INFORMATION SHEET No.A-0504 (I) No

[OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx]

                  INFORMATION SHEET No.A-0504 (I)
 
                      No.A-0504 (I)                     15  July 1998

(1)		Three Ambulances, a Pediatric Refractometer for Ministry of Health
		Myanmar Industries of Nature Association, a non-Governmental Organi- zation
of Japan, donated three ambulances and a pediatric refractometer to the
Ministry of Health at the Ministry on 14 July.  
(2)		Company Commander of KNU Exchanges Arms for Peace
		Company Commander Henry of Battalion No 2, Brigade No 1 of KNU exchanged
arms for peace in the region of South-East Command on 24 June. He was warmly
welcomed by officials of the command who attended to his needs.
OFFICE CALLS IN YANGON ON 14 JULY
(A)		Chairman of Myanmar Investment Commission received President 
Mr Buntaro Kawase and party of Showa Highpolymer Co Ltd of Japan at his
office.
(B)		Deputy Prime Minister Lt-Gen Tin Tun received Chairman Mr Sir Barry
Holloway and party of Pacrim Energy NL of Australia at his office.
(C)		Minister for Hotels and Tourism received Senior Vice President Mr Jack
Hrad and party of Keppel Land International Ltd of Singapore at his office.
(D)		Secretary of Myanmar Investment Commission received Resident
Representative (Singapore) Mr R Venkateswaran of Export-Import Bank of India
at the MIC Office.
(E)		Vice-Chairman of Yangon City Development Committee Vice-Mayor received
Chairman Mr Buntaro Kawase and party of Showa Highpolymer Co Ltd of Japan at
the meeting hall of YCDC.
(F)		Minister for Hotels and Tourism received Director Dr Tin Maung Naing of
Idris Hydraulic Investment Myanmar Ltd at his office. Similarly, the minister
received Managing Director Ms Annalie Moog of Indo China Services Travel Ltd
of Germany.
Special Feature
		This office is presenting a response from the Myanmar Embassy in Washington
(D.C). to the Washington Post in connection with  the Article "Courage in
Burma" in the Washington Post for your reading pleasure.

************
The Editor
Washington Post
Washington , D.C

Sir,
	The post?s July 13 editorial, ? Courage in Burma ? is glaring in blindly
supporting Aung San Suu Kyi , Blindness is one of the principal enemies of a
free media and it can only result in trite observations.
	Aung San Suu Kyi is no Nelson Mandela. The two do not bear comparison. One is
a disgruntled housewife-turned-politican who desperately seeks to be popular
and who covets power at all costs. The other is a self-effacing nationalist
who has devoted his entire life to free his people from the shackles of
Apartheid imposed by a white minority. Whereas Aung San Suu Kyi lived most of
her adult life with her English husband in the West, oblivious of the trials
and tribulations of her fellow countrymen, Nelson Mandela endured decades of
imprisonment by the Apartheid regime and only by dint of sheer conviction,
dedication and hard work was he able to marshall domestic and international
support and lead his nation to a new era of freedom.
	True, both Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi are Nobel laureates. There the
similarity ends. Who can deny that Mandela, a nationalist who displayed
unparalleled courage under trying circumstances and who through personal
example and leadership ensured the peaceful transfer of power in South Africa
deserves the Nobel Peace Prize? In the case of Aung San Suu Kyi, quite a few
eyebrows were raised when she won the nomination. She was an unknown housewife
who had been willy-nilly co-opted to lead a disparate group of political
activists solely on her credential as the daughter of General Aung San, the
hero of Myanmar?s independence from Britain. Forget that she was married to an
Englishman and that she lived the better part of her life in England and that
she had no linking of the complexities of the situation in the country. Or
that her constant exhortation to the masses was, ?Defy all laws?. What is
relevant is that she did nothing to contribute to world peace. Yet the Nobel
Committee deemed it proper to award her the prize!
	Aung San Suu Kyi, emboldened by the Nobel Prize bestowed upon her, has been
acting like a Prima Donna and has been challenging the Government at every
turn. She ignores the fact that there are 9 other political parties in the
country and that it is the bounden duty of the authorities to ensure
evenhandedness. At this juncture when peace and stability have been restored
in the country, the Government considers it important to consolidate the gains
and to establish a modern disciplined nation, step by step. The welfare of the
nation must be given precedence over the welfare of individuals or groups.
	In recent weeks, Aung San Suu Kyi upper the ante by adopting a
confrontational stance. On July 7, Aung San Suu Kyi accompanied by the
National League for Democracy (NLD) Chairman, U Aung Shwe and other colleagues
headed north of the capital ostensibly to meet with a party official. When her
vehicle was stopped at a security check point, she made an issue out of it and
the western media, including the Post, jumped at the opportunity to berate the
Government. The security personnel had requested that she return to Yangon to
ensure her safety and to prevent a breach of the peace. The authorities
exercised restraint and in the final analysis allowed her to meet the party
official.
	The Government has always taken care to ensure the personal safety of all
politicians. With regard to Aung San Suu Kyi the government provides her
security in accordance with her own request made in 1995 at the time
restrictions placed on her were lifted.
	It bears to be repeated that Aung San Suu Kyi is not a captive. On the
contrary she lives in a large lake - side compound with relatives and party
members. She regularly visits other party leaders in their homes in various
parts of Yangon and attends lunches and dinners at Embassies. She has also
received foreign journalists and dignitaries in her home. They include The U.S
Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, The Philippines Secretary of State
Domingo Siazon and the Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi. If she so
desires, she can even leave the country.
	Courage? If intrigue can be called courage, fanaticism called fearlessness,
personal security called captivity, then a word becomes a means of falsifying
reality.


											(Sd)
											Tin Winn