Bkk Post - Burma must sit at democr

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Subject: Bkk Post - Burma must sit at democracy table

Bangkok Post - Aug 23, 1999.
Editorial
Burma must sit at democracy table

It was a week-long exercise which fully illustrated the massive credibility
gap the Burmese military junta has created. The regime began by accusing the
democratic opposition of planning a national uprising on Sept 9-the
so-called "four nines" day often written in Burma as 9/9/99. But it flatly
denied reports from opponents of a wave of arrests.

The All Burma Students' Democratic Front said that up to 120 people had been
arrested. The opposition group said some of those arrested were young
students who demonstrated in the southern town of Mergui. Nonsense, said a
statement from the regime. It said four people were helping authorities with
their enquiries. Anyone suggesting anything else, such as up-country
demonstrations, was wrong and deliberately attempting to harm Burma.

Three days later, Rangoon announced the arrest of 32 people. An official
spokesman for the ruling State Peace and Development Council, San Pwint,
said an undisclosed number of other Burmese were assisting authorities at
various police stations around the country. This is Burma-speak for
detention without visitors, charges or legal help. People held in such a
manner are not released until they "volunteer" the information that
authorities want-whether it is true or not. Amnesty International last month
caught the authorities holding a child and attempting to have her denounce
her father.

The regime claims, and may even believe, that members of the National League
for Democracy and other more intemperate groups are aligned in a vast
conspiracy. Its aim is violent revolution and the overthrow of the military
regime. This continual claim by the regime is repeated despite enthusiastic
participation in a democratic election, despite constant denials and
transparent meetings by the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta's claim
that it must continue its oppressive dictatorship to prevent a revolution is
wearing extremely thin.

The Burmese junta has become a worldwide symbol of corruption and brutality.
The regime is recognised as friendly to drug dealers and a violator of the
most basic human rights. Rangoon's rulers are famous for the violence they
apply against their own people. In recent weeks, Burma has come under ever
increasing criticism from Thais for its drug connections.

It is all so unnecessary. Burma's rulers can prevent political violence on
Sept 9 and all other days. They can win respect at home and abroad. They can
move their country forward and improve the lives of their citizens. The
junta members, who are despised in much of the world and barred from
travelling to many countries, could reverse that treatment and the opinions
that many hold of them.

The leaders of Burma should open a true dialogue with the democratic forces
who wish to bring peaceful change to their country. This certainly includes
Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has won the votes of her
fellow Burmese, and won an election which should have put her party into
power.

General Maung Aye, second in the junta's hierarchy, bragged at the weekend
that the army is able to kill more demonstrators today than in 1988. He said
his forces would annihilate any opposition. How sad. It is unnecessary to
"annihilate" anyone or any group. The regime, as it knows, is not threatened
by violent revolution. It is threatened by a repressed population, who
desire only what their neighbours have: freedom, a voice in their own future
and a reasonable opportunity to better their lives.

The junta is responsible to its own people to move towards political
agreement, national reconciliation and a future of democracy and freedom. It
also is responsible to its neighbours for this. An unstable Burma, with a
discredited government, is a major drag on Asean. The fact is that Burma's
junta is holding back Burma and the region.