Burma Feels The Heat

The military dictators who rule Burma have shrugged off outrage from the U.S. and Europe since they imprisoned democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi following a violent clash with her supporters in May.

But when the criticism comes from near neighbors, even juntas may have to take notice. Early last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad raised the extraordinary prospect of expelling Burma from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) if the Nobel peace laureate isn't freed. The frustrated Prime Minister says the junta's continued intransigence "has affected our [ASEAN's] credibility." Mahathir's comments were echoed by Philippine Foreign Minister Blas Ople on the sidelines of a meeting last week of Asian and European foreign ministers in Bali.

Now, two months after Suu Kyi's incarceration, ASEAN has finally decided to send a delegation to Rangoon to press for her release, though it set no definite timetable for the visit. "We want them to speed up the political transition to a democratic government," said Ople.

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The U.S. passed a bill last week to impose economic sanctions against Burma, and Japan has cut its economic aid, but expulsion from ASEAN would carry more serious diplomatic and economic consequences. The regional grouping is virtually Burma's only link to the outside world, and membership lends the junta the legitimacy it craves. The government did announce the release of 91 political prisoners, at least 29 of whom were identified as members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party. But on Saturday, the regime declared that it had arrested 12 people accused of planning to overthrow the generals with NLD help.

The generals have yet to answer two key questions: where is Suu Kyi, and is she in good health? The only outsider to see her, U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail, was made to switch cars on his way to their meeting in June, according to a Western diplomat in Bangkok. "They did everything but blindfold him," says the diplomat. "He had no idea where he was." Razali initially told reporters that Suu Kyi was in good spirits, but later said that she was being held in poor conditions. Meanwhile, her vice chairman in the NLD, veteran activist Tin Oo, was reported to have suffered a serious head injury in the fracas in May, although the Red Cross has been able to see him and confirmed that he is still alive.

Adding insult to possible injury, the government has been running a series of spiteful anti-Suu Kyi articles on the front pages of its state-run newspapers. These stories, supposedly written by a disillusioned NLD insider, blame Suu Kyi for the May clash, call her "willful and hard-headed" and praise the junta profusely: "Whatever the provocation, responsible leaders of the present government, preferring to act with forbearance, and on the basis of give and take, have always chosen to take action in moderation." Though few Burmese find the articles believable, many find them entertaining. "Some of the stories they told were so foolish, it was funny," says one Rangoon resident. Comedy is easy; freedom is hard.