By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK, Jul 24 2005 (IPS)

Though sentenced to a staggering 44 years in prison for corruption, Burma’s former prime minister, Khin Nyunt has been allowed to go home by military rulers anxious to take up the chairmanship of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year.

After being found guilty at last week’s trial, Khin Nyunt’s sentence was ordered suspended by top general Than Shwe and he was allowed to retire to his home in Rangoon on house arrest.

The sentencing comes as Burma’s military rulers prepare to take up chairmanship of the ten-nation ASEAN that includes Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and in the teeth of international pressureto get Rangoon to skip its turn.

Several ASEAN member conducted last-minute efforts to prevent the issue of chairmanship, rotated by alphabetical order, from overshadowing the annual meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers that begins in the Lao capital of Vientiane on Monday.

Thailand’s former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai visited Rangoon on a peace mission as Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra’s special envoy, while Chinese diplomats are working behind the scenes to support Burma’s chairmanship of the regional bloc in 2006.

Both Bangkok and Beijing are keen to convince the rest of Asia that Burma’s national reconciliation is on track and that Rangoon should be allowed to reform in its own way.

The sentencing of Khin Nyunt brings to an end the unsavoury period which followed the arrest of the former military intelligence chief and the mass trials of his supporters.

”Khin Nyunt’s trial is a warning that anyone who opposes Than Shwe will be punished, it is also a clear signal that no opposition will be tolerated, even outside the military,” the independent Burmese analyst in Thailand, Win Min told IPS.

Compared to the sentences of hundreds of years in prison handed out to more than 40 senior intelligence officers, Khin Nyunt seems to have gotten off fairly lightly.

The court took around two weeks to find Khin Nyunt guilty on eight charges of corruption and bribery. One of the charges pertained to the illegal import of seven cars for his son’s internet company Bagan Cybertech.

”The court hearing was relatively quick because Khin Nyunt chose not to have legal representation,” according to a Burmese legal expert in Rangoon.

But diplomats in Rangoon suspect that the outcome of the trial had already been pre-determined and that a deal had been struck between the top two generals and the former premier in advance.

Although Khin Nyunt’s wife had accompanied her husband to the notorious Insein prison, she was not tried.

Khin Nyunt’s sons – the businessman Ye Naing Win and the military officer Lieutenant Colonel Zaw Naing Oo – were sentenced 50 to 60 years’ imprisonment for bribery and corruption on the same day as their father was sentenced.

The sons’ trial had ended more than a month ago but the verdict and sentencing had been repeatedly postponed. They too, reportedly, have been placed under house arrest.

Several weeks before Khin Nyunt was taken to Insein jail and tried, there had been contact between the former premier and Burma’s second top military leader, General Maung Aye.

Military men have visited Khin Nyunt at his house, according to local residents. Khin Nyunt was also allowed a visit by one of the country’s most revered monks. All this was approved by Than Shwe.

With the trial of Khin Nyunt and sons now concluded, the junta can move on with its national reconciliation process. On the same day as the Khin Nyunt family was sentenced, the former military intelligence officers in Insein were allowed their first family visits since they were arrested nearly nine months ago.

Under Burmese law, the officers should have been allowed access to their families when they were sentenced several months ago. Instead they were only allowed a visit by the Red Cross in June, according to relatives of the prisoners.

”The regime is now ready to move on with Khin Nyunt’s seven-point roadmap, but with less flexibility – while Khin Nyunt allowed limited opposition Than Shwe will not negotiate with anyone, especially ethnic groups,” Win Min said.

During his meetings in Rangoon, especially with Than Shwe, Surakiart discussed Burma’s progress towards democracy, Rangoon’s chairmanship of ASEAN, Burmese illegal workers in Thailand and cross-border drug trafficking.

Although the trip had been on the cards for some time, Thaksin discussed Surakiart’s visit to Rangoon with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when they met briefly in Phuket two weeks ago.

Thailand hopes to support Burma’s moves towards democracy and report on the progress that is being made to the ASEAN meeting and help defuse the growing rift between ASEAN and western partners, especially Europe and the US.

Burma recently released more than 200 hundred political prisoners û the largest single release of pro-democracy activists since the regime seized power 17 years ago.

This came a week after the Burmese prime minister, Gen. Soe Win met his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao in Kunming and discussed Burma’s political future.

The Chinese premier pledged Beijing’s support for Rangoon taking its place as the chairman of ASEAN next year, according to Chinese government officials.

Chinese diplomats have been lobbying South-east Asian governments ever since to be patient with Rangoon and not block the chairmanship. The release of political prisoners was part of the reform process.

”The National Convention will have drawn up a new constitution by the end of the year and put to a referendum in early 2006,” said a senior Chinese diplomat.

Beijing believes Than Shwe will stand down next year and become a civilian president while a mass amnesty will be given to all political prisoners, including Burma’s democracy icon and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, say Asian diplomats.

”China is keen to have Burma as the ASEAN chairman as they believe this will make it easier for them to increase their presence and influence in the region,” said Win Min.

The issue of Burma’s chairmanship is certain to dominate the discussions of the ASEAN foreign ministers in Vientiane. Burma has the support of newer members Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos while the other partners want to see more and faster reforms by the military regime.

The UN special envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail, who had a close association with Khin Nyunt, has also arrived in Laos to try to revive the international organisation’s role in bringing political change to the country and secure the early release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

”It’s almost certain that the decision on Burma’s chairmanship will be deferred to the leaders’ summit in Kuala Lumpur later this year,” the UN envoy told IPS.

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