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First junta official to visit Japan
- Subject: First junta official to visit Japan
- From: soewin@xxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1999 19:07:00
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Japan Times: 7 January 1999, Thursday.
Protests seen for Myanmar junta official
By HISANE MASAKI
Staff writer
A top Myanmar military intelligence official will visit Japan
later this month at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry in
efforts to strengthen dialogue between Tokyo and Yangon through
personnel exchanges, ministry officials said
Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Kyaw Win is to arrive in Tokyo on Jan. 20 for a
10-day stay, during which he will meet with leaders in
political, economic and other circles for an exchange of views
on relations between the two countries, the officials said
requesting anonymity.
Kyaw Win's visit is expected to draw criticism from human rights
groups -- both in Japan and abroad -- denouncing the
Myanmar military regime for violations of human rights and
democratic principles. Although many other high-level
regime officials have visited Japan, they have done so only at
the invitation of the private sector, mainly businesses.
Kyaw Win is believed to be a right-hand man of Lt. Gen. Khin
Nuynt, the regime's intelligence chief and No. 3 man.
Kyaw Win is a deputy director general of the Myanmar Defense
Ministry's Office of Strategic Studies established three
years ago. The office is headed by Khin Nuynt.
The Office of Strategic Studies has a uniformed staff of about
40 and is intended to function as a think tank for the
commander in chief of the defense services when a civilian
government is eventually formed.
The military took power of Myanmar in a 1988 coup and put
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest in
1989. The military then annulled the results of a 1990 election,
in which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won
a landslide victory.
Originally called the State Law and Order Restoration Council,
the regime renamed itself the State Peace and
Development Council in November 1997.
Although Myanmar was admitted to the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations in July 1997, it is still shunned by large
parts of the international community for shortcomings in human
rights and democracy. The United States and
industrialized European nations have even toughened economic and
other sanctions against Myanmar in the past few
years due to the SPDC's continued crackdown on the prodemocracy
movement led by Suu Kyi.
Although Japan suspended fresh economic aid for Myanmar, except
that for humanitarian purposes, after the coup, it has
staunchly advocated a policy of "constructive engagement" with
the SPDC to encourage favorable changes in Myanmar.
Japan is widely believed to have played a key role behind the
scenes in persuading the military regime to release Suu
Kyi from house arrest in the summer of 1995.
Japan has had a long and amicable relationship with Myanmar.
Aung San, Suu Kyi's father, a revolutionary hero for the
country, received training in Japan during World War II. "We
have maintained personnel exchanges with Myanmar even
since the 1988 coup. We need to further strengthen channels of
dialogue with the NLD as well as with the SPDC all the
more because the Myanmar situation is now deadlocked," one
Foreign Ministry official said, also requesting anonymity.
Defending the ministry's decision to invite Kyaw Win, the
official said it will be significant for such a key Myanmar
figure to see firsthand how Japanese feel about the SPDC.
"There are various opinions in Japan about the SPDC. Some people
are sympathetic to the SPDC but others are critical
of it," the official said. "But Japanese people who visit
Myanmar usually do not make any remarks that make the ears of
SPDC officials burn. This leaves them with an inaccurate
impression that no Japanese people have bad feelings toward
them."
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<html>
<h4>
Japan Times: 7 January 1999, Thursday.</h4>
<h2>
<b><u>Protests seen for Myanmar junta official</u></b></h2>
<p><br> By HISANE MASAKI
<br> Staff writer
<p> A top Myanmar military
intelligence
official will visit Japan later this month at the invitation of the Foreign
Ministry in
<br> efforts to strengthen dialogue
between Tokyo and Yangon through personnel exchanges, ministry officials
said
<br> Wednesday.
<p> Brig. Gen. Kyaw Win is to
arrive in Tokyo on Jan. 20 for a 10-day stay, during which he will meet
with leaders in
<br> political, economic and
other circles for an exchange of views on relations between the two countries,
the officials said
<br> requesting anonymity.
<p> Kyaw Win's visit is expected
to draw criticism from human rights groups -- both in Japan and abroad
-- denouncing the
<br> Myanmar military regime
for violations of human rights and democratic principles. Although many
other high-level
<br> regime officials have visited
Japan, they have done so only at the invitation of the private sector,
mainly businesses.
<p> Kyaw Win is believed to be
a right-hand man of Lt. Gen. Khin Nuynt, the regime's intelligence chief
and No. 3 man.
<br> Kyaw Win is a deputy director
general of the Myanmar Defense Ministry's Office of Strategic Studies
established
three
<br> years ago. The office is
headed by Khin Nuynt.
<p> The Office of Strategic Studies
has a uniformed staff of about 40 and is intended to function as a think
tank for the
<br> commander in chief of the
defense services when a civilian government is eventually formed.
<p> The military took power of
Myanmar in a 1988 coup and put opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under
house arrest in
<br> 1989. The military then
annulled the results of a 1990 election, in which Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy won
<br> a landslide victory.
<p> Originally called the State
Law and Order Restoration Council, the regime renamed itself the State
Peace and
<br> Development Council in November
1997.
<p> Although Myanmar was admitted
to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in July 1997, it is still
shunned by large
<br> parts of the international
community for shortcomings in human rights and democracy. The United States
and
<br> industrialized European
nations have even toughened economic and other sanctions against Myanmar
in the past few
<br> years due to the SPDC's
continued crackdown on the prodemocracy movement led by Suu Kyi.
<p> Although Japan suspended
fresh economic aid for Myanmar, except that for humanitarian purposes,
after the coup, it has
<br> staunchly advocated a policy
of "constructive engagement" with the SPDC to encourage favorable changes
in Myanmar.
<p> Japan is widely believed
to have played a key role behind the scenes in persuading the military
regime to release Suu
<br> Kyi from house arrest in
the summer of 1995.
<p> Japan has had a long and
amicable relationship with Myanmar. Aung San, Suu Kyi's father, a
revolutionary
hero for the
<br> country, received training
in Japan during World War II. "We have maintained personnel exchanges with
Myanmar even
<br> since the 1988 coup. We
need to further strengthen channels of dialogue with the NLD as well as
with the SPDC all the
<br> more because the Myanmar
situation is now deadlocked," one Foreign Ministry official said, also
requesting anonymity.
<p> Defending the ministry's
decision to invite Kyaw Win, the official said it will be significant for
such a key Myanmar
<br> figure to see firsthand
how Japanese feel about the SPDC.
<p> "There are various opinions
in Japan about the SPDC. Some people are sympathetic to the SPDC but others
are critical
<br> of it," the official said.
"But Japanese people who visit Myanmar usually do not make any remarks
that make the ears of
<br> SPDC officials burn. This
leaves them with an inaccurate impression that no Japanese people have
bad feelings toward
<br> them."</html>
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