On 5 Sep, Chairman Nai Shwe Kyin, 86, of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) met with State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) Chairman Senior General Than Shwe. Details were not available but intelligence chief Lieut-Gen Khin Nyunt reportedly discussed development plans and the repatriation of Mon refugees along the Thai-Burmese border. Nai Shwe Kyin arrived in Rangoon in late August. The NMSP signed a military cease-fire agreement with SLORC in June [B950912].
SLORC SPLITTING KARENNIS
Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) Foreign Affairs Minister Abel Tweed said that SLORC is using the influential Bishop of Loikaw, to divide the mainly Roman Catholic Karenni people. The Bishop is reportedly urging Karennis to lay down their weapons and return to the `legal fold'. Last year, SLORC orchestrated a mutiny by `Buddhist' Karen soldiers against the mainly `Baptist' leadership of the Karen National Union (KNU). SLORC is also suspected of having used the resentment between Shan and Chinese elements of the Merng Tai Army (MTA) to instigate the recent break away of Shan troops from the MTA. The KNPP signed a cease-fire agreement with SLORC in Mar.95 but it broke down almost immediately when SLORC broke the terms of the Agreement and moved troops into Karenni territory. Tweed is not optimistic that another cease-fire agreement can be reached. ``They just want to wipe us out,'' he said and warned that the situation could get critical next year because SLORC did not release water for irrigation from Loikaw dam during this year's rice planting season. ``They are planning to flood the area in November during harvest time and wipe out what crops have been grown. People are very afraid that next year they will starve''[N950901].
CIVILIANS EVACUATE HOMONG
According to Thai Army sources, civilians are being evacuated from Homong, headquarters of the Merng Tai Army (MTA), in anticipation of an assault by SLORC and Wa forces. ``About 100 elderly civilians, mainly family of our party's executive committee, have been evacuated to Mae Aw,'' said an MTA official. Fresh Burmese troops recently moved to positions on the approaches to MTA headquarters and observers expect that an offensive will begin as the rainy season draws to a close [N950912].
ALBRIGHT VISITS RANGOON
Madeleine Albright, 56, US Ambassador to the United Nations and a member of US President Bill Clinton's cabinet visited Burma 8-9 Sep.95. She is the highest US government official to visit since SLORC took power in September 1988. She met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and SLORC Secretary 1 Lieut-Gen Khin Nyunt. She quoted Khin Nyunt as saying that a dialogue with Daw Suu ``will have to come after internal consultations'' within the SLORC leadership. Albright cautioned countries in the region not to misinterpret her visit as a signal that the US is preparing to improve relations with Burma. She said that her visit had two primary objectives: to call for democratization in Burma and support the role of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as a pro-democracy leader [USG950909] -see Page 2.
KARENS RE-ORGANIZED
The Karen National Union (KNU) held its 11th Congress in southeast Burma 21-31 Aug.95, to re-organize following the fall of Manerplaw. 106 delegates and 79 observers attended the long-awaited Congress. 35 were elected to the KNU Central Standing Committee and 11 to the Central Executive Committee (CEC). A major decision was made to discard the previous Cabinet system and the party system was reinforced. General Bo Mya was re-elected President of the KNU and Chief of its Bureau for Alliance Foreign Affairs. Sixth Brigade Commander Gen Shwe Saing was elected Vice-President and Chief of the Bureau for Defence. Pado Saw Ba Thinn retained his position as party General Secretary. Bo Mya's personal secretary, Mahn Sar Lar Pan, was elected First Joint General Secretary and Saw Tu Tu Lay, former head of the KNU Justice Department, was elected Second Joint General Secretary. Other CEC members are Kaser Doh (Financial Affairs), Aung San (Economic Affairs), Gaw Soe (Organization), Maung Maung (General Administration), San Lin (Social Affairs), and Baw Yu Paw (Discipline). Page 4
Following are excerpts from Albright's statement at a press conference in Bangkok, 9 Sep.95:
``I had meetings with Lieut-Gen Khin Nyunt, ... U Ohn Gyaw, the Foreign Minister, and representatives of UN agencies active in the country. I was also honored to be hosted at a breakfast by Aung San Suu Kyi...the leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement. In all my meetings, I affirmed the strong support of the United States for progress towards genuine freedom and democracy in Burma and respect for human rights of the Burmese people. While welcoming the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and some other political prisoners, I said that fundamental change in U.S. policy towards Burma would depend on fundamental change in the SLORC's treatment of the Burmese people. Towards this end, I urged SLORC officials to begin a meaningful dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic leaders for the purpose of reconciliation and broadening the base for political discussion within the country.In my two-hour meeting with Gen. Khin Nyunt, I delivered a tough message, telling him that his country's isolation would only deepen unless concrete steps towards political freedom were taken. I urged the SLORC to choose the path of true democracy, rather than continued repression and dictatorial control. I said that the democratic path may seem harder and more risky, but a bright future for Burma cannot be shaped without the participation of the Burmese people. I urged repeatedly that a dialogue be initiated with Aung San Suu Kyi and did not accept Khin Nyunt's characterization of the National Convention as a meaningful process for dialogue. In this regard, we were modestly encouraged to hear that the SLORC is now considering the possibility of engaging in a political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi. But my government does not believe that such a dialogue should be delayed.... As Aung San Suu Kyi put it later, `the sooner the dialogue begins the better.'
Khin Nyunt expressed ... that SLORC had broad public support, and observed that the Burmese people smile a lot. I said that it has been my experience, in a lifetime of studying repressive societies, that dictators often delude themselves into believing they have popular support... people often smile not because they are happy, but because they are afraid. The future of Burma must be built on hope, not fear.
I was particularly pleased to exchange views on the situation in Burma with Aung San Suu Kyi, in her role as representative of democratic forces in the country. Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the news of my straightforward discussion with Khin Nyunt on the importance of beginning a dialogue ... as the first step to bringing the country back to the community of democratic nations. She reiterated to me her well-known readiness to begin that dialogue quickly. The international community did not call for her release from house arrest simply so that the gate to her compound could be opened and friends could visit. It was on the assumption that she would then be allowed to begin work on the goals that she has so bravely pursued as representative of the democratic opposition.
We also discussed the continued importance of keeping the attention of the international community focused on the situation in Burma. We agreed on the particular importance, as the 50th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opens this month, that the resolution on the situation on human rights in Burma reflect accurately the situation on the ground here. The government's release of Aung San Suu Kyi was just one of many steps the UNGA called on the government to take. It is now time to take the many other steps necessary to restore democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the democratic elections held in 1990. I promised Aung San Suu Kyi that I would work toward that goal upon my return to New York.
In summary, I believe this was a successful visit in making fully clear America's position with respect to the future of our relations with Burma. America stands ready to develop friendly and constructive relations with the Burmese government, but that can occur when and only when fundamental progress towards democracy and respect for basic for human rights is achieved. The SLORC faces a choice between its present isolation and reintegration into the international community. As a result of my visit, the SLORC leadership can have no doubt about what it must do. The choice is theirs.
At the press conference, Albright said that she thought the Burmese military and democracy leaders were `quite far apart' regarding their views on what democracy means. But she believes that some of the differences can be worked out through a direct dialogue. Albright also said that she is considering the possibility of making this year's UN resolution more specific and having a timeframe attached to democratic progress in Burma. ``I plan to speak out a great deal when I get back on the importance of the Burmese people having the ability to move the democratic process forward under the UN resolution,'' she said.
``It is impossible for the coming year.''Lieut-Col Khin Maung Latt
Some reasons why Khin Maung Latt [F950914] does not think SLORC's VISIT MYANMAR YEAR will reach its target are:
``As the SLORC has moved to attract international investment and tourism, at least two million Burmese citizens since 1992 have been forced to work for no pay under brutal conditions to rebuild the country's infrastructure.''Holly Burkhalter, Sept 7, 1995
General Tamalabaw, who replaced Bo Mya as Chief-of-Staff of the Army, was re-elected to the position. Bo Mya's return to the KNU leadership surprised observers who had expected him to step down. The 11th Congress urged the Karen people to unite and promised to `further strengthen' the Karen National Liberation Army and the Karen National Defence Organisation to better serve the Karen people. The Congress also issued a fresh call for a dialogue with SLORC to achieve the KNU's objectives of the establishment of genuine peace, democracy and a genuine federal union [B950906/10, KNU950901, N950903/06, Reu950902].
A = Asiaweek,
AWSJ = Asian Wall Street Journal,
B = Bangkok Post,
BW = Business Wire, NET,
BRC-J = Burmese Relief Centre (Japan),
CO = Charlotte Observer, North Carolina, USA,
F = Far Eastern Economic Review,
N = The Nation, Bangkok,
Reu = Reuters,
SAIN = Southeast Asian Information Network,
USG = United States of America Government, and
WPD = New Light of Myanmar, Rangoon.