It is still difficult , for me, to

[saikyawsein@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: It is still difficult , for me, to understand the stance & policy

of DSSK. 
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Dear Sayama Dr.Daw Khin Ni Ni Thein,

Please give me a chance to express my thanks to your reply to 
my questions. 
But, its is still difficult for me to understand the stance and 
policy of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi because of the extracts of the 
news-articles mentioned below.

Yours sincerely,
Sai Kyaw Sein

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REQUEST  (1)
**************

Please let me know your opinion to the extracts mentioned below for
my understanding.

"AUNG SAN SUU KYI HITS OUT AT AUSTRALIA HUMAN 
RIGHTS STRATEGY , YANGON, Aug 25 (AFP)",  
>Aung San Suu Kyi supports the use of economic sanctions and isolation
>to force the junta to hand over power to a democratic government.

SERIOUS ELECTRIC POWER SHORTAGE IN MYANMAR
The Yomiuri Shimbun, October 29, 1998
(Reporter: Shigefumi Takasu on 28th at Yangon)
>The people has antipathy not only to the military government but also
>to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Secretary General of NLD which is opposing
>investments and aids from overseas because it may help the present
>military government.
>Even Mr. Aung Than who said he is supporting Mrs. Suu Kyi in
>his heart, told us "Most of the people are thinking that for lifting
>up the Myanmar economy, investments and aid from foreign
>countries is essential."
>Time of electric power supply stop came, all lights in Mr. Aung Than's
>office went off. In darkness, he murmured "Now, only thing we think
>everyday is about electric power and water supply. Not about
>politics."

HUMANITARIAN AID URGED FOR MYANMAR
Sunday, January 17, 1999; 8:15 a.m. EST
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - 
>A U.S. congressman on Sunday appealed for large-scale humanitarian
>aid to Myanmar, rejecting arguments that such assistance would merely 
>sustain that country's harsh military regime. 
>``Humanitarian concerns are taking a back seat in Burma. But I've
>always believed that human concerns and human rights go together,''
>Rep. Tony P. Hall, D-Ohio, told reporters in Bangkok. 
>Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whom Hall met last
>week, opposes foreign aid to her country, saying some 50 percent of it
>is siphoned off by the military. 
>The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has also criticized some foreign aid
>workers for allegedly ``collaborating'' with the regime and promoting
>poorly conceived projects. 

AUNG SAN SUU KYI WARNS AID COULD BLOSTER 'DESPOTIC REGIME'
BURMA by WILLIAM BARNES
South China Morning Post
Wednesday, June 16, 1999
>Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has warned that international aid could
>backfire if it props up a "despotic" regime.
>The alert comes as the United Nations is poised to send its political
>secretary Alvaro de Soto back to Rangoon in August to use the carrot of
>financial aid and technical assistance to try to win political concessions
>from the military government.
>Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, in a paper to a recent Johns Hopkins University
>conference on Burma, said anyone offering even humanitarian aid should
>liaise with her National League for Democracy (NLD) to ensure it did not
>give succour to the military.
>This is a tough requirement for anyone hoping to work in a police state.
>In January, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi clashed with US congressman Tony Hall over
>her right to veto aid.

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REQUEST(2)
************

Please let me know your opinion to the extracts mentioned below for
my understanding.

" AUNG SAN SUU KYI SAYS TOURISM DOESN*T HELP BURMA*S FUTURE"
[Radio Australia, 24 August 99]
>Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says foreign tourists visiting
>the country do nothing to help its political or long term economic
>situation.

"AUNG SAN SUU KYI BLASTS FOREIGN TOURISTS IN MYAMAR"
AFP, YANGON, Aug 24 
>The 1991 Nobel laureate told AFP in an exclusive interview late Monday that
>foreign visitors did not help to open the country.
>"Tourists don't bring new ideas. Most of the tourists who come (here) come
>to enjoy themselves," the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader said. 
>A strong advocate of economic sanctions against the regime here, Aung San
>Suu Kyi also dismissed the potential benefits from tourism to the crippled
>local economy. 
>"I think any sound economist will tell you that to try to build a country's
>economy on tourism is a very bad idea," she said. 
>"It's a soft option and it has no long-term benefit. 
>"And if you want to look at it from a social point of view, tourism brings
>in as much ill as good." 
>She also deplored the number of French tourists arriving in Myanmar,
>formerly known as Burma. 
>The United States and Britain officially discourage citizens from visiting
>Myanmar, but arrivals from these countries rose over the same period. 
>Western tourists are still small in number compared with Asian,
>particularly Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

REQUEST (3)
*************
Please let me know your opinion to the extracts mentioned below for
my understanding.

MYANMAR HAILS VISIT OF AUSTRALIAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL 
06:10 a.m. Aug 04, 1999 Eastern
YANGON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - 
>Myanmar's military government on Wednesday hailed a visit by 
>Australia's human rights commissioner, saying it would bring
>``better understanding and cooperation'' on rights.
>Chris Sidoti earlier wound up a three-day visit to look at the feasibility
>of a human rights commission for Myanmar after meeting several senior
>government officials and the vice chairman of the opposition National League
>for Democracy, Tin Oo.
>He did not, however, meet NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who, according to
>Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, has expressed doubts that any
>commission would be independent.
>A spokesman for the generals called Sidoti's visit ``fruitful and
successful.''
>``The government feels these talks are helpful and will help its citizens
>enjoy their rights and also learn to accept responsibilities as well as
>obligations in maintaining a stable and responsible community as the nation
>makes its systemic transition to democracy.''
>Sidoti's mission was just the latest foreign initiative aimed at progress on
>rights in Myanmar.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI HITS OUT AT AUSTRALIA HUMAN RIGHTS 
STRATEGY 
YANGON, Aug 25 (AFP) - 
>Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has hit out at 
>Australia's approach to improving human rights inside her military
>-ruled country.
>Earlier this month the head of the Australian Human Rights
>Commission, Chris Sidoti, travelled to Myanmar to discuss setting
>up a human rights body.
>In an interview with AFP, Aung San Suu Kyi said the visit did not
>help.  "It is a little ironic that anybody imagines that they will
> be able to cooperate with the junta to improve the human rights 
> situation in Burma, it's a bit like asking the fox to look after
>the chicken," she said.
>The Nobel peace laureate said the junta had attempted to use Sidoti's
>visit to improve its international image.
> "Of course the junta is quite eager to present a civilised front so
>they have come out receiving these delegations," she said in the interview
>late Monday.  
>Writing in Monday's International Herald Tribune, Australian foreign 
>minister Alexander Downer defended Sidoti's visit as a means to engage
>the junta in serious dialogue on protecting human rights.
>"We owe it to the Burmese people to find creative ways to encourage
>reform and reconciliation in their country," he said. 
> "Human rights are a matter of international concern, and as their 
>protection is the responsibility of the national government, we have to
>deal with the government." 

A START TO HELP SET BURMESE ON THE ROAD TO HUMAN RIGHTS
By Alexander Downer (the Australian foreign minister)
International Herald Tribune ; August 23, 1999
>Simply shouting from the sidelines has apparently achieved nothing. It is
>one thing to criticize the Burmese government - and we have done a great
>deal of that - but we are also looking at other initiatives to help
>alleviate the plight of the people in Burma. 
>That is why two months ago I suggested to the then Burmese foreign minister,
>U Ohn Gyaw, that Rangoon consider setting up an independent national human
>rights institution, as Indonesia did some years ago under the regime of
>President Suharto. I believed that such an approach would provide a way
>through which Burma could work to guarantee human rights within its own
>jurisdiction. 
>I pursued my proposal with the present foreign minister, U Win Aung, when I
>met him in Singapore late last month at the annual post-ministerial
>conference of the Association of South East Asian Nations. It was in this
>context that Australia's human rights comissioner, Chris Sidoti, visited
>Burma this month to discuss with officials there the possible role of an
>independent human rights institution. 
>Prior to Mr. Sidoti's visit, two middle-ranking Burmese officials visited
>Australia in mid-July for an introduction to the Australian approach to
>national human rights institutions, and for broad discussions on human
rights. 
>Australia's experience has been that work toward the establishment of
>national human rights organizations by governments seeking to respond to
>the concerns of the international community can make a positive impact over
>the longer term. 
>The fact that the Burmese government can see the point of such a body,
>although it has yet to make up its mind about how it would work, is a good
>step forward. 
>I have no illusions. This is a first step in what will be an incremental
>process. But we want to do what we can to encourage an improvement in human
>rights in Burma. 
>Ultimately, setting up a national human rights institution will need a firm
>commitment from the Burmese themselves. I am well aware that the development
>of a genuinely independent body, if indeed that is possible, would take a
>considerable length of time. It would also have to be established according
>to internationally accepted standards. 
>To be blunt, if the Burmese were to construct a bricks and mortar
>institution next week, it would not be credible. Our immediate objective is
>to engage the key figures in a process of dialogue to better promote and
>protect human rights.  
>I know that there are those who do not accept that it is possible to talk
>to the regime about human rights issues. The opposition National League for
>Democracy led by Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said that
>our proposal is ''misguided.'' But human rights are a matter of
>international concern, and as their protection is the responsibility of the
>national government, we have to deal with the government. We have kept the
>league informed about developments concerning the proposal, and will
>continue to do so. 
>The Australian government's policy on Burma remains focused on the key
>goals of advancing the cause of democracy and promoting greater respect for
>human rights. I have consistently called on the Burmese government to enter
>into substantive discussions as soon as possible with the league and ethnic
>minorities, leading to genuine political reform. 
>We owe it to the Burmese people to find creative ways to encourage reform
>and reconciliation in their country. 

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---

Sai Kyaw Sein



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