Japan deals blow to Myanmar junta

Japan deals blow to Myanmar junta

The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

After Myanmar's success in persuading the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to soften their stance on the
fate of Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the
impoverished country received a severe blow from Japan, its
largest donor.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday bluntly
told Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyut to immediately release
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and restore democracy in the
country.

In a five-minute conversation with the general during a
working luncheon between ASEAN leaders and their guests Prime
Minister Koizumi, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and South
Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, Koizumi conveyed the message to
the general.

"I urge you to erase the concern of the international
community. I would like you to create an environment in which
Japan can happily work with Myanmar," the Prime Minister's
spokesman Jiro Okuyama quoted Koizumi as telling Khin Nyut.

In a conversation with The Jakarta Post, Okuyama said Japan
had cut all development assistance immediately after Myanmar
junta arrested Suu Kyi on May 30. Japan, said the spokesman, will
not resume the financial assistance unless democracy is restored
in the country.

"The prime minister is indeed worried about Myanmar's
situation," he said.

In their statement on Tuesday ASEAN leaders praised the junta
although they failed to receive a concrete answer about Suu Kyi's
condition.

During the ceremony to sign the Bali Concord II, it was clear
only Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen seemed a little uneasy
about the chairman's statement.

Myanmar foreign affairs minister U Win Aung claimed that they
had not put pro-democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house
arrest or detention saying that the opposition leader was at
home.

"She's at home and we do not categorize that as house arrest,"
the minister said on the sidelines of the meeting.

He said that his government was completely satisfied with the
statement expressed by the Association of Southeast Asia Nations
(ASEAN), which recognized that the junta will take the process of
democratization at its own pace.

"We are satisfied, our prime minister had explained to the
leaders about the situation, and it is reflected in the
statement. We will be tackling our problems and this is what
ASEAN sees," Win Aung said on Tuesday.

He underlined that Myanmar had complex problems that would be
resolved in their own time and the junta fully understands that
they have to move forward with the democratization process.

The minister said that the government is preparing a national
convention in the country to support the reconciliation process
in the country.

"All Myanmar's social groups will be included in the coming
dialog," he remarked.