BurmaNet News, May 19, 2004

[Editor]

May 19, 2004, Issue # 2479


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Ceasefire Groups Call on Junta to Reconsider NLD Participation
S.H.A.N: Convention held to gain fellow culprits, says exiled MP
Christian Science Monitor: Burma temples in red brick

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: KNU Criticizes Ceasefire Groups for Attending NC
Network Media Group: Rights activists attacked in Mae Sod

BUSINESS
Nation: Burma asked to ease restrictions

REGIONAL
AFP: Indonesia expresses concern over Myanmar constitutional talks

INTERNATIONAL
AP: U.N. official: Forced labor still widespread in Myanmar
AFP: Amnesty says Myanmar abusing Muslim minority

OPINION/OTHER
Japan Times: Myanmar's thorn in the ASEM process

INSIDE BURMA
_____________________________________

May 19, Irrawaddy
Ceasefire Groups Call on Junta to Reconsider NLD Participation - Naw Seng

Two Kachin ceasefire groups have urged Burma’s military government to
reconsider the participation of the main opposition National League for
Democracy, or NLD, in the National Convention, according to a ceasefire
source.

The Kachin Independence Organization, or KIO, and the New Democratic
Army-Kachin, or NDA-K, sent a joint-letter to Prime Minister Gen Khin
Nyunt on Monday, appealing to both the junta and the National League for
Democracy to think again on the party’s non-attendance at the assembly,
which is tasked with drawing up a new national constitution. A copy of the
letter was also sent to the NLD.

“I think [the letter] gives [the junta] a chance to reconsider,” said Dr
La Ja, chief of the Foreign Affairs and Alliance Department of the KIO,
who spoke from Rangoon by telephone. “Inclusion of all parties in the
National Convention would yield a good result for the country and a
concrete constitution.” He said that the Prime Minister has not yet
responded to the letter.

The United Nationalities Alliance—which comprises eight ethnic-based
parties that won seats in the May 1990 general election—and the NLD, both
decided last Friday not to attend the National Convention.

The government, however, on Monday declared the assembly’s launch a
success, as 1076 of the 1088 invited delegates turned up. The vast
majority were hand-picked by the regime. And with the assembly in
progress, the regime has made it clear that it will be difficult to leave.

On Monday, Minister of Information Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan told delegates that
no one would be allowed to walk out of meetings individually or as an
organization. Nor may any attendee make any derogatory remarks about the
event or proceedings.

On May 11, six ethnic ceasefire groups, including the KIO, issued a
joint-statement, demanding an opportunity to amend the “sixth objective”
of the National Convention, which guarantees “military participation in
the future state.”

The groups also called for discussions on amendments to some of the 104
articles that make up the blueprint for the proposed constitution. They
additionally wanted Law No 5/96, which places restrictions on the way
speeches can be made during the convention, rescinded.

Meanwhile, Mon community leaders asked the New Mon State Party, whose five
delegates are attending the National Convention, to walk out.

_____________________________________

May 19, Shan Herald Agency for News
Convention held to gain fellow culprits, says exiled MP

In response to the question as to why Rangoon has to through all the
troubles to organize a costly National Convention, when its apparent
intentions to hold on to power as it has been doing for 42 years, an
exiled elected representative says the principal object is for it to win
as many "guilty parties" as possible.

"In the generals' way of thinking, the more delegates there are, the more
will there be culprits for later history," said Daniel Aung, 62, Lahu
representative of eastern Shan State's Mongpaing township. "This way, they
have people to affix the blame on, if and when things go wrong."

The first National Convention, 1993-96, had 702 delegates, no less than
500 of them appointed by the military, then known as State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC). Meanwhile, the second Convention that opened
yesterday at Nyaunghnapin, 29 miles north of Rangoon, is boasting 1,088,
at least 1,000 of them chosen by the military authorities, prompting
Daniel Aung to quip," The original NC had 200 cows stacked against 500
tigers in the same cage. Now they are making it less than a hundred
against 1,000 tigers," in reference to a handful of representatives from
10 ceasefire groups that had called for complete overhaul of the
principles and procedures adopted during the first convention.

Sao Sengsuk, 69, member of the exiled Ethnic Nationalities Council, that
has been pushing for a tripartite dialogue, and former Commander-in-Chief
of the Shan State Army, saw it differently.

"To myself, it means the disease that was transferred from the late Gen Ne
Win to today's generals has reached the point of no return."

The grizzled politician, whose late father was a signatory of the Panglong
Agreement that had merged "Ministerial Burma" and "Frontier Areas"
together in 1947, elaborated:

Ne Win, according to him, was one of Burma's pre-war politicians whose
ideas were deeply rooted in the Nazi and Fascist ideologies. "All of us
know these are anachronisms," he said. "But not so to these generals, who,
though they eventually ditched him out, continue nevertheless to hang on
to his strategic aims, which, to my knowledge, were

- Burma must be a unitary state
- Burmans must be the ruling race
- All powers to the military

"The hold of these outmoded creeds on them is such there is no room in
them for 'newfangled' ideas like democracy and federalism.  Now the world
is beginning to learn like we once were that expecting a spontaneous
change from Rangoon is hopeless," he concluded.

He declares dialogue will remain the cornerstone of the ENC and asks that
the international community, especially Burma's neighbors, seriously
consider the demands of the National League for Democracy, United
Nationalities Alliance and the ceasefire groups.

The ENC, chaired by Saw Ba Thin, President of the Karen National Union, is
the off-shoot of the Ethnic Nationalities Solidarity and Cooperation
Committee, that was formed by the National Democratic Front, United
Nationalities League for Democracy-Liberated Area and Karenni National
Progress Party in 2001 "to coordinate efforts by the ethnic nationalities
inside and outside Burma to achieve a Tripartite Dialogue as called by the
UN."

_____________________________________

May 19, Christian Science Monitor
Burma temples in red brick - Simon Montlake

Archaeologists are aghast at efforts to rebuild ancient Bagan.

Bagan: For centuries this vast plain of temples has cast a spell over
visitors to Burma (Myanmar), long after its imperial reign faded into
history. Built using slave labor during two and a half centuries of
dynastic rule, Bagan became a byword for Buddhist meritmaking.

Invaded by Mongols in 1287 and abandoned by its rulers, many of Bagan's
glittering temples today lie ruined or buried in fields. Around 2,300
buildings remain, some still adorned with interior fresco paintings of
Buddhist and Hindu icons.

Now, Bagan's architectural wonders face a new challenge. Foreign
archaeologists say that Burma's military rulers are wrecking Bagan through
careless renovation aimed at bolstering tourism and their political
legitimacy.

The Burmese junta slipped further into international isolation this week
after the pro-democracy NLD party refused to attend a constitutional
convention Monday after the regime failed to release NLD leader Aung San
Suu Kyi. The US and EU - along with more sympathetic neighbors like
Thailand - stepped up pressure for Ms. Suu Kyi's release.

Over the last decade, Burma's military rulers have rebuilt many of the
site's temples using garish modern materials, piling bright red bricks
atop crumbling ruins and erecting entire temples alongside ancient
structures. Rich donors are urged to fund reconstruction as a way of
earning religious merit.

The result, according to foreign experts, is the transformation of Bagan
into a string of cookie-cutter pagodas that bear scant resemblance to the
originals. "Everyone is horrified. These temples had an individuality
that's been totally lost now," says Pierre Pichard, a French professor who
catalogs the architecture of Bagan and other ancient sites in Asia.

Burmese officials, however, insist that reconstruction in Bagan is based
on original designs. Nyunt Han, director-general of the Department of
Archeology, told the Associated Press last year that he had old documents
that showed precisely how the buildings were erected.

Behind the restoration is a drive to attract more tourists to Bagan, which
receives around 75,000 foreign visitors annually (last year, about four
times as many tourists visited the temples at Angkor Wat in Cambodia).

But the rash of new temples here also allows the ruling junta to evoke
comparisons to Bagan's dynastic rulers, and earn merit - a daily necessity
for Buddhists. State media regularly carry solemn reports of junta leaders
consecrating new temples. Burmese joke that newspapers boil down to two
ingredients: generals and pagodas.

"They only do it to stay in power. It's not true meritmaking. Actually
it's desecration," says an elderly resident, pointing to a sacred umbrella
called a 'hti' that was added to the spire of a popular temple.

But to pious Buddhists who view temples as spiritual offerings,
beautification is a mark of devotion, not an act of vandalism. For
archaeologists, preserving Buddhist monuments from devout pilgrims and
clergy is often a struggle. "If you repair a roof, it's much better for
the building, but that's not what people want to do because they want to
earn merit," says Mr. Pichard.

Experts are also aghast at other building projects in Bagan. The United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization has roundly
criticized a viewing tower that will eventually rise almost 200 feet,
dwarfing most of the temples, and a new road that bisects the site.

Given the regime's isolation and disdain for critics, such cries will
likely fall on deaf ears. Unlike Angkor Wat, which fell into disrepair
during decades of civil war and has since been carefully restored, Bagan
receives no international aid for restoration. UNESCO withdrew its experts
in 1993, and Burma hasn't bothered to follow Cambodia's example and
request world heritage status for Bagan.

Instead, it solicits money from foreign visitors and local devotees. Many
temples have gray inscription stones that proudly name the donors.

A local engraver who earns his living carving the inscription stones
defends the rebuilding. "It's something for future generations, I think
it's good to rebuild Bagan," he says, indicating a new wall built to
support a crumbling temple doorway lined with animal stone carvings.


ON THE BORDER
_____________________________________

May 19, Irrawaddy
KNU Criticizes Ceasefire Groups for Attending NC - Kyaw Zwa Moe

Mae Sot: The Karen National Union, or KNU, the largest non-drug
trafficking armed ethnic group in Burma, criticized other ethnic
organizations for participating in Rangoon’s National Convention, tasked
with drafting a new constitution, which relaunched in Hmawbi township on
Monday after an eight-year hiatus.

“The idea that [political] reform can be made by taking part in the
convention is totally impossible,” said Karen National Union secretary
Mahn Sha, interviewed in Mae Sot, Thailand on Sunday.

Mahn Sha said the ceasefire groups aimed to get a platform in the
convention, but didn’t believe that they would be successful. “Obviously,
they will face various disappointments at the convention,” he added.

The 17 main armed groups that have ceasefire agreements in place with
Rangoon have sent delegates to the National Convention, billed by the
government as the first of a seven-step road map to political reform.
Among them are the Kachin Independent Organization and the New Mon State
Party.

“The ceasefire groups are under control of the SPDC and they are not on
their own independent political stand,” said Mahn Sha, who used the
acronym of the official name of the junta—the State Peace and Development
Council—that controls Burma.

“The National Convention is just an attempt to legitimize the military
dictatorship. It’s a sham,” claimed Mahn Sha. “In fact, the National
Convention will more entangle the country’s current problems—not solve
them.”

The KNU entered ceasefire negotiations with the government in December
last year. Negotiating parties from the two sides met again in January and
February, but have not parleyed since. Although a tentative ceasefire was
agreed in December, fighting in Karen State continued unabated.

In Rangoon the main opposition National League for Democracy, or NLD, and
allied ethnic political parties declined to take part in the assembly.

Prior to the convention, the National League for Democracy requested the
release of its secretary-general Aung San Suu Kyi and vice-chairman Tin
Oo, the changing of at least one of the meeting’s objectives and
discussions on amendments to some of the 104 articles that make up the
blueprint of the proposed constitution.

The National Convention first opened in Rangoon in 1993. The NLD walked
out in November 1995 claiming that proceedings were undemocratic. The
assembly was adjourned in March 1996.

_____________________________________

May 18, Network Media Group
Rights activists attacked in Mae Sod

Unidentified persons carrying lethal weapons attacked the labor rights
activists in Mae Sod while rights activists were planning to sue a factory
owner for not paying compensation  to more than 250 workers, Ko Moe Swe,
in-charge of Yaung-Chi-Oo Worker's Association said.

Danish Worker's rights campaigner Bent Gehrt of Workers Rights Consortium
based in Washington D. C, was injured by an identified young man with a
knife around mid night on 14th May in Mae Sod night bazaar while Ko Moe
Swe and the victim were out for shopping.

"It was 14th night while a foreign rights campaigner and I were shopping
at night bazaar. He was hurt by a knife however he was lucky due to belt
around his waist," Ko Moe Swe explained.

On next day 15th May around 8:30 pm, while a member of Yaung-Chi-Oo
association dropped same victim to Bangkok bus stand, he was beaten by
unidentified men riding motor bikes on his way back to home. Due to
hit-and-run case, rights worker was slightly injured in his head just
because he was wearing a helmet at the scene, Ko Moe Swe added.

Ms. Pranom Somwong (alias) Bee from MAP Foundation told NMG that their
organization has been helping Burmese workers especially in Mae Sod and
they consulting with the National Human Rights Commission regarding this
issue along with to protect security for Burmese workers in Mae Sod.

She said "Now, we are talking with National Human Rights Commissioner and
discussed with them about how they can respond with that situation which
is not save for the people in Mae Sot. Even like, that (attack) has
happened in the middle of the market."

Ko Moe Swe who helped Burmese workers from Nasawat knitting factory in Mae
Sod in order get compensation putting complaints to Thai Workers
Protection and Welfare Office in Tak.

Thai labor office ordered the owner of Narsawat Factory to give 16 million
Baht as compensation.

However the factory owner being refused to pay compensation. Rights
campaigners were attacked by unidentified armed-men while campaigners were
trying to sue the owner.

Asking why arms-men have been trying to attack on worker's rights
campaigners, Ko Moe Swe said "It is difficult to say who and why they are
attacking to campaigners. We can know only after they are arrested. They
are operating like gangs. We were recently informed that illegal gangs are
paid by someone. Because they are operating illegal ways, it is difficult
to suspect who they are."

Danish worker's rights campaigner has raised his 14th May night case to
police station. However, regarding 15th night case when a member of
Yaung-Chi-Oo was beaten, it is not possible to bring it legal process due
to lack of witness and evidence, Ko Moe Swe said.


BUSINESS
_____________________________________

May 19, The Nation
Burma asked to ease restrictions - Achara Pongvutitham

Thailand has asked Burma to relax its import and export restrictions aimed
at supporting its account trade practices.

Nophadol Sarawasi, director of the Trade Initiatives Bureau, said Thai
investors in Burma have experienced difficulties exporting goods to their
home country. Local companies also have encountered problems shipping
goods through Burma to China.

Commerce between Thailand and Burma is not settled in currency, but
through a trade account.

Rangoon insists on keeping the account in balance, which means imported
goods must be accompanied by exports that offset them.

For instance, Thai investors in Burma want to be allowed to export surplus
farm goods grown in the country to Thailand.

“If our production is 200 tonnes but domestic demand in Burma reaches only
100 tonnes, we want to export the remainder to Thailand, which should
solve our supply shortage,” he said.

Last week, Nophadol led representatives of conglomerates Charoen Pokphand
Group (CP) and Siam Cement Plc (SCC) to a meeting with Burmese officials
in Rangoon to discuss removing such trade limitations.

CP Group has already invested in livestock and a demonstration plant for
farm goods in Burma and wants to use its excess farm output there to serve
its manufacturing needs in Thailand.

Rangoon would consider the company’s export requests on a case-by-case
basis, Nophadol said.

CP’s transhipments, particularly of fresh fruit and vegetables, have run
into delays and suffered cargo damage because containers are opened many
times during transport in Burma.

The company has asked that containers be opened only once.

SCC wants to transfer cement manufacturing technology, but Burma told the
company that its cement plants have already imported technology from
China.


REGIONAL
_____________________________________

May 19, Agence France Presse
Indonesia expresses concern over Myanmar constitutional talks

Jakarta: Indonesia on Wednesday criticised Myanmar's decision to go ahead
with constitutional talks without involving Aung San Suu Kyi's
pro-democracy opposition.

"Indonesia expresses its concern that the National Convention and the
existing process of democratisation and national reconciliation in Myanmar
is considered as falling short of an expectation widely shared by the
international community," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Hence, we would very much like to see that the government of Myanmar
could, within the spirit of reconciliation, consider the participation of
all the groups concerned," it said.

Myanmar has received international criticism, including from its Asian
neighbours, for holding the National Convention without Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy (NLD).

The convention, which started Monday, is the first step in a "roadmap" to
democracy and national reconciliation unveiled by Myanmar's junta last
year. The Myanmar government has not said how long the talks would run.

"We had hoped that the process of implementation of the roadmap would be
all-inclusive, with the involvement of all groups with different ethnic
and political orientation," the Indonesian statement said.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said the junta risked its credibility
by holding the talks despite the NLD's boycott, called when the regime
refused to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest or relax the
repressive rules governing the forum.

Indonesia also urged Myanmar to release Aung San Suu Kyi "so that she can
contribute positively to the process of implementation of the roadmap."

Delegates at the convention have been tasked with setting out principles
that would form the basis of a new constitution for Myanmar, to replace
one abolished in 1988 when the regime took power as the State Law and
Order Restoration Council.

The NLD's offices nationwide were shut last May as part of a crackdown on
the party that saw its entire leadership put under detention after Aung
San Suu Kyi's convoy was ambushed during a political tour.

Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest but other top members have
been progressively released ahead of the convention.

Indonesia, current chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
last year sent former foreign minister Ali Alatas to Myanmar to push for
progress in her case.


INTERNATIONAL
_____________________________________

May 19, Associated Press
U.N. official: Forced labor still widespread in Myanmar - Alisa Tang

Bangkok: The Myanmar military's use of forced labor is still widespread
despite the international community's years of entreaties to halt the
practice, a senior U.N. official said Wednesday.

"The situation has been pretty bad and it continues to be serious," Kari
Tapiola, an executive director of the U.N.'s International Labor
Organization, said at a news conference in Bangkok.

Some improvement has been made, party due to pressure and the ILO's
presence in the country - "but we clearly have a long way to go," said
Tapiola, who was here for a meeting on workplace discrimination.

The U.S. State Department and the human rights group Amnesty International
have made similar claims about Myanmar, but the country's ruling military
junta says it's mostly eliminated the problem.

The ILO, which has had a representative in Myanmar since an agreement with
the junta in 2000, has twice suspended work on an action plan to end
forced labor due to tensions with the junta.

The first disruption followed mob violence in May 2003 against opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her subsequent house arrest. The second came
after three Myanmar citizens, accused of having ILO links, were sentenced
to death in November for treason.

The ILO protested the sentences, which were commuted earlier this month.
Tapiola said the government now says nobody should be prosecuted or
persecuted for having ILO connections.

He said the ILO is assessing the situation to see whether to proceed with
the action plan, which includes a road-building project that will show
that "things can be done with full respect for basic rights of the
workers."

Tapiola added that workplace discrimination is still common around the
world, whether based on sex, race, age or persons afflicted with HIV/AIDS.

"We have to combat discrimination at work if we're going to have ... fair
globalization," he said. "Eliminating discrimination is not only a moral
obligation, it is good for business. It's good for increased
competitiveness, and it enhances social cohesion."

_____________________________________

May 19, Agence France Presse
Amnesty says Myanmar abusing Muslim minority

Bangkok: Human rights watchdog Amnesty International accused Myanmar's
military junta Wednesday of severe rights abuses against the nation's
Muslim minority including eviction from ancestral land and forced labour.

The Muslims -- who mostly live in Rakhine State in northwest Myanmar and
are generally known as the Rohingyas -- are often forced to work on roads
and at military camps, Amnesty said in a statement.

"They are also subjected to forced eviction and house destruction, land
confiscation and various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation
including financial restrictions on marriage," the rights group said.

Amnesty called on the junta to ease its discrimination against the group,
including harsh citizenship laws which exclude many Rohingyas from being
naturalised even though their ancestors have reportedly lived in the
country for generations.

"The vast majority of Rohingyas are effectively denied Myanmar
citizenship, rendering them stateless," Amnesty said.

"Rohingyas are often unable to seek employment outside their village or
trade goods and produce unless they have official permission and obtain a
pass which they must pay for and often cannot afford," Amnesty said,
adding the curbs hit the group hard as about half of them were poor day
labourers.

As the junta does not recognise the Rohingyas as an ethnic group, they
have not been invited to the national convention currently underway in
Myanmar aimed at forging a new constitution ahead of potential elections.

The convention has already drawn intense international criticism after the
main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, boycotted the
event due to the continued house arrest of party leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Rohingyas made headlines in April when three brothers allegedly
attacked a Yangon diplomat with an axe during an arson attack on the
Myanmar embassy in Malaysia.

The trio, who are all refugees, are believed to have been disgruntled
after trying for several days to have their documents verified by embassy
staff in order to seek refugee status with the UN.

Around 2,500 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar for Malaysia in 1991-92,
alleging persecution by the army, but most were later repatriated with the
help of the United Nations.

OPINION/OTHER
_____________________________________

May 18, The Japan Times
Myanmar's thorn in the ASEM process - George Sioris

Chiang Mai: Once again, the experiment known as the Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM) enters the limelight for the wrong reasons. With preparation under
way for a summit meeting in Hanoi next October, the focus is not so much
on real issues as on the format for participation. Characteristically, a
quick perusal of related news headlines is sadly amusing for its
"bellicose" undertones.

"ASEAN gives EU ASEM warning" is one, while another states "Envoys seek to
avert dispute." If this is the essence of the prevailing atmosphere, one
might actually wonder how much is left for substantive cooperation. The
reason for this is what some view as the nightmare in having to deal with
Myanmar as a new member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as
the European side presents its new members.

The deadlock may yet be broken, but for the moment, the echo of the
Malaysian foreign minister's complaint reverberates: "We consider that as
an unreasonable condition [the European objection to Yangon's inclusion].
ASEAN should be admitted as one body. If they are not willing to consider
that, then we are not willing to consider the new extension of the
European Union."

At this point, things seem to be moving politically in Myanmar as the
world anticipates the imminent release of the country's prodemocracy
leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. But the ruling junta has tried international
patience for so many years that one would tend to accept the EU's firm
rejection of such a member from ASEM. We could consider this kind of
diplomatic "allergy" as another type of "sanction" in the broad sense.

This writer naturally sides with all those who pray for a quick return to
normalcy in this beautiful land. Nevertheless, a certain degree of
skepticism cannot be avoided -- not with regard to the need to oppose the
regime but with regard to the efficacy of sanctions and related
inconsistencies within the Western camp in particular. (Incidentally, last
week there was an analytical discussion of sanctions in the Bangkok Post
by Myanmar writer Myint Shwe, who basically concluded that those measures
"miss the mark.")

First of all, from what transpires in the international press, it is
evident that all of the EU does not speak with one voice on Myanmar's
participation in ASEM: Some countries are adamant on exclusion; others are
more flexible.

Second, the EU side should ponder priorities: What is more important -- a
battle over participation or the ASEM process itself? So far, public
opinion at large has been led to ponder the first aspect, oblivious to
other parameters of Europe-Asia cooperation. Is this trend really
acceptable and intended?

Is it worth torpedoing the whole ASEM concept for the sake of opposing an
unacceptable future partner? Why not let things run their normal course
and ignore the Myanmar delegation within the ASEM body? Diplomacy reflects
real life, and there are similar cases in social gatherings where
"undesirables" are simply ignored.

More importantly, how can the EU justify so much protest in this instance
while most of its member countries still maintain full diplomatic
representations with Yangon? Why so much irritability in the multilateral
arena and so much leniency bilaterally? Why not downgrade diplomatic
missions altogether or even suspend them until the restoration of
democracy?

ASEAN, apart from a generally different approach to Myanmar -- which must
be respected -- should not respond to the EU's objections by calling for a
total rejection of EU's new members. This would not be a proportionate
response that gets to the root of the problem. To insist on the expediency
of Yangon's inclusion would be enough.

In a broader context, the European side -- or at least some pillars either
at the European Commission or at a bilateral level -- seem to show extreme
sensitivity over Myanmar while turning a blind eye to the latter's main
supporter, China.

An Oxford scholar, Steve Tsang, last week pointed out the contradiction in
providing "a key military technology [Galileo satellite project] to an
authoritarian state [China] that aims to subdue a working democracy
[Taiwan] that subscribes to the same values as the EU."

In this broader context, I am also puzzled by suggestions that the U.N.
special envoy to Myanmar, Razali Ismail of Malaysia, be replaced for
failing to contribute to an impressive breakthrough. Without trying to
justify his actions, I would simply remind critics that the "mediator" can
never perform miracles, but instead performs within the means provided to
him by his mandate.

In conclusion, let the ASEM process develop its own dynamic, proceed with
sanctions against the Yangon regime as long as they are "smart," review
and align the spectrum of diplomatic relations, avoid inconsistencies and,
in the final analysis, face squarely the fact that the Myanmar junta
exploits discrepancies while trying to survive -- as depicted in the
illustration of Myanmar journalist Myint Shwe -- through its "elopement
with China."

George Sioris, a former ambassador of Greece to Japan, is president
emeritus of the Asiatic Society of Japan and a contributing adviser to The
Japan Times.