Rumbles From Rangoon:
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>"The Seoul meeting is nothing more than a scheme hatched by western countries to give pressure on Myanmar... (and) would surely not bring about positive results--
Statement by Burma's military Junta
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>This Special Posting contains:
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> 1). Myanmar rebukes participants in Seoul conference From: Euro-Burma <beaudee@euro-burma.be>
>Myanmar rebukes participants in Seoul conference
>
>YANGON, March 7 (AFP) - Myanmar on Tuesday spat vitriol
>at countries which took part in a meeting in South Korea on its
>bitter political deadlock, painting the talks as a plot to pile more pressure on its military rulers.
>
>"The Myanmar government is unhappy and unappreciative of the
>holding of the meeting," said a foreign ministry statement.
>
>The meeting, in a remote Seoul's hotel, which ended Monday was
>shrouded in secrecy and attended by representatives from Canada,
>Australia, Japan, Britain, France and the United Nations.
>
>Also there, to Myanmar's fury, were its fellow Association of
>Southeast Asian Nations members Thailand, Malaysia and
>the Philippines.
>
>"The Seoul meeting is nothing more than a scheme hatched by
>western countries to give pressure on Myanmar," the statement said, adding it "would surely not bring about positive results."
>
>Sources and reports have indicated the talks were aimed at
>kickstarting a long-frozen dialogue between Yangon's military rulers and the democratic opposition of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
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>But Myanmar's government made clear in the statement that it did not look kindly on outside attempts to ease the political stalemate.
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>"Myanmar is committed to building a democratic society and it is doing so according to its own special conditions," adding that therefore there was "certainly no need for such a meeting."
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>The outcome of the two-day meeting was unknown with officials involved remaining tight-lipped even about the purpose of the session.
>
>Myanmar is accused of gross human rights abuses and of
>suppressing the pro-democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi
>which won elections in 1990 which have never been recognised by the military government.
>
>A South Korean official speaking on condition of anonymity said
>the forum was "partly aimed at improving the human rights
>situation there and of course is related to Aung San Suu Kyi."
>
>Another official said the low-profile meeting would produce no formal or written results, and he refused to elaborate on the politically sensitive forum.
>
>The Seoul meeting was on the lines of a retreat in Chilston, England in 1998 which reportedly came up with a "carrot and stick" formula for diplomacy designed to nudge the junta into making concessions.
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>Soon after the talks, Western states working in conjunction with the World Bank reportedly offered Yangon a one billion dollar package of aid in return for reforms. The approach was later rejected by the ruling generals.
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>Diplomats in Yangon have denied any specific figure was
>discussed at Chilston and have ever since been loathe to comment
>on the status of the stalled process.
>
>The Myanmar statement confirmed that the government had made
>its displeasure known to its ASEAN partners.
>
>"The views of Myanmar have been made known to all the ASEAN
>countries as well as to the other countries," it said.
>
>ASEAN has always operated on a principle of non-interference
>in fellow members affairs although some countries like Thailand
>and the Philippines have recently backed the introduction of a
>more flexible approach dubbed "enhanced interaction."
>
>Reports in Thailand last week said Yangon sent a letter to urge
>Thailand not to go the meeting in a move which angered
>Thai officials.
>
>Relations between Thailand and Myanmar have been stormy in
>recent months after two hostage crises led by ethnic Karen rebels
>fighting the Myanmar government.
>
>As a neighbour of Myanmar, Thailand must bear many side-effects
>of its political crisis, and has to cope with tens of thousands of
>refugees who have fled fighting between the government and
>insurgent groups.
>
>we elect big criminals to protect ourselves from petty ones.
> -- democracy and the masses, u sparrow, 2010
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The above was forwarded to me from my step-daughter, who is active in the Free Burma Coalition. I'm glad to see Asian governments even tepidly attacking another Asian government for human rights abuses. Who knows where such a movement might lead! |
