------------------------- BurmaNet --------------------------- "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" -------------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: 11th JULY 1995 Issue #231 Contents: BKK POST & THE NATION; JUNTA RELEASED SUU KYI BKK POST: SUU KYI, FREE AT LAST, HER PEOPLE'S SYMBOL OF HOPE AND DEFIANCE BKK POST: SLORC VIOLATED AGREEMENT WITH KAREN BKK POST: RELEASE OF SUU KYI IS VERY WELCOME NEWS BKK POST: MON-SLORC PACT ENDING 46-YEAR WAR RAISES HOPES AND DOUBTS BKK POST: TALE OF A NATION AND LEADING CITIZEN THE NATION:THE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI THE NATION: BURMA STRUGGLE STILL NOT OVER THE NATION: MANY REMAIN SCEPTICAL OF 'UNCONDITIONAL' FREEDOM -------------------------------------------------------------- o-------------------------------o ===== item ===== JUNTA RELEASED SUU KYI 11 JULY 1995 SIX-YEAR HOUSE ARRESTS ENDS WORLD 'WELCOMES' DECISION Burmese dissent leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest yesterday after nearly six years in detention, a military spokesman told foreign correspondents here. Another official confirmed the news by telephone and said she was released at 4pm local time. ìSuu Kyi is free today at 4pmî, he told a Bangkok reuters correspondent by telephone. Suu Kyi immediately began talks with fellow democracy campaigners, according to witness standing outside her home. They said she was meeting with recently released Tin Oo and Kyi Maung, two senior members of the National League for Democracy party she helped found in 1988. Small groups of people gathered in the rain outside her Rangoon house after the news of her released spread, witness said. The gates to her compound were closed, but many cars were parked outside the house. The Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Nobel Peace Prize winner was released unconditionally. The ministry said the Burmese government had told the Japanese Embassy in Rangoon that Suu Kyi had requested to be kept under for the time being. It did not give a reason why. The global community welcomed the news although the political future of Suu Kyi was not immediately clear. Her released eliminated the thorniest issue standing in the way of Rangoon's normalization of relations with the US-led Western world critical of Burma's human rights record. The Burmese junta's deputy intelligence director, Col Kyaw Win, went to Suu Kyi's residence at 4.30 pm and informed her of its decision to lift the restriction order, sources said. With the lifting of the detention order, Suu Kyi is free to meet anyone and visit anywhere like other citizens of the country, as long as she does not violate any existing law, they said. Suu Kyi will meet the press in Rangoon at 1 pm today. Suu Kyi, who celebrated her 50th birthday on June 19, was placed under house arrested July 20, 1989, under the 1975 law ìto safeguard the state from the dangers of subversionistî. Under the law, detention can be extended every 180 days up to a total of five years. Today would mark six full years of house detention, counting the extensions of 180 days. Official sources earlier said the first year of her detention was an ìarrest periodî and her ìrestrictionî or detention began the following year, that is July 20, 1990. In Oslo, the Committee that a awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize to Suu Kyi for her peaceful political struggle welcomed her unconditional but ìlong overdueî released. ìI am very happy. This is one of the awards which we have followed very closely,î Francis Sejersed, chairman of Norway's secretive five-member Nobel Committee, said.î ìWe have wait some years for this to happen. The regime has already been under pressure recently.î Sejersed said Suu Kyi would probably be invited to Oslo to finally give her Nobel Lecture. Signs of thaw came in July 1992, three years into her detention, when new Slorc Chairman Gen Than Shwe released several political prisoners and announced Suu Kyi could received a visit by her family members, including her British husband Michael Aris. Helped by mediation by a Buddhist monk living in Britain, the Rev Revada Dhamma, Suu Kyi and junta leaders began a dialogue last September, holding a second meeting in October and paving the way for her eventual release. Burma, a largely isolated socialist country, is try to rejoin the international economic community and acquiring the status of a guest during annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian National (Asean). Rangoon based diplomats, who had expected the military government to extend Suu Kyi's detention, were surprised by her released. ìIt a surprise, but they like surprising us, ì one diplomat said. ìFriday speech suggested that they were building for a further extension of her detention.î M.R Thep Devakul, Thailand's newly's newly-appointed permanent secretary, told the Bangkok Post Foreign Ministry received confirmation of the released at 4.30 pm yesterday from the Thai embassy in Rangoon. ìWe must applaud the Slorc for freeing Suu Kyi, MR Thep said. He said it was a good gesture to the international community and the Slorc ìhas indeed begun pursing democratic processesî. MR Thep claimed the release proved the Association of Southeast Asian Nations policy of cooperatives engagement with Burma was effective. ìBut we must continue to monitor the extent of freedom in Burma and what she can do to bring about democracy. I don't think the Slorc will allow her to act freely,î MR Thep said. Chaiyachoke Chullasiriwongse, an expert on Burma at Chulalongkhorn University's political science faculty, said the released showed the Slorc was confident it could handle the situation in Burma after her released. Japan expressed hope Aung San Suu Kyi's released was the beginning of a genuine move toward democracy in Burma. ìWe welcome her released as important progress toward the democratization of Burma and the improvement of its human rights situation,î Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said in a statement. ìWe expect the Burmese government to take still more positive steps toward improving human rights and releasing democracy,î Kono said. Philippine Foreign Under secretary Rodolfo Severino said: ìTo the extent that Myanmar (Burma) is politically stable, it is good for the regionî. The Indonesian foreign ministry hailed the initial reports of Aung San Suu Kyi's released. ìWhile we are waiting for the full report from our embassy in Rangoon, the Department of Foreign Affair welcomes the good news,î ministry spokesperson Irawan Abidin said. Richard Bunting of Human rights organization AI said in London: we are extremely delighted, over the moon that after this very long time she is finally free.î Second Army Region Commander Lt-Gen Surayuth Chulanond said that if the Slorc genuinely intended to give Suu Kyi her freedom, Burma would benefit by gaining greater acceptance from the world community. Since she was put under house arrest, Suu Kyi has remained the most powerful, defiant symbol of the Burmese people's attempts to end decades-long military rule. Aung San Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon in June, 1945, and educated in Burma and in India. She won a scholarship to Oxford University and obtained a degree in politics, philosophy and economics before getting a job with the United Nations Secretariat in New York. In 1972 she married British academic Michael Aris and brought up two sons in the source of moves between Bhutan, India and Japan. Suu Kyi was working on a postgraduate thesis at London University when she returned in Rangoon in April, 1988. She soon found herself caught up in the student-led revolt. In her political speech at the height of the uprising she drew a crowd of several hundred thousand, perhaps the largest public gathering then known in the capital. TALE OF A NATION AND LEADING CITIZEN 11 July 1995 THE following, prepared by Reuters, is a chronology of key events in Burma and the life of Aung San Suu Kyi. * June 19, 1947 - General Aung San, her father and the architect of Burma's independence from Britain, is assassinated in Rangoon along with six members of his pre-independence cabinet. *January 4, 1948 - Burma becomes independent. *March 2, 1962 - Army commander General Ne Win seizes power from Prime Minister U Nu, who is jailed. * April 3, 1962 - Military rulers publish their ideology, the Burmese Way to Socialism, an idiosyncratic cocktail of Buddhist metaphysis, socialist ideology and xenophobia. * September 5, 1987 - Government announces 25, 35 and 75 Kyat bank notes a longer legal tender, rendering perhaps 70 per cent of money worthless. Students demonstrate for first time since 1976. * March 12, 1988 - A fight between students and local people in a Rangoon tea shop snowball into demonstrations in which dozens of students are killed by riot police and troops in subsequent days. * July 23, 1988 - General Ne Win resigns as chairman of Burma's sole party, the military's Burma Socialist Programme Party, as anti-government protests continue. * August 8, 1988 - Millions of people all over Burma join demonstrations. Many die when die troops open fire on the crowds. * August 26, 1988 - Aung San Suu Kyi makes her first public appearance. Speaking to a huge crowd outside the Shewdagon Pagoda in Rangoon, she compares the unrest to a ìsecond struggle for independenceî. * September 18, 1988 - The military steps into end the protests, setting up the Slorc. Hundred killed as troops fire at crowds. Thousands of students and others flee to border regions to join autonomy-seeking guerrillas who have been fighting Rangoon since Burma's independence. * September 24, 1988 - Pro-democracy leaders form the National League for Democracy (NLD) with Aung San Suu Kyi as general secretary. *July 20, 1989 - Aung San Suu Kyi placed under house arrest for ìendangering the stateî. Many other NLD leaders arrested. *January 16, 1990 - The Slorc's's Election Commission rules Aung San Suu Kyi ineligible for elections due in May. * May 27, 1990 - The NLD wins 392 out of 485 parliamentary seats in the first multi-party general election since 1960. *June 19, 1990 - 1990 - Slorc chief Saw Maung rules out a quick transfer of power, saying a new constitution is needed first. * December 18, 1990 - Eight NLD members elected in the May polls set up a ìparalled governmentî led by Aung San Suu Kyi cousin, Sein Win, at Manerplaw, Karen guerrillas headquarters. * October 14, 1991 - Aung San Suu Kyi wins the nobel Peace Prize. * December 15, 1991 - NLD in Rangoon expels Aung San Suu Kyi from party. *April 25, 1992 - Former prime minister U Nu is released from house arrest and several other political prisoners are freed from jail under a decree providing for the released of political prisoners deemed no longer a threat to the state. *January 9, 1993 - The Slorc's National Convention meets to begin drawing up the guideline of a new constitution. *February 14, 1994 - In her first meeting with non-family members since she was detained, Aung San Suu Kyi tells US Congressman Bill Richardson she will never pressed into leaving Burma but is ready to discuss anything else with the Slorc. * September 20, 1994 - Aung San Suu Kyi has her first talks with Slorc leader Than Shwe and the second most senior Slorc member, military intelligence chief Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. * October 28, 1994 - Aung San Suu Kyi has another meeting with Khin Nyunt and two military officials. State media says talks were ìfrank and cordialî and covered political and economic situation. *January 23, 1995 - In statement released in Bangkok, Aung San Suu Kyi tells exiled colleagues ìthere will be no secret deals with regard either to my released or any other issueî. *March 15, 1995 - The Slorc releases from prisoner two senior NLD members, Tin Oo, former Defence Minister and co-founder of the party, and Kyi Maung, who led the party in the 1990 polls. *July 10, 1995 - Military officials in Rangoon say Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest. (BP) THE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI The symbol of the Burmese pro-democracy movement and the woman described by many as the female Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, tasted freedom for the first time in six years yesterday. Rangoon's ruling junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC], stunned the world with its decision to free the Nobel Laureate just when it appeared set to defy international pressure and continue her detention beyond the six -year legal maximum. In her determination to face down the Slorc peacefully, Suu Kyi produced a series of articles in 1991. Below are excerpts. MY FATHER Aung San was subject to moods and emotional outbursts, but his personal feelings and inclinations were never allowed to interfere with the collective decisions taken in the interests of independence politics. At each stage of struggle, he worked in consultation with close political associates, accepting justified criticism and delegating responsibility when it seemed best. He would not tolerate self- seekers, irresponsible actions or dereliction of duty which threatened the independence cause. He believed in the principles of justice and democracy, and there were times he deferred to colleagues when he might better have trusted his own judgement. As head of the Executive Council, he did not impose his views on others; decisions were reached after free and full discussions. He was not infallible, as he freely acknowledged, but he had the kind of mind that did not cease expanding, a capacity for continuous development. Aung San;s appeal was not so much to extremists as to the great majority of ordinary citizens who wished to pursue their own lives in peace and prosperity under a leader they could trust and respect. In him they saw a leader, a man who put the interest of the country before his own needs, who remained poor and unassuming at the height of his power, who accepted the responsibilities of leadership without hankering after the privileges, and who, for all his political acumen and powers of statecraft, retained at the core of his being a deep simplicity. For the people of Burma, Aung San was the man who had come in their hour of need to restore their national pride and honour. As his life is a source of inspiration for them, his memory remains the guardian of their political conscience. SECOND STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE Some might ask..... why should I be involved in this movement. The answer is that the present crisis is the concern of the entire nation. I could not, as my father's daughter, remain indifferent to all that was going on. This national crisis could in fact be called the second struggle for national independence. QUEST FOR DEMOCRACY >From the beginning Burma's struggle for democracy has been fraught with danger. A movement which seeks the just and equitable distribution of powers and prerogatives that have long been held by a small elite determined to preserve its privileges at all costs is likely to be prolonged and difficult. Hope and optimism are irrepressible but there is a deep underlying premonition that the opposition to change is likely to be vicious. Often the anxious question is asked: will such an oppressive regime really give us democracy? And the answer has to be: democracy, likely liberty, justice and other social and political rights, s not given it is earned through courage, resolution and sacrifice. THE ARMED FORCES Let me speak frankly. I feel strong attachment for the armed forces. Not only were they built up my father, as a child I was cared for by his soldiers. At the same time I am also aware of the great love and affection which the people have for my father. I am grateful for this love and affection. I would therefore not wish to see any splits and struggles between the army which my father built up and the people;e who love my father so much. May I also from this platform ask the personnel this kind of understanding and sympathy? May I appeal to the armed forces to become a force in which the people can place their trust and reliance? May the armed forces become one which will uphold the honour and dignity of our country. FREEDOM FROM FEAR Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavor, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fate decade one's actions, courage that could be described as "grace under pressure" - grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure. Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small daily acts of courage which help preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the evervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man. It is man's vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dear and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear. Concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power. EMPOWERMENT A nation may choose a system that leave the protection of the freedom and security of the many dependent on the inclinations of the empowered few: or it may choose institutions and practices that will sufficiently empower individuals and organizations to protect their own freedom and security. The choice will decide how far a nation will progress along the road to peace and human development. THE FULL LIFE It's not by living to the age of ninety or one hundred that one lives the full life. Some people live well until they are ninety or one hundred without having done anything for anyone. They come into the world, live, then die without doing something for the world. I don't think that this is living a full life. To live a full life one must have the courage to bear the responsibility of the needs of others - one must want to bear this responsibility. Each and every one of us must have this attitude and we must instill it in our youth. We must bring up our children to understand that only doing what is meritorious is right. RECONCILIATION Just releasing me tomorrow is not going to do any good if the attitude of Slorc does not change. Whatever they do to me, that's between them and me. I can take it. What is more important is what they are doing to the country, and national reconciliation doesn't just mean reconciliation between the two people - I don't accept that at all. It's reconciliation between different ideas. What we need is a spiritual and intellectual reconciliation. A BRIGHT WORLD The dream of a society ruled by loving kindness, reason and justice is a dream as old as civilized man. It is true that even the smallest light cannot be extinguished by all the darkness in the world because darkness is wholly negative. It is merely an absence of light. But a small light cannot dispel acres of encircling gloom. It needs to grow stronger, to shed its brightness further and further. We are so much in need of a brighter world which will offer adequate refuge to all its inhabitants. (TN) RELEASE OF SUU KYI IS VERY WELCOME NEWS 11 JULY 1995 Reports that Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been freed after almost six years under house arrest can only be welcome news for all who care about her well-being, and the future of popular participation in that country's future. The reports initially were cautiously received by Burma watchers, as well as pro-democracy people, not least because of the timing of the disclosure. The news emerged on the eve of the end, under Burmese law, of her period of detention which falls on July 11. The military junta apparently wanted to show that it abides by its own law, even if it might refuse to bend to the demands of others. But the news also closely followed reports, which came to light at the end of last week, that US senators are planning to push for legislation calling for economic sanctions against Burma. Not least importantly, the reports came less than two weeks before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) begins preparing for an annual meeting of its foreign ministers, a forum that last July gave a representative of Rangoon's military leaders an unprecedented chance to appear with the region's most respectable ministers albeit as "guest of host country". After Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw's participation in the ceremonial opening of the 27th annual meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Bangkok, the European Union, as well as Australia indicated that they were loosening up in their previously rigid opposition against the military junta. That was certainly how Asean decision-makers, who had been widely criticised for their "constructive engagement" with Rangoon's leadership, saw the European Union's move for "critical dialogue," and Australia's so-called benchmark policy. But the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) in Rangoon subsequently showed a degree of confidence in its position that some Asean and European states found hard to accept. The confidence was seen as founded on Slorc's better economic position, and its deepening relationship with China, a development which had drawn a previously-critical India to readjust its policy and begin moves for trade with Burma. India, where Aung San Suu Kyi received part of her formal education, earlier this year gave its own prestigious award to this Nobel Peace laureate of 1991. Thailand, which has argued strongest for engaging rather than isolating Slorc from the international community, has not been spared the military junta's self-confidence. Burma's official media was critical of Thailand when the former foreign minister paid an official visit to Rangoon in April. About two months earlier, a German deputy minister cut short a visit there after key persons turned out to be unavailable even though the junta apparently had been aware of the request for some time. Slorc has also shown an about-turn in relations with US Congressman. Bill Richardson, who was allowed to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi in February 1994, an event that won worldwide publicity, was denied a second meeting when he went to Rangoon again in May. The 50-year-old daughter of Aung San, Burma's independence hero, was placed under house arrest on July 20, 1989 for "endangering the safety of the state". The National League for Democracy which she spearheaded won a landslide victory in elections in 1990, but the military junta in Rangoon did not recognise the results and many of its strongest leaders were subsequently arrested or fled the country. Her release shows that the military men in Rangoon are not impervious to realities, and is encouraging for those who support her and her cause. The lady has shown courage, and determination. She has also made clear, in a public statement released in January, that she is for "meaningful dialogue between diverse political forces." Her release is likely to have been propelled by a combination of reasons. For those wanting the best for Burma, freedom, democracy and human rights, the decision can only be good, if long overdue. (BP) MON-SLORC PACT ENDING 46-YEAR WAR RAISES HOPES AND DOUBTS 11 JULY 1995 Chamlong Boonsong and Nussara Sawatsawang Moulmein, Burma and Bangkok Hope and scepticism surround the ceasefire agreement between the Burmese military government and the Mon group, which ends the ethnic minority's 46-year fight for seek greater autonomy in the country. The New Mon State Party (NMSP) was the 15th guerrilla group to reach an undocumented ceasefire deal with the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc). The agreement on June 29 in Moulmein town followed three previous rounds of negotiations since December 29, 1993. It was the first time no "foreign mediators" were allowed, except Kachin representatives and Mon from other factions. NMSP vice-president Nai Htin led his party in the talks with Rangoon's team headed by Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. Observers said the agreement was made owing to increasing pressure from the Mons who were weary of a civil war which led nowhere. Developing their state was now more important. Analysts welcomed the ceasefire as another step toward national reconciliation. But they were sceptical about the sincerity of the junta in making the deal. Rangoon might want to sign the deal in order to concentrate attacks on drugs warlord Khun Sa in Shan state. The failure of a similar deal with the Karenni National Progressive Party also raised doubts about the agreement with the NMSP, the analysts said. Chayachoke Chullasiriwongse of Chulalongkorn University's political science faculty, who monitors Burmese affairs, said the ceasefire signed in March between the KNPP and the Slorc broke down owing to conflict over logging, leading to the Slorc attack on the KNPP base in Kayah state early this month. The Slorc imposed the ban on cross-border logging last year but the KNPP is still giving concessions to Thai companies to carry out timber trade in its territory opposite Mae Hong Son province. "If the Mon later want to do the same, can the Slorc induce them not to trade with those (Thai timber trader)?" asked Chayachoke. But Thaton Governor Nai Sumitr, a Mon delegate at the ceasefire ceremony, said this was only the first stage of negotiations. Some issues needed to be settled including repatriation and taxation. Thaton is the capital of the Mon State. Nai Sumitr said the highlight of the meeting was negotiation of wording for the ceasefire. He quoted the Slorc as proposing inclusion of the words relating to the end of an "armed struggle programme", but the Mon disagreed since it might cause confusion among the Mon armed forces. An end to the "armed struggle programme" meant disarming and handing all weapons to the Slorc, "but we have not reached that stage yet," he said. "In fact, the agreement involves only ceasefire, meaning both sides will not go on fighting but can keep their weapons," Nai Sumitr said. They finally agreed to the Slorc's wording, according to Nai Sumitr. The Mons are also allowed to retain their weapons in certain areas. Both sides also discussed setting three "licence points" at Moulmein, Thanbyuzayat and Ye, and a "contact point" at the Three Pagodas Pass. The licence and contact points are liaison offices set up to facilitate travel by local people. "It will be more convenient for people to travel. They have only to inform the authorities in advance if they want to go into any areas controlled by the Mon or the Slorc," Nai Sumitr said. He said both sides agreed on repatriation of Mon refugees living in camps along the Thai border from kanchanaburi to Prachuab Khiri Khan provinces. But they have not settled on taxation as Rangoon disagreed with the Mon proposal. The Mon proposed to collect tax for timber and fishing rights, while each side could collect other import-export tax in its area. Other main issues to be decided relate to the political and military future. Nai Sumitr said Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt promised to develop the Mon state within three years. The Slorc pledged to develop public health, education and infrastructure, including the 65 mile road from Thanbyuzayat, the major trade town in the north of the state, to Ye and Three Pagodas Pass; some roads along the Thai-Burmese border; and two small dams for irrigation. The governor also said the Mon representatives agreed to cooperate in providing labour to rebuild villages destroyed during the fighting and to support the ongoing railway project with financial help from Rangoon. The Slorc assisted the talks by sending two helicopters to Three Pagodas Pass in Sangalaburi district in Kanchanaburi on June 26, tow days before the ceasefire, to pick up the 15-member Mon delegation and 12 others in the working group and take them to Moulmein. (BP) BURMA STRUGGLE STILL NOT OVER 11 JULY 1995 If there is a beacon of hope for Burma's democracy, it is Aung San Suu Kyi. The female Gandi who firmly believes in the principles of nonviolence to oppose military dictatorship, was placed under house arrest by the Rangoon junta on July 20,1989. Even under the most difficult conditions during her house arrest, the Nobel Peace laureate had words of inspiration for her fellow democracy fighters. She once said: "Under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man." Yesterday, almost six years later, she was released by her captors. It has to be borne in mind that the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is not over with Suu Kyi's release, for political prisoners are still languishing in Burma's jails. There is still widesperade torture in the country and ethnic minorities are used as forced labour by the military junta in its infrastructure projects, or as porters carrying live ammunition, plainly to act as human-shields in the war against the Karens or the Shans. Academics, artists, potes, medical doctors and students are still behind bars for having defied the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLorc), by openly clamouring for the rights of the Burmese people to be respected. While we welcome Suu Kyi's release, a note of caution has to be injected. So far there have been no details of whether or not conditions have been set for her release. We hope not. Also, there has been no indication that all political detainees will be released together with the Nobel laureate. The writing on the wall is still hard to read. For instance, will the Slorc now recognize the results of the 1990 election in which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the majority of seats? This and other important questions need to be answered before the international community pasts the Slorc on the back. Unless all political prisoners are released, and the Slorc returns full democracy to the people, the military junta should still be shunned by the civilized world. (TN) MANY REMAIN SCEPTICAL OF 'UNCONDITIONAL' FREEDOM 11 JULY 1995 While Japan joined Thailand and human rights watchers in welcoming the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, several foreign diplomats in Rangoon, Burma observers and Burmese ethnic and opposition groups remain sceptical of her "unconditional" freedom. The sceptics said Suu Kyi's release came "as a very big surprise," and that they would not believe it until and unless the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate made a public appearance and statement of her freedom by herself. "It's very unusual. Only a few days ago [junta leader Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt] still said she would not be released and that the country could not make sacrifices for only one person," said a Burma observer in Bangkok. "I called Rangoon twice and was told by two reliable sources that she was released today. It's a very big surprise for me. I am still doubtful about her "unconditional" release," said one ethnic guerrilla official last night. Several observers believed that the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc)'s move was to avert "the prospect of increasing international pressure" against the regime, if Suu Kyi was not released by today, the dateline for her six years of unlawful house arrest. A US senator had scheduled to introduce today a draft legislation to the Senate for comprehensive economic sanctions against the Slorc, which would ban all US trade and investment in Burma. The observers said the US Administration was also contemplating some drastic measures including downgrading its embassy in Rangoon to permanent charge d'affaires or even the expulsoin of the Burmese envoy to Washington. The Slorc would probably face more international backlash when it attends the upcoming annual Asean ministerial meeting later this month in Brunei for the second executive year as guest of the host country. Several embassies and Burmese individuals in Rangoon said in separate long distance interviews that nobody could confirm seeing Suu Kyi in public after the announcement. In Tokyo, Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's chief spokesman, Kozo Igarashi, sais Suu Kyi's release is "very good news" and that Murayama government has worked strenuously over the past year to help her win her freedom. Igarashi, chief of Cabinet secretary, said Japan provided 1 billion yen in food production aid to Burma in March in the hope that Rangoon would free her. "We believe people all over the world are released. We wholeheartedly welcome it," he said. The top government spokesman also signalled Japan's willingness to resume economic aid after reviewing Burma's human rights record and the state of democracy there. He did not elaborate. Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono released a comment welcoming Suu Kyi's release as an "important step" in the move toward democratization and improvement in human rights. According to a report conveyed to the ministry from the Japanese Embassy in Rangoon, the Slorc notified Suu Kyi of the lifting of her six-year house arrest at 5.30 pm, ministry officials said. The Slorc immediately reported her release to the embassy, they said. The Japanese government has suspended official financial assistance to Burma, except some humanitarian aid, since the 1988 military coup, and has requested the release of Suu Kyi. In Bangkok, a senior Thai Foreign Ministry official said the release, if true, would be a welcome sign, especially at this time when Burma has been invited for the second year to attend the annual Asean ministerial meeting in Brunei. "This is an indication that Burma is adjusting its political system towards more democratization," said Saroj Chavanaviraj, a ministry's deputy permanent secretary. he said the release would help ease the pressure from the international community and would lend "more legitimacy" to Burma's attendance at the Asean Ministerial meetings later this month. In Manila, former President Corazon Aquino said she was elated at Suu Kyi's release and expressed the hope of meeting her soon. "This is a moment that so many of us who have admired Aung San Suu Kyi for a long time have been waiting for," she said in a statement. "I am truly happy for her and her people and I am glad that her years of suffering have finally come to an end," added Aquino, who led a 1986 popular revolt that drove former strongman Ferdinand Marcos into exile. In London, Amnesty International said it was delighted by the release of Suu Kyi and hoped the move heralded greater respect for human rights in Burma. "We are extremely delighted, over the moon that after this very long time she is finally free," Reuter quoted Amnesty spokesman Richard Bunting as telling the BBC radio. The London-based human rights group has campaigned on behalf of Suu Kyi ever since she was detained in 1989, under an anti-subversion law. Bounting said Amnesty was also wary of the release decision. "We are injecting a note of caution because we hope that no conditions are placed on her freedom and that she is allowed to participate fully in her country's political process." (TN) SUU KYI, FREE AT LAST, HER PEOPLE'S SYMBOL OF HOPE AND DEFIANCE SINCE she was placed under house arrest almost six years ago for her criticism of the army, Aung San Suu Kyi has remained the most powerful, defiant symbol of the Burmese people's attempts to end decades-long military rule. >From mid-1988, when she emerged to head the democracy movement, until her house arrest in July the following year, the slight but steely woman articulated a popular urge for an end to the military repression that has gripped the country since 1962 and beggared one the Asia's richest lands. Military officials in Rangoon said the 50 year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner was released at 4 p.m Rangoon time yesterday. Millions took to the streets in 1988 demanding change. The army crushed the demonstrations with brute force, killing thousands according to estimates by Western diplomats there at the time. Despite her detention, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in a May 1990 general election, taking 392 of 485 contested seats. The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council [Slorc] refused to honour the result and silenced the NLD through arrests and intimidation. Burmese and foreign observers attribute the scale of the 1990 election victory to Aung San Suu Kyi. Undoubtedly her appeal stemmed from the legacy of her father, Burma's foremost national hero, General Aung San, who led the country to the brink of independence from British rule before his assassination in 1947 at the age of 32. Aung San Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon in June 1945 and educated in Burma and India, where her mother was ambassador. She won a scholarship to Oxford University and obtained a degree in politics, philosphy and economics before getting a job with the UN Secretariat in New York. In 1972 she married British academic Michale Aris and brought up two sons in the course of moves between Bhutan, India and Japan. Aung San Suu Kyi was working on a postgraduate thesis at London University when she returned in Rangoon in April 1988 to nurse her dying mother. She soon found herself caught up in the student-led revolt. In her first political speech at the height of the uprising she drew a crowd of several hundred thousand, perhaps the largest public gathering then known in the capital. I could not as my father's daughter, remain indifferent to what was going on. The national crisis could in fact be called the second the struggle for independence, she declared. That August 26, 1988 speech set the tone for a nationwide political blitzkrieg that won rapturous support even in the traditionally apathetic countryside. We were not surprised, said one observer commenting on her rise. Not only did she look like her father, she spoke like him also: short, concise and to the point. In early 1989, she broke a virtual taboo by publicly attacking officially retired military strongman Ne Win as the source of all Burma's ills, virtually sealing her popular appeal. Everyone knew who was responsible for all the bad things in Burma, but she was the first to blame Ne Win. No one had the guts to do that before, a Burmese exile has remarked. She called the struggle of the Burmese people one for freedom from fear. Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day, she wrote in a paper published in 1991. Fear of imprisonment, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family property or means of livelyhood. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent campaign for democracy. The SL0RC said repeatedly it would release her if she agreed to lease the country. She refused the offers.[BP] SLORC VIOLATED AGREEMENT WITH KAREN 11 JULY 1995 THE ALL Burma Student's Democratic Front [ABSDF] issued a statement yesterday denouncing the Burmese military regime for violating a ceasefire agreement resulting in massive deaths and injuries among the minority Karen people. The statement, distributed at the Thai-Burmese border, accused the State Law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC] of attacking the Karennis in Kaya State opposite the Thai border province of Mae Hong Son about 10 days ago, despite the fact that it had signed a peace agreement with the Karenni National Progressive Party [KNPP] on March 21. A lot of Karen people were killed or wounded and many were forced to escape from the area, according to the statement. The ABSDF said the SLORC had claimed it wanted to maneuver its forces through KNPP territory to fight Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army in Shan State. But the Burmese troops turned instead to attack Karen villages and KNPP security forces. They also started to fire on the KNPP's Stronghold 99 five or six days ago. The ABSDF said it didn't believe the SLORC's claims that the Burmese troops had attacked the Karennis out of misunderstanding. It said the international community should learn that the SLORC breached its agreement with the KNPP. The organisation called on other countries to provide assistance to KNPP, Karen National Union and Burmese student forces fighting for democracy in Burma. The ABSDF said it is already taking care of KNPP and Karen refugees who suffered from the Burmese attacks. The statement confirmed that the ABSDF will continue to fight the SLORC by any means until democracy is established in Burma. The latest reports said the SLORC and the KNPP were seeking a reconciliation.[BP]