek political power.
Some Burmese businessmen also doubted whether people like Tin Oo
and Suu Kyi could govern Burma "because they have no military sup
port." It is next to impossible that Suu Kyi, however popular she
is, be in power as long as the army does not support her.
"Power comes from the barrel of the gun," said a Chinese noodle
manufacturer.
When asked whether the Slorc and NLD needs an international
mediator like South African Nelson Mandela who is now working on
East Timor, Tin Oo said the situation in Burma and East Timor is
different.
According to him, Burma does not need a mediator although he
admitted that a number of Nobel laureates including Mandela and
South African Bishop Desmond Tutu had already offered help.
"No, we can solve the problem ourselves," said the former chief
of staff of the Burmese Army.
He also said that scores of old veteran officers had organised a
meeting to help mediate the Slorc-NLD conflict, adding that these
old soldiers - who helped General Aung San, Suu Kyi's father, to
fight against the British colonial ruler and liberate Burma -
want to see democracy and good governance restored in Burma
before they die.
Tin Oo explained that bilateral talks should be conducted on
equal grounds "in a dignified way on the pattern of democratic
principle."
He also urge Asean representatives to Rangoon to talk with NLD.
//end//