Eager new boy becomes bounder sent

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South China Morning Post
Tuesday  September 2  1997

Burma 
Eager new boy becomes bounder sent to stand in the corner 

ANALYSIS by WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok 
Burma's Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw was like an eager schoolboy in the July 
annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to 
observers.

No matter how boring or routine the presentation, he could be seen nodding 
wisely or smiling quietly, as the occasion appeared to demand.

He seemed in no doubt that Burma's newly acquired Asean membership marked a 
big step forward in the efforts of the State Law and Order Restoration Council 
to gain international credibility.

Yesterday's emphatic bolting of the European door, combined with stinging 
comments about the junta's morals, was a reminder that the world is getting 
less, not more, tolerant of cruel dictatorships.

Britain's new Foreign Minister, Robin Cook, has been eager to spell out what 
he claims is a revitalised foreign policy that seeks to boost trade, but at 
the same time having a decent respect for human rights.

Martin Smith, one of Britain's leading Burma experts, said: "This is clearly a 
minefield.

"Mr Cook's barbed comments about Indonesian human rights have already upset 
workers and owners in Britain's important arms industry which traditionally 
sells a lot of its output to Jakarta.

"There is a feeling that Burma is the one country that they can be outspoken 
about . . . The one country that is really going to feel the heat of Labour's 
new policy will be Burma," he added.

Mr Ohn Gyaw has also felt the wrath of United States Secretary of State 
Madeleine Albright, who roundly condemned the junta for its denial of basic 
political freedoms and tapping of drugs profits.

"What some Asian countries still haven't recognised is that in the United 
States there is a unique cross-party consensus over Burma. There is no other 
foreign policy issue where the political establishment is in such strong 
agreement," said Josef Silverstein, professor emeritus at New Jersey's Rutgers 
University.

In other words Burma is rapidly becoming that rare target of Western foreign 
policy: a country that can be criticised without restraint.