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Response to The Washington Post, My



                          EMBASSY OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR                     
                                        WASHINGTON,  DC 
                                                                   
PRESS   RELEASE      13 /  98  		14  September 1998

 
	
 Myanmar Embassy's Response to The Washington Post


		It is a sad commentary of our times that The Washington Post ( Editorial,
September 14), chooses to trash Myanmar, notwithstanding the political and
legal maelstrom that imperils the White House.  While Americans are busy
worrying about whether the President can avoid  impeachment or survive,
unimpeached  in an increasingly untenable situation, the Post flies off on a
tangent and devotes an entire editorial column to denigrate Myanmar. This
attempt to deflect attention from the growing crisis at home makes a statement
about how the US is failing to live up to the high standard expected of it.

		The Post does a great disservice to its readers by not checking facts before
rushing to decry the " crackdown " in Myanmar. Had the Post bothered to follow
up on the allegation that some 700 NLD members have been detained in recent
months, it could have easily ascertained that the charge is baseless and that
it is nothing but a ruse to ratchet up pressure on the government. By now
everyone familiar with the tactics of the opposition groups must realise that
they are not adverse to exaggerating figures to suit their ends. In 1996, they
claimed 300 were detained ; last year 400; this year 700. The figure keeps
growing by geometric progression. When will the deception end ? The fact is no
NLD member has been arbitrarily detained or charged with a crime in recent
days. Let alone being dragged from  bed in the middle of the night. What may
have prompted the government's detractors to raise a hue and a cry is that
some NLD members were recently invited to government guest-houses to discuss
matters relating to the unlawful attempt of  that party to unilaterally
convene a parliament. It's not hard to imagine what would happen if each of
the 10 registered political parties in Myanmar decided to take such measures
unilaterally.

		The Post errs in stating that the military lost to the NLD in the election
held in 1990. The fact is that the military which was compelled to assume the
reins of state in September 1988 following the breakdown of civil order in the
country, responded  to the expressed wishes of the people by bringing to an
end nearly three decade of socialist rule. It did not contest the 1990
elections. Rather, as the only organized entity in the nation, it acted as an
arbitor.

		From the outset the military has been striving  to fulfill  the  aspirations
of the people for a democratic society. It abolished the single-party system
and allowed the formation of political parties.  It promptly replaced the
centrally-planned economic policy of the past, with market-oriented policies
and sought foreign direct investment. 


The Post conveniently forgets that it was the military that proceeded in 1990
with its plan to allow the Myanmar people to elect representatives to
participate in the government's proposed National Convention to draft a new
constitution. That was what  the elections  were for and not to form a new
government as a NLD and its supporters in the West now claim. It should be
recognized that Myanmar had no constitution at all at that time.

Out of the 235 political parties that sprang up in 1988 only 93 were able to
field candidates in 1990. A fact often overlooked by the West is that Aung San
Suu Kyi was herself not eligible to stand for elections.

	The allegation that the Myanmar Government engages in forced labour on a
massive scale is spurious. The fact that a commission of the ILO ritually
concludes that something is amiss in Myanmar based on stories fed to those
sitting in Geneva does not necessarily make it so. Reports of recent visitors
to Myanmar stand in stark contrast to tales disseminated by those who have an
axe to grind. 

	As regards the economy, Myanmar like others in the region has not been immune
to the financial crisis. However,  it has been able to shield its economy to a
large extend because it is not yet linked to the global economy as some of its
ASEAN partners and because it has always favoured a prudent policy of self
reliance. True, the World Bank recently declared the country ineligible for
new loans because it has not repaid past  ones. But has the Post stopped to
ponder why Myanmar, which has been faithful in meeting its repayments to IDA
up until very recently,  decided to suspend the further repayments ? The
answer lies in the attitude adopted by the major shareholders vis-a-vis
Myanmar. All loans to Myanmar have been suspended since 1987. The Bank's
reason for suspension of lending was a determination that Myanmar was
unwilling to modify the highly distortionary economic policies that the Bank
concluded created an environment in which external aid resources could not be
efficiently utilized. Eventhough Myanmar has now opened its doors and the
situation has changed, the Bank has not revised its stand. This is due not to
technical difficulties between the Bank and the Myanmar Government but  to the
US policy blocking loans to Myanmar from all international financial
institutions, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund ( IMF)
and the Asian Development Bank ( ADB ).

	In the circumstance,  the Myanmar Government took a decision to postpone
repayment on outstanding loans until the World Bank treats Myanmar like other
members and resumes lending. The amounts  involved are not significant and
Myanmar hopes to resume the payments sooner rather than later.

	Unilateral sanctions have never been successful and the case of US sanctions
against Myanmar is no different. The slack created by the departure of US
investors has been taken up by others from the ASEAN and  Europe. US ranks
only fifth on the list of foreign investors. All that US sanctions have
accomplished is to deprive Myanmars  working in textile mills and tourist-
related industries of their livelihood.

	It is indeed odd that the Post should be seeking to take issue with the
Myanmar Government at a time when the entire world is focusing on the
President's moment of reckoning. Surely, it is time to stop demonizing the
Myanmar Government and come to grips with reality. 



---------------------------------------------------------
 The following is the Post Editorial for your easy reference.


Burma Crackdown


	   The Washington Post, Editorial 
                 Monday, September 14, 1998 

                  WITH THE ECONOMY deteriorating and its political control
slipping, Burma's military regime has responded in the only way it seems to
understand -- with  more repression. Some 700 members of the National League
for Democracy  including 194 elected members of parliament, have been detained
in recent months, many in the past week. Some, including an octogenarian, were
rousted from their beds. The regime says the democrats were "invited" into
custody so the regime could "present the government's view." Even before the
latest roundup, three elected members had died in custody, and scores more
were being held in often deplorable conditions.

                  Burma -- or, as the current regime calls it, Myanmar -- is a
Southeast Asian  nation of 46 million people with great natural wealth and
beauty, a strategic  location and a tragic modern history. In 1990, its
military rulers permitted a  parliamentary election, which they lost
overwhelmingly to the National League  for Democracy. They never have
permitted the parliament -- which is Burma's only legitimate government -- to
meet.

                  Just last month a commission of the International Labor
Organization  concluded after a yearlong study that Burma's regime -- in
particular its  military -- engages in forced labor on a massive scale. This
"gross denial of  human rights" involves pressing women and children to walk
ahead through  suspected minefields, build roads and perform other dangerous
and unpaid  tasks. Resistance is met with torture, rape, beatings and murder.

                  At the same time, because of the regime's incompetence and
increasing  isolation brought about by U.S. economic sanctions, Burma's
economy is  declining rapidly. The World Bank recently declared the country
ineligible for   new loans because it has not repaid past ones, a signal to
other lenders to steer clear, and is reconsidering a loan to neighboring
Thailand for a power  plant that would depend on natural gas from Burma.

                  Students recently staged their largest demonstration in
years, despite obvious   risks, and Buddhist monks have protested and been
arrested. Instead of the  dialogue requested by the democrats, the regime
responds with more arrests.  The United States has spoken out clearly against
the regime. Japan and  Burma's neighbors in Southeast Asia should likewise
make clear that more  repression can only increase Burma's isolation. 

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