Researcher to Opposition: Provide ice-breaker before Convention Activist turned academic Aung Naing Oo today dropped what could possibly be a bombshell by urging the Opposition, particularly the democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and the United Nationalities Alliance, to break the current deadlock with the military government ahead of the National Convention that will resume on 17 February.Instead of rejecting the junta's Six Political Objectives and 104 Constitutional Principles off-hand and coming up with counter proposals,Aung Naing Oo, who was launching his 288-page booklet, "Compromising with the Generals," counselled them to seriously take up Rangoon's "6/104 proposal" and declare which are acceptable and which are not. "As for the 6th Obje ctive of the generals", he said, "you could say it is welcome as long as there is a time limit to it."

The basis of his thinking, he claimed, was that both the junta and the Opposition need each other. "Without the Opposition's participation, the military government may not be able to do anything about improving the country's economic, social and political conditions," said Aung Naing Oo, a Harvard master graduate. "On the other hand, without the cooperation of the military government, the opposition forces may not be able to run the country." (boxun.com)

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He also warned the generals in Rangoon they also need to make major concessions in order to avoid fates identical to Pinochet and Ne Win themselves.

He did not wish the Opposition to become "pragmatic' by forsaking their commitment either, he declared. "But it's all too clear we cannot just rely on the good will of the rest of the world to achieve our ends," said he. "We have to make do with what we have."

Noneth eless, he reminded those present at the press conference in Chiangmai how Poland's freedom began with the country's Communist government tentatively giving up only 35% of their legislative seats.

However, the time period to put his ideas into practice, he admitted, was short. "If the NLD and the UNA can accept the ideas proposed here," he said, "the time to apply them is now. I'm reasonably sure the rest of the Opposition will follow suit, if they do. But certainly not after the National Convention, when the generals would say, 'The carnival is over'."

Aung Naing Oo had, from 1992-99 served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs Department of the All Burma Students Democratic Front. He is currently a research officer of the Washington-based Burma Fund.

The Opposition has so far been demanding that there be a tripartite dialogue before the National Convention. The last round of the constitutional gathering held near Rangoon, 17 May -9 July 2004, was boycotted by both the NLD and the UNA. (boxun.com)