BurmaNet News: June 30 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

June 30 2003 Issue #2273

INSIDE BURMA

AFP: Concerns for health of Myanmar’s Suu Kyi after one month in detention
Kyodo: Japan says Burma’s opposition leader Suu Kyi’s whereabouts not yet
confirmed
Narinjara: Burmese navy station: Just for collecting bribes

REGIONAL

Burma Information Network: Is Japan really getting tough on Burma? Not
likely.
AFP: Japan slams Myanmar’s junta over detention of Aung San Suu Kyi
AFP: Singapore reiterates concern over Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention
Jakarta Post: ASEAN insists on release of Suu Kyi

ON THE BORDER

BBC: Bangladesh plea to UNHCR
AFP: Thai government to hold talks with UNHCR over refugee dispute
Bangkok Post: Police chief warns Burmese dissidents

INTERNATIONAL

AP: Sen. Mitch McConnell steps up involvement in war-torn Asian country
Irrawaddy: Diplomats walk out

INSIDE BURMA

Agence France Presse June 30 2003

Concerns for health of Myanmar's Suu Kyi after one month in detention

Concerns for Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's health emerged
Monday as she marked one month in detention amid growing calls for the
military government to release her.

The British government has said that the 58-year-old National League for
Democracy (NLD) leader is being held in a two-roomed hut at the notorious
Insein jail without even a change of clothes.

A close family friend of the feisty opposition leader, who is typically
immaculately dressed with flowers worn in her hair, said he was confident
she would remain in strong spirits despite the harsh conditions.

But he said there were concerns a chronic stomach condition which has
troubled her for many years may flare up again.

"I'm not worried about her mental strength, mentally she's a very strong
person. I'm just worried about her health," he told AFP. "She has a
stomach problem, which means she can't eat just any type of food that is
given to her."

Despite a mounting international outcry, Myanmar's ruling junta has given
no sign of when it will release Aung San Suu Kyi, who was taken into
"protective custody" after May 30 riots.

The violence broke out during a political tour of northern Myanmar when
her convoy and supporters were attacked by a junta-backed mob. The
government says four people were killed in the clashes but dissident
groups say dozens died.

United Nations special envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail, the only outsider
to have seen Aung San Suu Kyi in the last month, said when he met her on
June 10 that he expected her to be released within two weeks.

But since then, Myanmar's generals have only repeated that her detention
was temporary and that she would be released "as soon as possible", while
refusing to give any indication of when that might be.

US President George W. Bush has led a barrage of international calls for
Aung San Suu Kyi's release and the easing of a nationwide political
crackdown.

The United States and the European Union have already toughened sanctions
against the junta, while Myanmar's largest donor country, Japan, has
suspended new economic aid.

Japan stepped up its criticism Monday, slamming the regime for refusing to
release Suu Kyi or say where she was being held.

"It is extremely deplorable that there is no prospect of a swift solution
to the situation," Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi said.

Singapore also reiterated its concerns over the continued detention, which
Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar described as "a setback" for the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as for Myanmar.

Rumours have been circulating among Myanmar-watchers that Aung San Suu Kyi
had gone on a hunger strike in protest at the junta's move to take her
into "protective custody" in the wake of violent protests on May 30.

But the family friend said he believed that was unlikely.

He said that during times of political upheaval she adopts a strict
regimen of meditation and minimal food and water, and that this together
with her refusal of poor-quality prison food could have sparked the
rumours.

"She is always prepared for any eventuality and before going on trips she
goes on a minimal diet and retreats into meditation so that she can
withstand these sorts of situations very well," he said.

After his visit, Razali declined to confirm reports that Aung San Suu Kyi
was being held at Insein jail, but acknowledged the detention conditions
were appalling.

"What I can say is that where I met her was absolutely deplorable. It was
not in keeping with the stature and the status of Aung San Suu Kyi as a
political leader or as a national leader," he said.

"She's uncowed and feisty. She was outraged that this had happened to her.
That's the Suu Kyi I've always known."

This is the first time the popular leader has been jailed, although she
has spent just over seven years under house arrest since beginning her
pro-democracy campaign in 1988.
________-

Kyodo News June 30 2003

JAPAN SAYS BURMA'S OPPOSITION LEADER SUU KYI'S WHEREABOUTS NOT YET CONFIRMED

Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi said Monday (30 June) that Japan has
not yet been able to confirm the whereabouts of Myanmar's (Burma)
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Expressing concern at Suu Kyi's continuing detention by the Myanmar junta,
Takeuchi said, "We have been asking the Myanmar government for her
whereabouts, but have not received a clear explanation." Japanese
Ambassador to Myanmar Yuji Miyamoto is asking the junta to arrange for him
to meet with Suu Kyi, following revelations last week by a United Nations
envoy that she was in a prison in Yangon earlier this month.

Last Wednesday, UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail told Foreign Minister
Yoriko Kawaguchi that Suu Kyi was being detained in the prison after he
was allowed to meet with her on 10 June. Razali said he did not know which
prison it was, according to Japanese officials.

Takeuchi said Japan will continue to work for Suu Kyi's early release in
cooperation with the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
________

Narinjara News June 30 2003

Burmese Navy Station: just for collecting bribes

 The Burmese Navy checkpoint at Taungfu village on the Kywegu River, in
Pauktaw Township, in the northern part of Rakhine State, Western Burma,
has been collecting bribes from all the vessels passing the naval
station, said a businessman in the area.

A rule has been in force that any vessel passing the navy station has to
touch the ‘gate’ and report to the guards and sign documents.  Even small
country boats are not exempt from the illegal taxation.  Any country boat
that does not carry any goods has to pay kyat 200/300, while boats
carrying goods have to pay kyat 1,000 to 30,000 depending upon the nature
of the vessel, and the goods that are carried.

Fishing boats, smuggling boats, trawlers, motor vessels  none can pass the
‘navy gate’ without reporting and bribing the guards.  A source in the
Burmese Navy on condition of anonymity told us that as the gate offers
lucrative ‘’earnings”, whoever wants to get transferred to the place has
to bribe as much as kyat three million to the top bosses, and that too,
for a period of three months!  He also added that for a patrol trip to the
checkpoint at Taung-fu from Sittwe, the capital of the Rakhine State, a
total of 250 gallons of diesel fuel is issued.  But that is not the full
story!  While the patrol boat is actually given only 50 gallons to
complete the trip, the rest 200 gallons are kept at the naval base in
Sittwe, where the control officer issues the fuel.  To make up the cost of
the 200 gallons of diesel fuel that the guards at Taung-fu could
misappropriate, they have nothing to do except collect illegal taxes!

REGIONAL

Burma Information Network June 28 2003

Is Japan Really Getting Tough on Burma? Not Likely.

There was a flurry of articles last week about how Japan plans to suspend,
or in fact suspended, economic aid (ODA: Official Development Assistance,
which is comprised mainly of yen loans, grants and technical assistance)
to Burma, thereby stepping up the pressure on the military junta to
release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  Most news reports say that the aid that is
being frozen is further, or new, ODA.  Given that Japan has long pursued
an engagement policy with Burma, and is the largest provider of economic
aid to Burma (2.1 billion yen of grants-in-aid was provided in fiscal year
2002), a suspension would carry a certain weight with the military regime.
 The effect and implications of such a suspension are unclear, however,
and the pressure on Japan to take a tougher stance on Burma must be kept
up.

Suspension Terms Hazy

The exact terms of the suspension are hazy.  There has been no official
public announcement regarding the suspension from the Japanese Ministry of
Foreign Affairs as of this writing.  Press reports range from saying that
Japan already "froze all financial aid" to Burma ("Japan punishes Myanmar
over Suu Kyi," Reuters, June 25) to saying that Japan "plans to freeze ODA
until Aung San Suu Kyi is released" ("Freeze set on ODA to Myanmar," Daily
Yomiuri, June 26).  In terms of timeframe, most articles say that the
freeze will be lifted once Suu Kyi is released, although at least one
article quotes an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who
states vaguely: "[W]e will . . . decide whether to resume depending on the
situation" ("Japan halts new aid to Myanmar," Asahi Shimbun, June 26). 
The Straits Times is more specific.  It reported that Japan would notify
the military regime of its decision if Suu Kyi was not released by June 30
("Japan threatens aid ban if Suu Kyi not freed," Straits Times, June 26).

Further, some news articles reported that Japan froze "all" economic
assistance, which is incorrect ("Japan ends aid to Myanmar over jailed
leader," New York Times, June 25; Reuters article above).  In fact, Japan
already had frozen a key component of its ODA to Burma - new yen loans -
in 1989.  For most of the past decade, Japan has been providing mainly
grants and technical assistance to Burma.  The recent suspension will not
affect current, ongoing ODA.   Thus, the suspension may not affect Japan’s
2002 grant to rehabilitate the controversial Baluchaung hydropower plant
in Karenni State.  Japan's suspension of new grants and technical
assistance is similar to the ban on new investment in Burma that the U.S.
imposed on American companies in 1997; ongoing investment schemes were not
affected by this ban, including Unocal's participation in the notorious
joint venture on the Yadana gas pipeline.

It should also be noted that Japan historically has interpreted "new"
narrowly.  In 1998, for example, despite the freeze on new yen loans in
1989, Japan decided to provide such a loan of about 25 billion yen to
repair and expand the international airport in Rangoon, amid protest from
the U.S. and pro-democracy activists around the world.  Japan argued that
the loan for the airport was not "new" because it had been promised to
Burma prior to 1988.

No Fundamental Change

A Reuters article portrayed the news of the suspension overly
optimistically, saying that "Japan appears to be rethinking its policy of
engagement with the junta in a dialogue with promises of aid."  (“Japan
punishes Myanmar over Suu Kyi,” June 25).  Despite the suspension,
however, there are no indications of fundamental change in Japan's policy
toward Burma.

No one in the Japanese government has said anything about changing or even
reviewing the policy on Burma.  Indeed, official statements suggest the
contrary.  On June 24, for instance, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said
that Japan's policy on Burma was necessarily "different from the policy
taken by the U.S. and E.U.," the implication being that Japan would not
alter its policy to bring it closer in line with the tougher,
sanctions-oriented approach of the U.S. and Europe.  Moreover, on June 26,
Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Tetsuro Yano, who had just
returned from a one-day trip to Rangoon, showed considerable discomfort
about the suspension of ODA.  "Some may say that we should stop ODA unless
the situation is resolved as soon as possible," he stated, "but I strongly
conveyed our [Japanese government's] request that Myanmar resolve the
situation, in part so that Japan and Myanmar will be able to continue the
friendly bilateral relations they have had so far . . . . I think that,
under these circumstances, it is extremely difficult to extend further
ODA, but on the other hand, I am increasingly determined that we should
resolve the situation as soon as possible and resume our normal bilateral
relations."  "Normal bilateral relations" means, at a minimum, lifting the
suspension on new grants and technical assistance.

Further, despite formal statements from Japan's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs calling for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the message
conveyed to Burma's military rulers by Japanese officials seemingly has
lacked a sense of urgency.  For example, after Yano had given a letter
from Prime Minister Koizumi to First Secretary Khin Nyunt, he told Khin
Nyunt that he expected him to discuss the letter with Chairman Than Shwe,
and that it was "all right if you put off answering for one day, two days;
we will wait until the answer is given."  Even Japan's Foreign Minister,
Yoriko Kawaguchi, when asked whether she had any timeline or deadline in
mind for Aung San Suu Kyi's release, said: "I think we should give the
Government of Myanmar enough time for [our demands] to sink in and lead to
a decision [to release Suu Kyi.]

Conclusion

Japan's engagement policy with Burma has always been based on a “carrot
and stick” approach, which traditionally has involved far more "carrots"
than “stick.”  Notwithstanding the uncertainties surrounding the
suspension of new ODA, Japan's freeze is a rare, and probably short-term,
application of a “stick.”  The Japanese government’s preference has been,
and will continue to be, for “carrots,” a posture that is due in part to
apparent concern about China replacing Japan as a likely source of
economic assistance to, and political influence on, Burma.  In this
context, therefore, it is essential that governments and non-governmental
groups monitor Japan's Burma policy -- and be wary of overly optimistic or
inaccurate news accounts concerning that policy.  There is little doubt
that, without pressure from other countries (notably the U.S.) and
interested citizens, even a decision to suspend new ODA would likely have
been much slower in coming.  Such pressure must continue.
_______

Agence France Presse June 30 2003

Japan slams Myamar's junta over detention of Aung San Suu Kyi

Japan slammed Myanmar's junta Monday for refusing to release democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and keeping her whereabouts unknown to the rest of
the world.

"It is extremely deplorable that there is no prospect of a swift solution
to the situation," Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi said in comments
marking the month-long detention of the Nobel peace laureate.

The Japanese government has been asking the junta for her whereabouts "but
has not received any clear explanation," he said.

A foreign ministry official said last week Japan would freeze new
financial aid to pressure the junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi.

"As one of the largest donor countries, we will use financial pressure,"
he said.

Takeuchi said Japan would strive for Aung San Suu Kyi's early release in
cooperation with the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN).

"We will try to make Myanmar take the international community's concern
seriously," the vice foreign minister added.

Japanese Ambassador to Myanmar Yuji Miyamoto is asking the junta to let
him meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, following allegations last week by a UN
envoy that she was in prison in Yangon.

On Wednesday, UN special envoy Razali Ismail told Japanese Foreign
Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi here that Aung San Suu Kyi was in prison when he
was allowed by the ruling junta to meet her on June 10.
____________

Agence France Presse June 30 2003

Singapore reiterates concern over Aung San Suu Kyi's detention

Singapore on Monday reiterated concerns over the Myanmar junta's continued
detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a written answer to a query in parliament, Foreign Minister S.
Jayakumar described Aung San Suu Kyi's detention as "a setback" for the
10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as for Myanmar.

The Nobel Peace laureate marked one month in detention on Monday. She was
detained on May 30 following violent protests north of the capital,
Yangon.

"We conveyed our concerns to the Myanmar government shortly after Aung San
Suu Kyi was taken into 'protective custody'," Jayakumar said, referring to
the term used by the junta on her detention.

"On that occasion, we also urged the Myanmar government to cooperate with
the special envoy of the UN secretary general and, in particular, to grant
him access to Aung San Suu Kyi."

Jayakumar recalled that during talks by the ASEAN foreign ministers in the
Cambodian capital on June 16, Singapore joined calls for the "early
lifting of restrictions" on Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We also urged the Myanmars to stay on the course of national
reconciliation and dialogue with all parties involved, including Aung San
Suu Kyi and her party," he said.

As well as Myanmar and Singapore, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
________

Jakarta Post June 30 2003

ASEAN insists on release of Suu Kyi
By Fabiola Desy Unidjaja

The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) is continuing to seek
the early release of Myanmar democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
from government detention, a government official says.

"We want to get results, that is, the early release of Suu Kyi, but off
course in a spirit of partnership with the Myanmar government," Ministry
of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said Sunday when asked about
the meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda and the
United Nations special envoy on Myanmar, Razali Ismail, on Saturday.
The two discussed follow-up action on the worldwide demands for Suu Kyi's
release. Indonesia currently chairs ASEAN.
Marty said the two officials discussed the possibility of developing
better ways of ensuring the release of the pro-democracy leader, including
Jakarta's idea of sending a high-powered ASEAN ministerial team to
Myanmar.

"We need the Myanmar side to respond to the proposal as they promised. We
are waiting for them to give us a proposal regarding the team," Marty
added.

Separately, Ismail said that Myanmar could no longer afford to ignore
appeals from its Southeast Asian neighbors for the release Suu Kyi.

"I don't see how Myanmar can turn a deaf ear to the appeal of the ASEAN
countries," Ismail told Agence France-Presse after meeting Hassan over
breakfast.

"My purpose here ... is to underline how seriously the UN looks at the
continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi," said Ismail.
Myanmar's military junta announced on May 31 that the popular leader had
been detained. She was held after a junta-backed mob attacked her
supporters in violence feared to have left dozens dead.

Her detention has sparked outrage around the world. The United States and
the European Union have beefed up their sanctions against the Yangon
regime.

During the 36th ASEAN foreign ministers meeting early this month, the
group asked for the release of Suu Kyi.
Myanmar has come under pressure from the international community for the
release of Suu Kyi, while the largest donor country to
Myanmar, Japan, has suspended aid to the country over the issue.

The decision was taken following Ismail's confirmation to the Japanese
foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi that Suu Kyi was being detained in poor
conditions in a Yangon prison when he was allowed to meet her on June 10.

Although during the ASEAN meeting, Myanmar's foreign minister U Win Aung
was open to member countries in explaining the situation, so far there
have been no signs that Suu Kyi will be released in the near future.

Malaysia's foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar said last Thursday that the
detention of the Nobel laureate had damaged ASEAN's reputation and was a
setback for the region.

Marty said Saturday's meeting was held at the request of Ismail, and was
intended to compare notes and fill each other in on the latest
developments in Myanmar.

Ismail returned to Malaysia on Sunday before going on to the United
Nations in New York.

ON THE BORDER

BBC June 30 2003

Bangladesh plea to UNHCR

The Bangladeshi Government has urged the United Nations refugee agency not
to consider any cut in its role of helping to look after 25,000 refugees
from Burma.

The government said it had received a letter from the agency announcing
that its staff would, from December, no longer be closely involved in the
voluntary repatriation of refugees to Burma.

The BBC correspondent in Bangladesh says the UN agency has declined to
comment, but there have been reports that it wants the refugees, known as
Rohingyas, to become more self-sufficient.

The refugees, who live in three camps near the south-western town of Cox's
Bazaar, say they were forced to leave Burma because of persecution.)
___________

Agence France Presse June 30 2003

Thai government to hold talks with UNHCR over refugee dispute

Thailand said Monday it will hold talks with the United Nations refugee
agency to resolve a dispute over the agency giving refugee status to
Myanmar exiles.

"We all have to agree before the UNHCR issues any status to displaced
people," Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters ahead of
the talks planned for Tuesday.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last week accused the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of violating Thai sovereignty by
granting refugee status to Myanmar exiles without the government's
permission.

The UNHCR office in Bangkok said it had the right to grant refugee status
because Thailand was not a signatory to the UN treaty on refugees, and did
not have its own legislation governing the determination of refugee
status.

However, it said it did so only with the "consent and cooperation" of the
Thai government.

Surakiart said the government wanted to become involved in the UNHCR
approval procedure because at the moment it did not know the identities or
whereabouts of those who won refugee status.

"We don't know yet whether they will agree but we have to persuade them,"
he said.

Surakiart also raised the possibility of limiting the number of refugees,
saying that the situation had changed "because there is reconciliation now
inside Myanmar".

The United Nations kicked off a reconciliation process between Myanmar's
military government and the pro-democracy opposition in October 2000 but
the fledgling talks have been stalled since last year.

Thailand has been among the many nations to criticise a new crackdown on
the opposition launched a month ago when democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi
was taken into detention.

Thaksin's attack on the UNHCR followed the arrests of 11 Myanmar democracy
activists for illegal entry after they were found organising a
demonstration calling for Aung San Suu Kyi's release.

Thailand is on high alert over Myanmar dissidents after the ruling junta
said it had learned of a possible plan to take its diplomats hostage in
protest over Suu Kyi's detention.
________________

Bangkok Post June 30 2003

Police chief warns Burmese dissidents

Protest in front of embassy banned

National police chief Sant Sarutanont has threatened to take action
against Burmese dissidents reported to be planning a protest in front of
the Burmese embassy today.

``We will definitely not allow any group of people to use Thai soil to
conduct political activities against a neighbouring country.

``The Special Branch and city police will see to it that there is no
protest. If protesters show up there, they will be arrested,'' Pol Gen
Sant said.

He was responding to a report that Burmese dissidents plan to stage a
rally in front of the Burmese embassy today to voice their political
demands.

Even those carrying cards issued by the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees would be arrested if found illegally assembling for political
purposes or engaging in the drug trade, he said.

Pol Gen Sant said the 11 Burmese arrested at a textile factory in Soi
Phetkasem 44, Phasi Charoen district last Thursday were carrying cards
issued by the UNHCR identifying them as political refugees.

They were members of the Democratic Front of Burma.

He said two other Burmese _ Win Naing, 20, and his wife Aye, 29 _ were
arrested at a house in Soi Tha Kham in Bang Khun Thian district on Friday,
with 35,790 methamphetamine pills. Mr Win was found to be carrying a UNHCR
refugee card and knew the 11 Burmese arrested previously.

Police were investigating if money from the drug trade was intended to
support political activities in Thailand, Pol Gen Sant said.

INTERNATIONAL

Associated Press June 30 2003

Sen. Mitch McConnell steps up involvement in war-torn Asian country

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell has for over a decade taken an active role
in pushing for democracy in the Asian country of Myanmar.

McConnell tried to visit Myanmar - the former Burma - while traveling the
continent in 1999, but the country's ruling military junta denied him a
visa.

"They know my name, " said McConnell, R-Ky., who wanted to talk to the
leader of the pro-democracy opposition. Myanmar, which is sandwiched in
between India and China, has been under military rule since 1988.

McConnell has been the most active Senate opponent of the junta since a
foreign policy aide on his staff got him interested in Myanmar about a
decade ago, and he has worked to pressure the regime to end its repression
and turn over power to a democratic government.

Myanmar has attracted renewed attention since generals cracked down last
month on pro-democracy opponents, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San
Suu Kyi.

On June 11, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a package of economic
sanctions against Myanmar, co-sponsored by McConnell and Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif. They have asked the House to do the same.

McConnell also has encouraged President Bush and Secretary of State Colin
Powell to push for freedom in the country of 50 million.

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign
Affairs Committee, called McConnell "the acknowledged leader " in bringing
global attention to the Asian country's plight.

Once part of India and independent from Great Britain since 1948, the
former Burma has been ruled by various military leaders since 1962. The
current regime changed the country's name because it considered Burma to
be a vestige of colonial times.

McConnell and other critics of the military regime view the new name,
adopted by the junta in 1989, as a symbol of repression and refuse to use
it, although Myanmar is its name in the United Nations.

The military regime is blamed for torturing and murdering opponents,
subjecting thousands to forced labor, sanctioning rape by soldiers,
trafficking in young people as sex slaves, and engaging in the production
and sale of opium and amphetamines.

"This regime needs to be squeezed by the entire world (and) isolated. We
should not abandon the people of Burma during the greatest moment of their
need, " he said on the Senate floor.

In the last three years, McConnell repeatedly has taken to the Senate
floor, written opinion articles and issued public statements about the
country. He also has served on a Burma task force.

That advocacy has brought the Kentucky senator accolades from the Free
Burma Coalition, an 8-year-old human rights group made up of American and
Burmese students, academics and political activists, as well as refugees
from the country.

"We joke around here that they're probably going to build a shrine to
Senator McConnell after they regain their freedom, " said Jeremy Woodrum,
director of the Washington office of the coalition. "The name Mitch
McConnell is known all along the border in Thailand in the refugee camps.

McConnell "has been absolutely essential in focusing public attention on
the crisis," said Mathea Falco, chairwoman of the Council on Foreign
Relations' Independent Task Force on Burma, on which McConnell served.
"Without champions like Mitch McConnell, most of the world would not be
paying attention."

Irrawaddy June 30 2003

Diplomats Walk Out
By Naw Seng

Four European diplomats walked out of a documentary screening in Rangoon
last Tuesday when German politician Friedhelm Ost lashed out at the
approach of Western governments to problems in Burma.

Ost, who is chairman of the Bundestag Economic Committee and a former head
of Germany’s Press and Information Office, spoke in vague terms about how
large nations pressure smaller nations.
"This is not the kind of approach with which strong bridges can be built,"
Ost stated. He added, "evolution is better than revolution" when human
rights are at stake.

The German politician was invited to speak at the launch of a documentary
about the Naga people of northwest Burma. The film German production house
Bruckner Film Productions produced the film. Over 250 people, including
diplomats, government officials as well as lecturers and students from
Rangoon University’s Anthropology Department attended the special
screening at the Traders Hotel.

The US and European Union tightened sanctions against Burma after the
arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters in Upper
Burma on May 30. The German politician criticized the international
community’s response, saying, "Burma deserves to be treated fairly."

Ost claimed the international community attaches great importance to the
principle of non-intervention in the affairs of sovereign nations.
Cooperation, not confrontation, was the best way to achieve peace, freedom
and prosperity, he explained. "There will be no progress if we insist on
pursuing an ‘all or nothing’ principle."

He claimed only a few people in Europe are familiar with Burma’s
geo-strategic position and sung the praise of Burma’s military rulers. Ost
said it is mistaken to look only at Burma’s problems and that it is more
important to consider the positive results achieved by the regime in the
past.

"Everyone must pay tribute to the responsible politicians for succeeding
in concluding ceasefire agreements with 17 armed insurgent organizations.
That was almost certainly one of the most important steps along the road
to internal peace within the country," Ost told the audience.

Disappointed with the tone and inference in Ost’s address, four European
diplomats left mid-way through his speech. One senior diplomat in Rangoon
described his speech as "incredible" and dismissed Ost a "has-been."
The speech delivered by Ost has since appeared in the junta’s mouthpiece,
the New Light of Myanmar, a newspaper with columns normally reserved for
the urgings of military leaders.