DATE=05/07/02

TYPE=INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

TITLE=TOM ANDREWS-AUNG SAN SUU KYI

NUMBER=3-175

BYLINE=PAT BODNAR

DATELINE=

INTERNET=

/// Editors: This interview is available in Dalet under SOD/English News Now Interviews in the folder for today or yesterday ///

INTRO: The Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi rallied her supporters Monday at her party headquarters, after the military government released her from 19 months of house arrest.

In her first public statement, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said her release was unconditional and she was free to go anywhere she wanted.

World leaders and those who campaigned for her release have welcomed the development. Tom Andrews is one of them. He is a former member of the U-S Congress and the campaign secretary of the Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign for Aung San Suu Kyi.

He spoke with VOA's Pat Bodnar about the significance of Aung San Suu Kyi's release.

MR. ANDREWS: It's important as a step forward in this process. She is a champion not only of her people in Burma but also of the idea of human rights and democracy for women and all citizens around the world. So her freedom is an important step.

There is also an important danger, however, with respect to the future of Burma, in that all progress toward democracy and the opening up of Burma has come as a result of international pressure. As there has been pressure by the international community or the threat of pressure by the international community, there has been progress. Where there has been a relaxation of that pressure there has been a stalemate.

And so one of the concerns that many of us have is that following the pattern of doing only as much as they need to do to relax international pressure, this could actually mean a setback if this progress leads to the international community relaxing international pressure.

MS. BODNAR: Does her release change anything? She was released once before, in 1995, after six years of house arrest.

MR. ANDREWS: They are saying, and she has said, that this release is unconditional. But as we know, back in 1995 when she was released, she was not allowed to travel freely within the country and she was eventually put back under house arrest when she refused to live by those conditions.

Now, what the generals say and what they do are two different things, so it's a matter of watching to see actually what they do. What we know for a fact, however, is that there are 1,500 political prisoners still in prison. There are 19 elected members of parliament that remain in prison. Forced labor continues to be a systematic practice there. And we've yet to see any substantive discussions about the transition to democracy that would include the ethnic nationalities of Burma, all of which are key conditions to progress, none of which have been made.

MS. BODNAR: Part of Aun San Suu Kyi's release revolved around some very quiet peace talks that went on behind the scenes.

MR. ANDREWS: Yes.

MS. BODNAR: What have they been about?

MR. ANDREWS: It's anyone's guess, frankly. And it has all been conjecture. In fact, one of the benefits of Aun San Suu Kyi being released is being able to hear from her, her views of these talks. The comments she has made up to this point is that they have been simply in the confidence-building phases; they have not been talks about any substantive issues with respect to the future of Burma. And that's what she's calling on right now.

But remember, when the talks began, the International Labor Organization had put out a very, very strong report, an unprecedented condemnation of Burma and its forced labor practices, encouraging its member nations to consider strongly economic pressure. It was that report and the pressure that came from it that initiated those talks. The generals literally showed up on Aun San Suu Kyi's door and started talking. And when the international pressure was relaxed, once those talks became known, there was a stalemate. So the question is, really, where do we go from here in terms of substantive changes and substantive dialogue about those changes?

OUTRO: Tom Andrews is a former member of the U.S. Congress, and the campaign secretary of the Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign for Aung San Suu Kyi. He spoke with VOA's Pat Bodnar.

VNN/PB/RS