June 3, 2003
The Editor
The Washington Post
1150 15th Street, NW
Washington DC 7 20071
Dear Sir,
I would like to respond to the editorial "Crackdown in
Burma" appearing in your esteemed newspaper of June 3, 2003, which only
serves to further confuse an already complex situation.
National reconciliation is one of the political
objectives of the Government and people of Myanmar, and as such all
legally standing political parties, including the NLD, are permitted to
carry on with their political activities within the bounds of law.
It was very unfortunate that disturbances occurred last
week during the upcountry trip of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This happened not
because the Government wished to "crackdown" on the democracy movement as
alleged in the editorial. To the contrary, it is the Government that has
encouraged Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to tour within the country and see for
herself the actual situation prevailing in the country, in the belief that
she would come to better appreciate the efforts of the Government for
national progress.
However, during the trip, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her
followers broke the agreement they had reached with the Government
regarding her political activities and this resulted in clashes between
her supporters and the local populace.
The Government holds no animosity against Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and it is only to ensure her safety and for the sake of national
security and to maintain law and order in the country that the Government
has had to take certain measures against her and her party.
However, the measures taken are temporary in nature and
this unfortunate incident will not derail the national reconciliation and
democratization process being undertaken in Myanmar.
I have the pleasure to attach herewith a write-up
explaining the current situation in detail.
Sincerely,
sd/-
Information Officer
Embassy of the Union of Myanmar
Washington, DC
Briefing Notes
As is well known, the Government has designated
national reconsolidation as one of its political objectives. In keeping
with this objective, the Government has engaged reconciliation efforts
since the time of the assumption of state responsibilities.
Consequently, agreement has been reached with 17-armed
groups and these groups have returned to the legal fold and are working
with the Government for the development of their regions. As a result, the
problem of armed insurgency that had plagued the nation since the time of
the regaining of independence is now almost completely resolved. The
nation today is therefore enjoying peace and stability. A visit to the
remote border areas will show that the battlefields of yesterday have now
been transformed into zones of development.
It is the desire of the Government to have the
participation of all the forces in the country to work together for the
development of the nation and for peaceful and smooth transition to
democracy. Therefore, its national reconciliation efforts also extend to
the 10 legally existing political parties. Moreover, it has sought the
cooperation of the political parties to maintain the existing peace and
stability, law and order. Transition to democracy cannot take place in an
environment of unrest and chaos.
As part of the systematic transition to democracy, the
Government is permitting the political parties to expand their political
activities. This includes the NLD.
Consequently, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD have
been engaging in a wide range of political activities, including the
undertaking of trips to various parts of the country for political
organization purposes, meeting with foreign dignitaries and diplomats as
well as local and international media. Moreover, she was allowed to move
freely and to open party offices across the country.
It may be recalled that in the period between June 2002
to April 2003 she visited 95 townships in Mon, Mandalay, Magwe, Kayin,
Bago, Shan, Rakhine, Ayeyarwady and Chin states and divisions.
In her latest trip starting 6 May 2003, she visited
Mandalay and Sagaing division as well as Kachin and Shan States before
returning to Mandalay Division.
It may be mentioned that there were prior consultations
between the Government and the NLD regarding all the trips undertaken by
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The desire of the Government is to ensure the safety
and security of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the members of the party as well
as to facilitate her travels. To give an example, the Government persuaded
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi not to travel by car in certain areas during her trip
to the Shan State last November because of insurgent activities.
In addition, there was also prior agreement between the
two sides that while Daw Aung San Suu Kyi could engage in normal political
activities including meeting with her party members and supporters at the
NLD branch offices and the setting up of party signboards with the
permission of the respective Township Multi-party Democracy Election
Commission in the agreed townships. In addition, there was also mutual
agreement that there should not be any action that could disturb the
existing peace and stability and the daily lives of the local populace.
The Government has time and again urged the political figures in the
country and their political parties to assist it in making an orderly and
peaceful transition to democracy by respecting the law and acting in an
exemplary manner.
It has also been the hope of the authorities that Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi's visits to various parts of the country would provide
opportunities for her to see the actual situation in the countryside as
well as the developments that are changing the lives of the people for the
better. It was believed that she would also have a better appreciation of
the efforts of the Government for national progress.
In keeping with this spirit, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was
shown various projects that are being undertaken including the
construction of irrigation dams, bridges, hydroelectric generation plants,
water-pumping and agricultural projects. Everywhere she went, she was
given VIP treatment and briefing was given to her by Directors-General and
Managing Directors. In other words, she was accorded treatment comparable
to that of our leaders.
During the recent visits to the towns, there emerged a
growing resentment among the local populace because of the highhanded
action of members of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's entourage, particularly the
youth members. Lately, there were a number of instances of clashes between
the these militant NLD youths and local people when these NLD youths
grabbed cameras and video cameras of some people who were innocently
taking pictures. These incidents happened during her visits to the Chin
State and Magwe Division in last April. People became anxious when they
heard that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party members were coming to their
towns and villages, fearing that there would be disruption of their
peaceful daily lives.
Although Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade consisted of
3 vehicles when she left Yangon on 6 May on her latest trip, the numbers
swelled with militant NLD youths taking to the road on motorcycles. On May
8, when she went to Sagaing Division from Mandalay, 20 motorcyclists
flying NLD flags met her at the Sagaing Bridge. The motorcyclists
accompanied her vehicle into the city with headlights shining and horns
blaring. Later, the number of motorcyclists increased to 40 when she went
to Shwe Bo. Sometimes, the motorcyclists rode two abreast in formation,
thus blocking the road and with complete disregard to the traffic rules
and the local population. One motorcycle ran down a 21-year-old villager
at Pathein Lay village.
There were also instances when these youth took the law
into their own hands. A case in point is the incident in Kawlin township
when these unruly individuals threw stones at some youth demonstrating
against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. A similar stone throwing incident took place
at Indaw in which 5 villagers were hurt because of the stone throwing by
these unruly NLD youths. Catapults were also used in the incidents.
By 29th May, when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
travelled to Monywa, her motorcade consisted of 16 cars, 150 motorcycles
and over 300 people.
A new and more dangerous element emerged with the
involvement of some militant monks in Mandalay. These monks, led by a NLD
organizer who had donned the yellow robe only recently, attacked and beat
up people who were demonstrating against the NLD on 26th May.
They used sticks, iron pipes, bicycle chains and catapults in the attacks.
Moreover, the cars carrying some monks also joined Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's
motorcade.
These are but a few examples of the many incidents of
lawlessness committed by NLD youths.
Allow me to turn to the events of the night of 30th
May. 9 vehicles including the vehicle carrying Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and 40
motorcycles were blocked by townspeople protesting against her visit at a
location about two miles outside Depeyin town. The cars in Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi's motorcade attempted to plough through the crowd resulting in
injuries to the people. As a result, clashes began to take place between
the townspeople and the motorcade. In the clash, 4 people died and 50 were
hospitalized. The clashes occurred at about 8 pm and the situation was
returned to normal around midnight only after the police arrived at the
scene from Monywa. There were no police or military personnel present at
the scene at the time of the clashes.
Here, it must be emphasized that there is no truth
whatever to the foreign media reports that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car was
shot at. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car was able to make it to Depeyin town
and she was not hurt in any way during the incident. There was not a
single gunshot fired.
In view of the situation, the Government was compelled
to take temporary measures to give protection to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
some members of her party. Similarly, NLD offices in Yangon and some other
localities were asked to close temporarily to prevent possible undesirable
incidents. It may be mentioned that even before the incident took place
the Government had asked the NLD Secretary U Lwin to tell the NLD youths
to refrain from unruly and high-handed action because it could result in
disturbances.
An analysis of the entire episode will show that:
