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Thailand welcomes negotiations in M



Thailand welcomes negotiations in Myanmar

       Wed 19 Aug 98 - 12:06 GMT 

       BANGKOK, Aug 19 (AFP) - Thailand expressed the hope Wednesday that
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San
       Suu Kyi will be able to take part in talks between her National League
for Democracy (NLD) and the country's
       junta.

       A foreign ministry statement said Thailand welcomed Tuesday's meeting
between between Khin Nyunt, the secretary
       of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and NLD
chairman Aung Shwe.

       "Thailand hopes the dialogue will be without conditions and will
continue while giving a chance for Aung San Suu
       Kyi to take part," it said.

       It said the meeting -- billed as the first in a series of talks between
the rival camps of Myanmar politics -- was a
       potentially positive development for Southeast Asia as a whole.

       "Thailand wants to see national reconciliation between all political
sides and races in Myanmar, including the
       minority groups," the statement said.

       "This will lead to the end of conflict and political tension, and give
peace and stability to Myanmar and the
       Southeast Asian region."

       Thailand confirmed it did not want to interfere in the internal affairs
of its neighbour but instisted on its right to
       speak out on matters that could affect it directly.

       "Thailand has good will for the people who call for democracy and needs
to express its stance about problems that
       might affect Thailand or the region," the ministry statement said.

       Yangon and Bangkok have been locked in a diplomatic debate about the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations'
       general policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of member
states.

       Thai foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan has led a push to review the
policy in favour of a more pro-active and open
       approach which allows member states leeway to criticise each other
directly.

       Myanmar's junta and its opponents on Tuesday held their first round of
direct talks this year, as Nobel peace
       laureate Aung San Suu Kyi began the second week of a roadside stand-off
with the military rulers.

       Aung San Suu Kyi has been blocked on a road outside Yangon, while she
was on her way to visit provincial
       supporters.

       The NLD won the 1990 election by a landslide majority but the junta has
refused to give up the iron grip over the
       nation it has held since 1962.

       The junta has consistently refused to include Aung San Suu Kyi in
invitations for dialogue with the NLD.

                                                                              
          ©AFP 1998




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