BurmaNet News: November 2, 1994

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

************************** BurmaNet ************************** 
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
************************************************************** 
BurmaNet News: Wednesday, November 2, 1994
Issue #50

************************************************************** 
Contents:

NATION: JUNTA DENIES OUTSIDE PRESSURE LED TO SUU KYI TALKS
BKK POST: US TEAM MEETS BURMESE LEADERS
NATION: BURMA AIMS TO LURE TOURISTS WITH 28-DAY VISAS-ON-ARRIVAL 
BKK POST: POLICE ARREST ILLEGAL WORKERS

************************************************************** 

The  BurmaNet News  is  an   *********************************
electronic daily newspaper   *                               *
covering  Burma.  Articles   *                  Iti          *   
from newspapers, magazines,  *                 snotpo        *
the  wire services, news-    *             werthatcor        *
letters  and  the Internet   *            ruptsbutfea        *
are  published  as well as   *           r.Fearoflos         *
original material.           *          ingpowercor          *
                             *       ruptsthosewhoare        *
The BurmaNet News  is        *     subjecttoit...Theef       *
e-mailed  directly to        *     fortnecessarytoremain     *
subscribers  and  is         *   uncorruptedinanenvironm     *
also  distributed via        *  entwherefearisanintegralpar  *
the soc.culture.burma,       *   tofeverydayexistenceisnot   *
and  soc.culture.thai        *      immediatelyapparent      *
newsgroups as well as        *       tothosefortun           *
the seasia-l mailing         *       ateenoughtol            *
list.   For  a  free         *       iveinstatesgo           *
subscription  to the         *        vernedbytheru          *
BurmaNet News, send          *        leoflaw...Iam         *
an  e-mail  note to:         *        n ota     frai         *
                             *                  d..          *
strider@xxxxxxxxxxx          *                   .D          *
                             *                   aw          *
Subscriptions are handled    *                   Au          *
manually so please  allow    *                   ng          *
for a delay  before  your    *                  San          *
request is fielded.          *                  Su           *
                             *                  uK           *
Letters  to  the  editor,    *                   yi          *
comments or contributions    *                   .           *
of  articles  should  be     *********************************
sent to the strider address as well.  For those without e-mail,
BurmaNet can be contacted by fax or snailmail.

     By fax: (in Thailand) (66)2 234-6674              
     Attention to BurmaNet, care of Burma Issues       
                              
     By snailmail: (in the United States)         
     BurmaNet, care of Coban Tun   
     1267 11th Avenue #3           
     San Francisco, CA 94122 USA

************************************************************** 
NATION: JUNTA DENIES OUTSIDE PRESSURE LED TO SUU KYI TALKS
November 2, 1994

RANGOON - Recent meetings between Burma's ruling military junta
and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have taken place
due to mutual understanding between the two parties and not
because of any outside pressure, a state-run newspaper reported
yesterday, quoting a junta leader. The government is proceeding
according to its own political and economic strategy, Lt Gen Khin
Nyunt, secretary of the ruling Slorc, told the opening session of
a reorientation course for school teachers near Rangoon on Monday
The New Light of Myanmar said. The senior Slorc official told the
teachers he had a second meeting on Friday with Suu Kyi, who has
been under house arrest since July 1989, the paper said. 

The first meeting took place on Sept 20. In the meeting, the
Slorc's efforts in the political and economic fields, and future
programmes in the long-term interest of the state, were discussed
with mutual understanding and open mind, Khin Nyunt said.  "The
meetings took place as a result of mutual understanding and not
because of outside pressure," he was quoted as a saying.  

"The Slorc is proceeding according to its adopted political and
economic strategy in the best interest of the country. It will
not slow down or deviate the process under any pressure." The
junta will not accept "blind allegations of human rights
violations ignoring the reality and tradition and culture of the
people," said Khin Nyunt, who is also military intelligence
chief. He said all-out efforts are being made by the junta in
cooperation with United Nations agencies and neighbouring
countries to curb the drug menace. In our efforts to crush the
opium warlord Khun Sa's drug operations in eastern Myanmar
[Burma], 190 government soldiers have sacrificed their lives and
350 others have wounded in four weeks of operations," khin Nyunt
said. Even then there were baseless allegations as though Myanmar
was encouraging drug production."

Reuter also reports: The most senior US official to visit
isolated Burma in more than six years arrived to a cautious
welcome as the ruling generals waited to see what massage he
bears, diplomats said. 

Thomas Hubbard, a deputy assistant secretary of state, was
accompanied by aides from the US National Security Council, as
well as State Department and narcotics suppression officials on
Monday, a US embassy official in Rangoon said. Hubbard met Lt Gen
Khin Nyunt the official said. His unexpected trip is the first
high-level contact between the Rangoon junta and the United
State, which cut all aid to the regime and has taken a firm line
against dealing with it since the brutal suppression of a
pro-democracy uprising in 1988. 

Burma's state-run television and radio made no mention of
Hubbard's arrival in Monday night broadcasts, nor did government
newspapers report the visit yesterdays morning. It's caution. If
they raised the profile of the visit they would then have to come
up with something concrete to report," one Rangoon-based diplomat
said by telephone. "He's obviously bringing a message from
higher-ups. They're waiting to see what he'll say then perhaps it
will receive some publicity," He said. The US State Department
announced last week that Hubbard would meet leaders of the ruling
State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), which was set up
in 1988, for talks on issues of concern t the United States
including human rights, democracy and narcotics. 

"They have a problem on that to them Hubbard doesn't to be
particularly senior so they don't want to appear to be
overwhelmed by his visit," another diplomat said. "They'll
probably keep it low-key until they see what message he brings
but they can get propaganda mileage out of in to matter what the
message," he said. The visit comes four days after khin Nyunt met
detained dissident leader Aung San Suu kyi for the second time in
just over a month. The United States has led an International
chorus of calls for the release of Suu Kyi and other political
prisoners. The daughter of Burma's independence hero General Aung
San, Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest since mid 1989. 

She met Khin Nyunt and other senior military of officials for
three hours of talks last Friday which Burma's state-run media
said were frank and cordial and covered the current political and
economic situation in the country. Suu Kyi emerged as a popular
leader of democracy uprising which was finally suppressed by the
military with a death toll which US officials estimated could
possibly have run into the thousands. Washington subsequently cut
all aid to Burma including narcotics-suppression assistance and
suspended trade benefits. The United States also put Burma, the
world's largest producer of illegal opium, on a list of countries
that did not cooperate fully on narcotics, a move that requires
US officials to oppose loans by international financial
institutions. The US State Department's narcotics bureau, in a
report in April, repeated the charge that Burma has failed to
undertake serious or sustained narcotics control efforts since
1988. Annual US said to Burma before 1988 totalled US$12 million.
(TN) 


************************************************************** 
BKK POST: US TEAM MEETS BURMESE LEADERS
November 2, 1994

A HIGH-LEVEL  American delegation met with leaders  of Burma's
ruling junta to press them to restore democracy and human rights.
The US delegation, led by Thomas Hubbard, deputy assistant
secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, held talks
with the junta strongman Lt Gen Khin Nyunt and Foreign Minister
Ohn Gyaw, Burmese and American officials said. No details of the
talks were available, but a US Embassy spokeswoman in Bangkok
said the delegation was delivering "an unambiguous message to the
regime on the importance of progress on issues of critical
concern to the United States, including human rights,
democratization, political reconciliation and counter-narcotics
efforts." 

The United States would show the junta that progress on these
issues would mean increased cooperation, while lack of progress
could lead to increased international isolation, said the
spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The junta took
power in a September 1988 coup after violently suppressing pro-
democracy demonstrations. It has been harshly criticised since
they by human rights organisations and many foreign governments
for abusing human rights and failing to restore democracy, and
particularly for detaining opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
without trail. 

The United States cut off  aid after the military took power and
has been an outspoken critic of the junta's policies. To show its
displeasure, Washington has not stationed an ambassador in
Rangoon since 1989. Hubbard's delegation, which arrived Monday,
includes a member of the US National Security Council , Eric
Schwartz: A State Department narcotics expert: And Nancy
Ely-Raphel, deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy,
human rights and labour. They were scheduled t leave Burma
Wednesday. The junta staged a general in 1990 but refused to let
the winners take their seats in Parliament after the opposition
National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory. Mrs
Suu Kyi, the league's founder, is in her sixth year of house
arrest in Rangoon. 

The United States and other nations have urged the junta to
release Mrs Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her
non-violent efforts to promote democracy. Junta leaders,
including Khin Nyunt, held their first meeting with Mrs Suu Kyi
on September 20, and a second one last Friday. The meetings,
which were publicised in the Burma's state-controlled media, were
seen as foreshadowing her possible release. An official report
said that junta leaders did not meet with Mrs Suu Kyi because of
foreign pressure, but because it was in the best long-term
interests of the nation. "The meeting took place without pressure
from anyone but with mutual interest and understanding between
the two parties," the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar
quoted Khin Nyunt as telling an audience of school teachers.
Burmese sources said one member of Hubbard's delegation, State
Department narcotics expert Douglas K. Rasmussen, met Monday with
Col Thein Han, director-general of the border areas and national
races development works committee, and police Col Ngwe Soe Tun,
joint secretary for the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control.
(BP)                             
************************************************************** 
NATION: BURMA AIMS TO LURE TOURISTS WITH 28-DAY VISAS-ON-ARRIVAL 
November 2, 1994

RANGOON- 
The Burmese government plans by the end of this to grant a visa
upon arrival at Yangon International Airport to tourists of every
nationality as an attempt to achieve its ambitious target of 1
million visitors under its "Visit Myanmar Year 1996" marketing
programme. "The visa-upon-arrival programme is expected to begin
this December and each visa will be valid for 28 days. If the
visitors want stay longer, they may apply after arriving to the
country," said Minister of Hotel and Tourism, Kyaw Ba. However,
special application to enter restricted areas like Kachin state
is required in advance. 

If it's approved, the traveller will be guarded with a personal
security officer. The relaxation of visa regulations is a part of
the government's policy to promote its tourism industry. The
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) has set up a
development committee from 12 ministries related to the tourism
industry, including the Ministry of Trade and ministry of
Transport, to "try their best to support the tourism industry."
So far, Burma has two major problems that would hinder the
success of Visit Myanmar Year 1996. One is the short supply of
accommodations and a small number of international airlines
entering Burma. 

Moreover, a poor infrastructure still remains. According to the
director of Hotels and Tourism U Tin Htay, existing accommodation
units in Burma amounts to only, 3,000 rooms nationwide. Even
though the Myanmar Investment Committee was set up to relax
regulations for foreign investors in hotel projects, the newly
approved projects will not open until late 1996. "By 1996, Burma
could have more than 4,000 rooms but it's still not enough. We
need another 1,000 if we get 500,000 visitors that year," U Tin
Htay said. New hotel projects signed up since 1993 are mostly
scheduled to open in 1997 since time is needed for dealing with
related state-agencies and for construction. He added that more
than 25 hotel projects have already been proposed. The number of
the visitors has sharply increased. In 1992, only 7,000
travellers came to Burma; that rose to 62,000 last year. 

This year, Hotel and Tourism Ministry expects to get about
100,000 visitors and earn around $20-22 million. Nevertheless, he
mentioned that the government will temporarily allow private
homes to operate as guest houses for tourists for short-stays of
between 2-3 nights. Meanwhile, the government plans to expend the
international airport in Yangon so as to be able to receive
larger airplanes, such as the Boeing 747-400. Although the
Burmese government also projects to upgrade the airports in
Mandalay and Bagan, the construction will take more than three
years. "We have an open-sky policy and welcome more international
airlines," Kyaw Ba said. "Presently, a Singaporean subsidiary,
Air Mandalay, proposes to open a Singapore-Mandalay-Yangon-Chiang
Rai (Thailand) route, in which we are interested." (TN) 

************************************************************** 
BKK POST: POLICE ARREST ILLEGAL WORKERS
November 2, 1994

SAMUT SAKHON: Police yesterday arrested 25 illegal Burmese
immigrants at a shrimp factory in Muang District following a
brawl among factory workers. Police passed the factory at about
2.30 p.m. when they spotted a bruised man running out from the
factory. The man told police he was harassed by Burmese workers
following a heated argument. Police searched the factory and
found 25 Burmese and five Karens working there. The Karens were
from Chom Bung District, Ratchaburi Province, who documents
allowing them to work in the central region. (BP)

************************************************************** 
NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:

 AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
 AFP: AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
 AW: ASIAWEEK
 AWSJ: ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
 Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt.=US$1 (APPROX), 
 BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, 
 BI: BURMA ISSUES
 BIG: BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
 BKK POST: THE BANGKOK POST
 BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI
 BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN
 CPPSM: C'TEE FOR PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND 
 FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW
 JIR: JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
 KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
 Kt. BURMESE KYAT; 110-120 KYAT =US$1 BLACKMARKET
                   6 KYAT=US$1 OFFICIAL
 NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
 NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR
 S.C.B.:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP 
 S.C.T.:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
 SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
 USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
 XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY 
**************************************************************