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The Hindu: Will the Generals Prove



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                          Will the Generals Prove gentlemen?
Armit Baruah,
The Hindu (June,17,2001)

          The Guessing game goes on in Myanmar. No one is quite sure
where the talks between the military junta in Yangon and the National
League for Democracy (NLD) leader, Ms.Aung San Suu Kyi, are headed; A
recent four-day visit by the U.N Secretary-General's special envoy,
Mr.Razali Ismail, raised hopes that the dialogue between the Generals
and Mrs.Suu Kyi was back on track.
         The talks between the NLD leader, who for all practical
purposes remains under house arrest, and the junta began in October
2000, a revelation made by Mr. Razali, a Malaysian diplomat, in January
this year. Since then there has been intense speculation about the
trajectory of the talks, with several Western reports suggesting not so
long ago that the dialogue was in tatters and that Mr. Raazali's entry
into Myanmar was being blocked.
         Myanmar is a country, which is partly hidden from public view,
and the military Government rarely gives direct information about events
and developments taking place in Yangon. The hopeful sign in the
dialogue, in fact, is that neither of the two parties ? the NLD and the
military- has said anything publicly to jeopardise the dialogue. The
stakes for both parties are extremely high. And that's why neither of
them wants to take the stage and make any pronouncements.
         In a statement issued after the visit of Mr.Razali, the U.N.
said the special envoy had visited Yangon to " help facilitate progress
in the talks between" the Government and Ms.Suu Kyi "for democratisation
and national reconciliation in Myanmar". " During his visit, Mr. Razali
had important discussions with Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, Secretary1
of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and other Government
officials. He also had discussions with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the
latter's residence, " the statement said.
         "The Secretary-General hopes that the visit of his special
envoy, and the discussion he had during his stay in Yangon, will
contribute towards progress in talks. He considers the timely visits of
his special envoy to Myanmar as an important function in discharging his
good officers mandate given by the General Assembly," it added.
         If the U.N.'s tone was sober, a visiting U.S. diplomat to the
region was more hopeful. " It (the dialogue) has been going on for eight
months ?We expect to see a concrete result in a short while," Mr. Ralph
Boyce, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, was quoted as saying in
Bangkok.
         The apparent reasons for the optimism displayed by Mr. Boyce
were not made clear. Other analysts believe that a sign that the talks
are going well would be the release of senior NLD cadres being detained
by the military Government. The latest release of a couple of senior NLD
cadres could be an indicator of forward movement in the talks.
         The Bangkok-based All-Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF)
took a diametrically opposed by the visiting American official, stating
that the progress in the last eight months of dialogue had been
"virtually non-existent". "We asked the NLD and SPDC to open up the
talks so the people up the talks so the people of Burma (Myanmar) and
the world can see if there is progress. The current talks are not open.
People are frustrated waiting for information while human rights abuses
and forced labour are still taking place in the country," an ABSDF
spokesman was quoted as saying.
         While Japan's decision to approve a $28.6 million loan to
refurbish a hydel plant to Myanmar has been the subject of much
speculation and worry in some international circles, Mr. Boyce made it
clear that the U.S. did not see any conflict of purpose between Tokyo
and Washington." We did mot disagree? we have our own approach."
         In a new report, Amnesty International blasted the Myanmar
regime for continuing to use " forced " labour." The military frequently
forces men, women and children from ethnic minorities to carry heavy
loads over tough terrain for days or weeks at a time to work on
construction projects such as building railways, roads and dams.
Hundreds have died from exhaustion and beatings," Amnesty claimed.
         The human rights group called on the SPDC to implement a law
enacted in October 2000, which banned forced labour. " The SPDC must
demonstrate the political will to implement the law. For as long as long
forced lobour is allowed to go on, thousands of victims will continue to
flee to Thailand in despair."
         Amnesty claimed that the junta was holding 1,850 political
prisoners although 100 had been released recently. The group's report
also quoted Myanmar's Permanent Representative in Geneva as saying:" the
Government has established a Steering Committee at headed by Colonel Tin
Hlaing, Minister for Home Affairs. These bodies are carrying out
preparatory work and will pave the way for the establishment, in due
course, of a full-fledged institution on promotion and protection of
human rights."
         Clearly, this recent statement from the Government is a major
departure from the past. For its part, the international community,
while watching developments in Myanmar, is keeping the pressure on the
junta. The focus remains, as ever, on the dialogue between the Generals
and Ms. Suu Kyi. All hopes for national reconciliation in Myanmar hinge
in the results of these secret talks.




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<font color="#FF6600"><font size=+2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Will the Generals Prove gentlemen?</font></font>
<br><i><font color="#3333FF">Armit Baruah,</font></i>
<br><font color="#3333FF"><i>The Hindu (June,17,200</i>1)</font>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Guessing
game goes on in Myanmar. No one is quite sure where the talks between the
military junta in Yangon and the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader,
Ms.Aung San Suu Kyi, are headed; A recent four-day visit by the U.N Secretary-General's
special envoy, Mr.Razali Ismail, raised hopes that the dialogue between
the Generals and Mrs.Suu Kyi was back on track.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The talks between
the NLD leader, who for all practical purposes remains under house arrest,
and the junta began in October 2000, a revelation made by Mr. Razali, a
Malaysian diplomat, in January this year. Since then there has been intense
speculation about the trajectory of the talks, with several Western reports
suggesting not so long ago that the dialogue was in tatters and that Mr.
Raazali's entry into Myanmar was being blocked.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Myanmar is a country,
which is partly hidden from public view, and the military Government rarely
gives direct information about events and developments taking place in
Yangon. The hopeful sign in the dialogue, in fact, is that neither of the
two parties ? the NLD and the military- has said anything publicly to jeopardise
the dialogue. The stakes for both parties are extremely high. And that's
why neither of them wants to take the stage and make any pronouncements.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a statement issued
after the visit of Mr.Razali, the U.N. said the special envoy had visited
Yangon to " help facilitate progress in the talks between" the Government
and Ms.Suu Kyi "for democratisation and national reconciliation in Myanmar".
" During his visit, Mr. Razali had important discussions with Lieutenant
General Khin Nyunt, Secretary1 of the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), and other Government officials. He also had discussions with Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi at the latter's residence, " the statement said.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The Secretary-General
hopes that the visit of his special envoy, and the discussion he had during
his stay in Yangon, will contribute towards progress in talks. He considers
the timely visits of his special envoy to Myanmar as an important function
in discharging his good officers mandate given by the General Assembly,"
it added.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If the U.N.'s tone
was sober, a visiting U.S. diplomat to the region was more hopeful. " It
(the dialogue) has been going on for eight months ?We expect to see a concrete
result in a short while," Mr. Ralph Boyce, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State, was quoted as saying in Bangkok.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The apparent reasons
for the optimism displayed by Mr. Boyce were not made clear. Other analysts
believe that a sign that the talks are going well would be the release
of senior NLD cadres being detained by the military Government. The latest
release of a couple of senior NLD cadres could be an indicator of forward
movement in the talks.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Bangkok-based
All-Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) took a diametrically opposed
by the visiting American official, stating that the progress in the last
eight months of dialogue had been "virtually non-existent". "We asked the
NLD and SPDC to open up the talks so the people up the talks so the people
of Burma (Myanmar) and the world can see if there is progress. The current
talks are not open. People are frustrated waiting for information while
human rights abuses and forced labour are still taking place in the country,"
an ABSDF spokesman was quoted as saying.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; While Japan's decision
to approve a $28.6 million loan to refurbish a hydel plant to Myanmar has
been the subject of much speculation and worry in some international circles,
Mr. Boyce made it clear that the U.S. did not see any conflict of purpose
between Tokyo and Washington." We did mot disagree? we have our own approach."
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a new report, Amnesty
International blasted the Myanmar regime for continuing to use " forced
" labour." The military frequently forces men, women and children from
ethnic minorities to carry heavy loads over tough terrain for days or weeks
at a time to work on construction projects such as building railways, roads
and dams. Hundreds have died from exhaustion and beatings," Amnesty claimed.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The human rights group
called on the SPDC to implement a law enacted in October 2000, which banned
forced labour. " The SPDC must demonstrate the political will to implement
the law. For as long as long forced lobour is allowed to go on, thousands
of victims will continue to flee to Thailand in despair."
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Amnesty claimed that
the junta was holding 1,850 political prisoners although 100 had been released
recently. The group's report also quoted Myanmar's Permanent Representative
in Geneva as saying:" the Government has established a Steering Committee
at headed by Colonel Tin Hlaing, Minister for Home Affairs. These bodies
are carrying out preparatory work and will pave the way for the establishment,
in due course, of a full-fledged institution on promotion and protection
of human rights."
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Clearly, this recent
statement from the Government is a major departure from the past. For its
part, the international community, while watching developments in Myanmar,
is keeping the pressure on the junta. The focus remains, as ever, on the
dialogue between the Generals and Ms. Suu Kyi. All hopes for national reconciliation
in Myanmar hinge in the results of these secret talks.
<br>&nbsp;
<p>&nbsp;</html>

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