The Burmese military regime has shown itself as an advocate of human rights by releasing the American intruder, John W Yettaw, and is promoting bilateral relations with the US by hosting Senator Jim Webb, Burma’s leading state-run newspaper said on Wednesday.
In an editorial titled “Constructive attitude in the area of international relations,” the English-language The New Light of Myanmar said that in granting amnesty for Yettaw, the regime has shown respect for “the rule of law, as well as humanitarianism and human rights.”
The editorial also noted that US Sen Webb’s trip to Burma had ended successfully.
“We hope that his visit will help promote constructive views on bilateral relations and hold discussions based on mutual understanding between the US and Myanmar [Burma] in the future,” the editorial said.
It also added that the Burmese regime is working with the international community by being “willing to fully cooperate with neighboring countries, regional countries and all other countries with a constructive attitude.”
The comment is most likely linked to a reported conversation between Sen Webb and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday when, in response to Webb’s statement that Burma needs to have interaction with the international community, Suu Kyi said that first the regime must interact “inside the country.”
Commenting on the New Light of Myanmar’s editorial, Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Burmese human rights group based in Thailand, said that if the regime really wants to show respect for the rule of law and human rights it must first release Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, and stop human rights violations in ethnic areas.
“It is clear that the junta released Yettaw after they had used him to keep Daw Aung San Suu Kyi continually under arrest during the elections in 2010,” Bo Kyi said. “After sentencing her to 18 months house arrest, they do not need Mr Yettaw anymore.”
According to AAPP and other human rights groups, Burma holds more than 2,100 dissidents in prison across the country and hundreds of thousands are internally displaced in eastern Burma.
Meanwhile, many private weekly journals in Burma are reporting good sales this week with the news of the verdict on Suu Kyi being the main attraction.
“Almost every journal can publish the news about The Lady [Suu Kyi] this week,” a reporter in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Irrawaddy. “The censorship board is allowing journals to broadcast the news. Consequently, they have sold out quickly.”
Another editor said she thought it was a good thing that news about Burma’s most famous prisoner should appear in Burmese journals.
Although the news about Suu Kyi’s trial is in popular demand among Burmese readers, the news of Sen Webb’s trip has not been reported in private journals to date.
“Webb is already quite infamous among ordinary Burmese,” said the Rangoon-based reporter.
irrawaddy
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