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• Daw Aung San Suu Kyi • Dr.Sein Win • others Printable Version

Statement made by Dr. Thaung Htun, Representative for UN Affairs, NCGUB

Press Conference
Foreign Correspondents Club
May 21, 2001. Tokyo Japan

Good afternoon.

Thanks to our friends from RENGO and the Burma Office who made this press conference possible. I have been given an opportunity to talk about crucial developments taking place in my country.

Before I go on about my country, I'd like to remind you that this is an age of globalization: a time when nations are becoming more interdependent to each other, and a time when the policy of one country can have a long-lasting and profound impact on another. Decision makers particularly from industrialized and developed countries with economic and political influence, therefore, have enormous power as well as responsibility to adopt the right policies.

Japan, in relation to Burma, is in that powerful position and its policy towards Burma is crucial, particularly for the future of democracy in Burma. Our two countries have had a close and special relationship since the Second World War. Starting with war reparations, Japan has helped Burma since the1950s, receiving a total of about $2.2 billion in assistance before the coup in 1988 and hundreds of millions in debt relief and humanitarian assistance since then.

Japan has always stated publicly that its policy is to see a restoration of democracy and human rights in Burma. The Japanese government's continuing insistence on the Burmese generals to proceed toward democratization coupled with unrelenting pressure from the international community as a whole have contributed to the start of the talks that are underway between our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese generals.

We welcome the talks because we firmly believe that the best and only option to peacefully resolve the politico-economic crisis in Burma today is through dialogue. But, given the fragile nature of the talks and the sincerity of the generals being debated, we have from the very beginning urged the international community not to relax the existing pressure on the generals and to refrain from taking unilateral initiatives without consultations with the Burmese democracy movement. We believe timing is most important in deciding when to deliver "carrots". In this regard, we are quite concerned about the recent approval of 3.2 billion yen grant to fix the turbines at the Lawpita power station and the Baluchaung Dam.

The assistance we were told is a "gesture of support" for the secret talks and it is "humanitarian" because it will help lower electricity prices and make it more accessible to the poor and help prevent accidents and blackouts which are having serious impact on hospitals.

We understand the reasons given by the Japanese government, but we also have reasons for our concerns. Please allow me to explain the problems.

Firstly about the secret talks: The talks presently are not progressing at the pace they are expected to. Given the lack of any official announcement or confirmation about the talks to the Burmese public after more than six months, the initial euphoria and support by the people of Burma are very quickly dissipating. Suspicions and grim rumors of bad faith and trickery are beginning to surface. We have reason to fear that the talks are being used as an excuse by the generals to hoodwink the Burmese people and the international community. The fact that UN Ambassador Razali has not been able to make a return visit since January has not helped matters either.

In such a situation, any form of aid and relaxation of international pressure can only do more harm than good to the fragile state of the talks in Burma. Japan's "assistance" to the generals at this time is both premature and wrong. This could reinforce the generals' belief that they can ease international pressure by pretending to talk without making a real commitment.

Let me also explain about Japan's grant for the hydroelectric power plant in Lawpita. The refurbishment of the Lawpita hydroelectric power generation plant alone is not enough to resolve the power problem in Burma. Even with full power generation of 180 Megawatt from Lawpita, an increase of 27% more power, the country's power generation total is only about 620 MW--a figure way below the current national demand of more than 1200 MW.

What is more disturbing is the current electricity distribution system in Burma and to figure out if the increase in power supply would really reach the intended people. The current electricity distribution incorporates a special privileges and prioritization system which is discriminatory to ordinary citizens. Selective groups of people or certain categories enjoy reduced tariffs or simply pay no tariff at all at the expense of ordinary consumers. For instance:

(1) A special distribution network or power grid for the residences of top military personnel and government ministers get special privileges and priority and a constant supply of electricity with reduced tariff or no tariff.
(2) Military establishments all over the country enjoy special privileges and given priority and a constant supply of electricity with reduced tariff or no tariff.
(3) Factories and businesses owned and controlled by the Ministry of Defense enjoy a constant supply of electricity with reduced tariff or no tariff.
(4) Factories and business owned and controlled by various army, navy, and air force divisions, battalions, and regiments enjoy a constant supply of electricity with reduced tariff or no tariff.
(5) Factories and businesses owned and controlled by the Myanmar Economic Holdings Enterprise, MEHE, (run by the Defense Services) enjoy a constant supply of electricity with reduced tariffs.
(6) Factories and businesses jointly owned by the foreign investors and MEHE enjoy a constant supply of electricity but with an electricity tariff of 0.80 per unit payable in Foreign Exchange Certificate to the MEHE.
(7) Factories and businesses owned and controlled by the military-organized and managed Union Solidarity Development Association, a so-called civic association, enjoy a constant supply of electricity with reduced tariffs.

What I am trying to emphasize here is that there is nothing normal about things being done under the military government in Burma. We need to look beyond the ordinary to see if assistance being given to maintain the country's infrastructure will really benefit the ordinary citizens of Burma or will it only help the privileged and ruling military class, regardless of the intention.

Electricity shortage is but one symptom of the socioeconomic crisis that can be attributed to a government that is lacking transparency and accountability and that is unresponsive to the needs of the people.

In sum, we, the Burmese people, would like to see the government of Japan invest in our future by helping restore democracy in our country. Burma will be economically dynamic and stable when it becomes a democratic country.

Thank you