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U.S. acts on Burma but not wheat [A



US acts on Burma but not wheat 
By ROBERT GARRAN  
1aug98 


ALEXANDER Downer and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright yesterday
telephoned the UN Secretary-General, urging him to intervene personally to
defuse a political crisis in Burma over the military Government's treatment
of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

But although united over Burma, Mr Downer and Dr Albright were divided on
the controversy over the donation of US wheat to Indonesia, a major
Australian wheat market. 

In a sign of Australia's concern, John Howard raised the issue with Dr
Albright at a dinner on Thursday night. 


Dr Albright promised that the US wheat donation would not affect Australia's
commercial markets and agreed to an Australian request to send officials to
Washington to find a way to ensure this. 

But she made it clear the US would not review the decision and said another
donation of up to a million tonnes of wheat was being considered. 

"We understand, if I didn't before I certainly do now, the level of angst
about it here," she said. 

Mr Downer warned that conditions in Burma could deteriorate rapidly because
of the Burmese Government's treatment of Ms Suu Kyi. 

"That, in turn, could lead to a big increase in refugee flows into Thailand
and have broader regional implications," he said. 

"We think still more international pressure needs to be brought to bear on
Burma." 

Dr Albright said it was clear the Government's account of Ms Suu Kyi's
predicament was false. 

"Far from being concerned about Aung San Suu Kyi's health, the Government
denied her food and clean water and spurned efforts by Australia, Japan and
others to resolve the situation through negotiation. 

"As a result, Burma has moved further away from reconciliation and increased
its isolation." 

Ms Suu Kyi's path was blocked by Burmese military when she drove out of
Rangoon last Friday to visit supporters, without seeking the approval of
security authorities. 

Her car was stranded on a small bridge for six days until late on Thursday
when her own driver was removed from the car and a military driver drove her
back to her compound. 

Burma says she is obliged to report her movements to the security forces for
her own protection. 

Dr Albright said Burma's handling of the issue was "inappropriate in terms
of the way that one handles any citizen of a country, much less the leader
of an opposition". 

"What's going on there is an extremely dangerous situation. Our two nations
agreed that the members of the international community should work to
encourage a dialogue inside Burma and we do believe that the UN needs to
play a more vigorous role," she said. 

Dr Albright said yesterday's annual Australia-US Ministerial Consultations
were the most important the two countries had had for some time because of
the dramatic changes in the region. 

"It is possible that this region will emerge from the financial crisis more
integrated, more democratic, more committed to policies that can ensure
stable and sustainable growth. We do not have to fear change, we need to
steer it in the right direction and that's the purpose of our alliance and
it was the purpose of our discussions." 

She said Australia and the US welcomed the formation of a new government in
Japan "and agreed to encourage it to take strong action to stimulate its
economy and to deal forthrightly with structural issues, including bank
reform, that are a strong obstacle to growth".