October 7, 2003

It was a sad day for the international community which love to see free Burma. The murderous Khin Nyunt who came nervously to attend the grouping expecting a lot of criticisms, had gained tremendous support from the ASEAN leaders. His road map was widely accepted by them, and the expected issue of releasing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners was never been raised.

Cheers and praises for Khin Nyunt’s labyrinthine road map by shameless ASEAN leaders, who expect to exploit Burma’s natural resources and to gain access to trade with China in turn, had overwhelmed to Khin Nyunt. In addition, as a courtesy, US led economic sanction was denounced as wouldn’t work action by them.

Unfortunately, the ASEAN meeting has killed our hope, expectation and aspiration of the freedom of Daw Suu and all political prisoners. The people’s desire for free Burma and the landslide victory of people’s pray National League for Democracy in 1990 elections have been ignored by our ASEAN neighbors.

On the contrary, ASEAN has given the crook-general Khin Nyunt tremendous confident to kill the oppositions, to rape the minority girls, to wage the never ended civil wars against the democratic forces and to poison the political prisoners more. That, in fact, will somehow frustrate and divide the opinion of the oppositions, who expect the good-news and positive outcomes after the meeting, inside Burma

Consequently, the regime’s business partner Mr. Razali and the UN secretary general himself also are giving the regime a green light to keep on going to implement Khin Nyunt’s seven steps plan of road-map at least until the year 2006. The maximum goal of the secretary general turns out to be the regional cooperation of ASEAN for democratization in Burma. As a result, our great expectation of setting Burma agenda at the UN Security Council also is fading.

Given the prevailing ominous news and fates by ASEAN conference , we would like to urge all the oppositions, activists and the Burma’s freedom lovers around the globe for the unity and co-operations knowing that we can not expect much help from outside. Our patience, hardworking and learning from the past experience will definitely pay off to achieve our goal in the very near future.

Anti-Dictatorship People’s Freedom Movement