BurmaNet News: March 25 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

March 25 2003 Issue #2201

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: UN envoy's hasty departure confirms Myanmar's pariah status
DVB: Pinheiro stormed out of Burma
DVB: Some political prisoners released
SHAN: Failure to fill rice quota sends farmers to the can
Kao-Wao: Cease-fire policy unchanged after death of Mon leader

DRUGS
Xinhua: Thailand prepares for four-nation drugs meeting
AFP: Estimated death toll in Thai war on drugs nears 1,900: police

MONEY
FT: Premier Oil restructure completion "imminent"

REGIONAL
PTI: Myanmarese journo-turned-hijacker says he wants to face trial

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Old Adversaries, New Friends


INSIDE BURMA

Agence France Presse   March 25, 2003
UN envoy's hasty departure confirms Myanmar's pariah status
BY: Pascale Trouillaud

A microphone found under the table where a UN envoy was "confidentially"
interviewing political prisoners: Myanmar could hardly find a better way
of reinforcing its image as a black sheep of the international community.

A "very angry" Paulo Sergio Pinheiro announced in Yangon on Monday he was
curtailing by two days a visit during which he was updating a report on
the human rights situation in the military-ruled country, which he is due
to present to the Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

"I informed the authorities that while interviewing prisoners at Insein
Prison on Saturday 22nd March I found a functioning listening device in
the form of a wireless microphone placed under the table in the room which
I was using to conduct my interviews," a bitter Pinheiro said before his
departure.

"I am very angry about this incident and I straight away decided to leave
the country," he said.

Despite being focused on its military campaign in Iraq, Washington reacted
immediately.

"We regret that the government of Burma failed to live up to commitments
it agreed to" before Pinheiro's visit, a State Department official said
using the country's former name.

The incident, which Myanmar's ministry of foreign affairs said Tuesday was
being investigated and was "sincerely regretted", will only further
tarnish the image of Myanmar's military leadership.

The country, already besieged by international sanctions because of its
poor human rights record, had found in Pinheiro an interlocutor who
advocated a soft rather than confrontational approach in dealing with the
regime.

Earlier this month he had told the international community that "the
policy option now should be engagement, not isolation."

Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) chairman Khun Tun Oo told
AFP Pinheiro's sudden departure represented a setback for the national
reconciliation process.

"We can say it's a backward step... not only with regard to the human
rights issue, but also the national reconciliation process, which are all
interrelated."

A Yangon-based diplomat said the incident was "very regrettable".

"It's sad for everybody, for the regime, also for the political prisoners
and for Mr. Pinheiro. It cannot push things forward," he said.

In exchange for Pinheiro's patient and conciliatory approach, he has been
granted during his last five missions -- including this week's ill-fated
one -- total freedom in his interviews across the country.

The junta had committed not to penalise or prosecute the potentially
sensitive people he spoke to during his interviews, including prisoners or
ethnic minorities.

This was a great change compared to the treatment given to his
predecessor, Mauritian Rajsoomer Lallah, who was never even permitted by
the regime to set foot in Myanmar.

After such a breach in the moral contract between the junta and Pinheiro,
the question of whether the envoy may resign has now been raised.

"He will certainly ask himself the question after such an incident," the
diplomat said.

Pinheiro already had reason to be frustrated with Myanmar's leaders.

Before he left Yangon he told the junta that the very slow release of
political prisoners was "unacceptable". There are still 1,200 to 1,300 in
Myanmar's jails, and Pinheiro has made their release his priority.

The junta has freed a few hundred prisoners in the last two years as
goodwill gestures, but has failed to release any recently with the
exception of a group of 45 people released a few days before Pinheiro's
arrival last week.

At the same time, dialogue on democratic transition expected to take place
between the top generals and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has
stalled.

Pinheiro's discouragement seems to have already been felt by the other UN
envoy to Myanmar, Razali Ismail.

The special envoy of UN secretary-general Kofi Annan had played an
essential part in brokering landmark talks between the junta and the Nobel
Peace Prize winner which began at the end of 2000. But since Aung San Suu
Kyi's release from house arrest last May, nothing has moved.

"The general opinion is that the number one (Senior General Than Shwe) has
put on the brakes," the diplomat said.

On the eve of his ninth mission to Yangon last November, Razali threatened
to resign if "if I think I am not going anywhere with the discussions".

And as Pinheiro stormily left Myanmar, it seems Razali is having
difficulties getting a new invitation to Yangon, which he had promised to
return to early this year.

"The horizon is totally dark," the diplomat said.
________

Democratic Voice of Burma News   24 March 2003
Pinheiro stormed out of Burma

It is reported that the UN special human rights envoy, Mr Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro who has been visiting Rangoon terminated his trip today over the
insincere deed of the SPDC authorities. According to the original plan, he
was to stay in Rangoon from the 19th to the 26th of March but he felt
aggrieved by the bugging of his conversations with political prisoners in
Insein Prison and left the country. He cancelled all his remaining agenda
including the meeting with representatives of the United Nationalities
Alliance (UNA) planned today. Before he departed from Rangoon, Pinheiro
held a news conference in the evening and explained his grievances to
political activists, diplomats, military officials and international news
reporters. He said that the bugging of the conversations is an intolerable
deed and he slammed his fist on the table. Moreover, he found no new
political developments during this trip, he told the reporters. U Khun Ton
Oo of the Shan NLD who attended the news conference told the DVB as
follows:

A: The eight members of the UNA, the NLD, National Union Party (NUP) and
international reporters attended the news conference.

Q: There was no discussion between you and him like last time?

A: No. He cancelled that plan and other plans. He was supposed to leave
yesterday but because of the difficulty in obtaining a flight ticket, he
was unable to do so. Yesterday, he went to pay his respect at the grave of
U Thant and laid a wreath.

Q: So, you didn’t have a chance to discuss with him?

A: We just listened to what he had to say. He was very angry. He was
feeling rather aggrieved. The action [of bugging] is not in accordance
with the agreement with them [SPDC officials]. They did what they should
not do and the like. He reported the incident to the people concerned.
Whatever it is – he believes that all his efforts would be worthless if he
goes on. He is going and the like. He decided to go without finishing what
he had to do. He will leave tonight.

Q: In the future, is he going to resign from his post?

A: He is sending his report on the 31st of March. His contract is said to
be nearly at an end. If he is asked to resume his duty, he would. If the
UN is not going to employ him, he will retire from his job. Before he
left, he went to see Mary Robinson. He is leaving because she allowed him
to do so.

Q: You didn’t have a chance to talk about ethnic national issues with him?

A: No. But he said that General Khin Nyunt agreed to investigate the
allegations of the rapes of Shan women by the Burmese soldiers.

In order to find out about the point of view of the NLD, we spoke to its
spokesman, U Lwin:

A: There are three main points. He was very upset about the incident in
the prison. He said that he got the agreement in advance. He would be
allowed to speak to prisoners freely. No one should allowed to be heard
what they discussed. He can’t accept that, he said. Another is -
criticisms on him including mine. He said that according to the situation,
he would correct his original report as needed. He doesn’t mind the
criticisms. Everyone is allowed to criticise him and the like. Another is
- he is accused of interfering with the political arena of Burma. He is
overstepping his mandate. He deals with political dialogue and the like.
He said that he did not do it. He said that he wanted the dialogue to
happen. He explained these three topics.

Q: What will the consequences be after this?

A: It is his field trip before he writes the report. After the Saturday
meeting, he was supposed to see representatives from different departments
on Monday. He is supposed to see us again on the 26th of March, the day of
his departure. Then, this happened and he is unable to see us again. He
just held a news conference and left.

After Pinheiro left Burma abruptly, it is not certain whether he is going
to meet opposition activists in Thailand as he used to. But it is assumed
that he is going to hold another news conference in Bangkok tomorrow. He
will submit his findings to the meeting of the UNCHR being held at Geneva
on the 31st of March and exiled Burmese activists are preparing to attend
the meeting.
________

Democratic Voice of Burma News   24 March 2003
Some political prisoners released

While there are problems between the UN special human rights envoy and the
Burmese military junta, it is reported that four political prisoners were
jointly released with 45 prisoners who were released on the 16th of March.
The four are all students who have been working closely with the NLD and
their names are read out by Thakhin Ohn Myint of the NLD’s Social Welfare
as follows:

A: Phoe Hla Pyeit from Bassein Prison. Thura Aung from Insein Prison. He
was sent from Myaung Mya Prison because he was ill. Hlaing Myat from
Myaung Mya Prison. Mya Sabai Moe who was ill. She is the pregnant woman
prisoner who remained in the prison. She was suffering rheumatism and
depression. There are some more people but as I don’t know about them for
sure, I don’t want to say anything. Even these people, we learnt about
them from people who went to see them in prison. We are very happy that
they are free. They were released on the 16th with the 45 people.

Ko Zarni, a spokesman of Thailand-based Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners (AAPP) told the DVB about the released prisoners and
his view as follows:

A: Mya Sabai Moe and Phoe Hla Pyeit were arrested in Rangoon in 1998 and
were put in jail in 1999. Thura Aung was arrested in 1996 for part in
student activities. He was imprisoned in 1997.

Q: What are AAPP’s views on the release of political prisoners recently?
It is the time of the visit of the UN human rights envoy to Rangoon.

A: We think that the military government is doing it to show that they are
doing something to decrease political tension. But their action is – as
often said by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the rate of the release of political
prisoner is very slow. They only release them once in every three or four
months. They tend to do that when the UN envoy visits Burma.

Q: When the UN envoy talked to political prisoners, his conversations with
them were bugged, he said. What does AAPP have to say about it?

A: It is clear that the bugging machine was set up and used by the
authorities. But, our worry is – they might say that the machine was not
set up by them but smuggled by political prisoners and prosecute them in
prison. They are afraid that the UN might take action on them and we are
worry that they may pile their own weakness and fault onto political
prisoners.
________

Shan Herald Agency for News   25 March 2003
Failure to fill rice quota sends farmers to the can

More than 30 farmers who had fled from a township near Taunggyi told
S.H.A.N. some 50 people from their own village had recently been
imprisoned due to their failure to fulfill their quota of rice to be sold
to the official procurement agencies.

"Every household, whether or not it made a living by growing rice, were
required to sell 80 tang (1 tang = 54 liters) to the government", said a
Pa-O farmer from Wan Pong, Nawngwawn Tract, Hsihseng Township (60 miles
south of Taunggyi). "As a result, many of our fellow villagers have gone
to jail. About 20 of them still remain in custody because their families
were unable to pay the fines."

The refugees included Shan, Yanglai (Striped Karen) and Pa-O.

Two years earlier, on 15 January 2001, the farmers in the same township
staged a rally protesting what they termed as the exorbitant rice demands
from the military authorities resulting in the arrest of 30 of their
leaders. A few days afterwards, an officer from Taunggyi visited the
township where the farmers were told: "You don't own the land. You are
only using the land owned by the State with its permission. Those who fail
to sell according to the quota are liable to go to jail under Section 406
and 420."

Sai Panlu, a prominent member of the Shan Nationalities League for
Democracy was a casualty of the incident, said a source from the area. "He
had been forced to quit the party since," he explained.

The market prices vary from one township to another, ranging between 1,000
- 2,200 kyat per tang (tin in Burmese). "This is the worst year for every
farmer," said a Shan. "It has particularly become hell for us since the
year 2000, when they began boosting up their rice export figures."

More than a million acres of paddy fields in central Burma went under
water during last year's flood, according to reports from other news
agencies.

In addition to the rice quota, farmers are also required to work in the
army-owned paddy fields that were confiscated from them, they said. "We
were forced to grow dry-season rice for the army," said a farmer from
Hpakhay, Mongton Township, just across the border from Chiangmai, where 5
acres of land was seized by Infantry Battalion 225. "In 2001, the yield
fell short of that of the rainy-season crop, and each household had to
pool in 220 kyat to make up for the gap."
________

Kao-Wao News Group   March 21, 2003)
Cease-fire policy unchanged after death of Mon leader

According to sources, New Mon State Party will not change its cease-fire
policy any time soon with the Burmese military regime despite opposition
to it after the death of its leader.

In response to rumors that NMSP was to raise concerns about the cease-fire
with the junta, a senior officer of the NMSP said the relationship with
the regime would continue as before.

Local Mon media reported that Secretary General of the NMSP, Nai Rot Sa,
will carry on with tasks inside the country supervised by the
Vice-Chairman Nai Htin and Deputy Secretary General Nai Hongsa will manage
Mon affairs at Headquarters.

There are no indications the death of the 91-year-old President Kyin would
prompt members to reconsider changes to the cease-fire agreement between
the party and the Burmese military regime. No forthcoming explanations on
changes or if it would improve the current situation in which the Mon is
being systematically oppressed by the junta were discussed.

Many have frustrated with the cease-fire agreement between the NMSP and
the Burmese regime in June 1995 as human rights abuses such as forced
labor, rape, torture and extra judicial killing by the State Peace and
Development Council regime continue in the Mon areas.

At the funeral service of the President, Nai Shwe Kyin in Moulmein, a
former NMSP leader Nai Pan Tha spoke to an informal gathering about
possible candidates for the leadership role.  He recommended Nai Tun
Thein, the Chairman of Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF), a prominent
and respected leader in Mon society who could help unite groups toward a
common goal.  Nai Tun Thein and other MNDF key members from Rangoon paid
tribute to the founder of the New Mon State Party.

Only a few key members of the New Mon State Party were in agreement with
Nai Pan Tha’s suggestion, according to Nai Sunthorn, Secretary General of
the Mon Unity League, an umbrella organization of the Mon people.

Before he passed away, Nai Shwe Kyin, had attempted to tackle further
splintering from the party arguing that Mon unity should be everyone’s
strategic concern to achieve victory for the Mon national cause, as
expressed in his message to the Party’s fifth congress in February.

The NMSP was founded by Nai Shwe Kyin in July 1958 when the Mon Peoples
Front (MPF) surrendered to the U Nu’s Parliamentary government claiming to
the Mon supporters that it was an exchange of arms for democracy.  The
Party controls some areas in Mon, Karen and Tenasserim territories.  The
founder and long time President Nai Shwe Kyin passed away at the capital
of Mon State on March 7, 2003.


DRUGS

Xinhua News Agnency   March 25, 2003
Thailand prepares for four-nation drugs meeting

Thailand is preparing for a regional meeting in which four countries will
thrash out solutions to Asia's drugs crisis, Interior Minister Wan Muhamad
Noor Matha has said.

The minister said that the meeting, to be attended by leaders from
Thailand, Laos, China and Myanmar, would take place over the next
three-five months and would be hosted by China, according to a local TV
report on Tuesday morning.

In a speech on Monday, the Thai minister stressed that no country could
cope with drug-related issues alone and said Thailand supported Myanmar's
efforts to solve the drug problem by offering assistance to its program
cultivating alternative crops.
________

Agence France Presse   March 25, 2003
Estimated death toll in Thai war on drugs nears 1,900: police

The likely death toll in Thailand's nearly two-month-old drugs war was
approaching 1,900, police said Tuesday as Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra claimed the crackdown was yielding results.

A total of 1,897 people have been killed across the country since the
drugs war began, including 42 that police shot dead in self-defence,
national Thai police spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen said in a statement.

Six police officers were also shot and killed by drugs suspects, while 15
police officers were injured, he said, adding that 159 murder suspects had
been arrested.

Authorities say the rest were murders carried out by drug gang members in
a bid to protect themselves from prosecution.

Pongsapat told AFP, however, he was unsure how many of the killings were
directly connected with the drugs war. But previous police numbers have
been used as a proxy figure for the number of deaths resulting from the
government crackdown since the war began on February 1.

Police had also arrested 42,573 drug suspects, seized 12.4 million
methamphetamine tablets and confiscated 517.9 million baht (12.1 million
dollars) of suspects' assets since the war began, Pongsapat said in his
statement.

Meanwhile Thaksin claimed that the war was being carried out successfully.

"There are two places for drugs traffickers: in prison or in the temple,"
he told reporters, referring to the fact people are taken to temples to be
cremated after death.

"The government has sent a clear signal to government officials that in
the war on drugs the government is still acting tough and it has asked
officials implementing policy to work to their utmost," he said.

"By April 30 the government is confident that they will see achievements
in decreasing the amount of drugs here."

Thaksin declared a three-month war on drugs aimed at stamping out the
rampant methamphetamine trade in the kingdom, most of which flows in from
neighbouring Myanmar and is allegedly produced by an ethnic Wa group
aligned with Yangon.

Despite a torrent of criticism by human rights groups and opposition
parties concerned about extra-judicial killings, Thai authorities have
insisted the crackdown has yielded impressive results.

A summary report by government drugs-related agencies presented to a
cabinet meeting Tuesday said that the Wa had suspended methamphetamine
production as a result of Thailand's drugs blitz, a cabinet source told
AFP.

"They believe that 100 million methamphetamine tablets have been buried
along the Thai-Myanmar border waiting to be shipped into Thailand," the
report said.

The defence ministry estimated last November that up to a billion
methamphetamine pills would be trafficked this year into Thailand, up from
the 700 million pills believed to have entered in 2002.

But the army, which intensified its drugs suppression operations along the
border regions as part of the crackdown, has said inflows are no longer in
line with that figure.

Thailand is the world's largest consumer of methamphetamines according to
the International Narcotics Control Board, which cites official Thai
figures that the drug is regularly abused by five percent of the
population of 63 million.


MONEY

Financial Times Investor   March 25, 2003
Premier Oil restructure completion "imminent"

Premier Oil said the completion of its restructure was imminent as it
announced the last set of full year results prior to its parting company
with stakeholders Petronas and Amerada Hess.

The Indonesian government has now signed off transfer of a stake in the
Natuna project to Amerada Hess and the Burmese government has approved in
principle Petronas' takeover of the Yetagun project.

Petronas and Amerada Hess have a combined shareholding of 50 per cent in
Premier. Completion has been slowed by the complexities of pre-emption
rights at Yetagun but is now expected around the beginning of the second
quarter.

Premier reported pre-tax profits of GBP72.6m ($ 114.2m), 46 per cent up on
the previous year. Net profit grew 23 GBP25m up 23 per cent, which was
lower than analysts' forecasts, due to an unforeseen GBP13.1m provision
for UK fixed assets.

But Tony Alves, analyst at Investec, said Premier's underlying operating
performance was better than expected.

Production in 2002 was up 31 per cent at 53,600 barrels of oil equivalent
a day, comfortably above the top end of the target range. The
restructuring announced in September will bring Premier's production down
to some 35,000 boe/d as it relinquishes east Asian assets for the 50 per
cent shareholding and $ 376m in cash.

Net debt in 2002 was trimmed by GBP129.8m to GBP249.5m, pre-restructuring.
Post restructuring proforma net debt was GBP47.1m, a gearing of 17 per
cent.

Premier intends to make acquisitions to support its reincarnation as an
exploration and deal making company. It is likely to seek critical mass in
West Africa where it already has a presence in Gabon and in Guinea Bissau,
while maintaining its presence in east Asia where its production is
expanding.

In a statement on dividend policy, the company said most of its shares
were owned by investors looking for capital growth in the share price
rather than small dividends. It was committed to generating returns
through capital growth and significant one-off dividends or share buybacks
when appropriate.

Turnover in 2002 was up 23 per cent at GBP263.1m and earnings per share
stood at 1.58p, against 1.28p last time.

In early London trade, Premier's share price was slightly higher at 25.25p.


REGIONAL

Press Trust of India   March 24, 2003
Myanmarese journo-turned-hijacker says he wants to face trial

Kolkata,Monday, March 24, 2003:    Soe Myint, the Myanmarese jounalist
facing trial here for hijacking a Thai aircraft to the metropolis in 1990,
today expressed his determination to fight his case, even though his
supporters have appealed to the Centre and West Bengal government for its
withdrawal.

"I have made a political decision to face the case even though I know I
may be awarded life imprisonment. I will not relent in the fight for our
struggle for restoration of democracy in Myanmar," Myint, the founding
editor of 'Mizzima' internet news agency, told reporters here.

The journalist, who had come out in support for pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi back home, said "I was shocked when I was arrested by the West
Bengal police. But I understand the compulsions of the government."

He, however, declined to elaborate on the matter citing legal obligations.

Myint would face a fresh trial from April two following reopening of a
case filed against him after he allegedly hijacked a Jakarta-bound flight,
which was made to land at NSC Bose International Airport here on November
10, 1990.

He was speaking on the occasion of release of 'Burma File : A Question of
Democracy', a compilation of news reports of Mizzima correspondents on the
prevailing situation under the junta in Myanmar.

"I hope we will get a democratic government in our country soon. I am sure
the Indians will continue to support our movement," he said.


INTERNATIONAL

The Irrawaddy   March 25, 2003
Old Adversaries, New Friends
In a departure from their previous stance, Burma’s military junta is now
trying to mend relations with the US.
By Aung Zaw

With Europe and the US divided on whether to wage war with Iraq, leaders
in Southeast Asia are having an equally difficult time forging a
collective stance. President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
voiced her strong support for a US offensive while Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad has predictably cautioned against such action.

As Asian governments struggle to form a united front to back the US-led
war on Iraq, the banner-waving public has taken to the streets across the
region, excoriating Uncle Sam and calling him the "world’s number-one
terrorist".

The same clash of opinions can be found in Burma, where bickering over
deep-seated political conflicts is common, and the military junta, the
opposition and the public all have very different perspectives.

Shortly after the Sept 11 attacks, Burma’s relationship with the US took
an interesting turn when the military regime officially announced it would
join America’s war on terror. Since the military crackdown on the
democracy uprising of 1988, Rangoon and Washington have not been the best
of allies. The US downgraded its diplomatic mission in Rangoon after 1988
and has continued to condemn the regime’s poor human rights record and
unsatisfactory performance on the drug problem. In 1997, the Clinton
administration imposed strict sanctions on the regime.

For years, nationalist leaders in Burma have also fueled the ill-will with
their own anti-US vitriol. Countless articles in the state-run press have
denounced the "imperialists" and criticized US values. For more than a
decade, the US government has supported the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD), giving junta leaders the ammunition to dismiss the
opposition as a "puppet of the West".

Suddenly, however, the regime is exercising more caution with its official
statements and articles concerning Washington. This new gesture is perhaps
not so surprising, given the current economic slide that threatens the
country’s banking system. Befriending Washington is a dexterous move to
win the hearts of US officials. The motive is clear, too: the junta wants
to see sanctions lifted.

Though the streets of Rangoon were quiet on Feb 15 when anti-war
demonstrations swept across the globe, some Burmese critics expressed
their disapproval of a US offensive. Ludu Daw Amar, a venerated writer
living in Mandalay, was not reluctant to express her feelings, arguing
that nothing can justify a US-led war against Iraq.

Another skeptic, veteran journalist Sein Win, was in trouble last year
when he penned anti-war articles for several magazines in Rangoon. Sein
Win, who is considered a "left-leaning" writer, is always cautious and
knows how unpredictable the censors can be. But this time the trouble was
not with junta’s censorship board, it was from the NLD.

NLD leaders consider the US as an important ally and thus maintain that
such criticism should be withheld.

Another writer, who runs a weekly journal in Rangoon, explained that while
he is not pro-America, he would like to see US troops remove the Saddam
Hussein regime. "He is a dictator and he must go. If the US strikes
against Saddam, [military leaders in Burma] will be scared off, too." Adds
the writer: "Many will be happy to see the regime go."

He says that ordinary citizens, faced with economic hardship and a serious
banking crisis, have little time to discuss the US-Iraq issue.

Burma’s peace movement has a history of airing its discontent with the US.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Burma’s writers and intellectuals were active in
the global peace movement, speaking out against the war in Vietnam and
showing their respect for Ho Chi Minh.

Thus, the recent resurgence of anti-war sentiments and vocal criticism of
US foreign policy is hardly surprising.

Burmese living in exile are also split on the issue. Last February, three
prominent activists participated in a roundtable discussion on the looming
war on Iraq on the BBC’s Burmese Service. Three of the panelists, who
currently live in the West, condemned the stance of the US and the Bush
administration. On hearing these comments, some Burmese activists attacked
the threesome for being "anti-America" and requested the BBC run a piece
to counter this stance.

The controversy prompted Burmese in exile to suss out supporters and
opponents of the war against Iraq. Some opposition groups in exile, who
depend on assistance and funding from the US, fell silent for fear of
losing this support, despite opposing Washington’s Middle East policies.
Though Burma is a small country, US officials monitor media discussions
about Burma to keep tabs on who is on which side, and some Burmese
democracy supporters don’t want to feel Washington’s wrath.

Plenty of Burmese, however, urge the US to take tough action against
Rangoon. Some people in exile have even suggested that the US should
include Burma in its "axis of evil" to justify efforts to remove the
regime and invade Burma. Others say invading Burma would be futile and
would only produce a regime of similar ilk.

Critics say if Burma was as geographically close to the US as Panama, for
instance, intervention would not be such a vexed issue. The Tatmadaw
(armed forces) would be equipped and trained by American forces and Gen
Khin Nyunt would be recruited by the CIA to safeguard peace, justice and
democracy. Then, ordinary Burmese would really get to taste American pie.

The truth is, however, that Burma barely registers on Washington’s radar
and the US has no desire to remove the regime in Burma, despite the hopes
of some Burmese dissidents who want to see the US restore democracy.

During the 1988 uprising, when the streets were filled with demonstrators,
rumors quickly spread that US marines were in Rangoon to remove the ruling
junta. A US warship was in the Andaman Sea, but at the time, troops were
only there to evacuate US citizens and staff from the embassy in Rangoon.

The marines have long gone, but the US may choose to combat the junta with
other methods, as recent signals from Washington suggest that more
sanctions are on the way. Lorne Craner, US assistant secretary of state
for human rights, democracy and labor, hinted that America may step up its
trade embargo because of the regime’s failure to end the political
stalemate.

A week later, in a bid to stave off the threat, Rangoon issued a statement
inviting the US to enter dialogue to plot the country’s political future.
The junta, which has always resented US "interference", says it now wants
the US to join in "open, constructive dialogue toward humanitarian,
economic and political development."

The junta said it would welcome "pragmatic, useful advice on making the
transition to a stable democracy", and urged the US to "roll up its
sleeves, open its heart and join with us to bring a better life" to
Burma’s people.

"Sanctions, in short, do not solve problems. They only make them worse,"
the statement added.

A US State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher said the invitation was
unexpected. "At this point, we’re not really prepared and in a position to
comment on the idea. We would, of course, welcome concrete steps by Burma
to move towards democracy and greater respect for human rights. The
critical dialogue is the one between the regime and Aung San Suu Kyi and
the NLD."

At first glance, Rangoon’s latest gesture may seem a radical departure,
but its lack of substance makes Burma observers and international
governments skeptical. Rangoon is locked in an economic crisis and will
seemingly do just about anything to justify its legitimacy.

Burma’s leaders may be ready to engage the US and the rest of the world,
but strangely, they are not ready to sit down with the opposition at home.

Last year Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, the junta’s brightest intelligence officer,
attended a Sept 11 reception in Rangoon. Suu Kyi was also there. The two
did not talk, however, but spent most of the evening talking with US
diplomats and guests while trying to avoid each other.

The military regime and the opposition both want to woo Washington to
secure ties with the US. Now, however, the junta’s approach to its
international public relations campaign is a bit more sophisticated.
Surely, the US is big enough to choose its own friends.

This article will feature in the Viewpoint section of the forthcoming
March issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.