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BurmaNet News: January 28, 1995
************************** BurmaNet **************************
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
**************************************************************
The BurmaNet News: Saturday, January 28, 1995
Issue #102
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Myanmar's economy will not take off until it is properly
managed, and there is no evidence that the junta has the
know-how or the courage to take the tough decisions
necessary....Apologists for authoritarianism often argue
that undemocratic governments can take tough economic
decisions. Myanmar does not support the case.
The Economist
<see MYANMAR-NOT QUITE INDONESIA>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Contents:
*****************KAREN STATE/KOWTHOOLEI***********************
1 NATION: BURMESE ARMY SET TO CAPTURE DESERTED KAREN HEADQUARTERS
2 NATION: KACHIN URGE HALT TO SLORC OFFENSIVE ON KAREN REBELS
*************************INSIDE BURMA*************************
3 NATION: HOPES RAISED BY RANGOON TALKS BEGIN TO FADE AWAY
4 ECONOMIST: MYANMAR--NOT QUITE INDONESIA
5 ECONOMIST: THE PRISONER OF UNIVERSITY AVENUE
6 BKK POST: RANGOON REASSURES HOTELIERS
***************************THAILAND***************************
7 BKK POST: HOUSE PANEL PRESSES FOR REVIEW OF BURMA POLICY
8 BKK POST: GOVT TO RETAIN 'SAFE AREA' FOR REFUGEE YOUTHS
9 BKK POST: ONCB ASKS GOVT TO STRIP THAI CITIZENSHIP OF
TEN KHUN SA MEN
10 BKK POST: HOUSE TEAM CONFIRMS 'MASSACRE' OF TREES
**************************************************************
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*****************KAREN STATE/KOWTHOOLEI***********************
NATION: BURMESE ARMY SET TO CAPTURE DESERTED KAREN HEADQUARTERS
27 January 1995
The heavily besieged command headquarters of the karen guerrillas
is only "a few days away" from falling to the Burmese army and
has been deserted by the separatist movement's political leaders,
border sources said yesterday. The fall of Manerplaw would be a
major military and political blow to the ethnic minority and
democratic movements in Burma, observers agreed.
Only die-hard battle commanders are holding out, directing the
final defence of Manerplaw by about 1,000 lightly armed Karen
troops who are facing at least 2,700 and possibly 3,600 advancing
Burmese troops, fully supplied with heavy artillery and
ammunition.
Thai border authorities and dissident Burmese sources described
the situation as "critical" and said the fall of Manerplaw was
"only a few days away". The Burmese army's lighting breach of the
Karen frontline is attributed to the assistance, collaboration
and guidance of a group of 400 Karen Buddhist mutineers, who
defected in December after religious conflict let to clashes with
the main body of the Christian-led Karen National Union (KNU).
Exploiting the internal chaos within the kNU, the Burmese army
broke its self-declared unilateral ceasefire, attacking and
capturing a number of KNU frontline bases and the dissidents'
camp at Dawn Gwin on the Salween River.
Government troops renewed their offensive on Jan 20 with
simultaneous attacks from the north, south and west, bringing
ground troops and heavy artillery against Manerplaw, the KNU
headquarters on the Moei River.
A Kyodo report from Rangoon yesterday quoted a senior Burmese
military officer at the Defence Ministry as confirming the
clashes were occurring. The officer, however, claimed that the
Burmese were only assisting the break away Buddhist Karen group,
known as the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Organization, in fighting
the KNU.
Thai border authorities and dissident Burmese sources yesterday
agreed that the Burmese objective is to capture the Karen
headquarters and no just to lay siege to it, to pressure the kNU
leaders to enter peace talks under the junta's terms. The seizure
of Manerplaw would be a serious blow politically and military to
the KNU and to other ethnic and democratic movements which had
established their opposition bases there, they agreed.
The sources said about 300 Burmese troops assisted and guided by
KNU defectors had already crossed the Salween River to attack the
KNU frontline near Naw Day Hill and White Elephant Hill, only
seven km from Manerplaw.
The troops were equipped with 81-mm mortars and were engaging KNU
forces in the area.
"The situation is not very good, but the KNU is still defending
the fronlines," said one source.
Yesterday, artillery shelling and ground fighting was intense on
all fronts: the Naw Hta area in the south; around Haw Ma Daw and
Sleeping Dog Hill on the west bank of the Salween; and at Naw Day
hill and White elephant hill on the east bank, where the junta's
troops had crossed the river, only only seven km from Manerplaw.
Thousands of karen have fled across the Moei and Salween rivers
into Thailand. Thai border sources confirmed that KNU leaders,
representatives of dissident Burmese groups and Manerplaw
civilians have already deserted the headquarters and are taking
shelter in unidentified locations.
Dr Naing Aung, leader of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front
(ABSDF), said yesterday that the seizure of Manerplaw would deny
the ethnic and democratic alliance a stable base to carry out
their political activities.
"If Manerplaw falls, the KNU will be under pressure to hold talks
with the Slorc and we (democratic movements) will face
difficulties," he said. (TN)
*****************KAREN STATE/KOWTHOOLEI***********************
NATION: KACHIN URGE HALT TO SLORC OFFENSIVE ON KAREN REBELS
27 January 1995
The Kachin Independence Organization, which signed a truce deal
with Rangoon early last year, has urged the Burmese junta to
immediately halt its military offensive against the ethnics Karen
guerrillas.
In a strongly-worded statement released late on Wednesday night,
the ethnic Kachin group said it was watching "with alarm and
concern, the current deterioration in the military confrontation"
between the Slorc and the KNU, "particularly the determined
efforts of the Burma Army to capture Manerplaw," the KNU
headquarters on the Moei River. The Kachin independence
Organization (KIO), a former close ally of the KNU which broke a
united ethnic front to negotiate and strike a ceasefire agreement
with Slorc, said the Burmese operation against the Karen "is a
regression to the past' which was "determintal to the long year
of building faith in the peaceful solution to all discontent,"
and "inhibits the further exploring of the negotiation process
with the KNU and others". The KIO said it adhered to the
principle of peaceful negotiations and stood "ready to contribute
to the participation of all in its process until genuine and
lasting peace can be realized".
The KIO added that it shared the views of Burma's neighbouring
countries that "a degree of stability is perceptible" in the
country today.
"The pressure on Manerplaw, as indeed any military or political
pressure, is a regression to the past... Manerplaw has no
strategic military value per se for the defence of the Burma's
territorial integrity or sovereignty," it added.
"Therefore in the interest of peace and national reconciliation,
the KIO urges the Slorc to use their utmost restraint in the use
of force and desist from the army's onslaught against the KNU
immediately,"said the statement.
Although the current Burmese offensive against the Karen
guerrilla is not as intensive or as heavy as in early 1992, when
about 10,000 Burmese troops and heavy artillery and war equipment
were mobilized to attack and capture Manerplaw, the Christian-led
KNU this time is facing extreme hardship in defending its
stronghold as its western frontline was weakened after an
internal mutiny and defection.
Exploiting the KNU internal strife, Slorc broke its April 1993
unilateral ceasefire against armed ethnic movements, including
the Karen, to launch lightning attacks against the Karen. It
captured several KNU frontline outposts and moved closer to
Manerplaw, which is also the headquarters of dissident Burmese
students. (TN & BP)
*************************INSIDE BURMA*************************
NATION: HOPES RAISED BY RANGOON TALKS BEGIN TO FADE AWAY
27 January 1995
Talks between Burma's military rulers and leading opposition
figure Aung San Suu Kyi appear to have stalled, with no real
progress towards meaningful dialogue, analysts said earlier this
week.
In a statement released Monday by her husband on his arrival in
Bangkok from Rangoon, Aung San Suu Kyi indicated she would not
agree to talks in isolation but that substantive negotiations
must include other pro-democracy leaders as well. The junta has
so far given no sign it was ready to talk to any other political
opponent - whether jailed, in exile or at liberty - but, under
international pressure, had trumpeted the meeting with Aung San
Suu kyi, who is now in her six years of house arrest. Her
carefully phrased message stressed there would be "no secret
deals" with the junta, officially known as the Slorc, and that
the goal remained the establishment of a "truly democratic
political system in Burma.
A source familiar with both sides said that contact to date
amounted to little more than a reaffirmation of their respective
positions, with the Slorc defending its stressing democratic
principles.
If there were to be no progress or no further meetings, the junta
could face increased international pressure rather than the
increased access to international aid and acceptance it has been
seeking, analysts said.
But the Slorc might forestall an outcry by allowing the
International Committee for the Red Cross to visit political
detainees at Insein Prison - an attractive option, some analysts
suggested, as such visits are by definition confidential, and no
reports are made public. An informed foreign source acknowledged
this would be a "a low-cost option" for the Slorc, which has
already promised such visits "soon." The source declined to link
the two issues directly, however, saying the prison visits "will
happen in any case" and would have to be considered "a step
forward."
Junta spokesmen from the Directorate of defence Services
Intelligence were to available for comment.
Foreign diplomats and other analysts contacted in Rangoon Tuesday
all agreed that the whole process would take time.
"Given the personalities involved and their diametrically opposed
positions, it will take a lot more than two formal meetings to
resolve their differences. The dialogue is yet to be engaged,"
one commented.
Another remarked that both sides would have to make concessions,
and it would take some adjustment before they could be
"comfortable with what they have agreed." meanwhile, the junta
has backed away from releasing the 49-year-old Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, and has created some confusion over the legal basis for
her detention as well as the maximum period of detention allowed.
The Slorc tried to "excuse their behavior and dress it up in
legal garb," but appeared to have abandoned the effort now, a
Rangoon-based diplomat said. "After a certain point you start to
look ridiculous," another foreign observer commented. Instead of
getting involved in convoluted "legal shenanigans," the Slorc
might as well "just take the heat" for its actions, he added.
Analysts agreed that Aung San Suu Kyi's release would be a
political decision and not a legal one.
The charismatic dissident has been kept under guard at her
lakeside home in Rangoon since July 1989 by the Slorc, which took
power after nationwide pro-democracy demonstration the previous
year.
The protests were brutally suppressed, but the Slorc allowed
elections to be organized in 1990 that overwhelmingly backed Aung
San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). The Slorc,
however, refused to hand over power and again cracked down on the
opposition.
While her key political advisors are in jail, remnants of the NLD
are taking part inn the junta's national assembly to outline a
new constitution.
NLD members have said they do not know what is happening in the
junta's talks with the party's co-founder but would continue to
push previously defined polities focusing on demands for
democracy. (TN)
*************************INSIDE BURMA*************************
ECONOMIST: MYANMAR--NOT QUITE INDONESIA
Week of January 28-Feb. 3, 1995
Stroll through the night market in Mandalay and you can see the
beginnings of a vibrant private economy. Cheap T-shirts and
electrical goods from china are piled high onthe stalls; doubful-
looking medicines and tribal artefacts are spread out on blankets
and tables. Mandalay is the crossroads for trade between Myanmar
and China, and so is prosperous. But two hours farther north,
the hill town of Maymyo also boasts a well-stocked market and new
brick houses on the outskirts of town.
Bustling markets would be unremarkable elsewhere in South-East
Asia. But in Myanmar, which spent a generation searching for the
"Burmese road to socialism", even small-scale private enterprise
is a novelty. The military junta running the country abandoned
socialist autarky and proclaimed an "open door" policy in 1988.
Few foreigners, however were inclined to walk in. The change in
economic direction coincided with political turmoil which saw
thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators killed and imprisoned,
and election results unfavourable t the soldiers ignored. Aung
San Suu Kyi, the leader of the victorious National League for
Democracy, was arrested in 1989. Myanmar, already one of the
world's poorest countries, went backwards economically.
Five years later, Miss Suu Kyi is still under house arrest. But
foregin businessmen, particularly Singaporeans, Thais and
Koreans, are beginning to appear in the capital, Yangon. Hotels
boasting international direct-dialing, an exotic rarity a year
ago, are now open for business. Independent economists in Yangon
think the economy grew by over 5% last year.
The beginnings of economic growth are being hailed by Myanmar's
Asian neighbours, which have long insisted that the Wests's
isolation of Myanmar is wrong-headed. They compare Myanmar to
Indonesia 30 years ago. The bloodletting in Indonesia in the
mid-1960s claimed hundreds of thousands of victims. But under
military rule, Indonesia has averaged growth of 6-7% a year--
enough to qualify for junior membership of the Asian miracle
club.
The Indonesian comparison has certainly occurred to Myanmar's
junta. It is now bent on imposing a new constitution whcih, like
Indonesia's, would also exclude from high political office anyone
who has lived abroad for long--a provision that is clearly aimed
at Miss Suu Kyi.
Proponents fo the "Asian way" see all this as the unfortunate but
necessary price of creating the political stabitility needed for
economic growth. But there are grounds for doubting if Myanmar
can emulate Indonesia. Before Indonesia took off, it had in
place two preconditions for sustained economic growth: low
inflation and a convertable currency. Myanmar has neither.
Infaltion, fuelled by wasteful military spending and commodity
shortages, is running at close to 40%. The currency is an
obstacle to both trade and investment.
The official exchange rate is about six kyat to the dollar: the
unofficial rate is 106. Foreigners can repatriate earnings only
if they agree to buy local goods such as pulses or fish and sell
them oversas. Export industries can earn income in dollars. But
they then find they are expected to pay for electricy and water
in kyat converted at the official rate. Such foreign investment
as there is goes mainly into building new hotels. Tourism brings
in some hard currency, but Myanmar has little of the
manufacturing industry that has powered other Asian economies.
Allowing more leeway to private traders, and swapping gems and
timber for Chinese consumer goods whill take the economy only so
far.
Myanmar's economy will not take off until it is properly managed,
and there is no evidence that the junta has the know-how or the
courage to take the tough decisions necessary. The Indonesian
army, which never had the chastening experience of overwhelming
rejection by the electorate, had the confidence and the sense to
employ civilian technocrats to run the economy. They took the
tough decisions. In Myanmar, the management of the economy is
still in the hands of soldiers.
Brigadier-General Win Tin, the finance minister, says that a
convertible currency cannot be established just yet. He is
worried that it would mean more inflation. At present even mid-
level civil servants and army officers are paid salaries of just
1,600 kyat a month--roughly $15 at the market rate. Many get by
because they are provided with subsidised goods such as petrol or
building materials, which they can resell on the black market.
These subsidies are disguised because goods imported by the state
are systematically under-valued at the official exchange rate.
Abolish that official rate of exchange and the subsidies would go
with them. The junta fears the effect on civil servants and army
officers.
Apologists for authoritarianism often argue that undemocratic
governments can take tough economic decisions. Myanmar does not
support the case.
*************************INSIDE BURMA*************************
ECONOMIST: THE PRISONER OF UNIVERSITY AVENUE
Week of January 28-Feb. 3, 1995
The only glimpse the people of Myanmar have had of Aung San Suu
Kyi over the past 5-1/2 years came in October last year. The
official media, for whom the imprisoned Nobel prize winner is
usually a non-person, suddenly showed pictures of a smiling Miss
Suu Kyi meeting the leaders of the junta.
At the time there was much speculation that Miss Sii Kyi was
about to be released. But no further meetings have followed. In
a statement issues this week through Michael Aris, her husband,
Miss Suu Kyi stated that "no secret deals" had been done to
secure her release. She confirmed her determination to secure a
"truly democratic system" in Myanmar and to take part actively in
politics. Neither idea is likely to appeal to Myanmar's generals
and so, for the foreseeable future, Miss Suu Kyi is likely to
remain imprisoned.
Yet, though the junta can keep Miss Suu Kyi out of sight, it is
difficult to keep her out of mind. Her house and prison is in
University Avenue, one of Yangon's most prominent boulevards.
The students who formed the core of the pro-democracy movement in
1988 wasl past her house gates every day on their way to classes.
In the past year the junta has withdrawn the armed guards who
used to stand outside the house. But plenty of troops lurk
behind the yellow and green picket fence which separates Miss Suu
Kyi from the world. Anyone loitering too long outside the gates
is quickly observed and followed by one of the men lounging
around on the grass verge on the other side of the road.
Miss Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy polled around 60% of
the votes in the 1990 election and there seems little doubt that
she retains her place in the hearts of the people. At stalls in
Yangon and Mandalay which specialise in selling pectures of
famous Buddhist monks, one popular item is a photograph of Aung
San, the leader of the Burmese independence movement, with his
family. Dandled on Aung San's knee is his baby daughter, Suu.
With a bit of prompting, the stall-holders will also sell
photographs of Aung San Suu Kyi as a grown up; these are kept
under the counter.
It would take considerable bravery for anyone to risk a more open
expression of support. Last October the junta imprisoned four
people associated witht eh iopposition for terms ranging from
seven to 15 years. One foreign resident of Yangon says the junta
is "very carefully picking off people wh meet diplomats and
foreign journalist and talk about what's going on in this
country."
*************************INSIDE BURMA*************************
BKK POST: RANGOON REASSURES HOTELIERS
January 27, 1995
The Burmese government has issued a statement reassuring small
hotel owners that they are free to continue their business as
normal after rumours that some licences might be revoked.
The statement from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism said
entrepreneurs were allowed to open and operate hotels, motels and
guest houses and to engage in other tourist related business in
accordance with existing laws.
Published in the state-run media on Wednesday, the statement ws
apparently issued in response to rumours that hotel and guest
houses with less than 15 rooms would have their licences revoked.
Rumours of the withdrawal of licences were unfounded, it said.
The ministry said that up to the end of 1994 it had issued 195
licences to hotels and other lodging places, 247 for travel
agents, 613 for tourist coaches and 468 for tour guides. The
tourist sector has been one of the fastest growing sectors since
the military government introduced economic reforms in late
1988.
In another development, the central bank of Burma has issued a
licence to banque Francaise du Commerce Exterieur to open a
representative office in Rangoon, official newspapers reported
yesterday.
A total of 20 foreign banks now have licences for representative
offices in Burma. (BP)
***************************THAILAND***************************
BKK POST: HOUSE PANEL PRESSES FOR REVIEW OF BURMA POLICY
27 January 1995
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs called on the Foreign
Ministry yesterday to review its policy toward Burma in order to
encourage the democratisation process in the military ruled
country.
The committee suupports the Government's so-called constructive
engagement polcy but it unhappy with the peace of efforts to
promote individual rights. "The constructive engagement policy
pursued by the Government and Association of Southeast Asian
Nations has elements which help promote democracy in Burma and
will help conclude ceasefire agreements between the government
and the minorities," according to a committee statement.
"But the promotion of democracy in Burma has not r3eceived due
attention. The Foreign Ministry should adjust its policy to
further strengthen the procress of democratisation and encourange
the freedom of the Burmese people."
The statement was issued yesterday following the weekly meeting
of officials from the Foreign Ministry, National Intelligence
Agency.
The agenda included an analysis of the implivations of Burma's
presence s a "guest of the host (Thailand)" for the first time at
the annual ASEAN foreign ministers meting in Bang- kok last July.
Burmese Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw attened the opening of the
meeting. A Burmese observer, Chayachoke Chulasiriwongs of
Chulalongkorn Univertsity's Faculty of Political Science,
welcomed the call for a policy review even though he thought it
had come too late now that Burma is enjoying improverd relations
with countries in the region. Mr Chayachoke said the Foreign
Ministry should be more active in calling on Burmese leaders to
improve the situation in their country.
He said he supported the constructive engagement policy as it
kept the door open for dialogue with Burma, but its
implementation should be revised. "We (Thailand) almost never
make suggestions to the Burmese government on how to improve
political conditions for fear of souring relations and causing
dissatisfaction among Burmese leaders," he said.
Changes in the implementation of the policy began with Prime
Minister Chuan Leekpai calling last July for the release of
dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi when the Burmese foreign
minister called on him while in Bangkok for the ASEAN foreign
ministers meet- ing, he said.
Mr Chayachoke said the committee's recommendations would help
improve Thailand's image in the eyes of some Western countries.
(BP)
***************************THAILAND***************************
BKK POST: GOVT TO RETAIN 'SAFE AREA' FOR REFUGEE YOUTHS
27 January 1995
Thailand has no plans to close the "safe area" for Burmese
students in Ratchaburi Province but will keep a tighter rein on
their political activities, according to an Interior Ministry
official yesterday.
The official said the ministry had decided against closing
Maneeloy Safe Area in Pak Tho District as a demonstration of
Thailand's sincerity in allowing Burmese students to remain in
the country.
The Foreign Ministry and other agencies back the decision, he
said. The Interior Ministry has no plans to take legal action and
deport Burmese students who stage political activities on Thai
soil, but authorities will keep a close watch on the stu- dents
to prevent them using Thailand to protest the Rangoon government.
Interior officials are concerned about 2,000 students who refuse
to re-enter the safe area and will take action to ensure they
abide by Thai law, according to the source . About 180 students
are now staying at Maneeloy. The Government wants all Burmese
students who escaped political suppression in Burma to stay in
the safe area provided by the Tnterior Ministry, other wise they
will be treated as illegal immigrants. The official said interior
officials also felt uneasy about the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees which they claim is secretly providing
funds to 2,450 students. Each student is said to be receiving
2,500 baht rather than the official rate of 800 baht the UNHCR
offers, he said.
The ministry also pays each student at the centre 33 baht per
day, three baht higher than the money the UNHCR gives refugees in
other camps.
The official said the Interior Ministry hoped the UN agency would
cooperate with the ministry. (BP)
***************************THAILAND***************************
BKK POST: ONCB ASKS GOVT TO STRIP THAI CITIZENSHIP OF
10 KHUN SA MEN
27 January 1995
Office of the Narcotics Control Board secretary-general Pol Gen
Chavalit Yodmanee has asked the Governmet to withdraw the Thai
citizenship of 10 alleged lieutenants of drug warlord Khun Sa.
The request for the revocation of any citizenship granted through
the naturalisation process comes at the initiative of the United
States Drug Enforcement Administration. The 10 were arrested last
November in sperate raids in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son
and Bangkok.
They are among 14 suspects Washington has asked Thailand to
arrest and extradite to the US.
A Government House source said the move was taken because of US
fears it would be difficult to take full legal action against the
suspects if they hold Thai nationality. Plo Gen Chavalit's
request was made in a letter dated January 16 to Deputy Prime
Minister Banyat Bantadtan. Mr Banyat is in charge of the ONCB. If
the suspects are Thai by birth, legal action against them could
be taken against them in Thailand and the US would send
documents and related evidence under a 1992 law on international
cooperation on criminal matters;
* If the suspects are naturalised Thais, they could have their
Thai nationality withdrawn and be sent to the US under the
Thai-US extradition treaty of 1983; and * If the suspects are not
Thai nationals, they could be extradited to the US right away
under the same treaty.
Pol Gen Chavalit said the DEA would like the Government to
withdraw the citizenship of any of the 10 suspects found to be
naturalised Thais.
Mr Banyat has replied that it will take some time before the
Government can respond to the request because it has to check
wether any of the 10 are Thai by birth or through naturalistion.
(BP)
***************************THAILAND***************************
BKK POST: HOUSE TEAM CONFIRMS 'MASSACRE' OF TREES
27 January 1995
The House Local Administration Committee yesterday confirmed
that a large number of trees in reserve forests along the
Thai-Burmese border have been killed intentionally so that
applications can be made to log them legally.
Committee chairman Krit Kongpetch said after nine members of the
panel inspected the area in Mae Ramad and Tha Song Yang district
that this might have been the handiwork of "influential people"
in the area.
Chart Pattana MP Sopon Petchsawang recently brought the matter to
the attention of the committee, charging that the Forest Industry
Organization (FIO) was proposing to log the trees after the
influential figures killed them.
The trees were girdled with cuts around their base to cause them
to die standing up. According to the Forestry Police survey in
February last year, some 10,719 trees have been girdled over an
area of 400 rai.
Mr Krit said that hilltribe people and Burmese refugees were
apparently involved in gir- dling the trees because they wanted
land for farming and wanted to sell the wood. "but I'm sure
influential figures were behind them. As for whether the FIO
should be allowed to fell the trees, that's a decision for the
government," Mr Krit said. He said the dead trees would be an
economic loss if they were left standing there. If they are to be
felled then measures will have to be taken to prevent a
recurrence in other areas. But if the government wants to
preserve border forests then it will have to give up making
economic use of the trees in them. (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.3 DUS$1 (APPROX),
BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
BI: BURMA ISSUES
BKK POST: BANGKOK POST (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
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
IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
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