Suu Kyi challenges ASEAN policy on Myanmar

Suu Kyi challenges ASEAN policy on Myanmar

YANGON (AFP): Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi believes
ASEAN's policy of constructive engagement with the Myanmarese
junta is flawed because it concentrates on current economic
prospects at the expense of political change.

In an interview with AFP at the lakeside home where she spent
nearly six years under house arrest until July 10, Aung San Suu
Kyi on Monday also suggested tourists avoid Myanmar to show they
support calls for democratic reforms.

She disputed government claims that economic development was
on a sustainable upward track and would eventually lead to the
country's democratization.

Economic "half-measures" taken by the junta would not bring
democracy, she said. "It will only lead to a widening gap between
the haves and the have-nots which is, in fact, inimical to
democracy."

Only by spreading wealth throughout all segments of the nation
can democracy be bolstered, she said.

"But actually, it works both ways. You won't get that kind of
economic development without democracy," she added.

Aung San Suu Kyi said she regretted that the constructive
engagement policy followed by the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) seemed to ignore the opposition but courted the
junta.

"Constructive engagement, to be effective, should be engaged
with all parties concerned," she said.

In her view, ASEAN should be having second thoughts about the
early admission of Myanmar, which would join Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Apart from anything else, I do not think the Burmese
(Myanmarese) economy is in as good a shape as ASEAN would like it
to be," she said.

In any case, she said, "Economics and politics are
interdependent and, whether or not you recognize the fact, you
cannot escape the consequences of certain political policies."

She said she believed the average six to eight percent
economic growth rate was already beginning to tail off. "There
are some very, very necessary structural changes that would have
to take place before there can be real economic development."

The opposition leader noted meanwhile that her National League
for Democracy (NLD) was less than enthusiastic about the junta's
plans to earn more tourist dollars by promoting Visit Myanmar
Year, which starts in late 1996.

"I do not think that it would help very much if the coming of
tourists is taken to mean that people don't care whether or not
there is democracy in Burma (Myanmar)," she said.

Referring to her earlier statements that it was too soon for
foreign investors to come to Myanmar, she added: "I think for
tourists, too, there is a time to come and a time not to come."

Aung San Suu Kyi said she and the NLD would continue to speak
out, despite attacks against her in the official press.

"Under the law, of course, silence is consent, and we
certainly are not consenting to the existing situation," she
stressed.

The junta, officially known as the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) needs to address the issue of the
1990 elections, she said. The NLD won the vote, but the SLORC
refused to hand over power.

The opposition leader said she was determined to pursue her
political activities, although she admitted a heavy schedule
sometimes left her physically drained.

"I would just like to have a good rest, to read, write a few
letters, ... just a few days at home quietly, without
appointments," she said.