U.S. out of Myanmar talks

Democracy map excludes critics

By Rafael D. Frankel
Special to the Tribune
Published December 14, 2003

BANGKOK -- Six months after orchestrating a violent crackdown on democracy activists, Myanmar's ruling military junta is to outline its so-called road map to democracy at an international conference here Monday.

Absent from the list of countries invited to the conference by host Thailand are the United States, Britain and Canada. Those governments took the hardest lines on the junta after the May 30 attack in Myanmar in which pro-junta supporters killed democracy supporters and the junta detained activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We have not requested to participate [in the meeting] and have no intention of doing so," said a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Bangkok. "There is a problem with the road map when it is formulated without any participation from members of the democracy movement, and so it is flawed to begin with."

Explaining the decision to exclude the three countries, a Thai government spokesman said, "The aim of the conference is to be constructive."

Asian nations and European governments considered more conciliatory to the junta are to take part in the conference.

France, Austria, Australia and Germany, which have close economic ties with Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, were invited. In its capacity as the current head of the European Union, Italy also was asked to attend.

Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India also are expected to send representatives to the meeting.

"Maybe it's kind of a good cop/bad cop thing," a diplomat in Bangkok from one of the uninvited countries said of the invitation list. "Because there are countries like the U.K., U.S. and Canada, it gives Burma incentive to talk serious with others."

Many analysts believe the path Myanmar takes in the near future will reflect the amount of pressure exerted on the junta by its Asian neighbors and those who have so far refrained from tough talk and action against it.

With sanctions from the United States and others hitting hard, Myanmar, is increasingly relying on loans and business from China and other Asian countries to prevent its economy from collapsing.

The conference comes after 16 political prisoners were released in Myanmar this month, five of whom are members of the National League for Democracy's executive council. They had been placed under house arrest after May 30.

The releases and road map are evidence that the international pressure, led by U.S. economic sanctions, has begun to wear down the resolve of the military government, said Debbie Stafford of Altsean-Burma, a pro-democracy group.

"That's why you see the military regime having to repackage itself, publishing this road map. All of these are strong signals the regime is very worried," she said. "Any effort to ameliorate or reduce international pressure right now would be counterproductive."

Western diplomats in the region are cautious, noting the political cycle in Myanmar has gone up and down since the military took power in 1988.

National League for Democracy leader Suu Kyi, meanwhile is under house arrest for the third time since 1990. She had been held incommunicado for nearly four months by the military after the May 30 attack. Diplomats in Yangon, Myanmar's capital, said their requests to see Suu Kyi have been ignored. The only non-military individual allowed to see the Nobel Peace laureate is her personal doctor. She had a hysterectomy in September.

Four other members of the NLD executive council are in custody, including NLD Vice Chairman U Tin Oo.

While the junta has have released a few dozen political prisoners since May 30, Amnesty International estimates there are still more than 1,000 still being held.

© 2003 The Chicago Tribune