Junta's UK Ambassador on BBC

[carol@xxxxxxx]

Transcript of interview with U Win Aung, Burmese Ambassador to Britain, from
7/31/98 13:30 GMT edition of BBC's "The World Today":

Peter Dobbie:  Here with us now is U Win Aung, the Burmese Ambassador to the
United Kingdom.  Did your country forcibly make this woman leave her car and
go back to her home?

U Win Aung:  You know, let me reply on this.  On the 29th of July afternoon,
NLD leadership, and with Chairman U Aung Shwe, they have a meeting, and they
went to U Aung -- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to persuade her to go back, to return
to Yangon.  And but she didn't listen.  We learned from her own physician
that she had some fever, and if she remain in this car for a long more --
other more days, then she might suffer.  And you can see a scenario, looking
back from another side of scenario -- she could become ill, she could become
dehydrated, and maybe there could be something happen to her life.  And if
that happens, you know, our government will be blamed!

Peter Dobbie:  But did you forcibly make her leave that car -- yes or no?

U Win Aung:  No, we didn't make her leave the car.  We just asked the driver
to vacate and then we drove back --

Peter Dobbie:  So Madeleine Albright, the U.S. Secretary of State speaking
in Australia there, Madeleine Albright has got her facts completely wrong.
The Burmese military did not make Aung San Suu Kyi go back to her home.

U Win Aung:  We make her to go back home, yes.  We admit that.  But looking
back that, if she remained in that motor car for more two days, say, what
would happen to her?  And then who would blame us for everything.  And what
happened to her, we would be blamed.  Now we took that action, really
understanding that we might be blamed for this action.  But this is the
thing which we have to choose.  Otherwise why our people would like to see
her die in that motorcar?  No.

Peter Dobbie:  The United States says this is, and I quote, "an unacceptable
violation of human rights."  Are they right?

U Win Aung:  Madame Albright has been using every opportunity to berate our
country.  This is also --

Peter Dobbie:  She's not berating the country, though, Mr. Ambassador, is
she?  We're talking here about a woman who in effect won elections.  We are
talking here a Nobel laureate.  She's not berating the country.  She's just
saying go back to what should have become the status quo.

U Win Aung:  Okay, let me answer you like this.  This episode was really
synchronized and added drama from both outside and inside.  It's just like a
volleyball game --

Peter Dobbie:  By whom?

U Win Aung:  You know, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi putting up the ball and Daw --
and Madame Albright smashing down the ball.

Peter Dobbie:  Who synchronized it?

U Win Aung:  I don't know.  Maybe that's a powers.  That's a powers outside
which are synchonizing everything.

Peter Dobbie:  Why is your country apparently so worried by this woman?  Why
does she consistently appear to be a thorn in the flesh of the Burmese
administration?

U Win Aung:  It's not a thorn in the flesh, in a way.  What we are trying to
do, our vision, her vision are quite different now.  I think her vision is,
she might thought she could build democracy in our country based on a
security situation like back in 1988.  It is not the same vision with us.
Our vision is, number one thing, to build a durable and everlasting
democracy we need a solid foundation.

Peter Dobbie:  But the people of your country voted for a durable democracy.
They have patently, or what would appear to be, a durable democratic leader.
Her name's Aung San Suu Kyi.  She spent six days sitting in a car.  Why
don't the authorities just say, "Fine, you won the election; you take over"?

U Win Aung:  Don't you think that there still we need a constitution?  There
are a lot of problems.  You know, our situation is, our problems are not
very simple problems, just to have elections and change of power to a new
government.  Our problems existed for 50 years.  We have been in our country
fighting among each other for more than 50 years.  And we have 135 national
races and we were always divided.  The fundamental problem is not an
election of government, but fundamental problem is national unity.  Based on
the national unity, we could build.  If there is no national unity, we
cannot build.

Peter Dobbie:  But surely Mr. Ambassador, you talk about national unity,
what is happening here is that you are nationally dividing your country,
because that woman is who she is.  And if you carry on the way you're going,
and if your country carries on the way it's going, you are going to turn her
into some sort of icon, the likes of which you haven't seen before.

U Win Aung:  That I disagree with you.  In our own eyes, for the first time
in our lives, for me personally also, for the first time in our life we are
seeing peace and tranquility in our country.  Before --

Peter Dobbie:  Wouldn't your country be more peaceful, or wouldn't it be
more tranquil is you actually spoke to her, if you actually said, "Yes, you
got the Nobel Prize, yes, you won the elections, we need to have
negotiations, we need to have a discussion"?

U Win Aung:  We need to have common ground.  The common ground we are
laying, common ground.  You know, if there's a dialogue to be taken place,
first we need a contact, then better understanding.  Based on this better
understanding and contact, we can develop more dialogue.  If there is no
contact and no better understanding amongst each other, and also if there is
no common ground -- she has been opposing us in whatever action we are
taking, and then that is the thing:  how can we create a common ground where
based together, talk together.  That's also, on her side also, it needs to
be done, not only on our side.

Peter Dobbie:  Mr. Ambassador, thank you for coming in.