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Kyaw Win pledges democracy after st



Subject: Kyaw Win pledges democracy after stability

Myanmar general pledges democracy after stability

A top Myanmar military intelligence official currently in Tokyo pledged
a peaceful transition to democracy Thursday after stability is restored
in the country, acknowledging the need to open dialogue with the
National League for Democracy led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Brig. Gen. Kyaw Win, a top military intelligence official of the junta,
is on a 10-day visit to Japan at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry.
This is the first time Tokyo has officially invited a Yangon junta
official.

Kyaw Win is believed to be the 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, which was established three years ago. The office is headed by
Khin Nuynt.

Kyaw Win's remarks came at a meeting Thursday with Parliamentary Vice
Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura that was aimed at
promoting communication between Tokyo and Yangon, a Foreign Ministry
official said.

Although Machimura conveyed Tokyo's readiness to promote good bilateral
relations, he expressed concern over the regime's infringement on human
rights and disregard for democracy, the official said.

The military took power in Myanmar during 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 the National League
for Democracy won a landslide victory.

During the meeting, Kyaw Win promised to establish a democratic
government in Myanmar in the future, but stressed that "there is an
opposition force that is preventing the country from achieving
unification and economic developments," the official quoted him as
saying.

Kyaw Win also defended the military regime's hardline position on its
people, explaining that the junta must first restore stability in the
country because there are many minorities opposing the junta, he was
quoted as saying.

Kyaw Win's visit here has drawn criticism from human rights groups in
Japan denouncing the military regime for violations of human rights and
democratic principles.

Nonetheless, the Foreign Ministry decided to invite him on the grounds
that it is important for Japan to have a means of communication with the

regime and to fully explain Tokyo's position on pending issues, the
official said.

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