VOICING MY THOUGHTS: Nudge Burm

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Subject: VOICING MY THOUGHTS:     Nudge Burma towards democracy 

Editorial & Opinion 

     VOICING MY THOUGHTS:
     Nudge Burma towards
     democracy

     National League for Democracy leader Aung
     San Suu Kyi has urged the foreign
     community, and in particular Asean, to do
     more to help the people of Burma. 

     RANGOON -- The democratisation process in
     Burma can be accelerated if the international
     community -- the Association of Southeast
     Asian Nations (Asean), in particular --
     increases pressure on the military regime. 

     The junta continues to frustrate the will of the
     people by refusing to honour the results of
     the 1990 parliamentary elections, which the
     opposition National League for Democracy
     (NLD) won by a landslide (obtaining 392 of
     the 485 parliamentary seats). 

     Human rights activists and many NLD
     members and supporters are languishing in
     Burmese jails while the junta, which calls itself
     the State Peace and Development Council
     (SPDC), continues to harass, intimidate and
     repress pro-democracy advocates. 

     We in the opposition cannot allow any
     authoritarian government to hijack the
     elections and are determined to continue with
     our struggle. 

     We believe that support from Asean -- which
     comprises Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia,
     Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Laos and
     Vietnam and which Burma recently joined -- is
     crucial to our quest for democracy. 

     If Asean can persuade or put pressure on the
     present regime to convene the Parliament
     that was elected by the people, this could be
     the first step towards democratisation. 

     While some countries are very active in
     helping hasten this process, the Asean
     countries are not. Indeed, quite a few Asean
     governments -- though not the public -- justify
     not helping by invoking the argument that
     democracy is a Western concept and that
     Asian values must be upheld. 

     We do not accept the notion that democracy
     is a Western value. To the contrary,
     democracy simply means good government
     rooted in responsibility, transparency, and
     accountability. No authoritarian system can

     assure good government because there is no
     accountability. The government can get away
     with whatever it does. 

     Asean also invokes the principle of
     non-interference with the internal affairs of
     member-countries, though not with a clear
     conscience. Rather, they are afraid that there
     may be some aspects of their countries that
     might invite criticism. Our position is that if
     they have problems that invite legitimate
     criticism, let there be criticism. If not, they
     have nothing to fear. 

     Because of its policy of non-interference,
     Asean has rejected calls from other
     governments outside the region to nudge the
     Burmese government into allowing greater
     freedom for its people. 

     Instead, it has opted for a non-confrontational
     ''constructive engagement'' stance in relation
     to Rangoon. This has not worked. 

     This policy of non-interference is just an
     excuse for not helping. In this day and age,
     you cannot avoid interference in the matters
     of other countries. 

     For example, many Asean countries are
     investing in Burma. Is that not interference in
     our internal affairs? How can they say they
     will get involved in economic matters but not
     in politics. Economics and politics are
     unquestionably closely related. 

     Foreign investment has provided Burma's
     military junta with legitimacy and propped up
     the regime. Among Asean countries
     Indonesia is the biggest investor in Burma
     and was its strongest supporter during the
     time the military regime sought international
     respectability through gaining admission into
     Asean. 

     It is time for a new initiative on the part of the
     Asean members to impress on the junta the
     need to open a dialogue with the NLD. 

     Asean members must recognise that it is the
     military regime that is being inflexible and not
     the NLD, as the government's propaganda
     asserts. We have bent over backwards to
     make dialogue possible. 

     But the military regime does not want
     dialogue because they think that dialogue
     would be the beginning of the end for them.
     That would not be the case, because real
     dialogue should be acceptable and beneficial
     to everybody, including the military regime. 

     The military's current position of simply
     clinging to power by instilling fear among the
     people through force is not good for the
     country or for them. A negotiated settlement
     is a far better option for everyone. 

     BY AUNG SAN SUU KYI 

     The Nation