Playing the same old record - SPDC ‘welcome’ advices of Bush and Thaksin?
DVB (2003 June 12)

In response to the preparation of continuing economic sanctions and other punitive measures of the USA government, the SPDC has issued statement today. The statement starts by saying that the SPDC warmly welcomes the advices of the US president, Mr. George W. Bush and the Thais Prime Minister, Thaksin.
It insists that democratisation and market economy are the military regime’s original aims. Nevertheless, the statement doesn’t mention to the UN efforts for tripartite dialogue but it still insists on working through the regime’s own defunct National Convention to achieve the above mentioned aims.

It tries elaborate on the fact that the regime started the National Convention in 1993 to solve the nation’s problems with ‘everyone’ and it insists that the National Convention is still in operation.

It adds that despite this, the NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi one-sidedly walked out on the Convention in 1995 and the dialogue became a failure and etc.

In order to hear the reactions of the oppositions on the extraordinary statement of the SPDC, we contacted Dr. Tint Swe, one of the ministers of the exiled-National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma. He gave his reactions as follows:

Dr. Tint Swe : The SPDC is changing its policies on the international relationship. The generals are especially concentrating on the USA. The main reason is the USA is a powerful nation without a powerful rival. And the USA is the most effective nation in the world in terms of foreign policy on Burma. Because of the two reasons, the SPDC is giving its attention on the USA. Although the regime dislikes the USA, it has to insist that the dialogue is still going on with the opposition and it is open to the international community’s advices on constructive measures and so on.

DVB : It says that the dialogue is still open. It started in 1993. The National convention is still going on. But the NLD has walked out. Now they are re-asserting the National Convention. What is your view?

Dr. Tint Swe : All the SPDC has to say is this matter every time it is criticised. It also includes the matter of ceasefire. They insist that they have secured the ceasefire agreements with armed rebel groups and that they have the National Convention and that it is still having dialogue with the opposition. In other word, they have nothing else to say apart from playing this old record with the three arguments. On the matter of the NLD walking out on the National Convention one-sidedly, the NLD officially wrote a letter stating WHY it suspended the attendance of the National Convention. The SPDC knows that. It pretends that it never had seen the letter as it has nothing else to say and it keeps on repeating the National Convention record.

DVB : They mentioned the National Convention without mentioning the recent trip of Mr Razali Ismail’s trip to Burma. The UN has been working on the emergence of dialogue for a couple of years. What is the prospect of the UN sponsored dialogue?

Dr. Tint Swe : The generals won’t get the form it wants when it comes to this for sure. The reason is the international community knows and sees that they are not honest. As for the National Convention, the people who should be attending it from political organisations and ethnic national organisations all agreed that the National Convention provided by the generals is useless and they suggested a new one to be convened if it is necessary. The NLD also said that the regime should change all its policies. As the generals have no intention and plan to take on the UN initiated tripartite dialogue and the national reconciliation process, the SPDC keeps on playing its old record. There is nothing more than that.

Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 12 June 03