Myanmar hits back at Suu Kyi on universities

August 24, 2000
Web posted at: 6:36 AM HKT (2236 GMT)

YANGON, Myanmar (Reuters) -- Myanmar's military government said Wednesday it regretted comments by opposition figurehead and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who said earlier this week the reopening of universities in the country was a sham.

Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) won elections in May 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to govern, said in a rare interview that education in Myanmar could not make progress until the country achieved democracy.

But in a statement, the government insisted it was committed to both education and democracy.

"It is quite regretful that the NLD has taken the stance of condemning and criticizing the government of Myanmar's endeavors in encouraging students to peacefully pursue their education without being sidetracked and exploited by certain quarters with vested interests," it said.

"While the government of Myanmar warmly appreciates constructive advice and criticism from the local and international community, criticizing and condemning others merely for the sake of engaging in the act of confrontation should be totally avoided."

In a videotaped interview in Yangon Monday, Suu Kyi urged the world's students to put pressure on their governments to push for democracy in the former Burma.

"The consensus of opinion is that the universities have been reopened because of pressure, external and internal, and this is a mere surface job to make people think that there has been progress," she said.

"But in fact there has been no progress. The students have been made to give undertakings to the effect that they will not engage in politics, in short that they will do whatever the authorities require them to do."

Last month around 60,000 Myanmar students restarted classes with the reopening of campuses shut down more than three years ago after pro-democracy rallies.

Yangon's ruling generals ordered the closure of more than 30 universities and colleges a few days before final examinations in December 1996 after student demonstrations at campuses and on the streets of the capital.

In its statement Wednesday, the government said it had taken several steps to improve education, including upgrading facilities, training teachers and raising their salaries by 500 percent.

"It is undeniable that a developing country like Myanmar faces many difficulties and challenges during its transition from a one-party socialism to a multi-party democracy," it said.

"But education being a national priority, the government has been investing more and more in schools, not only to open the doors of learning to all but also to obtain higher standards and better quality of learning."

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