Burmese deputy FM to meet Mahathir over Suu Kyi

Yap Mun Ching
3:05pm Thu Jul 3rd, 2003

Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win will meet with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad next week to explain the reasons for the continued detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

According to a source today, Khin will arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Monday after completing a mission to Japan.

The deputy minister will then proceed to Jakarta to meet with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda who represents his country as the new chair of Asean.

Khin is also expected to meet with Asean secretary-general Ong Keng Yong at the association’s headquarters in Jakarta.

However, Burmese embassy officials in Kuala Lumpur were unavailable for comment.

Defuse concern

Yesterday, Thai newspapers reported a meeting between Khin and Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra in the Bangkok during which Thaksin was shown photographs of a ‘healthy looking’ Suu Kyi.

"The house is in good condition and the photos showed her talking to some officials. She looked healthy and had no signs of any illness," he was quoted as saying.

The development appears to signal growing concern within the Burmese government, after Japan pledged last week to stop all new aid programmes until Suu Kyi’s release.

Two weeks ago, the junta was also put in the uncomfortable position of being the first country to receive criticism from the traditionally reticent Asean, after strong pressure from the international community.

At the close of the two-day Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phnom Penh, Asean had issued a statement saying that it "looked forward to the lifting of restrictions placed on Aung San Suu Kyi".

Meanwhile, United Nations special envoy for Burma Razali Ismail could not confirm Khin’s visit to Malaysia but said that this initiative might be Burma’s attempt to defuse international concern over Suu Kyi’s continued detention.

"But if they do not release her, it would be unlikely that the international community would be reassured of her safety," he said when contacted.

Razali revealed that he had briefed Mahathir on the developments in Burma several weeks ago.

He said the premier had pledged that he would do his "utmost to influence the leadership (of Burma) to release Suu Kyi".

Mahathir, a key advocate of Asean’s constructive engagement policy with the junta, had since been reported as calling for Suu Kyi’s release "as soon as possible".

The premier said Burma had put Asean in a quandary and he urged Rangoon to consider the view expressed by the international community.

‘Comfortable’ location

On the latest reports of Suu Kyi being moved from the prison where she was held in a ‘safe house’, Razali said he received communication five days ago from the Burmese government to inform him of their plans to move her.

"They said they would move her from where she was held to a more comfortable location," he said, although declining to say where she is being held now.

The junta’s move is believe to have come after Razali revealed to the international community after a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi that Suu Kyi was held in "deplorable conditions".

The democracy leader was first arrested more than a month ago on May 30 after her convoy was attacked by mobs at a Burmese northern town.

She has been held incommunicado since with the exception of a visit by Razali last month.

Razali is scheduled to leave for New York next week to brief UN secretary-general Kofi Annan on the developments in Burma.

Source : Malaysiakini