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AFP-Hopeless thieves calls for inte



Subject: AFP-Hopeless thieves calls for international support

Myanmar calls for international support
BANGKOK, July 28 (AFP) - Myanmar on Wednesday condemned a wave of foreign
attacks on its human rights record and military government and challenged
the international community to help it build democracy and a thriving
economy.
The call came as the military government in Yangon found itself the target
of Western delegates at this week's meetings with the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright charged that the junta's iron rule
was a "threat" to the region and urged Yangon to open dialogue with
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a statement faxed to AFP, the government said "unrealistic expectations,
irresponsible statements and measures which are counterproductive in laying
the foundation of a functioning democracy should not be imposed."

It warned such a political tack could mean that "Myanmar's peaceful
transition to a sustainable democracy" would be "hampered and delayed."

The statement called on foreigners to understand what it claimed was its
drive for "peace and stability paving the way to sustaining a flourishing
democracy."

It rejected assertions that Myanmar was a threat or widespread perceptions
that its refusal to cede power to Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition, which won a
landslide election victory in 1990, had led to political and economic
turmoil.

"Myanmar has undeniable transformed itself from (being) not so long ago a
war-torn country into one of the most peaceful and stable countries in the
world today," the statement said.

The generals in Yangon claim that they have ended years of strife between
Myanmar's myriad ethnic groups.

Foreign critics claim they have either repressed opponents or turned a blind
eye to drug trafficking activities of ethnic armies in exchange for
ceasefire deals.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung slammed Western powers in Singapore
Tuesday for using ties with ASEAN to "interfere" in Yangon's internal
affairs.

The junta's human rights record has been a constant thorn in the side of
European Union relations with ASEAN since Myanmar joined the regional bloc
two years ago.


ASEAN hopes its policy of "non-intervention" and political persuasion will
promote change in Myanmar but Western nations including Britain and the
United States are harsh critics of the regime.

As a result, Myanmar, which is accused of flagrant human rights abuses,
including torture, labours under a punitive regime of economic sanctions and
other measures imposed by the US and the EU.