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Monday, February 21, 2005
Militants protest Myanmar PM's visit
MANILA -- Myanmar's prime minister arrived Sunday for a low-key visit to the Philippines, drawing protests from militant groups that called on Manila to pressure the military-ruled nation to hasten democratic reforms.
Prime Minister Lieutenant General Soe Win and his entourage would hold talks with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other Philippine officials today on bilateral ties, her office said.
Wearing a dark business suit, Soe Win alighted from a jet at a Manila air force base and was welcomed by Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo and Philippine Air Force chief Lieutenant General Jose Reyes. He walked on a red carpet past military honor guards then was whisked away by a convoy of limousines to his hotel.
Talks
Soe Win would lay a wreath today at a Philippine national hero's monument in Manila. After that, Arroyo would welcome him at the Malacanang palace, where they would hold talks and have lunch before his afternoon departure. No customary press conference by the two leaders has been scheduled.
The last visit by a Myanmar leader to the Philippines was in 1998 by Senior Gen. Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling military junta.
At least one left-wing group, Akbayan, said it would hold a rally to protest the visit, which was also condemned by other militant groups.
Giving Myanmar's military rulers "the red carpet welcome is tantamount to the Philippine government tolerating if not actually promoting the undemocratic governance of the generals," said the Free Burma Coalition.
The coalition urged Arroyo and Romulo to compel Myanmar, through Soe Win, to hasten democratic reforms.
Another pro-democracy group, the Initiatives for International Dialogue, opposed Soe Win's visit and urged the Manila government to live up to the Philippines' democratic legacy, citing a 1986 popular revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos which became a harbinger of change in authoritarian regimes worldwide.
Reforms
"Let us not become the evil that we deplore," the group said.
Opposition Senator Aqui-lino Pimentel urged the Philippines and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to block Myanmar's assumption of the chairmanship of the regional group in 2006 to pressure Yangon to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and initiate democratic reforms. (AP)
(February 21, 2005 issue)
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