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Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations of the Foreign Ministry on the Situation in Myanmar
(Meeting between Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt and Mr. Aung Shwe)

August 19, 1998

  1. Japan welcomes the meeting that took place on August 18 between Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary 1 of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and Mr. Aung Shwe, Chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

  2. Japan has taken every opportunity to encourage both sides to engage in dialogue, based on the recognition that talks between the Government of Myanmar and the NLD including Aung San Suu Kyi are vital for the democratization of and the improvement of the human rights situation in Myanmar.
       The Government of Myanmar announced its hope that this would be the first in a series of confidence-building talks between the government and the NLD. Japan strongly hopes that this meeting will become the first step along the road to significant dialogue between the Government of Myanmar and the NLD including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

  3. Japan is greatly concerned that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the NLD are still restricted in their political activities, and strongly hopes that dialogue between the Government of Myanmar and the NLD will bring about substantive progress in the situation.

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