| SEPTEMBER, 1998 - VOLUME 6 NO.5 |
Problems facing the military
The State Peace and Development Council [SPDC] is about to stop selling rice to organizations with which it signed cease-fire agreements since 1989—with the exception of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Organization.
The 30,000-strong Wa State Army, which signed a cease-fire agreement with the SPDC, was given 34,000 sacks of rice in the year it signed the agreement. However, in the following year it received only 8,000 sacks. The supply of rice has dwindled, and now they face the prospect of a total cut in the rice supply.
Protest leaflets circulating in Rangoon
Burma-based anti-government and pro-democracy groups have been distributing leaflets in Burma's capital, Rangoon, calling for an uprising against military rule, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported.
The paper warned citizens to beware of the instigations by the "axe-handles," the government’s term for traitors.
A senior US diplomat gained access to the home of Aung San Suu Kyi as the country’s junta clamped down ahead of the 10th anniversary of bloody street demonstrations. US charge d’affaires Kent Wiedemann visited the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader after being turned away previously by security forces and spoke to her through an intermediary, an embassy source said.
Renewed attacks on Suu Kyi
Khin Nyunt, secretary one of the ruling SPDC, delivered a strong attack on Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing her of colluding with foreign embassies to incite unrest, state-run newspapers said.
Khin Nyunt told a teachers seminar that Suu Kyi’s recent car sit-in protest had been a well-orchestrated opposition attempt to destabilise the political situation in Burma.
Demonstration in southern Burma
High school students in Burma’s southern town of Mergui held a protest on August 4 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy uprising in August 1988, and to mark the massacre of unarmed civilians by the military.
About 100 students from three State High Schools began the demonstration in the morning and marched along the main roads of the township. Students shouted pro-democracy slogans and distributed leaflets.
It is reported that Mergui police successfully blocked the gates of all four high schools in the township and prevented other students from joining the demonstration.
Junta issues threat to foreign activists
SPDC issued a veiled threat of violence against any foreigners intent on repeating the pro-democracy leafleting campaign carried out by 18 activists recently deported.
"The people of Burma want to live in peace and are angry with the 18 foreigners," wrote Maung Pyi Tha, a pseudonym for a government official, in a commentary in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
"The next time any destructionists or saboteurs try to disrupt the country they will face not only the laws but the people who are ready to prove their sense of duty," he wrote.
Burma holds 18 foreigners
Eighteen foreign activists, including six Americans, three Thais, three Malaysians, three Indonesians, two Filipinos and an Australian, were arrested in Rangoon after handing out leaflets calling on the Burmese to remember the political uprising ten years ago.
The eighteen arrived in Rangoon holding tourist visas from Bangkok. Some were arrested on the street, others at the airport. The activists said they were from the Alternative Asean Network, a group supporting Burma’s democracy movement in neighbouring Asian countries.
Dissidents fear of pillaging on border
The junta has stopped supplying free food since June to troops along its border with Thailand, raising fears the soldiers may turn to pillaging, dissident sources said.
The move was prompted by rice shortages caused by heavy flooding last year as well as government concerns over its dwindling financial resources.
Citing military reports from the border, dissidents said there had already been reports of food shortages among troops.
Nobel winners ask for dialogue
Six Nobel peace prize winners urged military leaders to restore democracy in an appeal published ahead of the 10th anniversary of a pro-democracy uprising, which reportedly left 3,000 dead.
The signatories to the appeal, co-ordinated by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance [IDEA], are Nobel peace prize winners Lech Walesa, Desmond Tutu, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Jose Ramos-Horta, as well as Nobel literature winners Nadine Gordimer and Derek Walcott.
The Nobel laureates called on the junta to engage in "constructive dialogue" with Suu Kyi, who they said was a virtual prisoner under the regime.
Junta to free activists in turnaround
The SPDC agreed to deport 18 foreign activists after sentencing them to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour for inciting unrest.
Home Affairs Ministry and immigration authorities agreed to deport the 18 on three conditions: They must not return to engage in political activities in Burma; they must not cause unrest in Burma; and they would have the five years added to a future sentence if they should violate Burmese law again.
SPDC: Suu Kyi’s safety is not assured
SPDC said it no longer took responsibility for the safety of Aung San Suu Kyi, despite previously guaranteeing her security.
The NLD said its young supporters would protect her. The junta said about 10 youths had been staying at her compound around the clock since their official security team withdrew.
Suu Kyi in new face-off with junta
Aung San Suu Kyi increased the pressure on the military government by setting out on another road trip to visit supporters in the west of the country.
Sources close to Suu Kyi’s NLD said she slipped out of her closely guarded lakeside home in Rangoon and drove towards Pathein township, about 190 km west of Rangoon.
Two NLD vehicles, including a light mini-bus, were halted close to the village of Anyarsu, around 27 km west of Rangoon and not far from where Suu Kyi was stopped on a similar trip in July.
This is the fourth time Suu Kyi has left home in an attempt to visit supporters in recent weeks.
Pressure grows as Suu Kyi defiant
Burma’s military rulers faced pressures from inside and outside the country as a roadside standoff between Aung San Suu Kyi and security guards continued.
An NLD statement said Suu Kyi was making her latest trip "to encourage the NLD elected representatives against whom action has been taken by the government." It said the military had broken the law by stopping Suu Kyi’s vehicle and stated the government would be responsible if anything happened to her.
Suu Kyi defiant as NLD, junta meet
Aung San Suu Kyi spent a seventh day in a battle of wills with the junta on a bridge, while her NLD and the junta held talks in Rangoon.
The opposition party’s chairman Aung Shwe met for nearly an hour with junta intelligence chief Lt Gen Khin Nyunt. The junta described the talks as "open, cordial and frank."
"We hope this is the first in a series of confidence-building talks between the government and the NLD," Khin Nyunt was quoted as saying. "We have had a fruitful meeting and we also have appreciated the NLD’s acceptance of our offer of a meeting."
The NLD had declined previous invitations for talks as they excluded party secretary-general Suu Kyi and other key members.
Junta provides umbrella for standoff
Burma’s government said it could not allow Aung San Suu Kyi and her companions to endanger themselves by travelling in the western part of Burma, which it said is violent.
SPDC claimed to have supplied her with several amenities this time, including a cassette player and music tapes by Madonna and Michael Jackson. They also provided a beach umbrella, table, chairs and "journals to help Suu Kyi pass the time." The government said it also sent "imported cakes, cookies and soft drinks" for Suu Kyi and her companions.
"The government has provided an ambulance exclusively for their use. There are not many ambulances in Burma, however, and the government hopes that Mrs Suu Kyi and her companions will return home soon, so that the ambulance and medical staff may be put back to use helping the truly needy."
International reaction
Despite a lack of tangible results from the SPDC-NLD meetings, international reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. The Japanese foreign ministry announced that their nation "strongly hopes that meeting will become the first step along the road to significant dialogue between the Government of Myanmar and the NLD including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
Thailand also welcomed the negotiations and expressed hope that Suu Kyi would be included in future discussions.
"Thailand wants to see national reconciliation between all political sides and races in Myanmar, including the minority groups. This will lead to the end of conflict and political tension, and give peace and stability to Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region," the Thai foreign ministry reported.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon remarked that an "internal domestic process" is the only way to solve recent tensions within Burma, and between Burma and the international community. "This time it’s a different phase of the game....we want to be involved in a serious attempt to bring national reconciliation, not in political posturing exercises," said Siazon.
NLD demands release of prisoners
The NLD demanded the release of two NLD supporters — Thein Oo and Ohn Hla — who it said were detained when they tried to visit the site of the standoff on a small bridge linking a highway to rice paddies 25 km from Rangoon.
Suu Kyi links standoff end to prisoner release
Aung San Suu Kyi offered to end her roadside standoff with the military regime if the government agrees to free jailed members of her political party.
The NLD said Suu Kyi was willing to return to Rangoon if the government released jailed members of parliament and other members of her party imprisoned since May.
Suu Kyi’s health failing in standoff
Aung San Suu Kyi’s health was "failing" nine days into the standoff but she was in "high spirits," according to a statement released by the NLD.
Citing her personal physicians, who have visited Suu Kyi, 53, twice in her van 32 km outside Rangoon, her eyes are turning yellow and she has low blood pressure, the statement said.
Doctors took blood samples, fearing she may have contracted jaundice or another disease after spending nine days in the van on a small country bridge.
Suu Kyi ends protest
Her health failing, Aung San Suu Kyi heeded an appeal from her political party and returned home, ending a 13-day roadside standoff with the junta over her right to travel outside Rangoon. Leaders of Suu Kyi’s political party, the NLD, urged her to end the protest because of concerns that her health had been deteriorating in recent days.
Government officials said that Suu Kyi returned to Rangoon of her own free will with two personal physicians accompanying her in her van.
Student demonstrations in Rangoon
Burmese riot police broke up a rare student protest in Rangoon in a show of force against the increasingly assertive pro-democracy movement.
Riot police with batons and shields swiftly broke up the demonstration at a major intersection. No injuries were reported when the protest ended after some 90 minutes. Up to 150 protestors and some 1,000 onlookers scattered as the riot police advanced on the demonstration.
The protestors were wearing headbands carrying the "fighting peacock" and chanted, "Unity among students and the people," and, "Bring down the military dictatorship government."
Junta closes off most sacred shrine
SPDC blocked off the country’s most sacred Buddhist shrine, also the site of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s maiden speech for democracy, on the 10th anniversary of her address.
Security forces closed all entrances to the Shwedagon Pagoda, a 100-metre golden stupa in the center of Rangoon, and fenced off the surrounding area.
On August 26, 1988, some 700,000 people rallied at Shwedagon to hear a speech by Suu Kyi.
One day later, police moved out of Burma’s historic Shwedagon Pagoda, having finished what they described was a "clean-up" of the Buddhist landmark.
Truck-loads of riot police reinforcements were moved into strategic sites around the capital, including the University of Rangoon, Shwedagon Pagoda and the Rangoon Institute of Technology.
Embassy making a noise over protests
Burmese officials in Bangkok complained to the Thai Foreign Ministry over the demonstrations outside its embassy, saying that the protesters were preventing the embassy from functioning normally and that Thailand had violated the Vienna convention by not taking action.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul affirmed that the Thai government abides by the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, which requires host countries to protect foreign-representatives. But he maintained that the Thai government respected the rights to freedom of expression by Thai and foreign people — provided they comply with the law and do not violate the rights of other countries.
Universities Hold Exams
On August 18, Burma schools offered final examinations for the first time since their facilities were shut down in 1996. Over 96,000 university and college students participated in taking the tests.
Students attacked in Bangkok
A Burmese student suffered a broken nose and nine others sustained injuries, when unknown assailants hurled glass bottles at demonstrators in front of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok.
One activist required a number of stitches as a result of the late-night attack by four people on two motorbikes, who threw soda bottles at the demonstrators. Three Thai students, two females and one male, were also injured.
Thai police shift dissidents
Thai police said they had moved 14 Burmese dissidents from a protest site in front of the Burma embassy in Bangkok, but denied they had been arrested.
Police said the protesters were moved as they had been blocking the entrance to a diplomats’ compound and had been taken to a holding centre for Burmese refugees south of Bangkok.
UN’s Annan sends letter to Suu Kyi
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a letter to Aung San Suu Kyi and hopes to dispatch top envoy Alvaro de Soto to the military-run state, the UN representative in Rangoon said. Acting UN coordinator in Burma Juan Aguilar declined to comment on the letter’s contents.
Junta rejects offer of UN envoy visit
Burma rebuffed a request by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to receive a special emissary to discuss "current developments," UN spokesman Juan Carlos Brandt said.
UN diplomats in Rangoon said that Mr Annan wrote to junta leaders in Burma, proposing a visit by a "special emissary" to discuss "urgent matters."
However, the junta responded that this was "not an appropriate time." "The response from the prime minister was polite, but stated that there was no reason for such a rush to visit," Mr Brandt said.
Rangoon announced that corruption charges against three cabinet members will be taken up by a board of inquiry, which was formed last month.
The accused were removed from office during a cabinet reshuffle last November. Silence following an investigation led analysts to believe that it had been derailed.
A commentary published in three government-run newspapers accused foreign governments and news organisations of colluding in Aung San Suu Kyi’s protests.
It accused the Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corp and Radio Free Asia, of interfering in Burma’s internal affairs by "profusely advocating the demand of the lady."
A French journalist became the second foreign newsperson expelled from Burma in a week for entering the country under the pretense of being tourists, official newspapers reported.
Philippe Grangereau, who works for the Paris newspaper Liberation, was deported for "illegally gathering information" while in the country on a tourist visa, newspapers said. Cassette tapes and documents hidden on his body were seized.
Earlier, a black-listed Italian journalist, Maurizio Giouliano, was expelled while trying to enter the country again.
Foreign journalists detained in Burma
Three foreign journalists were detained in Rangoon, as they prepared to interview Aung San Suu Kyi.
The three — an Australian, a Canadian and a Japanese — all believed to be cameramen, were detained near the Nobel peace laureate’s house by intelligence agents. They were deported to Bangkok on a flight later.
Opposition "will convene parliament"
The NLD said it would call parliament to convene, the most direct challenge to the authority of the military government it has ever attempted.
"Failure to hold a parliament session by the authorities amounts to ignoring the wishes of the people," the party statement said, adding it was now the duty of the NLD and elected candidates from other parties to convene. "Hence, the NLD has announced it will call a parliament consisting of ethnic and elected representatives in the near future," the statement said.
Junta opposes convening parliament
One day before the NLD’s deadline for the military to convene the country’s elected parliament, the military said it has no intention of meeting its demand.
"The question is how does one call a parliament if there exists no constitution," said a government spokesman, on condition of anonymity. "The demand to convene one sounds like forcing a bald person to dye his hair."
Burma’s junta also said the opposition NLD's decision to convene its own parliament was illegal.
"Such a move by any individual political party would be in contravention of Myanmar law and seems designed to derail the ongoing discussions between the government and the NLD," a junta spokesman said in a statement.
Thai & U.S reaction to August 21
Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhum-bhand Paribatra said Thailand was closely watching the standoff between Suu Kyi and the military. Thailand called for dialogue between Burma’s military government and the opposition. "The Thai government is giving moral support to all factions — both to the Myanmar government and the NLD — and we are continuously supporting efforts for dialogue without pre-conditions," Sukhumbhand said.
In a statement, US Department of State Acting Spokesman James B. Foley said that "we deeply regret the Burmese government’s rejection of this historic opportunity to respond to the NLD’s call."
Foley stated that the solution to Burma’s political impasse can only be achieved through a "meaningful dialogue between the government and the representatives of the Burmese people."
Newspaper calls for deportation of Suu Kyi
A state-run newspaper said opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi should be expelled from Burma and her NLD banned, as the military refused to meet the party’s demand to convene parliament.
"The NLD has broken many existing laws, therefore the NLD should be declared illegal and she should be deported," the commentary in the state-run Mirror Daily said. "Only after she is deported can the government continue with its nation building task, the people can go about their business peacefully and the price of consumer goods can come down," it said.
Door closed on dialogue with Suu Kyi
SPDC spokesman Colonel Hla Min told foreign military attaches that it will neither allow the opposition to form a parliament nor talk to Aung San Suu Kyi.
In a meeting with 15 military attaches, the ruling SPDC argued that Suu Kyi and Tin Oo, the party’s vice chairman, had been officially stripped of their posts in 1990.
"The bottom-line is that the door is closed for dialogue between Suu Kyi and SPDC," said the diplomat.
Two leaders from the Burmese Association in Japan (BAIJ) surrendered their refugee status in Japan to return to Burma, stating they have witnessed a "positive and constructive change" in the current political situation.
BAIJ Chairperson Mya Mya Win and BAIJ General Secretary Dr. Win Naing were granted refugee status in 1992 — two of the first Burmese nationals in Japan to be granted asylum by the Justice Ministry — and have since then led the efforts in Japan to promote development and progress in their homeland, often in confrontation with the current government.
Thailand’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra arrived in Burma for a three day official visit to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations.
The Karen National Union (KNU) has made a loose alliance with another rebel group, the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), whose peace talks with the SPDC have collapsed. The Chairman of the KNU, General Bo Mya, said the alliance with the KNPP would promote military cooperation in the struggle to protect the rights of Burma’s minority peoples.
Join us, Suu Kyi implores soldiers
Aung San Suu Kyi urged soldiers to break ranks with their leaders and support the convening of parliament.
Using foreign radio broadcasts, she asked "ordinary soldiers" to remember that they had a higher duty than merely to serve their superiors.
Suu Kyi reminded the military members of her audience that the army was founded by her father, independence hero Aung San, "to protect the country, rather than to dominate politics."
Aquino dedicates award to Burmese
Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino dedicated a prestigious Asian award she won to the Burmese people, citing their long and bloody fight for freedom. Mrs Aquino has been named winner of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding for helping topple strongman Ferdinand Marcos in a nearly bloodless uprising in the Philippines in 1986.
Accepting the award, Mrs Aquino said that, compared to the Filipinos’ 1986 triumph against Marcos’ dictatorship, the Burmese people were encountering more difficulties but were continuing the fight for democracy.