Burmese People “Must Prepare for the Worst”
By Saw Yan Naing January 31, 2008
Burmese people must prepare themselves for the worst in their struggle for political change, several ethnic leaders and veteran politicians agreed on Thursday.
They were commenting on a statement by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on her talks with regime mediator Aung Kyi, which she said had made no progress yet towards substantive dialogue with the junta.
Suu Kyi reported on her encounters with the regime go-between in a rare meeting on Wednesday with leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD). NLD Spokesman Nyan Win quoted her as saying: “Let’s hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
Cin Sian Thang, chairman of the Zomi National Congress in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that if the Burmese people didn’t gain what they asked for from the government, they should prepare to find out any appropriate way for change in Burma.
“We should not wait for change if we don’t get what we asked for,” he said. “We must do what we should do. We should find a potential way out.”
Cin Siang Thang said he saw no progress from the meetings between Suu Kyi and the Aung Kyi. The two have met five times since last September’s crackdown.
Cin Sian Thang said he didn’t think the Burmese government wanted to negotiate for change in Burma. The meetings between Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi had been arranged as a way of easing international pressure.
Aye Thar Aung, chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy, said: “If the junta doesn’t enhance the dialogue, the situation in the country is dangerous. In fact, the junta also doesn’t want to made dialogue. So, she [Suu Kyi] also likes to tell people to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.”
Thakin Chan Htun, a Burmese veteran politician in Rangoon, said “the best” would be a dialogue between Suu Kyi and junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. “The worst” could mean a heavy crackdown on political activists and opposition groups, he said.
Unless a dialogue came about between Suu Kyi and Than Shwe, Burmese people should prepare for the worst, Thakin Chan Htun said.
“She [Suu Kyi] is detained. She couldn’t do anything. So, she also wants to warn Burmese people to dare to take part in movements such as mass protests when facing the worst situation.”
Burmese people must prepare themselves for the worst in their struggle for political change, several ethnic leaders and veteran politicians agreed on Thursday.
They were commenting on a statement by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on her talks with regime mediator Aung Kyi, which she said had made no progress yet towards substantive dialogue with the junta.
Suu Kyi reported on her encounters with the regime go-between in a rare meeting on Wednesday with leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD). NLD Spokesman Nyan Win quoted her as saying: “Let’s hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
Cin Sian Thang, chairman of the Zomi National Congress in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that if the Burmese people didn’t gain what they asked for from the government, they should prepare to find out any appropriate way for change in Burma.
“We should not wait for change if we don’t get what we asked for,” he said. “We must do what we should do. We should find a potential way out.”
Cin Siang Thang said he saw no progress from the meetings between Suu Kyi and the Aung Kyi. The two have met five times since last September’s crackdown.
Cin Sian Thang said he didn’t think the Burmese government wanted to negotiate for change in Burma. The meetings between Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi had been arranged as a way of easing international pressure.
Aye Thar Aung, chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy, said: “If the junta doesn’t enhance the dialogue, the situation in the country is dangerous. In fact, the junta also doesn’t want to made dialogue. So, she [Suu Kyi] also likes to tell people to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.”
Thakin Chan Htun, a Burmese veteran politician in Rangoon, said “the best” would be a dialogue between Suu Kyi and junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. “The worst” could mean a heavy crackdown on political activists and opposition groups, he said.
Unless a dialogue came about between Suu Kyi and Than Shwe, Burmese people should prepare for the worst, Thakin Chan Htun said.
“She [Suu Kyi] is detained. She couldn’t do anything. So, she also wants to warn Burmese people to dare to take part in movements such as mass protests when facing the worst situation.”
Prepare for the Worst, Not the Best
By The Irrawaddy January 31, 2008
On Wednesday, we heard clearly the frustration felt by Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi about the way her talks with the regime’s mediator are going.
Suu Kyi was allowed to meet with senior members of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), for about 90 minutes. After the meeting, the party’s spokesman, Nyan Win, quoted her as saying: “Let’s hope for the best and prepare for the worst."
The NLD spokesman said Suu Kyi was particularly frustrated at the government's refusal to set a time frame for reforms and at the junta's current position that political change should wait until the so-called road map to democracy is completed.
It was easy to predict that junta-sponsored rounds of talks would end up with this kind of result. Many observers believed the talks were meaningless, and furthermore that this is what the military intended—a pretence of goodwill to ease the political pressure from inside the country and abroad.
In September last year, the junta brutally suppressed the biggest pro-democracy protests in two decades. Then, the junta appointed Labor Minister Aung Kyi as a "relations minister" to represent the military government in preliminary talks with the Nobel Peace Prize winner, following repeated calls for a dialogue by the September protesters and the international community.
Instead of heeding the frustration and anger of the pro-democracy activists, the junta reacted by raiding homes, arresting opposition members and hunting down those who fled. Latest reports say the authorities have charged several political prisoners who took part in the September uprising and that some were tortured and beaten while in police custody.
Although UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari has toured extensively in the region in an attempt to push Burma's neighbors to help achieve national reconciliation in Burma, the process is going nowhere. Even a request by Burma's closest ally, China, to allow Gambari to return to Burma was met with prevarication by the hard-headed Burmese generals.
After years of disappointment and sacrifice, patience is running out with the Burmese military government and its foot-dragging over moves toward democratization. All involved in the Burma issue are aware that if the Burmese regime continues with its present attitude and policy, havoc could result.
Britain's ambassador to Burma has said the mood there is angry and he has predicted more demonstrations. Some observers think they may erupt in August, coinciding both with the 20th anniversary of the 1988 student-led uprising and with the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
On Wednesday, we heard clearly the frustration felt by Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi about the way her talks with the regime’s mediator are going.
Suu Kyi was allowed to meet with senior members of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), for about 90 minutes. After the meeting, the party’s spokesman, Nyan Win, quoted her as saying: “Let’s hope for the best and prepare for the worst."
The NLD spokesman said Suu Kyi was particularly frustrated at the government's refusal to set a time frame for reforms and at the junta's current position that political change should wait until the so-called road map to democracy is completed.
It was easy to predict that junta-sponsored rounds of talks would end up with this kind of result. Many observers believed the talks were meaningless, and furthermore that this is what the military intended—a pretence of goodwill to ease the political pressure from inside the country and abroad.
In September last year, the junta brutally suppressed the biggest pro-democracy protests in two decades. Then, the junta appointed Labor Minister Aung Kyi as a "relations minister" to represent the military government in preliminary talks with the Nobel Peace Prize winner, following repeated calls for a dialogue by the September protesters and the international community.
Instead of heeding the frustration and anger of the pro-democracy activists, the junta reacted by raiding homes, arresting opposition members and hunting down those who fled. Latest reports say the authorities have charged several political prisoners who took part in the September uprising and that some were tortured and beaten while in police custody.
Although UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari has toured extensively in the region in an attempt to push Burma's neighbors to help achieve national reconciliation in Burma, the process is going nowhere. Even a request by Burma's closest ally, China, to allow Gambari to return to Burma was met with prevarication by the hard-headed Burmese generals.
After years of disappointment and sacrifice, patience is running out with the Burmese military government and its foot-dragging over moves toward democratization. All involved in the Burma issue are aware that if the Burmese regime continues with its present attitude and policy, havoc could result.
Britain's ambassador to Burma has said the mood there is angry and he has predicted more demonstrations. Some observers think they may erupt in August, coinciding both with the 20th anniversary of the 1988 student-led uprising and with the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Unimportant Topics Take Up All the Time,
Says Suu Kyi
By Wai Moe January 31, 2008
In the reconciliation talks between Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta’s liaison officer, Aung Kyi, most of the time is taken up on trivial subjects, according to sources in the National League of Democracy.
Senior members of the NLD who asked for anonymity told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that sometimes an hour- long meeting is filled up with explanations and questions, such as “What is cooperation?” and “What is collaboration?” by the junta liaison officer, Suu Kyi told a group of NLD members whom she met with on Wednesday just prior to her fifth meeting with Aung Kyi.
Suu Kyi said she has spoken to Aung Kyi about important issues, and he replies that he will report her remarks to top officials and then a month goes by with no discussions, NLD sources said.
Suu Kyi told her colleagues that Aung Kyi told her to endorse the regime’s “seven-step road map” to democracy because it’s the foundation of the junta’s plan for the country.
Instead, Suu Kyi suggested an inclusive reconciliation process that includes participation by ethnic group leaders in any talks about the country’s future.
“She [Suu Kyi] is not pleased with the talks,” said an NLD member. “She does not mean the process is hopeless, but it is being drawn out and prolonged.”
Suu Kyi’s request to meet with the head of the military junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, has received no response from the junta, and the talks are proceeding without a time frame.
Suu Kyi said she does not want to give false hope to the people of Burma, but in such conditions something positive could happen.
On Wednesday, she said she recalled her father Aung San’s famous remark before he held talks with the British government in London during the pre-independence period, “Let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
A veteran journalist in Rangoon, Sein Hla Oo, commenting on the talks, said, “She [Suu Kyi] is not satisfied with the process. She thinks meaningful dialogue is very important for the country, but others think it is not important.”
Suu Kyi reportedly told her NLD colleagues to move forward without her, said the source. Sometimes she can lead the party; sometimes she will follow others’ leadership within the party, he said.
She suggested that sometimes the party needs to push and sometime it needs to pull, and if it is necessary, everyone needs to give up everything, he said.
He said she asked authorities to allow NLD deputy leader Tin Oo to participate in the meeting on Wednesday, but the authorities rejected the proposal.
In the reconciliation talks between Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta’s liaison officer, Aung Kyi, most of the time is taken up on trivial subjects, according to sources in the National League of Democracy.
Senior members of the NLD who asked for anonymity told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that sometimes an hour- long meeting is filled up with explanations and questions, such as “What is cooperation?” and “What is collaboration?” by the junta liaison officer, Suu Kyi told a group of NLD members whom she met with on Wednesday just prior to her fifth meeting with Aung Kyi.
Suu Kyi said she has spoken to Aung Kyi about important issues, and he replies that he will report her remarks to top officials and then a month goes by with no discussions, NLD sources said.
Suu Kyi told her colleagues that Aung Kyi told her to endorse the regime’s “seven-step road map” to democracy because it’s the foundation of the junta’s plan for the country.
Instead, Suu Kyi suggested an inclusive reconciliation process that includes participation by ethnic group leaders in any talks about the country’s future.
“She [Suu Kyi] is not pleased with the talks,” said an NLD member. “She does not mean the process is hopeless, but it is being drawn out and prolonged.”
Suu Kyi’s request to meet with the head of the military junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, has received no response from the junta, and the talks are proceeding without a time frame.
Suu Kyi said she does not want to give false hope to the people of Burma, but in such conditions something positive could happen.
On Wednesday, she said she recalled her father Aung San’s famous remark before he held talks with the British government in London during the pre-independence period, “Let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
A veteran journalist in Rangoon, Sein Hla Oo, commenting on the talks, said, “She [Suu Kyi] is not satisfied with the process. She thinks meaningful dialogue is very important for the country, but others think it is not important.”
Suu Kyi reportedly told her NLD colleagues to move forward without her, said the source. Sometimes she can lead the party; sometimes she will follow others’ leadership within the party, he said.
She suggested that sometimes the party needs to push and sometime it needs to pull, and if it is necessary, everyone needs to give up everything, he said.
He said she asked authorities to allow NLD deputy leader Tin Oo to participate in the meeting on Wednesday, but the authorities rejected the proposal.
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