Myanmar's military regime ready to join hands

Myanmar's military regime ready to join hands

YANGON (Agencies): Myanmar's military regime said on Tuesday it was ready to "join hands with all the forces in the nation" in an apparent reaction to the announcement of landmark contacts with Aung San Suu Kyi.

But the junta's first secretary Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt said the international community must roll back sanctions if it wants to see "the emergence of a peaceful, modern and democratic state."

The United Nations announced last week that secret talks between Khin Nyunt and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi were being held to prepare the way for an historic dialog between the warring sides.

The regime has so far made no official response to the news, but Khin Nyunt's comments during an opening ceremony for a government training course for the first time link the political thaw with the end of sanctions.

Nations using pressure tactics and sanctions on Myanmar "should give them up" if they wanted to see national reconciliation begin in the military-run country, he said.

"It is now generally accepted by most observers that these tactics have not worked and can be counter-productive.

"Presently (Myanmar) is beginning to achieve sound political, social and administrative foundations and it is most important that these nations, even if they are not in a position to assist us, do not impede the progress being made."

The heavy burden of sanctions, which has helped bring Myanmar's economy to its knees, is credited with being one of the major factors behind the junta's new willingness to countenance political change.

Khin Nyunt urged foreign nations holding "pessimistic and narrow-minded views" on Myanmar to review their stance.

"Even as we look forward to joining hands with all the forces in the nation in the march towards the national goal ... it is our earnest desire to establish friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation with all the nations of the world," he said.

New signs have emerged in recent days of an improvement in the political atmosphere in Myanmar as the junta and the opposition edge towards an historic dialogue, their first since 1994.

Junta officials have told the NLD that 86 of its supporters jailed since September, when Aung San Suu Kyi was also placed under house arrest, will be allowed to receive food parcel and letters.

In another indication of the thaw, the regime has ordered the state-run media to halt its routine attacks on the opposition leader.

In a related development, a delegation from the European Union has been given permission to visit Myanmar from Jan. 29 to 31, in a further sign the military government is trying to placate its international critics, diplomats said on Tuesday.

The EU has traditionally been a harsh critic of Myanmar's government. Ministerial meetings between the EU and ASEAN were put on hold after the Asian bloc controversially admitted Myanmar in 1997.

At a meeting in Laos in December between ministers from the EU and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar agreed in principle to allow an EU mission to visit the country, with no restrictions on whom the delegation could meet.

Marius Haas, Germany's ambassador to Myanmar, said on Tuesday the dates had now been set.

"The delegation will comprise representatives from present EU president Sweden, the next president Belgium, the Commission of the EU and the Council of the EU," he told Reuters.

Earlier this month, the United Nations announced that pro- democracy opposition leader, Suu Kyi, and senior members of Myanmar's military government had held initial direct talks, aimed at paving the way for a dialog.

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) won elections in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern. Suu Kyi has been kept confined to her residence since September, after angering the government by twice trying to travel outside Yangon.