For Democracy & Human Rights

VOA interview with Pu Cin Siam Thang, U Lwin and Pu Thawm Go Thang

21 September 2004 Evening Programme

VOA: Good evening listeners. US senator Mr. Mitch McConnel moved a motion to bring the Burma case to the UNSC on Monday yesterday. All the oppositions including NLD and ethnic parties in Burma welcome the move. I'll report it in more detail.

Given the Burmese military regime posed threat to the whole Asian region and all the neighboring countries, US senator Mr. Mitch McConnel sponsored the move in US Senate on Monday to bring the Burma case to UNSC for taking appropriate action. NLD spokesperson U Lwin welcome this move in his interview with VOA as the NLD called for the UN intervention in the past

U Lwin: Yes, this is the good news for us. We are very much grateful if they take action against the military regime. I said like before. In brief, neither UNSG Mr. Kofin Anan nor his special envoy Mr. Razali Ismail can do anything for the substantial progress in this regard. Anyway I said that the ball was in the UN court, in the authority of UN mandate, we assumed. But I don't know in detail, it's not official, how it was conveyed to UN and interpreted. Many people talked about that I advocated to bring Burma case to UNSC by a mistake. In fact, I didn't say like that. I don't mention in the name of UNSC.

VOA: UNSG Mr. Kofi Anan urged the military regime to perform the democratization and the national reconciliation process before the year 2006. Bur whereas the military regime failed to comply this, it's not enough passing only the resolutions by UN.

U Lwin: The military regime responded it by announcing 7 steps roadmap. Even so, it has not yet been executed and materialized in fact. This is not the dialogue. This is just driving into their framework. Regarding the National Convention (NC), we sent proposal to the UNSG to take appropriate action in his mandate. Accordingly UN issued an instruction recently. But it is just on paper, no practical move seen yet. Thus we welcome heartily any move to bring Burma case to UNSC by whomsoever and any country. But we must wait and see what will happen next.

VOA: United Nationalities Association (UNA) spokesperson U Cin Siam Thang spoke on it also here.

UCST: We welcome heartily also the motion moved by Senator Mr. Mitch McConnel. We are also grateful and happy to hear that. We consistently proposed and requested many times for the national reconciliation. But it fell on the deaf ear of the military regime. The SPDC don't care about it. We found them going at their own will and own course. This move is long overdue. I'd like to say like that.

VOA: Pu Thawm Go Thang also said about the Mitch McConnel's motion moved in the US Senate on Monday.

Pu Thawm Go Thang: Burma situation needs Democracy comes first. As it didn't go like that, the present situation came into being gradually. We believe that this motion is the best solution for Burma. We can not solve Burma's crisis in the Burmese dimension, with the homegrown initiative. The whole ASEAN group also totally ignored our Burma issue. Thus UN must tackle the Burma issue and we, the UNA heartily welcome this motion. Only in this way, we can see black and white. Otherwise even though it has been 15 years after the 1990 general election, we can't see any substantive progress yet. Neither ASEAN nor domestic forces can produce the tangible solutions for the Burma issue. In this way, now it reaches the UN level. We totally support this motion, all UNLD members welcome this motion. All of us are glad to hear that.

VOA: The motion moved by Mr. Mitch McConnel will soon be passed by vote.

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