Bangkok Post (23-8-99)

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Editorial

Burma must sit at democracy table
It was a week-long exercise which fully illustrated the massive credibility
gap
the Burmese military junta has created. The regime began by accusing the
democratic opposition of planning a national uprising on Sept 9-the so-called
"four nines" day often written in Burma as 9/9/99. But it flatly denied
reports
from opponents of a wave of arrests.
The All Burma Students' Democratic Front said that up to 120 people had been
arrested. The opposition group said some of those arrested were young students
who demonstrated in the southern town of Mergui. Nonsense, said a statement
from the regime. It said four people were helping authorities with their
enquiries. Anyone suggesting anything else, such as up-country demonstrations,
was wrong and deliberately attempting to harm Burma.
Three days later, Rangoon announced the arrest of 32 people. An official
spokesman for the ruling State Peace and Development Council, San Pwint, said
an undisclosed number of other Burmese were assisting authorities at various
police stations around the country. This is Burma-speak for detention without
visitors, charges or legal help. People held in such a manner are not released
until they "volunteer" the information that authorities want-whether it is
true
or not. Amnesty International last month caught the authorities holding a
child
and attempting to have her denounce her father.
The regime claims, and may even believe, that members of the National League
for Democracy and other more intemperate groups are aligned in a vast
conspiracy. Its aim is violent revolution and the overthrow of the military
regime. This continual claim by the regime is repeated despite enthusiastic
participation in a democratic election, despite constant denials and
transparent meetings by the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta's claim
that
it must continue its oppressive dictatorship to prevent a revolution is
wearing
extremely thin.
The Burmese junta has become a worldwide symbol of corruption and brutality.
The regime is recognised as friendly to drug dealers and a violator of the
most
basic human rights. Rangoon's rulers are famous for the violence they apply
against their own people. In recent weeks, Burma has come under ever
increasing
criticism from Thais for its drug connections.
It is all so unnecessary. Burma's rulers can prevent political violence on
Sept
9 and all other days. They can win respect at home and abroad. They can move
their country forward and improve the lives of their citizens. The junta
members, who are despised in much of the world and barred from travelling to
many countries, could reverse that treatment and the opinions that many
hold of
them.
The leaders of Burma should open a true dialogue with the democratic forces
who
wish to bring peaceful change to their country. This certainly includes Aung
San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has won the votes of her fellow
Burmese, and won an election which should have put her party into power.
General Maung Aye, second in the junta's hierarchy, bragged at the weekend
that
the army is able to kill more demonstrators today than in 1988. He said his
forces would annihilate any opposition. How sad. It is unnecessary to
"annihilate" anyone or any group. The regime, as it knows, is not
threatened by
violent revolution. It is threatened by a repressed population, who desire
only
what their neighbours have: freedom, a voice in their own future and a
reasonable opportunity to better their lives.
The junta is responsible to its own people to move towards political
agreement,
national reconciliation and a future of democracy and freedom. It also is
responsible to its neighbours for this. An unstable Burma, with a discredited
government, is a major drag on Asean. The fact is that Burma's junta is
holding
back Burma and the region.