Burmese Plays

Burma's military government announced over the past two weeks that it was releasing more than 9,000 inmates from its prisons. Why would one of the world's most reclusive and repressive regimes show such a forgiving side? The answer probably lay not in Rangoon but in Vientiane, Laos, host of this week's 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. The conclave is the international debut of Burma's new Prime Minister, General Soe Win. A reputed hard-liner, Soe Win has been accused by the U.S. State Department of direct involvement in a mob attack on Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader...