THAI PAPER PICKS UP STORY OF "BURMA

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: THAI PAPER PICKS UP STORY OF "BURMA AND THE PRINCESS"


**************************** BurmaNet ****************************
  "Appropriate Information Technologies--Practical Strategies"
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May 13, 1994

THAI PAPER PICKS UP STORY OF "BURMA AND THE PRINCESS"

by Reg B. Strider

The Nation, one of Thailand's two main English-language newspapers, published
an article in this morning's edition obliquely referring to the insult paid
Princess Maha Chakhri Sirindhorn by a magazine associated with Burma's
military intelligence service.  

The February 1994 issue of Myatkhin'thit (The New Grasslands) published an
article considered by most readers to be insulting to Thailand's Princess
Sirindhorn.  Because of Thailand's laws against insulting the monarchy (lese
majeste), the Nation's article does not quote the original source of the
insult or even identify its target.  Instead, it refers to "an article
defaming a highly-respected figure of Thailand."

News of the article originally appeared one week ago and was released over
USENET newsgroups soc.culture.thai and soc.culture.burma (see "If You Can't
Say Something Nice: Burmese Magazine Insults Thai Crown Princess").  Both the
main English-language newspapers report having received copies of the USENET
article by fax from readers of the two newsgroups.  The Bangkok Post has thus
far declined to carry the story, citing lese majeste.  The Nation delayed its
report until an original copy of the Burmese magazine could be obtained and
the story verified.

Lese majeste is so sensitive an issue in Thailand that the story is buried
ten paragraphs into an article on page eight of the newspaper.  Now that the
story has been printed, it is likely that the February issue of Myatkhin'thit
will be banned in Thailand.  It is also possible that the incident may lead
to a diplomatic protest by the Thai government because according to most
observers, the magazine in question is published directly by the Burmese
government.


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OF BEDTIME TALES, POEMS AND ENEMIES OF THE STATE. 
by Aung Zaw

The Nation (Bangkok)
May 13, 1994

[First ten paragraphs deleted; the article in its entirety will be posted
later]

     In 1990, the Slorc introduced to the public the Myatkhinthit (The
     New Sword) (sic), with a virtually unlimited budget.  The writers
     use strange pen names but are widely believed to be old BSPP [Burma
     Socialist Programme Party] members and military intelligence
     officers.  The Myatkhinthit carries stories about students, the
     pro-democracy movement, and party leaders.  Some stories are
     totally fabricated, the others merely distort the facts in order to
     damage the names of well-respected leaders.  Other stories can only
     be described as pornographic, despite the tough laws against
     obscene literature.  The articles emphasize CIA and American
     involvement in world politics.  The magazine consistently carries
     reports about exiled opposition groups and the ethnic groups on the
     border based on reports supplied by it embassies and other
     informants.  In the February 1994 issue, the writer Phoe Kan Kuang,
     who is believed to be a military intelligence officer, wrote an
     article defaming a highly-respected figure of Thailand.

[Final two paragraphs deleted]

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Note: It is likely that the editors at the Nation have repeated a mistake
originally made be BurmaNet in rendering the title of the Burmese magazine. 
Myatkhinthit/Myatkhin'thet is correctly rendered in English as "The New
Sward" or "The New Grasslands."  The editors at The Nation seem to have taken
"sward" to be a misspelling of "sword" and mistakenly corrected it.  

According to The American Heritage Dictionary, a "sward" is:

  n. Land covered with grassy turf. [From the Old English "sweard", skin.