THE NATION: The people made their

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Mailbag 

      The people made their
      choice -- it was Suu Kyi

      In response to Pat James' piece ''Junta is
      leading Burma in the right direction'' (The
      Nation, April 5, 1998): 

      Forgive me if I place more trust in the
      opinions of Burma's elected leaders than in
      a businessman from Texas, but I simply
      cannot agree with Pat James' rosy picture
      of Burma's military government. 

      James claims that ''Asian-style'' capitalism
      is what Burma needs, forgetting that
      Burma's (Asian) people already chose
      ''Western-style'' democracy as their
      preferred form of government. 

      He says that the military made the right
      choice in 1990 -- presumably referring to
      their denial of the results of popular
      elections -- but fails to explain why a
      transition to democracy in 1990 wouldn't
      have brought far more investment and
      progress than the current corrupt junta. 

      Perhaps Burma offers ''a safe place to
      raise a family,'' but only as long as you do
      what the military says, don't admit that you
      care about democracy or human rights, and
      don't threaten to stop Burma's lifeblood of
      foreign investment. 

      Burma's ''quiet and peaceful lifestyle'' may
      be available to many businessmen such as
      James, but to precious few Burmese. 

      Most insulting are his claims that public
      opinion is shaped by ''political exiles''
      alongside a misleading attack on the
      leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi. 

      James appears to have forgotten that Aung
      San Suu Kyi is not a political exile, that she
      is indeed the leader of the only
      popularly-elected party in Burma, and that
      she has a duty to advocate on behalf of her
      people. 

      ''Political exiles'' became exiles when they
      fled Burma in 1988 amid the bloodbath of
      10,000 murdered democracy activists.
      Should their loyalties lie more with the
      killers of their friends than with the elected
      leaders of Burma? 

      The basic point, however, is that regardless
      of Suu Kyi's motives, regardless of whether
      James thinks she is a proper leader (he
      says she is not), the Burmese people have
      chosen her party to lead them. 

      And she would be irresponsible to do
      otherwise. 

      Marco Simons 

      Free Burma Coalition/New England Burma
      Roundtable 

      Harvard University