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That is going to be hard to stop with other countries, but I think we are having success in getting all those other nations I talked about to go to the Burmese now and push for—and they push in varying degrees—change there and to push for national reconciliation.

Q: You mentioned the UN Security Council. What is the current situation with the UNSC and Burma now?

A: We continue to talk with members of the UN Security Council and we want to keep this issue on their agenda in terms of…thinking about Burma. I don’t want to really state publicly that I have a certain timeline for certain actions at the UN Security Council, but by no means do I view last December’s briefing [on Burma by the UN to members of the UNSC] as the end of the road for how we engage the UN on Burma. It’s something that the United Nations should remain engaged on, viewing the UNSC as the point on Burma—things there [in Burma] are only getting worse and I think it’s certainly reasonable to expect the UNSC to remain engaged on the issue.

Q: Burma is currently in the process of renewing diplomatic ties with North Korea. Earlier this year you warned of the possibility that North Korea could transfer nuclear technology to Burma. Is there any evidence to suggest this is happening?

A: I wouldn’t want to specify that our concern is nuclear. I think just my concern or anybody’s concern would be that here you have two nations that operate outside of the law. They just operate outside of any decent international standard of conduct and of course, to operate in that way, you have to pursue means of funding your government that quite often are not licit. I mean they’re illegal…of course, publicly we have stated that we disagree with the way the North Koreans earn a lot of their funds. So although I can’t point to anything specific that the North Koreans are doing or would be doing in the future, it’s just a situation that I would be really uncomfortable with, to have the North Koreans and the Burmese form a strong relationship. They aren’t good neighbors, I mean with the rest of the region, and to get the two worst actors in the neighborhood working together, I don’t see how anyone would be comfortable with that.

Q: Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan last Wednesday suggested that the NLD is linked to terrorism. What are your thoughts on that?

A: Assuming that is what he said, obviously the NLD is not a terrorist group. It doesn’t exist to operate as a terrorist group. It’s really a group that just wants to give a voice to the Burmese people. I don’t think the NLD posits itself as the only group that could do that, but it would certainly like to exist within a free Burma. That type of rhetoric [by the regime] is what you expect to hear. The only thing that I would worry about is that in branding the NLD as a terrorist group, the SPDC then takes even more oppressive measures against it.

Q: Aung San Suu Kyi’s safety and welfare remains a concern for your government?

A: I hate to talk about only Aung San Suu Kyi because…this is the tip of the iceberg for hundreds or thousands of others. But it is important to talk about her because she does symbolize what happens—what is happening—to thousands of others. And yeah, she’s more isolated, has less access to medical care or to anybody from the outside—by the month, it grows more rare. So if it is happening to her, you have to assume this is happening to many, many other political prisoners.

Q: There has been a lot of talk recently of Karen refugees facing difficulties in being accepted for relocation by the US because of the Patriot Act and the question of terrorism. Has the US got it right on this issue, and are there plans to reconsider policy, specifically in regards to the Karen National Union?

A: In the wake of 9/11, this law came into existence and I think it was a broad-brush attempt to protect American interests. There is internal US government discussion on this specific issue—the Karen—and how we can cope with that. I don’t know exactly what means we’ll arrive at to handle it, but yeah, it’s not the situation that was intended to happen when the law was enacted, so it’s something we’re working on.

Q: Reports suggest that the Burmese government has allocated specific plots for foreign embassies in Pyinmana.