US embassy cable - 05DHAKA1919

UNCLAS DHAKA 001919 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR I/FW, B/G, IIP/G/NEA-SA, B/VOA/N (BANGLA SERVICE) STATE 
FOR SA/PAB, SA/PPD (LSCENSNY, SSTRYKER), SA/RA, INR/R/MR, 
AND PASS TO USAID FOR ANE/ASIA/SA/B (WJOHNSON) 
 
CINCPAC FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR, J51 (MAJ TURNER), J45 
(MAJ NICHOLLS) 
 
USARPAC FOR APOP-IM (MAJ HEDRICK) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR, OIIP, OPRC, KPAO, PREL, ETRD, PTER, ASEC, BG, OCII 
SUBJECT: Media Reaction: Myanmar; Dhaka 
 
 
Summary: Commenting on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's 
call for moves toward democracy in Myanmar, English "New 
Age" urges global powers to back him with the same zeal they 
showed in Afghanistan and Iraq. 
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Myanmar 
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"Kofi Annan and Myanmar" 
Independent English language newspaper "New Age" editorially 
comments (4/25): 
Kofi Annan hopes that the Myanmar junta will do something 
about freeing Aung San Suu Kyi. The UN secretary general met 
General Than Shwe, the leader of the Yangon junta, on the 
sidelines of the Asian-African summit in Jakarta the other 
day and reportedly impressed upon him the need for a 
democratic opening in his country. That, as anyone will 
point out, was a good thing on Mr Annan_fs part. But whether 
or not the advice will be translated remains a huge 
question. For years together the junta has defied the rest 
of the world about the growing concerns relating to Suu Kyi 
and her politics. Not that the rest of the world has been 
very vocal about the need for democracy in Myanmar. The 
nations of ASEAN, for instance, have been reluctant to upset 
the Yangon military for fear that that might disrupt the 
economic nature of Myanmar_fs participation in the 
organization. As for the West, the kind of zeal that was 
employed about bringing democracy to such nations as 
Afghanistan and Iraq has not quite been matched with 
anything similar in Myanmar. 
 
The irony today is that the Myanmar junta has in the past 
couple of years come by a good deal of international 
respectability. It knows its public relations system has 
worked. The generals who have been in charge of the country 
since 1988 (and earlier, from 1962, it was the junta led by 
Ne Win that ran the show) have constantly made sure that no 
significant degree of pressure is brought to bear upon them 
where establishing democratic government is concerned. But 
now that the UN secretary general has spoken to Than Shwe, 
one can expect action of some kind on the part of the 
Myanmar military. But Annan_fs sentiments deserve the 
backing of other players on the global scene. The clear 
truth is that the world cannot afford to forget the struggle 
of the people of Myanmar for democracy. And if there are 
people who feel that Aung San Suu Kyi is becoming 
irrelevant, they ought to pause awhile. A sidelining of the 
NLD leader can only mean an extension of illegitimate rule 
in the country. 
Chammas