ENC Chairman, Saw Ba Thin Sein, congratulates the political courage shown by the ASEAN leaders. I am glad Burma has come to the attention of ASEAN. It is long overdue, he said. It is good for the entire region that ASEAN has finally abandoned its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states and is pressing the military regime to release political prisoners and institute democratic reforms in our country.

The Ethnic Nationalities Council believes that the problems in Burma today are no longer its own internal affair. They are becoming internationalproblems: the violation of human rights, the fifty-year-old civil war, or the political, economic and humanitarian problems in Burma - especially the issues of drug trafficking, HIV-AIDS and other infectious diseases spreading across Asia, the hundreds of thousands of refugees, illegal migrant workers in neighboring countries, etc. These are becoming regional and international problems. To solve these problems it is crucial that the international community including UN, EU, USA, Japan, China, India, Bangladesh and ASEAN nations take action.

We are encouraged by the fact that Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, as a representative of ASEAN, will visit Burma. We hope that he will be able to meet not only with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi but also with Khun Tun Oo, Chairman of United Nationalities Alliance and SNLD. Above all, we hope that he will be able to negotiate with the SPDC for their release, said the ENC Chairman.

The Ethnic Nationalities Council further calls on the ruling State Peace and Development Council to consider the welfare of the people of Burma before its own interests. The inclusion of all parties in the political process and the reconciliation of differences will go a long way towards resolving the problems of Burma, preserving the role of the Tatmadaw and preventing Burma from becoming an international spectacle. If the SPDC does not want the interference of the international community, especially the UN Security Council and ASEAN, we urge the generals to begin a genuine process of reconciliation and dialogue.

The Ethnic Nationalities Council is a body founded by the ethnic nationalities of the Union of Burma in order to be able to resolve the political problems we face by political means. Therefore, the Council welcomes ASEAN's assistance to resolve Burma's political crisis through negotiated settlement. We trust that this effort will lead further to a Tripartite Dialogue- the military, democracy advocates and the ethnic nationalities - and we declare that we will continue to work towards such a solution.

Contact persons:

Dr. Lian H. Sakhong Saw David Taw

General Secretary International Affairs Committee

Tel: 01 02 96 100 Tel: 01 30 64 351

E-mail: liansakhong@hotmail.com E-mail: tawdavid2002@yahoo.com (boxun.com)