Myanmar marks key date with praise for democracy

Myanmar marks key date with praise for democracy

YANGON (Agencies): Myanmar's military government marked a key national anniversary on Tuesday with cautious praise for democracy, with one senior official saying secretive talks with the pro-democracy opposition were going well.

Thousands of soldiers with automatic rifles marched through Yangon to commemorate Armed Forces Day, the 56th anniversary of the launch of nationwide resistance against the occupying Japanese in 1945.

A senior government spokesman at the ceremony was upbeat about the talks with Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

"It is going very well," he told Reuters.

Closed-door discussions between Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and the ruling State Peace and Development Council began in October last year. They represent the highest-level protracted talks between the ruling generals and the NLD since 1995.

Some diplomats and pro-democracy activists have said they hoped the government would mark Tuesday's anniversary with a gesture of goodwill. But there were no immediate signs of such a move, although in his speech to the ceremony SPDC Chairman Gen. Than Shwe praised democratic countries.

"They have high per-capita incomes, well-developed human resources and they cooperate for national interests regardless of partisan differences," he said to crowds watching the military parade.

But he cautioned against moving towards democracy too quickly.

"In our country, we experienced chaos and instability when multiparty democracy was put into practice right after independence and before the nation had a chance to become strong," Than Shwe said.

"Political transition will naturally require a higher degree of sound preparation," he said.

Myanmar's government insists it is committed to building democracy but has repeatedly said the process must not be rushed. The NLD won national elections in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern.

Witnesses said security was tight on Tuesday at key spots across the capital.

Myanmar's opposition celebrates March 27 as "Resistance Day" in honor of independence leader Aung San who issued the call to arms against the Japanese. Aung San was Suu Kyi's father, and is revered in Myanmar.

The NLD told Reuters it would celebrate the anniversary with a low-key ceremony at its headquarters. No diplomats or journalists would be invited, an NLD leader said.

In another development, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said on Tuesday he will visit Myanmar on April 28 and 29 to discuss bilateral issues including the drugs crisis, ahead of an ASEAN ministerial meeting there.

"I will also attend the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) ministers' retreat on April 30," he said. The ASEAN ministerial, postponed from an original mid-April date, is yet to be officially confirmed by Myanmar's military government.

As relations between Thailand and Myanmar languish at one of their lowest ebbs, Surakiart said the two nations should work to develop mutual trust and prevent niggling conflicts from spoiling cordial ties.

"I think that's the principle that we have to agree upon, that we must resolve and address each small conflict or dispute," he said.

Referring to the closure of a busy border crossing after clashes between the two national armies earlier this year, he said it was not "neighborly" to "just shut down checkpoints or revoke all concessions after one conflict".

Surakiart expressed confidence that his talks with Myanmar would resolve the problems between the two ASEAN member nations.

The Thai minister is due to meet Myanmar's deputy foreign minister Win Aung during the inaugural session of the East Asia- Latin America Forum to be held in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday and Friday.