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Leader defends country's democracy,



Subject: Leader defends country's democracy, rights situation, prisons 

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts 
November 24, 1999, Wednesday 
SECTION: Part 3 Asia-Pacific; BURMA; FE/D3700/B 

Leader defends country's democracy, rights situation, prisons 

Source: Radio Myanmar, Rangoon, in Burmese 1330 gmt 18 Nov 99 


Burmese leader Khin Nyunt has delivered a comprehensive speech in defence
of the country's political
system and human rights. Addressing a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry,
Khin Nyunt said Western
countries suffered from bias with regard to Burma because they were trying
to shape the world
according to their own perceptions. He said all nations have their own
characteristics and their
sovereignty must be respected above all. He said that the " Defence
Services government" was only a
transitional administration that was laying the foundation for a
multi-party democratic system. In
conclusion, Khin Nyunt said that Burma was doing all it could to protect
human rights and that free
inspections of Burmese prisons had shown that allegations about torture
were not true. 

Excerpts from report by Burmese radio on 18th November 

The closing ceremony of Foreign Ministry's Diplomacy Course No 1 was held
at 1630 [local time]
today at the ministry's Wunzin Minyaza Hall. Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, chairman of
the Myanmar [Burma]
Foreign Affairs Policy Committee and secretary-1 of the State Peace and
Development Council
[SPDC], attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. 

He said: Today is a historic day for the Foreign Ministry as it marks the
closing ceremony of its first-ever
diplomacy course in its 52-year history... 

I also wish to take this opportunity to make some comments on our rapidly
changing world and the
tasks faced by Myanmar in international relations. As we enter the 21st
century, the world is
encountering a number of new challenges. This is particularly true in
international affairs. Traditionally,
the basis for international relations was state-to-state relations based on
equality between independent
and sovereign nations. Regrettably, as the current century draws to a
close, it can be seen that some
powerful Western nations are attacking this very foundation of
international relations in their efforts to
shape the world according to their mould. 

It need hardly be said that such a situation is a source of great concern
for third world countries.
Without any regard to the historical background, cultural heritage,
traditions or objective conditions of
other nations, these Western nations are endeavouring to impose their own
concepts and values on the
rest of the world in their attempts to exert influence over others. They
are also attempting to change the
very meaning of the concepts of independence and sovereignty for their own
ends... 

It should be recalled that almost all developing nations won their
independence only after great sacrifices
in blood, sweat and tears. It is only natural that these countries place
great importance on their
independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Therefore, the
emergence of new and dangerous
concepts and thinking which try to denigrate the concepts of national
independence and sovereignty can
greatly jeopardize the state system. Under the circumstances, it is our
belief that the unity and solidarity
of developing nations is of supreme importance. 

I do not say this with anti-West sentiments, nor should it be interpreted
that all Western systems or
values are bad. However, due regard should be given to the fact that each
nation has its own
characteristics and must therefore pursue political and economic systems
best suited to its own
conditions. 

Another feature of today's international relations is the use of the facade
of democracy and human rights
to interfere in the matters that are essentially within the domestic
jurisdiction of other states. Most nations
of the world, including Myanmar, desire a democratic system. However, given
the differences in the
conditions and circumstances, the democratic systems practised in the
developing countries might not
necessarily be the same as those of the Western nations. It is only natural
that there can be differences in
the systems followed by various nations. 

As for Myanmar, although the Defence Services had to assume responsibility
in 1988 to prevent the
nation from disintegration due to conditions of chaos and anarchy, the
Defence Services government
considers itself to be a transitional administration that is laying the
foundation for the emergence of a
multi-party democratic system. Therefore, in trying to establish a
democratic state, the government on
one hand is educating the people in democratic ways while building the
necessary requisites for a
democratic society by establishing conditions of peace, stability, national
solidarity, higher standards of
living and a sound economic foundation. The democratic nation that we are
trying to build is a peaceful,
modern and developed one in which all our national races reside in unity
through weal and woe, and
where the union spirit prevails. Although our Defence Services have to
assume state responsibilities due
to unavoidable circumstances, the Defence Services have no desire
whatsoever to hold on to power for
long. Once the constitution has emerged, power will be transferred to the
constitutional government
which will lead the nation in the future. 

As such, it is all the more regrettable that the Western powers, which are
always saying that they wish to
see the emergence of a democracy in Myanmar, continue to criticize Myanmar
and apply various
kinds of pressure and sanctions against her. If these countries just pause
and take stock, they will realize
that the goals and the strategies of Myanmar and the Western countries are
one and the same. It is only
due to the specific conditions of Myanmar that our methods and tactics are
not identical. Due to the
challenges the country faces, it is only natural that a certain amount of
time will be needed for democracy
to bloom in Myanmar. If we were to establish democracy in a hasty manner,
as the Western nations
desire, Myanmar would surely have to face undesirable consequences,
possibly even leading to the
disintegration of the nation. 

All sorts of negative influences will no doubt arise, greatly affecting the
newly established positive trends
in political, economic and social spheres. The peace prevailing in the
country after more than four
decades of bitter experience of civil strife can definitely be endangered
by such hasty and ill-considered
actions. Consequently, we have to proceed step by step and systematically
in trying to build a
democratic system that would be in accord with the wishes and desires of
our national brethren and that
would be appropriate to the objective conditions in the country. 

Therefore, it is necessary for the nations which hold negative attitudes to
view objectively and without
prejudice and bias the actual situation and conditions in the country. They
should give priority to the
entire population of over 48 million rather than put emphasis on one
individual or organization. They
should also be aware of the fact that to stress the concept of democracy
alone, even before the
necessary foundation is consolidated, could result in instability and unrest. 

In parallel with democratic concepts, the principles of human rights are
also being pushed into the centre
stage of politics. Speaking of human rights, we believe that due
consideration should be given to
diversity in historical, cultural and religious backgrounds. Similarly, in
promoting human rights, nations
should try to cooperate with each other through dialogue, persuasion and
sympathetic understanding
rather than attempt to impose their views and values on others unilaterally
and arbitrarily. No nation
should prescribe for itself the right to intervene in the internal affairs
of other states by merely viewing
through its own standards. To disregard the principle of sovereignty and to
practise policies that are
detrimental to sovereignty under the pretext of human rights will pose a
great menace to the world. 

Myanmar has the highest regard for human rights. As such, the constitution
that is being drafted is
based on the universal values of liberty, justice and equality. At present,
some nations are exerting
various kinds of pressure and attacking Myanmar, saying that there are
human rights abuses and
repression in the country. I categorically state that there are no human
rights abuses in Myanmar. In this
regard, I wish to cite a few concrete examples. According to the existing
laws, death sentences are
passed in respect of certain serious criminal offences. Here, I wish to
stress that no death sentence has
been carried out since 1988, when the Defence Services assumed state
responsibilities. Moreover, on
several auspicious occasions, general amnesty was declared and many
offenders were either set free
entirely or had their sentences commuted. On the so-called forced labour
practices, I would like to give
the information that since May of this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs
has issued a notification
suspending the application of certain provisions of the law relating to
voluntary labour contribution,
except for national emergencies. 

Moreover, in order to become better acquainted with the knowledge and
expertise of other nations in
human rights affairs, discussions have been held with Australia since the
middle of this year. We had the
pleasure to welcome Australian Human Rights Commissioner Mr Sidoti to our
country and he was able
to have very fruitful and meaningful discussions with various authorities,
including ministers. It is our hope
that we will be able to continue this cooperation with Australia in the
future as well. 

Another case in point was the false allegations concerning the conditions
in our prisons. During the
current year, we permitted the internationally respected International
Committee of the Red Cross
[ICRC] freely to inspect our various prisons and places of detention and to
interview the prisoners in
accordance with their established procedures. If the allegations of torture
and human rights abuse are
true, would anyone allow such visits? 

The government is building a peaceful, prosperous, modern and developed
state, which is the aspiration
of all our national races. In this respect, I wish also to acknowledge the
role of the foreign service
personnel in striving towards this national goal. In promoting and
protecting our national interests, our
diplomats need to be fully qualified so that they can stand shoulder to
shoulder with the rest of the
world. In order to fulfil the requirement, steps are being taken under the
guidance of the leaders not only
to hold such courses in the future but also to introduce more advanced
training courses. 

I would like to take this opportunity to comment on some of the events
which recently took place at
several Myanmar embassies abroad. As nothing untoward happened within the
country on 9th
September, as they had hoped, the dissident and terrorist groups began to
vent their frustrations on a
number of our embassies abroad, together with their foreign accomplices.
There were incidents of
violence at our embassies in Canberra and London but the worst was at our
embassy in Bangkok,
which was seized by armed terrorists on 1st and 2nd October. There should
not be any doubt that what
happened at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok was an act of pure terrorism.
That was why the
incident was condemned by the international community. I also wish to put
on record our appreciation
of the personnel of the embassy, who faced the ordeal with dignity,
courage, solidarity and loyalty. 

Despite all these incidents, Myanmar continues to adhere faithfully to its
policy of striving to maintain
friendly ties with all nations of the world in accordance with its
independent and active foreign policy.
Our actions will always be guided by the norms of international relations
and in the spirit of making
larger issues become smaller and smaller issues until completely resolved.
Some people and some
organizations which hold negative views try to take advantage of the
delicate situation following the
incidents in the embassies and to cause problems in our relations with the
respective countries. As
Myanmar took a principled stand in accordance with its policies of good
neighbourliness and peaceful
coexistence, all their endeavours proved to be futile. In accordance with
the Myanmar saying: do not
let a wet hand get dry, Myanmar will continue to pursue friendly relations
and mutually beneficial
cooperation with the nations of the world, and particularly the
neighbouring countries. 

On the other hand, all these matters demonstrate how complex and delicate
international relations have
become today. In these circumstances, foreign service personnel need to be
extra diligent. It becomes
incumbent upon them to keep abreast with the latest trends in the world and
continually to improve their
diplomatic skills. Only through hard work will Myanmar be able to stand
proudly with the rest of the
world in international relations. Therefore, I would like to conclude by
wishing that all foreign service
personnel will become efficient and skilful, diplomats who serve the
interests of the country and the
people and upon whom the entire nation can rely and depend... 


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