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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________


May 29, 2000

Issue # 1539

                           ELECTION ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

BurmaNet Editor's Note--This issue contains news articles, analyses 
and op/eds related to the 10th Anniversary of the 1990 elections.  
Articles not related to the anniversary are in issue the other issue 
being distributed today, #1540.


NOTED IN PASSING:

"Ten years of dictatorship is too long."

Robin Cook, Britain's Foreign Secretary (See THE SCOTSMAN: TIME FOR 
THE GENERALS TO END BURMA'S DECADE OF SUFFERING)

	
*Inside Burma

AFP: JUNTA BLOCKS NLD HEADQUARTERS ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF SUU KYI WIN

AP: DECADE AFTER HISTORIC ELECTION, NO DEMOCRACY IN MYANMAR


*International

THE SCOTSMAN: TIME FOR THE GENERALS TO END BURMA'S DECADE OF SUFFERING

AUSTRALIAN MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: MESSAGE TO THE BURMESE 
COMMUNITY MELBOURNE 

EUROPEAN UNION: DECLARATION BY THE PRESIDENCY ON BEHALF OF THE 
EUROPEAN UNION ON BURMA/MYANMAR 

MIZZIMA: BURMESE PROTEST IN DELHI AGAINST JUNTA'S CONTINUED CONTROL 
OF STATE POWER


*Economy/Business

THE STRAITS TIMES: BURMA NEEDS SURGERY, NOT COSMETIC CHANGES
	
		
*Opinion/Editorials

TAIPEI TIMES: TIME TO REALLY STAND UP

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:  AFTER 10 YEARS, BURMESE STILL WAIT

COUNCIL OF ASIAN LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS: RESOLUTION ON BURMA

NCGUB: MAY 27 MARKS VICTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES ADVOCATING 
DEMOCRACY,  RIGHTS FOR ALL

FTUB/CNYB/MNRC/ JOINT STATEMENT ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1990 
GENERAL ELECTION OF BURMA

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: Rep. TOM LANTOS ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF BURMA'S 
MILITARY COUP

ABSDF: STATEMENT ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1990 ELECTIONS

BSDO (CANADA): THE ELECTION 10TH ANNIVERSARY DEMONSTRATIONS IN CANADA

NCUB DECLARATION ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1990 ELECTIONS IN 
BURMA 

TORONTO BURMA ROUND TABLE : STATEMENT ON ELECTION ANNIVERSARY






__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
	


AFP: JUNTA BLOCKS NLD HEADQUARTERS ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF SUU KYI WIN

   YANGON, May 27 (AFP) - Yangon was quiet on Saturday on the 10th 
anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi's nullified election victory, as riot 
police surrounded 

her party headquarters barring non-members entry, witnesses said.    
Witnesses reported the Yangon regime had erected barricades in front 
of  Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) 
headquarters, where  plans had been made to commemorate the 10th 
anniversary of its election  victory, overturned by the military.

   Riot police were screening anyone approaching the barricades and 
although  diplomats and journalists were invited to the ceremonies, 
police were only  allowing NLD members into party headquarters, they 
said.  The streets of Yangon were quiet and the few people outside 
were simply  going about their normal business, witnesses said.

   In the days leading up to the anniversary, the Yangon regime had 
heightened its crackdown on dissent, warning the media and Buddhist 
clergy not to mark  the anniversary.

   The junta also requested that the media not attend any NLD events 
on May  27, government sources said.   The regime also told the 
country's Buddhist clergy to "protect against some monks" reportedly 
planning a protest march against the junta from central Mandalay to 
the capital.

   Officials Saturday told AFP that about 100 protesting monks had 
arrived  individually in Yangon from Mandalay, but authorities were 
aware of their  presence.

   The government claims there is no significant support for either 
the NLD or the monks.   "The world community is being deceived into 
believing that a revolution is  imminent in Myanmar and there is 
still strong support for the NLD in the  country," a government 
spokesman had said.

   Any demonstrations or NLD commemorations of the anniversary 
are "just a  pure political ploy designed merely to give a false 
impression of the strength and support the NLD has from within the 
country," he said.    Ten years ago this week Myanmar voters 
overwhelmingly rejected decades of  isolationist military rule.   
Stunned by the defeat of its front party, the military annulled the 
NLD's  election victory, claiming it had been rigged by foreigners 
and communists.    The military has been in control of Myanmar, 
formerly known as Burma, in  various guises since 1962. It has 
branded Aung San Suu Kyi a traitor and an  agent of foreign 
countries, especially former colonial ruler Britain.   



____________________________________________________


AP: DECADE AFTER HISTORIC ELECTION, NO DEMOCRACY IN MYANMAR

 Thursday, May 25, 2000 By Grant Peck     

YANGON, Myanmar 

 Old people here may someday tell their disbelieving grandchildren of 
the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they had May 27, 1990.   That was 
the day they voted. 

Even now, barely 10 years past, it seems no more than myth. They 
elected a new parliament, but the army never allowed it to convene.   
Today, the same grim men in the same green uniforms rule the country 
ù as they have since the army overthrew the last democratic 
government in a 1962 coup.  

"We had already enjoyed parliamentary democracy ... but the younger 
generation doesn't know about the value of parliamentary democracy," 
laments Tin Oo, vice chairman of the National League for Democracy, 
the opposition party.   Myanmar, also called Burma, hasn't had a 
freely elected government since the military coup, and no one is 
promising one soon. But a decade ago, things looked different.  

On election day 1990, more than 72 percent of the country's eligible 
voters cast ballots.  
Overwhelmingly, they voted for the NLD, born out of a pro-democracy 
movement that had taken root two years earlier in weeks of street 
protests the army crushed.  

The election was a rare moment for Myanmar, a nation with a history 
of troubled politics. The pattern had been set with the assassination 
by political rivals of independence leader Gen. Aung San, just six 
months before Burma won freedom from Britain in 1948.  

Without Aung San's strong leadership, the fledgling democracy 
foundered. Political schisms were exacerbated by ethnic separatist 
movements that flared into full-blown border insurgencies.  
Using the excuses of a deteriorating economy and a secession threat 
by the Shan minority, army Gen. Ne Win led a coup March 2, 1962.  

But his socialist military regime failed to reconcile with the 
minorities and turned what had been one of the region's richest 
countries ù with onshore oil deposits and rich rice-growing areas ù 
into an economic backwater.  

The bloody street unrest of 1988 shattered his government, but a new 
generation of generals took its place.   In an attempt to gain 
international legitimacy, the junta held elections in 1990. The NLD 
took 392 of the 485 parliamentary seats. The military-backed National 
United Party took 10.  

The NLD won even though its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi ù Aung San's 
daughter ù was then under house arrest and her deputy, former army 
brigadier Tin Oo, was in prison.   At first, the generals seemed to 
take their loss in stride. Kyaw Sann, a government spokesman, said 
then: "Any government that is formed according to the constitution 
will be strong and stable. It is totally up to the elected members. 
They can move as quickly as they like and take power."  

But two months later, when the NLD moved to form a government, the 
military rulers decreed they would retain power under martial law, 
which would continue until a strong constitution was in place. 
Furthermore, they said, the newly elected representatives' sole duty 
was to draft that constitution.  

In January 1993, the military convened a National Convention to draw 
up a new constitution ù and hand-picked 603 of the 702 convention 
delegates. The NLD's 88 representatives withdrew three years later 
after it was clear they were supposed to rubber-stamp the military's 
edicts to prolong its power.  
The National Convention has done little since its early sessions and 
has no deadline to produce a constitution.  

Soon after the military foiled the new parliament, it began arresting 
and harassing NLD members, including the elected representatives.  

Since then, it's been a political war of attrition. Just 169 of the 
original 485 representatives remain valid members of the would-be 
parliament, government spokesman Col. Than Tun said last week ù 110 
from the NLD, 20 from other parties and 39 independents.  

Thirty-four members died, 185 were disqualified and 97 "voluntarily 
resigned from elected membership," the colonel said.  

In October 1998, the NLD set up a 10-member surrogate parliament. 
Infuriated, the military rounded up more than 850 party members; it 
still holds 69 of the 110 valid NLD legislators at government "guest 
houses," a lighter form of detention than prison.  

More representatives have been arrested in recent weeks. The 
government suggests the arrestees have links to banned ethnic 
insurgents, but the NLD says this is just another heavy-handed effort 
to disrupt its activities.  

The government refuses to speak with Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 
Nobel Peace Prize, who was released from six years of house arrest in 
1995 but remains under tight restriction. The generals consider her a 
traitor for supporting international economic sanctions intended to 
force democratic changes in Myanmar.  

The sanctions, by the United States and the European Union, have done 
little but increase the generals' stubbornness.   Myanmar belongs to 
the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an organization 
more sympathetic to the military's nationalistic line, but even that 
relationship has failed to ease the junta's sense of isolation and 
its belief it is warding off U.S.-led neocolonialism disguised as 
democracy.  

Tin Oo told The Associated Press the NLD would try to celebrate 
Saturday's election anniversary but expected the authorities to step 
in.   "Ten years is a very auspicious occasion," Tin Oo said.


__________________ INTERNATIONAL __________________


THE SCOTSMAN: TIME FOR THE GENERALS TO END BURMA'S DECADE OF SUFFERING

 May 27, 2000
       
      

ROBIN COOK
      Comment 
     
      SHORTLY before he died, the British husband of Burma's 
democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, asked for our help. 

      Michael Aris knew he hadn't much time left. He had one last 
wish --to be allowed into Burma to see his imprisoned wife for what 
they knew would be the last time. 

      It was a very human request. It would have cost the Burmese 
military junta nothing. We and Michael implored the regime to relent. 
We enlisted the support of all those to whom they might listen, 
including the United Nations secretary general. 

      Last March, Michael died having not seen his wife for more than 
three years.    The suffering of Michael and Aung San Suu Kyi, and 
the inhumanity shown to them by the Burmese regime, is a microcosm of 
the wider suffering of the Burmese people at the hands of that 
regime. 

      Today marks a special anniversary, one which sets the Burmese 
regime apart from many other repressive regimes around the world. 

      Today it is exactly ten years since the people of Burma voted 
in elections. Those elections were won overwhelmingly by parties 
supporting democratic change: principally Aung San Suu Kyi's party, 
the National League for Democracy, but also a range of ethnic 
minority parties, many its partners. 

      The NLD won with 60 per cent of the votes and four-fifths of 
the seats in parliament.  But that parliament has never been formed. 
Burma's generals simply ignored this legitimate expression of the 
popular will. 

      One decade later, Aung San Suu Kyi, remains under constant 
intimidation. Opposition activists are routinely arrested -- almost a 
hundred in the last few weeks alone. 

      And the military regime remain unaccountable for the slaughter 
of thousands of unarmed protesters when it seized power in September 
1988. 

      During that decade, the regime's record of human rights abuses 
have put it among the worst violators of such rights in the world 
today. Their soldiers kill arbitrarily and rape at will. Basic 
freedoms are denied. Forced labour is widespread. Hundreds of 
thousands of people, including those from Burma's ethnic minorities, 
have been forced into hiding or to seek sanctuary in neighbouring 
countries. 

      Last month, I met some of those refugees when I visited a 
refugee camp on the border between Thailand and Burma. I saw for 
myself how its 7,000 inhabitants struggled to live normally and with 
dignity. I heard moving accounts of what they had experienced before 
fleeing. I will not forget those accounts or those people. 

      But sympathy is not enough. We need to do all we can to make 
the regime change its ways. 

      The most powerful lever we have is concerted international 
pressure. I believe that the international community must bring that 
pressure to bear. That is why Britain has been leading efforts to 
mobilise the international community in a wide range of international 
bodies. 

      Last month, we secured stronger EU measures against the regime. 
The EU now not only bans military exports and high-level bilateral 
visits, but has also published a list of prominent regime members for 
whom visas are banned, and has frozen their funds in the EU. 

      We have also supported action in the UN and at the UN Human 
Rights Commission, and have encouraged the International Labour 
Organisation to take exceptional action against Burma over forced 
labour. 

      We have taken unilateral measures too. We have withdrawn all 
government support for trade missions to Burma and actively 
discourage British companies from doing business there. Two months 
ago, my ministerial colleague at the Foreign Office, John Battle, 
called in representatives of Premier Oil, the biggest British 
investor in Burma, and told them that we wanted them to withdraw from 
the country. 

      We will continue to bring all the pressure we can on the 
Burmese regime, unilaterally and in concert with others. Our message 
to the generals is as clear as it is simple. Stop the human rights 
abuses. Return to democracy and the rule of law. Ten years of 
dictatorship is a decade too long.   


____________________________________________________


AUSTRALIAN MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: MESSAGE TO THE BURMESE 
COMMUNITY MELBOURNE 
 
May 27th

[Abridged]


Australia's Policy Approach:

Let me break down Australia's policy approach to Burma into its main 
elements- our broad approach, and the matter which you have been 
probably reading about in the newspapers, and on the TV over the last 
couple of weeks- the proposal to fund two human rights training 
courses for civil servants in Rangoon... 
 
We pursue our concerns energetically and consistently, in Rangoon, 
through our Ambassador and our Embassy, regionally and 
internationally. That said, like others in the international 
community, we are painfully aware that the process of human rights 
improvement and political reform in Burma will be slow and 
incremental at best, and that the situation could easily 
deteriorate...  
 
We want to see a genuine dialogue on political reform between the 
SPDC and to include the NLD and representatives of the ethnic 
minorities. Of course, encouraging the SPDC to open a dialogue 
necessarily involves achieving some level of engagement with them. We 
have sought to open up a dialogue with the SPDC on specific issues, 
with some degree of success. 
 
This should not be perceived as a `soft approach'. We have not , and 
do not, resile from criticising retrogressive steps taken by the 
Burmese Government, or continuing to press home our concerns about 
human rights issues. And the Burmese Government knows that. Australia 
will continue to work with others in the international community to 
promote reform in Burma, but it is not an easy task. 
 
The reality is that no one country's policy approach towards Burma 
has succeeded to date. On the one hand, ASEAN have had a policy of 
constructive engagement, and it has not worked. At the other end of 
the spectrum, the US have had a policy of isolating Burma and it 
hasn't worked. Neither of them have succeeded. I am asking is there 
anything else that we can do to persuade this regime towards 
improvement in human rights. We are trying to find some creative ways 
to take the issues forward. We will continue our efforts, both 
bilaterally and through the international community, to progress 
genuine reform in Burma.  


 ...the Government's policies are designed to maximise Australia's 
leverage so that our views will be heard and heeded. 
 

National Human Rights Institution Initiative

I suggested the idea of an independent human rights institution, 
along the lines of the body established in Indonesia during the 
Suharto regime, to Burma's Foreign Minister at the 1998 ASEAN PMC 
meeting in Manila. Since that time, we have been pursuing the idea 
with the Burmese government in a low-key way. The notion of 
encouraging the establishment of an independent national human rights 
commission has been incorporated in numerous resolutions of the UN 
Commission on Human Rights. 
 
After the visit to Burma in August 1999 by Australia's Commissioner 
for Human rights, Chris Sidoti, Canberra-based representatives 
visited Burma in December 1999, to identify possible activities to 
take forward the initiative. The Burmese side continued to be 
constructive, and willing to take further this dialogue on human 
rights. 
 
In March this year I approved two initial training activities: both 
to be conducted in Burma. In April a team visited Burma in April to 
take forward Australia's proposal that Burma work towards 
establishing an independent, National Human Rights Institution. This 
team met officials from a number of key Ministries to discuss the 
content of the workshops. Two workshops were designed, a four-day 
Human Rights and Responsibilities Workshop (to be held twice), and a 
nine day International Law Overview Workshop (to be held once). No 
serving military personnel will be involved. Any further human rights 
activities will be subject to the satisfactory progress in the 
implementation of the first two modules, and to demonstrated evidence 
of continuing constructive engagement by the Burmese. 
 
We have kept the NLD informed about developments with the proposal, 
and will continued to do so. But human rights are a matter of 
international concern and as the protection of human rights is the 
responsibility of national governments, that is the principal body 
with which we need to deal in order to advance the proposal. 
 
I have no illusions about the difficulties we face in seeking to 
advance the proposal for an independent human rights commission in 
Burma. What has been achieved to date is very much a small, first 
step in what will be a slow and incremental process. But the 
important message the Australian government wishes to convey today is 
that we want to do what we can to bring about an improvement in human 
rights in Burma...

We are well aware that the developments of a genuine independent 
body, if indeed that is possible, would take considerable length of 
time, but we want to do what we can to see an improvement in the 
human rights situation in Burma. 
 
I should note that our initiative is consistent with UN resolutions 
on national human rights institutions and with the strong support of 
the UN High commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, for 
National Institutions as mechanisms for the promotion and protection 
of human rights. We believe our initiatives compliments the UN's own 
efforts to further engage Burma. 
 

I am comfortable that we are doing something in our human rights 
initiative that we honestly believe will help and will be a tiny 
contribution to helping the lives of people in Burma. I believe we 
owe it to the Burmese people to remain alive to creative ways to 
encourage reform and reconciliation in Burma 

____________________________________________________


EUROPEAN UNION: DECLARATION BY THE PRESIDENCY ON BEHALF OF THE 
EUROPEAN UNION ON BURMA/MYANMAR 
 
Brussels, 24 May 2000
 

Ten years after the 1990 legislative elections in Burma/Myanmar, 
which the democratic party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), 
won by such a convincing margin, the European Union deeply regrets 
that the Burmese authorities still fail to respect the clear 
democratic verdict of the people.
 
The European Union furthermore expresses its grave concern that the 
period leading up to this anniversary has been marked by fresh 
arrests of NLD activists. 

It reiterates its call on the Burmese authorities to respect human 
rights, restore democracy and engage in a dialogue with opposition 
parties and ethnic minorities that could lead to lasting national 
reconciliation in a united and democratic State. 

The EU also recalls its willingness to send a further Troika mission 
to Rangoon/Yangon to promote positively and constructively the aims 
of the EU's policy towards Burma/Myanmar through the establishment of 
a meaningful political dialogue.

The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the 
European Union, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, 
Iceland and Liechtenstein, countries members of the European Economic 
Area, align themselves with this declaration.



____________________________________________________


MIZZIMA: BURMESE PROTEST IN DELHI AGAINST JUNTA'S CONTINUED CONTROL 
OF STATE POWER

New Delhi, May 27, 2000
Mizzima News Group

About a hundred Burmese dissidents held a protest rally this morning 
at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in celebrating the 10th anniversary 
of National League for Democracy's election win in their homeland...

The demonstrators shouting anti-junta slogans and holding posters 
marched towards the Indian Parliament around 10:30 a.m. but blocked 
by over hundred Delhi police in front of Parliament Police Station a 
few meters away from Parliament. They then held a sit-in-rally at the 
same place for an hour before they dispersed finally.

Mr. Mya Win, a Member of Parliament who recently escaped from Burma 
to India spoke to the fellow demonstrators his experiences in jail. 
Mr. Win, who was imprisoned for nine years for allegedly 
participating in forming an exiled government in 1990, was elected 
with NLD ticket from Irrawaddy Division, the rice bowl of Burma.

In a statement today, the pro-democracy activists denounced the 
ruling military junta for detaining Dr. U Saw Mra Aung, Chairman of 
the Parliament and U Aye Thar Aung, the General Secretary of the 
Committee for Representing People's Parliament (CRPP).



_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 

THE STRAITS TIMES: BURMA NEEDS SURGERY, NOT COSMETIC CHANGES 

MAY 26, 2000 

EYE ON THE WORLD 
By LEE KIM CHEW 

TOMORROW is the 10th anniversary of an election Myanmar's military 
government would rather forget but cannot erase from the history 
books.  

On that day -- May 27, 1990 -- the Myanmar people voted 
overwhelmingly for the National League for Democracy (NLD) but the 
generals refused to honour its landslide victory and transfer power 
over to the civilians.   Ten years on, the impoverished country 
remains trapped in a political gridlock that has all but paralysed 
it.  

The generals want to destroy the NLD, while its leader, Nobel Peace 
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, opposes anything which bolsters their 
rule, from Asean membership to foreign investments and tourism in 
Myanmar.   Politics has become a zero-sum game, with each side bent 
on annihilating the other. What hope is there for Myanmar?  

Professor Khin Maung Kyi and a group of Myanmar economists, who 
conducted a study under the auspices of the National University of 
Singapore, have sketched out their vision and strategy in a book -- 
Economic Development Of Burma -- to seek deliverance for their 
country.  
Theirs is a clinical assessment of what has gone wrong -- and a bold 
prescription to revive the comatose economy.  

They offer no magic formula. Rather, it is going back to the basics 
to open up Myanmar and let market forces operate freely.   That 
simple? Yes, but it is easier said than done in Myanmar's case, 
because such a move has profound ramifications. It is, in fact, 
shifting Myanmar's backward economy into a new paradigm.  

To start with, Myanmar lacks the institutional basis of a market 
economy, which was destroyed by 26 years of misrule under the 
previous socialist government.   As the economists put it, "whatever 
market flourishes in Burma these days exists more by default than by 
design...   "The laws enacted to restrict trade under the previous 
regime are still operative. The authorities can exercise control at 
their will...  

"The civil service, once recognised as a stalwart of social change, 
is in complete disarray...  
"The legal system, including the laws, courts and judges needs to be 
drastically revived and revamped...   "With the proliferation of line 
ministries each administering its own sector as a fiefdom without 
much coordination among themselves, the highest state apparatus 
resembles a collection of feudal warlords."  

Although the military government talks about a new openness to market 
forces, in reality, it retains a battery of controls over the 
economy.   "The alleged openness is highly selective and, in effect, 
is only with enterprises in which the military regime participates 
either directly or indirectly."  

Myanmar needs desperately to make up for its lost generation, the 
economists concur. It has to scrap the fictitious official exchange 
rate, abolish state monopolies in rice and teak, modernise 
agriculture, liberalise trade and promote investments.  

"Burma, having been so long dominated by economic nationalism, 
socialist ideology and the resultant isolation -- the switch to an 
economic calculus will not be an easy change. We expect that 
adjustments, compromises and new adaptions will have to be made."   
There is no "quick fix", the study concludes. The political and 
economic systems need major surgery, not cosmetic changes.  

"Politically, there must be a genuine dialogue and eventual consensus 
on the outline of a new constitutional framework that is not 
dominated by the military and which respects the rights and concerns 
of all the people, including all the ethnic minorities."   A new 
mindset is needed, but there are no reformers in the military 
government.  

The generals have already rejected a World Bank report which links 
foreign aid with political reforms, even though they have neither the 
means nor the expertise to overcome the country's problems.   
Undaunted, the economists urge the junta and its pro-democracy 
opponents to reconcile and make peace. "Are we going to let ourselves 
sink into a deeper morass of poverty and inconsequence, just because 
each side thinks that one is so right and the other so wrong?"  
Well said. This, alas, is how things are in Myanmar's repressive and 
unyielding political climate today. 


_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS________________


TAIPEI TIMES: TIME TO REALLY STAND UP

 http://www.taipeitimes.com/news 

May 27, 2000


Today is the 10th anniversary of the last general elections held in 
Myanmar, which were won handily by the National League for Democracy 
(NLD), with 82 percent of the vote. Sadly, the elected parliament has 
never met, victim of a rapacious military junta which refused to 
release its grip on the country.  

The human rights record of the military regime is abysmal by any 
standard. The contrast with the charismatic and peace-loving leader 
of the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi, could not be greater. For her 
courageous struggle, Suu Kyi was honored with the 1992 Nobel Peace 
Prize. 
 
These facts alone should be sufficient for all Taiwanese who cherish 
their own hard-won human rights and democracy to support the Burmese 
people in their time of need. But in fact there are also hard-nosed 
national security considerations that point in the same direction.  

Myanmar under the generals is a client state -- some would say a 
colony -- of China. As such, it provides Beijing with an important 
lever to increase its influence over Southeast Asia. Collusion with 
the junta allows China to apply direct pressure on Thailand across 
that disturbed border. Now that it is a member of ASEAN, Myanmar acts 
to block any anti-China consensus forming in that group, weakening, 
for example, the ability of the Philippines and Vietnam to resist 
Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea. Currently, China is 
constructing a port in Myanmar that will provide the PLA with naval 
access to the Indian Ocean, flanking ASEAN and challenging Indian 
influence there.  

The emergence of a pro-Western and/or democratic government in Yangon 
would be a major setback to China's strategy of regional hegemony and 
a clear benefit for Taiwan. Therefore, national security 
considerations should prompt Taiwan to consider a more pro-active 
effort to support Burmese pro-democracy elements. Myanmar is in fact 
a key fulcrum point, where a modest application of resources by 
Taiwan could have a magnified return.  

President Chen Shui-bian and the new government have repeatedly said 
that they will emphasize democracy and human rights in their foreign 
policy. Such a policy would not only set the government apart from 
its predecessors, but would earn Taiwan increased respect and 
understanding from all other democratic countries. As Chen proclaimed 
in his inaugural address: "We firmly believe that in any time or any 
corner of the world, the meaning and values of freedom, democracy and 
human rights cannot be ignored or changed."  

Myanmar, being perhaps the most egregious violator of these norms in 
Asia, would seem an obvious place to make such a new effort, and 
today's anniversary would be an auspicious day to begin. All it would 
take to get started would be a simple statement, a telegram or a 
letter, either from Chen or from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
expressing support for Suu Kyi and her cause. We could do worse than 
to reiterate the recent statement by US Secretary of State Madeleine 
Albright: "We renew our commitment to Aung San Suu Kyi and the 
National League of Democracy. As long as you struggle, we will do all 
we can to assist. And we know that you will not stop struggling until 
you prevail."  

By making such a comment and by following it up consistently, Taiwan 
can send a message to the world that it plans to live up the ideals 
that Chen has set forth so clearly. At the same time, Taiwan can take 
a step toward diminishing the overbearing shadow of Chinese 
domination in Asia.  

It is not every day that a country's ideals and its national security 
interests perfectly overlap. Taiwan should not pass up this precious 
opportunity. 




____________________________________________________


INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:  AFTER 10 YEARS, BURMESE STILL WAIT

Paris, Friday, May 26, 2000

By John J. Brandon 

WASHINGTON - Ten years ago Saturday, democrats won a landslide 
election victory in Burma over the military government. Rather than 
honor that victory by the National League for Democracy, the military 
ignored the results and tightened its grip on power.  Burma's 
government, renamed the State Peace and Development Council in 1997, 
justified the annulment by saying that it was the only institution 
able to keep the country together, maintain order and promote 
economic development.  

Despite such claims, Burma's people have paid a heavy price. 
Political, economic and social conditions have grown worse in the 
past decade. The military has refused to engage in any serious 
political reform, including establishing a dialogue with the National 
League for Democracy and its leader, the Nobel laureate Daw Aung San 
Suu Kyi. After spending six years under house arrest, Daw Aung San 
Suu Kyi's movements remain strictly confined. Her party members have 
been muted through intimidation, imprisonment and torture. 

Inflation in Burma is high. The country imports more than it exports, 
and the current account deficit is widening. In the past year, 
foreign investment has plummeted because of Burma's political 
uncertainty, inefficient economic policies, lack of transparency and 
corruption. The generals appear to have neither the interest nor the 
ability to deal with the country's economic difficulties. 

Burma is beset by social ills. Around 40 percent of the national 
budget is spent on the military - at the expense of social services, 
particularly education and health. The United Nations Development 
Program reports than only 25 percent of Burma's schoolchildren 
complete basic education, while 30 percent of children never go to 
school at all. Universities have been closed for most of the past 
decade to preempt student protest. There is a backlog of around 1 
million students waiting for universities to reopen.  

The health care system has collapsed because of a serious shortage of 
medical supplies and personnel. Burma spends only 0.2 percent of its 
budget on its healthcare system - an average of 50 cents a person. 
Child mortality, malnutrition and the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus 
and other deadly diseases are increasing.  

Yet the military finds itself more powerful now than it has ever been 
because it dominates the country's politics and economy. Events 
elsewhere give the junta little incentive to yield power to a 
civilian government - the disintegration of Yugoslavia, South Korea's 
prosecution of two former presidents for corruption and abuse of 
power and now former President Suharto and his generals in Indonesia 
being called to account for alleged corrupt practices and human 
rights abuses.  

The junta has all the power, but Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the 
National League for Democracy have all the legitimacy. The only way a 
democratic form of government can emerge without a popular revolt is 
through compromise. The generals will have to allow it to happen.  

Bringing this about will not be easy. Burma's military rulers have 
many enemies because they have mistreated the people. The generals 
fear retribution if they lose power.   Shortly after the 1990 
election, a former National League for Democracy leader said that no 
revenge would be sought against the military for its harsh actions 
against civilian demonstrators. If a meaningful political dialogue is 
to develop, such assurances need to be repeated.  

This will not be popular with some in Burma's democracy movement. But 
without such compromise, the political deadlock will remain.   The 
writer, assistant director of the Asia Foundation in Washington, 
contributed this personal comment to the International Herald 
Tribune. 


____________________________________________________

	
COUNCIL OF ASIAN LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS: RESOLUTION ON BURMA

CALD Resolution No. 9,  S. 2000

A RESOLUTION (AS A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR AND SOLIDARITY WITH THE 
ELECTED MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT OF BURMA) CALLING UPON THE MILITARY 
GOVERNMENT OF BURMA TO IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY RELEASE ALL 
MPS-ELECT; TO RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF THE DULY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES 
OF BURMA TO CONVENE PARLIAMENT AND TO CEASE ALL RESTRICTIONS AGAINST 
THEM; AND TO AGREE TO JOIN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY AND THE 
REPRESENTATIVES OF ETHNIC NATIONALITIES IN A DIALOGUE TO ACHIEVE A 
PEACEFUL TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY.


Noting that the people of Burma elected their representatives in free 
and fair elections on 27 May 1990;

Regretting that these democratically elected representatives were 
denied their legitimate right to serve as members of parliament and 
continue to be the only democratically elected parliamentarians in 
the world who are barred from taking their oath of office;

Considering that the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) 
has been consistent in upholding the recognition of the 
democratically elected leaders of Burma and in calling for the end of 
all forms of abuse and violations of human rights;

Be it resolved that the Council of Asian Liberals & Democrats-as a 
declaration of support for and solidarity with the elected Members of 
Parliament of Burma-calls upon the military government of Burma for 
the immediate and unconditional release of all MPs elect; for 
recognition of the right of the duly elected representatives of Burma 
to convene parliament and for cessation of all restrictions against 
them; and for agreement to join the National League for democracy and 
the representatives of the ethnic nationalities in a dialogue to 
achieve a peaceful transition to democracy. 

For the Council of Asian Liberals & Democrats:

[signed]

SAM RAINSY, MP
Chair
May 15, 2000
Jakarta, Indonesia

(* This resolution is not supported by the Parti Gerakan Rakyat 
Malaysia) 






____________________________________________________


NCGUB: MAY 27 MARKS VICTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES ADVOCATING 
DEMOCRACY,  RIGHTS FOR ALL

Office of the Prime Minister
 
May 27, 2000
 

May 27, 2000 marks the 10th anniversary of the election won by 
political parties which are for democratic change, self-
determination, and ethnic rights. Even though conditions at election 
time favored the military-supported National Unity Party, the 
National League for Democracy (NLD) headed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi 
won 392 out of the 485 seats at stake.  The military-backed party 
captured 10 seats and the remaining seats went to ethnic 
nationalities political parties and several independent candidates. 
 

Despite the overwhelming support by the people who voted for change 
and reforms toward democracy, social justice, self-determination, and 
equal rights, the military authorities continue to refuse to honor 
the election results until today. Claiming that they do not "consider 
it prudent to leave the whole process of political transition in the 
hands of the NLD," the generals have been doing everything possible 
to destroy the NLD. 
 

The generals should recognize the fact that the NLD represents the 
hope and aspirations of the people. As long as they continue pursuing 
their goal of eliminating the NLD, they will remain alienated from 
the people. 
 

The goal of the NLD and the other political parties has always been 
to work for an orderly and peaceful transition in a systematic 
matter, and within the framework of law.  The choice that confronts 
Burma's generals is to be part of that transition by moving away from 
authoritarian rule towards governance that is democratic, 
transparent, and respectful of the rights of the people, or to remain 
intransigent, and thus contribute to the further decay of the country 
they claim to serve. 
The NCGUB therefore calls upon the Defense Services to work with, 
instead of against, the people and their elected representatives.  
 
____________________________________________________


FTUB/CNYB/MNRC/ JOINT STATEMENT ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1990 
GENERAL ELECTION OF BURMA

[Excerpt]

May 27, 2000

 ...The economy is in a shambles. From being the regions' most 
prosperous country,
Burma became a Least Developed Country under the management of the 
successive
Military regimes. To cover up their mismanagement, as mentioned 
above, the military junta is turning to drug money to prop themselves 
up.                     

As students and workers we had taken to the streets. As people of 
Burma we
had voted in an election set up by the military junta. We had chosen 
our representatives...

 We call upon:
- The international community to advocate all kinds of measures to 
push the military regime into a tripartite dialogue with the 
democratic forces and the ethnic national organizations.
- The Government of the United States and the respective local 
governments of USA to scrutinize the flow of cargo from Burma to 
identify the flow of heroin or heroin related traders of Burma in 
order to re-enforce the indictments on the heroin barons of Burma.


____________________________________________________



CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: Rep. TOM LANTOS ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF BURMA'S 
MILITARY COUP


 HON. TOM LANTOS
 in the House of Representatives
 TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2000

 Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, just a few days ago, here on Capitol Hill,
 our outstanding Secretary of State, Madeleine K. Albright, and the
 National Endowment for Democracy, joined by a number of Members of
 Congress marked the 10th anniversary of the election victory of
 Burma's National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi in free
 Burmese elections in May 1990. Shortly after that democratic victory,
 the Burmese military annulled the results of the election and seized
 power in a military coup.

 After the military crackdown against the victors of the democratic
 election, supporters of the National League for Democracy were 
arrested and many were forced to flee their homeland. Aung San Suu Kyi
 was placed under house arrest, and has been harassed and intimidated
 by the vicious and brutal military dictatorship. In appropriate
 recognition of her peaceful struggle for democratic change in Burma,
 Aung San Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The 
continued
 military harassment of Ms. Suu Kyi was so intense and bitter that she
 refused to leave Burma last year when she learned that her husband 
was
 dying of cancer in the United Kingdom. It was clear that the military
 junta would not permit her to return to Burma if she had left. 
 Aung San Suu Kyi was able to speak to the gathering only via a 
videotaped message, but she expressed thanks to the United States and
 other countries for `supporting us in our endeavor to have the 
results
 of the 1990 elections recognized at this time, when the military
 regime are trying hard to pretend that the results of the elections
 are no longer valid.'

 Mr. Speaker, in marking this important Burmese anniversary last week,
 Secretary Albright delivered an impassioned message of support for
 Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese patriots of the National League for
 Democracy. Secretary Albright said: `We renew our commitment to Aung
 San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy. As long as you
 struggle, we will do all we can to assist. And we know that you will
 not stop struggling until you prevail.'

 Mr. Speaker, that spirit truly pervades the position of the 
Administration, the Congress, and the American people toward the
 repressive regime in Burma and toward the heroine, Aung San Suu Kyi,
 who has the courage and integrity to stand up against that vicious
 anti-democratic military junta.

 (end text)

____________________________________________________



ABSDF: STATEMENT ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1990 ELECTIONS

26 May 2000

[Excerpt]
 .
 .  
Throughout the history of Burma, there had been many opportunities 
for a democratic change to take place. However, it never came to pass 
due to internal political problems. An election was held in 1960, but 
the military seized power on March 2, 1962 with a coup, and the 
military dictatorship took hold of the country and rooted a one party 
system of Burmese socialist Program Party (BSPP) until 1988... 


Genuine democracy, human rights and equality among ethnic 
nationalities in Burma are the responsibility of elected 
representatives as well as of the people. The All Burma Students' 
Democratic Front (ABSDF) regards the May 1990 election as the victory 
of the people and vows to achieve democracy and human rights, to 
restore internal peace and to work towards a federal union of Burma 
along with all the people who are struggling to restore democracy in 
Burma. 


____________________________________________________


BSDO (CANADA): THE ELECTION 10TH ANNIVERSARY DEMONSTRATIONS IN CANADA

May 27, 2000 

[BDSO staged demonstrations in Vancouver Ottawa]

Burmese Students' Democratic Organization (Canada)

[Excerpt]

 ... we encourage the military to undertake a dialogue with CRPP in 
order to accelerate the democratization in the country.  And we also 
demand a positive sign towards greater political development by 
freeing all political prisoners, opening all universities and 
colleges, and lifting all restricted law and order forbidding freedom 
of expression, association and publication.  

At the same time, we urge the Canadian government and international 
community to put more effort to get through the political deadlock in 
Burma and prevent from any further crackdown on peaceful democracy 
movement in Burma.   


____________________________________________________


NCUB DECLARATION ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1990 ELECTIONS IN 
BURMA 

[Excerpt]

May 27, 2000

 ... The regime proudly proclaims that they have made cease-fire 
agreements with the ethnic nationalities and that they have 
established peace in the country.  These so-called agreements are 
only a ruse, however, and the regime has failed to take a single step 
to address the underlying political concerns of the ethnic 
nationalities.  Because these cease-fire agreements are merely window 
dressing, Burma will continue to be subject to violence and 
instability.  At the same time, the junta has attempted to illegally 
arrest the duly elected ethnic members of parliament and has banned 
12 of the 17 ethnic political parties despite having no legal 
authority to do so.  The actions of the regime towards the ethnic 
peoples of Burma demonstrate clearly that they have no true desire 
for national reconciliation with the ethnic peoples and that their 
actions to subdue the ethnic people are a sham...    


____________________________________________________


TORONTO BURMA ROUND TABLE : STATEMENT ON ELECTION ANNIVERSARY

May 28th 2000

[Excerpt]

We urge Lloyd Ax worthy to continue even more vigorously his work, 
and the work of the Canadian government, in support of democracy in 
Burma.

The Toronto Burma Round Table is working with members of the Ontario 
legislature to have it pass a Resolution recognizing and supporting 
the Committee Representing the People's Parliament, established in 
Burma by the NLD in 1998.

As well, we are working in collaboration with the NCGUB (the Burmese 
government in exile) on the international campaign to secure from all 
Parliamentarians their personal pledge of support for democracy in 
Burma, and their solidarity with their democratically elected 
colleagues who have been denied their lawful right to take office.

The request from the Myanmar ambassador to come to our Round Table 
meetings was noted. We are still awaiting his letter explaining why 
he wishes to attend.

The next meeting will be on Monday June 26th at 7.00 PM at Burma 
House, 62 Summerhill Avenue. All and everyone interested to find out 
about, and activists already concerned about, the ongoing struggle 
for democracy in Burma are most welcome.

________________


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