Ramos-Horta urges talk in Myanmar

Ramos-Horta urges talk in Myanmar

BANGKOK (AP): Myanmar's military should learn from the experience of Indonesia that brute force will not stop the people's dreams for freedom coming true, East Timorese independence leader Jose Ramos-Horta said on Monday.

Ramos-Horta said it was time for serious dialogue to end the deadlock between the generals that rule Myanmar and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party convincingly won at the polls in 1990 but was barred from taking power.

"It's obvious that the trend of history is not on the side of those who deny dreams of freedom and dignity," said Ramos-Horta, a cowinner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, in an interview with the ITV television network.

"We can just learn from the Indonesian experience and the experience of the Indonesian Military that no matter how strong you are, if your existence is founded on arrogance, brute force and intimidation, you will come crumbling down very hard one day," Ramos-Horta said.