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BurmaNet News: 11 March, 1995




**************************BurmaNet***************************
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
*************************************************************
The BurmaNet News: 11 March 1995
Issue #122


NOTED IN PASSING:

          "I hope that they will implement the [pipeline]
          project only after peace prevails in the country. I
          have no comment whether we are going to sabotage or
          obstruct the project. But because we are in a civil
          war, they should not be carrying out that project.
          We cannot guarantee that the fighting in the area
          will not affect the gas pipeline project."
          
               Gen. Bo Mya, President of the KNU on March 8,
               1995.  On March 9, KNU troops killed 5 members
               of a Total pipeline survey party. <See NATION:
               INTERVIEW WITH GEN. BO MYA--KNU TO KEEP
               STRUGGLE ALIVE>



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Contents:                                                    


Note: A special issue on the deaths of the Total survey team
will be put out shortly.

*******************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************
NATION: INTERVIEW WITH GEN. BO MYA--KNU TO KEEP STRUGGLE ALIVE 
BKK POST: YOUNG BLOOD TO BE INJECTED KNU LEADERSHIP
BKK POST: KNU PONDERS CHANGES AT THE TOP
AP: KAREN REBELS ORGANIZE
BKK POST: TEAK TREES FOUND CUT AND MOVED TO BURMA
BKK POST: TRADERS WANT BORDER OPENDED FOR SONGKRAN

***********************INSIDE BURMA***************************
REUTERS: KHIN NYUNT WARNS OF "NEO-COLONIALISTS AND THEIR
         MINIONS"
NATION: SLORC LINKED TO PAMPHLET ATTACKS AGAINST SUU KYI 
BKK POST:SLORC MOUNTS OMINOUS PLAN FOR SELF-PRESERVATION
BKK POST: RANGOON READY FOR WEEK-LONG GEM SHOW

************************SHAN STATE**************************** 
BKK POST: INTERIOR CHECKS THAI CITIZENSHIP OF 'SHAN' CHIEFS 
BKK POST: KHUN SA AIDE SAYS SLORC ONLY READY FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL 
          WARFARE

***************"THE OTHER COUNTRY" [THAILAND]***************** 
BKK POST: BURMESE AMBASSADOR SAYS 'NO' TO MEDIATION
BKK POST: BURMESE STUDENTS TO STAGE RALLY
NATION: THAILAND READY TO HOST EAS MEETING BY 1996, SAYS PM    
NATION: WOMEN'S RIGHTS GROUPS GATHER FOR GOVERNMENT HOUSE

****************************REGION****************************
NATION: DENG'S DEATH 'WILL NOT SLOW' ECONOMIC GROWTH
REUTERS: THAN SHWE IN HANOI
BKK POST: BURMA, VIETNAM TO JOINTLY SUPRESS NARCOTICS TRADE

*********************INTERNATIONAL****************************
BKK POST: JAPAN SET TO RESUME AID TO BURMA 
LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL: SIR DAVID STEEL DENIED ACCESS TO BURMA
        TO PRESENT AWARD TO AUNG SAN SUU KYI
NATION: UN SHOWS 'GRAVE CONCERN' AT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN
        BURMA
GOA:   RIGHTS REPORT--"IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT THERE IS NO
       PROGRESS WHATSOEVER TOWARDS DEMOCRACY IN BURMA"


****************************MISC******************************
BURMANET: LETTER--REQUEST FOR DRUG INFO

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*************THE BURMANET NEWS--MARCH 11, 1995***************
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*******************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************
NATION: INTERVIEW WITH GEN. BO MYA--KNU TO KEEP STRUGGLE ALIVE 
9 MARCH 1995

General Saw Bo Mya, president of the Karen National Union
(KNU) talks to The |Nation's Yindee Lertcharoenchok about the
future of his guerrillas movement.

Q: THE KNU has suffered a big set back, politically and
militarily, from the fall of Manerplaw headquarters and
Kawmoora camp and from the internal religious split between
the \Buddhist and Christian members. What is the KNU future
plan or strategy?  For the KNU revolution, we will do what we
used to do. At the same time, we will try to reunite our
villagers and civilians and to continue our struggle.  After
the fall of Manerplaw and Kawmoora, the KNU is in urgent need
for political and military reforms? What are they going to be?

A: Our political objectives will remain the same as before, we
don't rally need a change for that. That is, we will fight for
Democracy and equal rights for all ethnic nationalities
including the Karen nationality. As for our military strategy,
we are going to use guerrillas warfare tactics to fight the
Slorc. As the Slorc has acquired a huge stock of arms,
weaponries and ammunitions and they can use them to attack us,
we can not contract a fixed or static military location or
base.

Q: But how effectively can the KNU carry out a guerrillas war
against the Burmese army which has reinforced the border area
with large number of troops and weapons?

A: We think if we use guerillas tactics, the Burmese army will
suffer higher casualties while we will suffer less.

Q: The Slorc is using and trying to legitimize the breakaway
Democratic Kayin Buddhist Organization. How is the KNU going
to deal with the situation?  

A: DKBO is formed and organized by the Slorc, which is trying
to divide us into two groups. The Slorc's objective is that
they don't want to give us the Karen State. They try to
manipulate and deceive our people, so what we will remain
devided or split. All ethnic groups, which have signed a
cease-fire agreement with the Slorc, have now found out that
they can not discuss any political agenda with the regime. The
Slorc told them that if they want to discuss any political
changes in Burma, they would have to surrender and lay down
their arms first. That is one of the conditions that the KNU
cannot accept.

Q: Is there any possibility that the KNU and DKBO will patch
up?  

A: Many of the KNU leaders and members do not want to join the
DKBO but they were forced at gunpoint by the Slorc or Burmese
troops. May be we can persuade some of them to come of in us.
Some DKBO members joined the group because they don't know the
politics behind the Slorc's creation of the DKBO. They don't
know that the dispute and split (within the KNU) was actually
initiated by the Slorc. The Slorc is cruel; they sent forces
into refugee camps, raping women and looting their belongings.
Moreover, the Slorc is not a ligimate government and they
don't care about international diplomacy or community.

Q: hat is the strength of DKBO troops and supporters?

A: The slorc said 8,000 villagers joined them. That is not
true. DKBO is only a small unit of the KNU which has joined
the Slorc. They lies to villagers that they are going to freed
those who go back to Brume. Many of the villagers and refugees
were forced by the Slorc and the DKBO to go back to Burma.
They also lies to the world community that they need these
people to rebuild the country. DKBO and the Slorc are bad
people, that is why they can joins hand together. Whatever
they do is to oppress the people.

Q: How can the KNU stop the intrusion of the DKBO and Burmese
forces into refugee camps in Thailand to harass the refugees?

A: The refugee camps are in Thailand so we cannot really take
care of assume full responsibility for them. We hope the Thai
government will be able to handle the problems, we can handle
them. I would like to request Prime Minister Chaun Leepai to
please provide security protection for the refugees. The Slorc
will try to lie to the world that these refugees were
suppressed by the KNU and will ask them to support and give
assistance for refugees inside the country, Whatever they do,
is just a lie.

Q: Thai Army Commander in Chief General Wimol Wongwanich said
recently that the Slorc should crush the KNU. HE also
mentioned that is good that Kawmoora and Manerplaw fall to the
Burmese army, as peace can now prevail along the Thai-Burmese
border and that the KNU can now enter peace talks with the
Slorc. What is your opinion?

A: Talking about peace in Burma, we have never rejected peace
talk with Brume. But what we ant is genuine lasting peace in
Burma, not just a cease-fire. We don't want a temporary peace
in Burma, nut what the Slorc wants is just a cease-fire or
temporary peace. All ethnic groups which have talked with the
Slorc did not know if there was going to be a permanent peace
in Burma. I believe that the Slorc will sooner or later try to
force these groups to surrender and lay down their arms. If
the Slorc forces them like that, there will be no real peace
in Burma.

Q: Prime Minister Chuan mentioned about a week ago that he
wants to mediate in peace talks between KNU and Slorc? What is
your opinion?

A: We have presented a letter to Prime Minister Chuan. We
agree with whatever he said and what was published in the
newspapers. It is our pleasure to talk peace with the Slorc.
We sent the letter about three day after he (Chuan) said that.
The Prime Ministers has not yet replied to our letter.

Q: Before the Burmese Army resumed the military offensive
against KNU last year, particularly directed at Manerplaw,
both KNU and Slorc nearly entered the first round of peace
talks. Why didn't the peace talks place?

A: I met with the Burmese military attache to Bangkok. I told
him that we want the meeting in a third country, but he said
no. Later he told us that we could have the talk at the
Burmese embassy in Bangkok but the Burmese leaders in Rangoon
rejected that. They had agreed first to (the venue) the
Burmese Embassy, but they later rejected it. After that we
agreed to meet in Rangoon, but they said we cannot do it in
Rangoon. We had to do it in Moulmein. During our peace efforts
with them, the Slorc started their military operations against
us. The Slorc has also rejected the efforts of Buddhist monk,
U Rewata Dhamma, who has offered to act as a mediator between
the KNU and the Slorc.  

Q: Can Prime Minister Chuan serve as a mediator because the
Slorc could reject him as well? What do you think the Thai
government or Chuan could do to restore peace in Burma?

A: It is true that Thailand can only act as a mediator if both
the KNU and the Slorc agree to it. But we believe that if
Thailand really wants to, they can do it. If they put pressure
on the SLorc, they can do it. But if they don't, it well not
work. It seems the Slorc has no respect for Thailand and Thai
authorities. They went into our refugee camps in Baw Naw and
shot at our people. They try to make people see that it is
only the DKBO forced who are doing this, but infect the Slorc
soldiers joined with the DKBO forces.  But can the KNU do
something from inside Burma to prevent the DKBO and the
Burmese soldiers from crossing into Thai camps to harass the
refugees?  The camps are too close to the border, so they can
just cross any where. The partition between the two countries
is just small and narrow Moei River, so they can cross at any
time.

Q: When will KNU hold a meeting to reform itself and to draw
out a new KNU military and political strategy?

A: Not too long, in the next couple of days from now. The
meeting is about our future plan, about our strategy in the
future. We just had a meeting of the NCGUB and we have come up
with a statement.

Q: It seems the KNU is in need for friends especially from the
ethnic group? Have there been any contract between KNU and
other ethnic groups?

A: Yes, we have contracts with the Mon, Rakhine, Chin, Karenni
and also the Burmese students. We also have contract with the
Kachin and Wa.

Q: Is there any possibility do establishing a new ethnic front
or reorganizing the existing National Democratic Front?

A: We're trying to our best to do it.

Q: During the offensive against KNU, the Kachin issued a
strong statement condemning the SLorc offensive? Has there
been any contract between the two groups?

A: We have meetings with the Kachin. I sent my representative
to talk with them, said was not easy for me to travel even to
meet journalists during the Manerplaw offensive.

Q: My understanding is that the Kachin Independence
Organization was already expelled from the Democratic Alliance
of Burma. Was it also expelled from the Notional Democratic
Front?

A: It was not legally expelled from the DAB, and the NDF
stilll has the same ethnic member ships - the Karen, Mon,
Rakhine, Kachin, Shan, Karinne, Wa, Lahu, Palaung and Pa-).

Q: Is there any possibility that the NDF will hold a meeting? 

A: It is not easy at this movement.

Q: There have been a  lot of talk and speculations that the
KNU will have some changes in its leadership. Even the KNU
issued a statement mentioning that. What will be the changes?

A: There will be changes in the 45-member KNU central
committee. We are going to put more young people in it. That
we still have to discuss.

Q: The breakaway DKBO has accused the KNU leadership of
discrimination against Buddhist religious practices and
activities and that |Buddhist members were too accorded same
or equal rights like the Christian member. Even some KNU
leaders and Burma watchers speculate a need of KNU structural
reform - bringing in the younger generation and more Buddhist
leaders what is your opinion?

A: The Buddhist members are not oppressed by the Christians.
It is the Slorc who started and spread the rumors. In our KNU
leadership there are many Buddhists leaders and even in the
central Committee. People who work for the revolution must not
give up. But some people who work for the revolution are just
fake freedom fighters. When the time are good, they join the
revolution and when there are bad times, they leave it (the
revolution).

Q: Are you discouraged or disheartened one that KNU has lost
its Manerplaw headquarters and Kawmoora camp?

A: We cannot give up. I don't feel discouraged at all, and
neither do other leaders. If they really fight for the
country, for their people, they will not feel discouraged and
they will not give up. People who feel discouraged or
disappointed are just fake freedom fighters.

Q: Is there any way for the KNU to bring back their leaders
who were kidnapped by the Burmese or DKBO forces, and those
who defected?

A: We have a way (to bring them back). We are doing the right
thing. Slorc are just pretenders and one day the truth will
prevail. The Slorc knows how to lie and deceive the people.
They announced on Radio that the fall of Manerplaw and
Kawmoora was the work of the DKBO and not the Slorc - that is
a lie that they and up and ashowed to the world. We hope the
world community will not be deceived by the Slorc.

Q: Are you discouraged or disappointed with the soft
international reaction towards the resumption of the Burmese
offensive against the KNU, especially the attacks on Manerplaw
and Kawmoora?

A: Other countries only care for their own prosperity and
their business interests. The Slorc has got a lot weapons and
ammunitions from China. That is why they launched a massive
military offensive against us. If the Slorc is not supported
by the international community, they will not have money to
come and fight us. I want to tell the world that because the
Slorc is not to the people, I want to see the International
community put pressure on them; stop providing them with arms
and ammunition; and stop doing business with them.

Q: What should Thailand do?

A: If Thailand wants to do business with Burma, they should
help us to talk peace with Slorc. If there is peace in Burma,
there will be no problem in carrying out business in the
country. Because they (Thailand) are pursing  "constructive
engagement", we hope that the thing they are doing will
benefit both  and not only one party. Thailand can be a
mediator and with its "constructive engagement" policy with
Slorc, I hope they can do the right thing.

Q: What is your opinion about the signing of purchase of
natural gas pipeline through the Karen and Mon controlled
territory?

A: I hope that they will implement the project only after
peace prevails in the country. I have no comment whether we
are going to sabotage or obstruct the project. But because we
are in a civil war, they should not be carrying out that
project. We cannot guarantee that the fighting in the area
will not affect the gas pipeline project.  

Q The Unocal Company claims that there is no relocation or
forced labour related to the project, US State Department
officials said the US will outlaw the KNU like the Khmer Rouge
if the Karen forces attacks foreigners working on the project.
What is your opinion?

A: I just want to ask them a simple question. Who is actually
the one who comes and gives us trouble? Who is creating the
problem - the company or the KNU?  What is the Slorc's next
move?

The Slorc will try to woo more people to return to Burma. At
the moment, they pretend that they are supporting the Buddhist
people, but in the fact they just want to have a stable
government.

Q: How is the KNU going to proceed with the peace talks with
the Slorc? Will it be acceptable to the KNU, if the Slorc
insists that the talks take place in Moulmein or Pa-an.

A: The Slorc does not wants us to have to any mediator, we
will have to proceed with the peace talks by ourselves. They
told us we can meet in Moulmein or Pa-an.



*******************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************
BKK POST: YOUNG BLOOD TO BE INJECTED INTO KNU LEADERSHIP
9 March 1995

THE Karen National Union is expected to name a set of
young-blood members within this month to assist aged leaders
in the struggle for autonomy from Rangoon. Most of the leaders
are over 65. A KNU source said yesterday that names of the new
leaders will be discussed at the extraordinary meeting now
underway in a mountainous Burmese border area south of Mae Sot
District of Tak Province. 

The high-level meeting of the KNU is expected to carry on
until next week, the source said. KNU president Gen Bo Mya,
67, who has led the KNU since 1976, will still retain his
position. But a few cabinet members of the Kawthoolei
Government will step down from their positions or resign from
their cabinet posts to pave the way for younger Karens who are
intelligent and well-educated to take up the positions, the
source said. The new leaders will be installed at all cabinet
positions to assist or work on behalf of their leaders. 

They will act like shadow leaders in the Kawthoolei
Government, both in military, administration and foreign
affairs, the report said. According to the report, the plan to
have younger leaders working alongside the old leaders
originated several years ago, but the plan has not yet been
implemented. >From now on, there will be new Karen leaders
working alongside active Kawthoolei cabinet members. The young
leaders will be appointed to take up cabinet posts in place of
those who may wish to resign. A natural gas pipeline project
of US-based Unocal and Total of France which will be
constructed and pass through Karen territory in Tavoy and
Mergui districts is also a main topic of the discussion at the
meeting. A Karen decision-maker said the KNU is ready to talk
with the gas company to settle the problem. (BP&TN)



*******************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************
BKK POST: TRADERS WANT BORDER OPENED FOR SONGKRAN 
9 March 1995

Local traders and merchants have called on the Foreign Affairs
and Commerce ministries to coordinate with the Burmese
Government to reopen the border before the Songkran festival
next month. The move was reached following a meeting between
the traders and provincial authorities in Mae Sot yesterday
after local Burmese authorities closed the border checkpoint
between Myawaddy and Mae Sot last weekend. The Burmese told
Thai officials the sudden closure order came from Rangoon to
ensure the safety of a senior official from the Burmese
capital who visited the border town at the weekend. 

The traders said the border closure had effected cross-border
trade and the passage of people between the two countries. The
meeting was also attended by Task Force 34 commander Col Direk
Yaemngamribe, Tak Chamber of Commerce deputy president Panithi
Tangpati as well as immigration and customs officials. Mr
Panithi said the closure, announced on Saturday, was ordered
while a large number of Thais were shopping in Myawaddy. He
said shutdown order stopped trade completely. Many traders
have stocked goods to sell to Burmese traders for the comming
Songkran festival. 

The daily import and export of goods previously was about 10
million baht but the border closure has caused business to
drop to about 100,000 baht a day. Mr Panithi hoped that
coordination between officials of the two countries would help
bring back business soon . A border source said Burma may try
to work out what areas it would allow Buddhist Karens to
conduct cross-border trade, like it previously gave the Wa
National Organisation at Mu See after that faction signed a
ceasefire agreement with Rangoon. (BP) 

*******************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************
BKK POST: KNU PONDERS CHANGES AT THE TOP
9 March 1995

KANALAY, Burma_ The Karen National Union (KNU), struggling to
reorganize after the severe setbacks dealt it by the Burmese
junta in recent military offensives, is holding a series of
urgent meetings to outline its future political and military
strategies, including leadership reform that will see the
emergence of a younger generation to lead the movement. While
several senior participants in the meetings have declined to
put names to the new faces in the KNU leadership line-up,
younger members and leaders said the changes would probably
include the movement's presidency, currently held by Gen Bo
Mya. Brig Gen Shwe Saing and Brig Gen Oliver, commanders of
the KNU Sixth and Fourth Brigades, are thought to be the two
leading figures to become president and vice president,
respectively. 

Both Shwe Saing and Oliver, 60, are "very close" to Bo Mya and
have a high respect for their commander, according to KNU
sources. About 30 senior KNU leaders are participating in the
meetings, which started on Monday and are expected to continue
over the next few days. Under discussion are changes in KNU
leadership for both administrative and military posts. Many
leaders and members want to replace Bo Mya with Shwe Saing,
who is said to be "a more pragmatic person". Apart from Bo
Mya, other leaders who are likely to be replaced include Vice
President Lt Gen Tamalabaw, Prime Minister Padoh Ba Tin, Joint
Secretary Maj Gen Maung Maung and Vice Chief-of Staff Maj Gen
La Htoo. Battalion commanders and second-level leaders will
probably be promoted to succeed them, sources at the meetings
said.(BP&TN)





*******************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************
AP: KAREN REBELS ORGANIZE
8 March 1995

        
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Burma's main anti-government groups
have set up a new headquarters inside the country and vowed to
``launch appropriate forms of struggle on a large scale''
against the ruling military junta, a statement received
Wednesday said.         

     
Under the umbrella National Council of the Union of Burma, the
rebel groups held an emergency meeting March 1-3 at a new,
unidentified site inside Burmese territory. It is believed to
be near the Thai border.
        
The meeting followed the loss of the resistance headquarters
of Manerplaw to Burmese forces in January and other recent
defeats in areas along the Thai-Cambodian border.
        
The council includes Burmese politicians, students and other
pro-democracy activists as well as ethnic minority groups like
the Karen, seeking greater autonomy from the Rangoon
government. The Karen bore the brunt of recent government
attacks.
        
A statement issued after the meeting said the council urged
the junta to halt its current military offensive, hold a
general meeting of all political forces inside Burma and
release Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's top pro-democracy
leader and a Nobel Peace prize winner. She is under house
arrest in Rangoon.

The conference also called on nations, especially Burma's
neighbors, to stop all assistance to the junta and serve as
mediators to solve the country's problems by political means.  
      
The Karen and other ethnic rebel groups have been fighting the
central government for decades. They were joined at their
Thai-Burma border bases by Burmans fleeing the bloody 1988
suppression of a nationwide democracy uprising.
        
The recent fighting was complicated by the defection of a
Buddhist faction from the Christian-led Karen National Union,
the most powerful ethnic rebel group still battling Rangoon.
        On Wednesday, the official Burmese newspaper New Light
of Myanmar reported that senior members of the junta Tuesday
visited the camp of the breakaway faction, known as the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Organization.
        The camp is at Myaingyingu, a village 100 miles east
of Rangoon and 12 miles from the Thai frontier. It also serves
as a refugee camp for Karens returning from Thailand.
        Burmese officials say 9,500 Karen refugees have
arrived at Myaingyingu since the fall of Manerplaw and other
Karen rebel strongholds. The government attacks sent waves of
refugees into Thai territory.



*******************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI********************* 
BKK POST: TEAK TREES FOUND CUT AND MOVED TO BURMA
10 March 1995

The House committee for Agriculture and Cooperatives yesterday 
found a large number of teak trees in a national reserve
forest in Tak Province cut down and hauled into Burmese
territory.
Sixteen members of the committee were inspecting the area in
Tha songyang District where more them are thought to be teak
trees.
The inspection was conducted to examine the trees before the
Forest Industry Organization began falling them on March 10.
Som 3,500 of the 12,000 trees were cut down and hauled from
the Thai border into Burma and piled up onto the bank of the
Moei River, according to the report. Ten people were found
guarding the logs.

Tak Provincial forestry chief Thani Wiriyaratanaporn said
fighting between Burmese troops and Karen Natuional Union
guerrillas posed obstacles for officials to work in the area
and this allowed encroachers to fell trees easily there.

However, he said forestry officials, Border Patrol Police, and
local police and officers from the Thai Army Region have
cooperated to protect the area. Forestry Police Deputy
Commander Pol Maj-Gen Boonthien Yaibutes said logs htat have
already been felled would have to stamped and seized as soon
as possible and concerned agencies would have to set up
measure to prevent more girdled trees from being cut down.
Kamsung Prapakornkaewrat, a committee member, said the would
raised the issue during the committee meeting next Wednesday.

Committee spokesman Danai Wachraporn said that as the Karen
refugees were a major cause of forest encroachment, he would
raisse the issue with the Housse Foreign Affairs Committee to
deal with the problem more efficiently. (BP)

***********************INSIDE BURMA***************************
REUTERS: KHIN NYUNT WARNS OF "NEO-COLONIALISTS AND THEIR
         MINIONS"
8 March 1995
Rangoon: One of the Burma's most powerful generals warned that
"neo-colonialists and their minions" are trying to urged
people to be on their guard, state-run newspaper said
yesterday.

Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, head of Burma's military intelligence and
the second most senior member of Burma's ruling military body,
said neo-colonialist are trying to belittle the nation's
success by spreading false reports and malicious rumors.
He also said "internal and external destructionists" were
trying to incite the people, and he urged the people to be on
their guard against such efforts.

Some neo-colonial countries are increasingly resorting to lies
about Burma in an effort to discredit and isolate it, he told
a group of teachers attending a training course.

Khin Nyunt identified neither the neo-colonialists nor the
minions but he said fabricate reports were being heard
repeatedly on foreign radio stations.

Burmese leaders have often criticized the Burmese language
programmes of both the British Broadcasting Corporation and
the Voice of America.

In an apparent reference to the United States, he said some
powerful countries are turning a deaf ear to Burma's
"relentless endeavors" to suppress narcotics and are reporting
fabrications suggesting Burma is encouraging drug
production.(TN)


***********************INSIDE BURMA***************************
NATION: SLORC LINKED TO PAMPHLET ATTACKS AGAINST SUU KYI 
10 March 1995
Slorc linked to pamphlet attacks against Suu Kyi

Aung Zaw reports on an apparent government-sponsored bid to
incite hatred of the dissident Burmese leader.

Burmese intelligence officers were believed to be behind the
distribution this week of a virulent pamphlet attacking
popular opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband,
analysts and Rangoon residents said.

"It is embarassing for them to publish this kind of stuff in
their newspapers so Slorc disseminated it on the streets,"
said one observer in Rangoon.

"If not Slorc itself, then it is the DDSI," said a
Bangkok-based Burma watcher, referring to the ruling
junta's Directorate Defence  Service Intelligence agency.
The timing of the attack, coming shortly after a string of
military victories over the Karen National Union suggests the
military government is stepping up its attacks against
opposition groups and figures.

The pamphlets, which were attributed to an unknown Burmese
journalist, said "Aung San Su Kyi was neither an academic nor
a professional lady." What was Su Kyi doing before August
1988? Where was she living? Has she ever helped or worked
for the welfare of the people of Myanmar? "She had no
responsible job under any government or an organisation. Only
in 1988 she seized the chance of getting into the political
field of Myanmar and jumped on the bandwagon and took the
opportunity of pretending to be interested in the affairs of
the country and the people. She instantly claimed to be a
patriotic person."

The pamphlets disputed Suu Kyi's democratic credentials and
questioned why she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
"Nobody had heard her lobbying for peace for the people around
the world. She had never risked her life or limb or
participated in attempt to achieve peace for the mankind of
the world. She had not even written a single letter about
world peace. It was a big surprise to the people of the world
to see such a person like Aung San Su Kyi, being awarded a
Nobel Peace Prize." The leaflet was signed by Tun Shwe who
claimed to be an international correspondent, Myanmar
Tele-Fax-News-Agency.

Tun Shwe took particular offense to Suu Kyi's husband, Michael
Aris, a British Tibetologist, calling him a, "British Jew" and
"an unknown scholar in Tibetan art and culture." Tun Shwe
spelt Suu Kyi's name with a Su not Suu, keeping fashion with a
style adopted by government-run newspapers.

The leaflet took a similar government position in accusing Suu
Kyi of being in  league with communist and terrorists. It
described Suu Kyi as an "opportunist seeking to be gain high
position in the political field of Myanmar."

Burma watchers said the highly personal nature of the attack
recalled similar government abuse hurled at the charismatic
dissident when she emerged to lead opposition to military rule
in 1989. Just before Suu Kyi was to give her first speech in
Shwe Dagon Pagoda, about six people were apprehended by monks
and students who were taking care of security  at the time.
Hundreds of leaflets maligning Suu Kyi and her husband were
found in their bags. The leaflets said, "Call your bastard
foreigner and buzz off now!" and "Genocidal prostitute."They
were accopanied by obsence drawings.

Later it was found out that those arrested were from the DDSI.
One was identified as Cpl San Lwin and the other Soe Naing.
The leader of the team was a DDSI captain, Si Thu. It is
believed that Si Thu is close to both Khin Nyunt and Gen Ne
Win. The then chief of DDSI was Colonel Khin Nyunt who is now
secretary one of Slorc and military intelligence chief.
Khin Nyunt has repeatedly accused Suu Kyi of being a political
neophyte who allowed herself to be used as a "front" for
Communist Party of Burma. Khin Nyunt told foreign journalist
in last year, "She rose up because of the Burmese Communist
Party and its underground cell."

The daughter of Burmese Independence hero Aung San, the
Oxford-educated Suu Kyi was swept into
political prominence during the upheaval of 1988. In 1989, she
led the pro-democracy movement through non-violence and
disciple. Even after Slorc put her under house arrest, her
party, the National League for Democracy won a landslide
victory although its leading members were later arrested and
charged with various crimes of endangering the state.
In an example of rather skewed and racist llogic, the leaflet
asked: "Would it be acceptable to the people of the United
Kingdom if the Queen of England was to be married to a Black
West Indian or the President of the United States of America


was to be married to a Black Muslim lady? (TN)

***********************INSIDE BURMA***************************
BKK POST: SLORC MOUNTS OMINOUS PLAN FOR SELF-PRESERVATION
10 March 1995

It seems Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council is
about to win a long battle against democracy by over powering
all minority opposition groups and they trying to gain the
trust of the world. It is a sad situation despite continued
efforts by many of the world's leaders to highlight the
country's human rights abuses. And it will become even more
sad if its Southeast Asian neighbours, with economic
prosperity in mind, continue to stand idly by as the junta
bluffs other into believing it
is trying to restore basic qualities of life under military
rule. The Slorc's strategy, if it was indeed intentional,
could be regarded as leader Khin Nyunt's master stroke of
genius. History is a good starting point. The slorc takes
power amid a bloody uprising and sits patiently while it is
condemned by the rest for the world, refusing to relinquish
power. Then, it slowly proceeds to reduce any threat of
opposition by forcings students involved in the uprising to
flee the country.

Any other opposition was also slowly eliminated, the latest
being the Karen National Union, which had its Manerplaw
headquarters blasted last month by junta forces. Still, the
slorc reflects condemnation from foreign countries for its
unjustified show of force, including the United Nations Human
Rights Commission in Geneva which has laready condemned the
junta for its offensive.
The UN Commission accused the Slorc of toture, arbitrary
executions and forced labour, and appealed for the immediate
and unconditional release of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Su
Kyi, according to Agence France Presse. It is not the first
time the Slorc has been accused of committing such atrocities. 

Now, if it is possible to take an educated guess at future
tactics of the slorc, the plan is coming to frution and the
rest of the worlde must be careful not to believe an illusion
being created by Khin Nyunt's regime - particularly Southeast
Asian which can easily fall into the trap of sacrificing
morality for the shake of short-termm monetary gain because of
Burma's rich resources. Even though there are many more
complex factors affecting political decisions, a
simplification would say any countries inside Southeast Asia
which support the slorc's continued defiance of democracy
stand to lose the support of the international community.
Economically, countries stand the chance of jumping the gun in
an attempt to avoid missing the boat.

Next, the slorc has promised to attack Khun Sa, who was the
logical last choice. He is know as a drug lord, disliked by
Amerca and other dominant powers for pushing drugs which have
infiltrated intothose countries. His defeat would be welcomed.
His army concription pliices are as brutal as the junta's.
Effectively, one villain  would have defeated another and the
international community  would happy to see it. But, again,
the slorc's power would be increased and minority groups of
Burma's northeast would suffer. Their existing freedom,
however little, would be extinguished. 

The final rabbit in the slorc's has of tricks democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi. Once all human rights abuses are committeed
in the name of absolute rule, she will presumably be released.
A year overdue in June, the release will have fulfilled the
wishes of human rights activists the world over. There will be
an expectation for diplomatic praise. It is than that the
world must carefully assess the real political situation in
Burma - in brief, it will bw an assessment of just how much
freedom will be given to the people, regardless of how much
the economy is opened up to the outside world. Japan this
announced it will again send aid to Burma - good news for the
people if it is not abused by military powers and used for the
worng reasons. Develop nations must help to improved the
welfare of the people, but they must also beware the
government. 

If the Slorc's bluff works, it will have succeeded in gainging
its ultimate goal of total power over the people, whom it will
continue to manipulate. Distribution of wealth will remain
with the chosen few of the top of the military scale. If not,
the United Nations and the outside world must increase efforts
to pressure Burma into adopting a truly democratic stance,
which should include another controlled election similar to
that of Cambodia. Thailand must put itself on a list of
countries continuting to condemn absolute rule and, as with
the case of Cambodia, must only support a truly
democratically-elected government. (BP)


***********************INSIDE BURMA***************************
BKK POST: RANGOON READY FOR WEEK-LONG GEM SHOW 
9 March 1995

A gems fair opens here later this week and private traders
will be allowed to compete with the state-owned gems house for
the first time, an official said yesterday. "After a 15% tax
to be levied by the government, 85% of the earnings will go to
the trader," Mines Minister Hlaing Win told reporters. But the
private traders also will have to pay the government a 25%
handling fee. The week-long fair, which begins tomorrow, will
feature the nation's renowned rubies and its imperial jade, of
which Burma is the only source. Some 500 gem merchants from 16
countries are expected to bid on 339 lots of gems, 621 lots of
jade and 120 lots of pearl worth a total of $18.6 million.
Jewelry and jade carvings also will be on sale, raising the
total value of the emporium to nearly $22.8 million. Formerly
a state preserve, the government has recently given mining
concessions to private dealers. These traders will operate
during the fair from a central market alongside the
government's new gems house. 

Most of the rubies and other precious stones come from mines
in eastern Shan State, while jade is abundant in Kachin state
to the north. Since the military government reached a truce
with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) insurgents, jade
production has doubled, Hlaing Win said. "Prior to 1992,
security was a problem and the government had access to only a
limited area for mining jade," he said. "Now it has been able
to extend the area." About 150 tons of jade-bearing rocks
reached Rangoon before the 1992 truce, and that now has
doubled, he said.(BP)


************************SHAN STATE**************************** 
INTERIOR CHECKS THAI CITIZENSHIP OF 'SHAN' CHIEFS
10 March 1995

The Interior Ministery is checking Thai citizenship of 10
alleged lieutenants of drug warlord Khun Sa and how
citizenship was obtained, Interior Deputy Permanent Secretary
Damri Wattanasingha said yesterday. 

The move is part of a process to withdraw their Thai
citizenship so they can be extradited to the United States to
stand trial on drug charges. The were arrested last November
in separate raids in Chiang Rai, Chiang mai, Mae Hong Son and
Bangkok. They are among suspects Washington has asked Thailand
to arrest and extradite to the US. Mr Damri said the Supreme
Attorney-General's Office will be asked to seek a court ruling
on whether they should be extradited. (BP)

************************SHAN STATE****************************
BKK POST: KHUN SA AIDE SAYS SLORC ONLY READY FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL
          WARFARE 
8 March 1995

The Burmese Government will only wage psychological warfare
against the Muang Tai Army (MTA) of opium warlord Khun Sa,
according to Khuensai Chaiyen, the aide to the Shan leader.
The Burmese Government will launch no more heavy attacks in
the future against the MTA, Mr Khuensai told the Bangkok Post
yesterday.

The battle between Burmese Government troops and the MTA was
suspended after a minor exchange of gunfire near Taunggyi in
the Shan State opposite Chiang Rai Province earlier this
month, said the MTA spokesman. He refused to reveal MTA losses
in the small scale-engagement.

Regarding psychological warfare, Mr Khuensai said it consisted
of the Burmese Government repeatedly warning of its plan to
launch a heavy attack against Khun Sa's MTA following the
capture of the Karen National Union's stronghold at Manerplaw.
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc), said on Burmese Government TV on
Monday night that the KNU troops would soon have no where in
Burma to live and that the next target of the Burmese
Government was Khun Sa's army, Mr Khuensai said.

"Our situation is normal. Our people can survive although they
have suffered somewhat by the Thai Government's closure of the
passage at Mae Hong Son eight months ago," the MTA spokesman
said.

Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt also asked for funds from the US to support
Rangoon's attack against the Shan State, citing the funds
would be used to crack down on drug trafficking, Mr Khuensai
said. Instead, the US should pay attention to the human rights
issue in Burma and help Karen people who took refuge in
Thailand in order to flee the Burmese Government's suppression
campaign, he said. Meanwhile, Shan State National Congress
chairman Gan Gade said that Khun Sa had kept his 10,000 armed
troops on standby to counter any possible attacks.
Due to langthy preparation, MTA troops could continue fighting
for two years without logistical or resupply problems, he
said. (BP)

***************"THE OTHER COUNTRY" [THAILAND]*****************
BKK POST: BURMESE AMBASSADOR SAYS 'NO' TO MEDIATION
8 March 1995

The Burmese ambassador to Thailand yesterday rejected outside
mediation, saying the fighting between the Burmese armed
forces and the Karen National Union was an internal affair.
KNU leader Bo Mya said earlier that he would welcome Prime
Minister Chuan Leekpai to mediate peace talks between his
group and the Rangoon government.

Ambassador Tin Win made the remarks at a vin d'honneur at the
Foreign Ministry yesterday, held to introduce the diplomatic
corps and newly-appointed Foreign Minister Krasae Chanawong.
Deputy Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan meanwhile reaffirmed
that Thailand was ready to facilitate talks between the
Burmese Government and opposition parties to reach peace and a
ceasefire in the neighbouring country.

But the possibility depended on all parties concerned, he told
reporters in a separate interview.Reconciliation between the
Burmese Government and ethnic minorities will bring about
peace and security for Thais along the border, he said.
Prime Minister Chuan on February 25 expressed Thailand's
readiness to mediate peace talks between the Slorc and ethnic
groups to reach a ceasefire and peace in the neighbouring
country.

Mr Tin Winn said he expected Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, first
secretary of the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(Slorc), to pay an official visit to Thailand next month. He
said the secretary had a tight schedule this month.
Bilateral issues and cooperation will be discussed during the
visit, he said. Thailand has invited Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, a
powerful figure in the Slorc, to visit as the guest of Deputy
Prime Minister Chamlong Srimuang.

An invitation was extended during a visit to Rangoon by former
foreign minister Thaksin Shinwatra in January. Lt-Gen Khin
Nyunt should have come to Bangkok in February but had to
postpone on the grounds that the timing was not appropriate
due to ongoing fighting between Burmese government forces and
ethnic Karens. (BP)


***************"THE OTHER COUNTRY" [THAILAND]***************** 
BKK POST: BURMESE STUDENTS TO STAGE RALLY
10 March 1995

Burmese students in Thailand are planing a rally in front of
the Burmese Embassy on March 13 to protest alleged human
rights violations in Burma and to commemorate "Red Bridge
Day," a source said yesterday.

The Oversea National Students Organization of Burma and other
Burmese students groups met last Satuarday at Ramkhamhaeng
University to discuss thier plans. The students plan to
pro-long the protest until March 16 to commemorate "Red Bridge
Day", marking the day in 1988 when Burmese soldiers fired on
protesting Burmese students at Red Bridge near Rangoon
University.

The groups want politicans and academics to join in a panel
discussion they are also arranging. The students last Saturday
discussed the situation in Burma following the loss by the
Karen natinal Union (KNU) of its major bases at Manerplaw and
Kawmoora.

They concluded that they needed to formulate new strategies in
their struggle against the military regime which calls itself
State Law and Order Restoration Council.

The source said the students are also planning a major meeting
of all students groups in April when the Oversea National
Students Organization of Burma will elect a new executive
committee. Mon people both in and outside Bangkok say Burmese
armed forces are better equipped judjing from their abbility
to capture the two KNU camps.

The source said they had agreed to suspend their armed
activities. (BP)

****************************REGION****************************
THE NATION: DENG'S DEATH 'WILL NOT SLOW' ECONOMIC GROWTH
8 March 1995

Economic cooperation between Thailand, Lao, Burma, and China's
southern province of Yannan will continue to grow even after
the imminent death of Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping, Deputy
Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan predicted.

Surin was playing down fears that the uncertainties within
China about the post-Deng era will have a negative impact on
the economic cooperation between the four countries.
"The momentum is there and any attempts at turning the
cooperation around will have a detrimental effect. If anything
the momentum will accelerate. I don't think there are going to
be any problems," said Surin.

The agenda for economic cooperation among the four countries,
known as the Growth Quadrangle Economic Cooperation, was
initiated in the middle of 1993 during an official meeting
held in Bangkok.

The forum was first proposed by Yannan Province which was
seeking to become China's southern trade gateway. The idea was
deemed to be in line with Deng Xiaoping's economic reform.
The four countries are expected later this month to sign an
agreement to allow the free passage on the Maekong river from
Yunnan through to the ancient Laotian city of Laung Prabang.
(TN) 




****************************REGION****************************
REUTERS: THAN SHWE IN HANOI
10 March 1995

Hanoi: Burmese military leader General Than Shwe arrived in
Hanoi at the start of a five-day visit to Vietnam yesterday,
the second top-level cantact between the once-isolated coun-
tries in less than a year.

Tha Shwe, Chairman of Burma's ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc) and Prime Minister, is returning a
visit to Burma last May by Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van
Kiet. Communist Vietnam is further down the road to economic
liberalization and wideranging diplomatic and political
relationships which the Slorc has decided to pursue of Burma.
Vietmnam is due to join the previously non-communist 
Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) next July, and
prospects of Burma's joinging the regional grouping are
expected to figure in Than Shwe's talks here. (TN)


****************************REGION****************************
BKK POST: BURMA, VIETNAM TO JOINTLY SUPRESS NARCOTICS TRADE
10 March 1995

Vietnam and Burman tomorrow will sign an agreement to jointly
fight against narciotics. The agreement provides for exchange
of information and will be signed on the last of a three-day
stay in Hanoi of a delegation led by the chairman of Burma's
ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc).

Gen Than Shwe, who arrived here yesterday for a five-day
visits as guest of Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, is
due to spend another two days in the southern commercial hub
of Ho Chi Minh City. Slorc's power first secretary, Lt Gen
Khin Nyunt, joined Burma's first high-powered delegation to
Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in
1975.

Prime Minister Kiet visited Rangoon in May last year.
during formal talls between the two delegations yesterday,
Burma agreed to transfer technology in forestry and elephant
management to vietnam, a Burmese official told the Bangkok
Post.

Lt gen Khin Nyunt, who was dressed in a western style suit
rather than his normal military attire, is due to meet
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Phan Khai this morning in a
separate programme from the rest of the delegation.

In an arrival statement, Gen Than Shwe said his visits was "to
further strengthen the traditional bonds of friendship and
mutually beneficial co-operation existing between the two
peoples of Myanmar and Vietnam."

In an editorial marking the visit, Vietnam's Communist Party
daily Nhan Dan hailed the "important victory" of the burmese
government for "eliminating the last major stronghold of the
Karen rebels" on the Thai  - Burmese border.

That success and economic achievements "reflect the support of
various ethnic peoples for the policy of national
reconciliation, and internal stability, creating favourable
conditions for the implementation of new economic policy in
the interests of Burma and the region," the editorial added.

Gen Than Shwe, who is also Slorc's defence minister, will call
on Communist Party chief Do Muoi today and President Le Duc
Anh tomorrow before heading south for Ho Chi Minh City. The
slorc delegation arrived in hanoi one day after the United
Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva condemned  the junta
for the recent offensive against karen rebels. The UN
Commission also accused Slorc of torture, arbitary executions
and forced labour, and appealed for the immediate and
unconditional release of  Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, according to AFP. (BP)


*********************INTERNATIONAL****************************
BKK POST: JAPAN SET TO RESUME AID TO BURMA 
9 March 1995

Japan is preparing to resume limited official development aid
(OAD) to Burma to help it increase its food production, the
Foreign Ministry announced yesterday. A ministry spokesman
declined to disclose the scale of the aid, but a ministry had
been considering one billion yen ($11 million) in grants for
the food production aid. The ministry said Japan "decided to
cooperate more in Burma's basic living to promote its further
efforts for democratisation and for improving human rights
conditions." It cited recent dialogue between the Burmese
military junta and pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize
winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest. Burma's
"more open attitude" towards the United Nations and Western
nations was also cited. "This aid is aimed at improving the
lives of Burmese people in mountain areas," a ministry
official said. "The government's stance remains unchanged that
further moves towards democracy are necessary for a full-scale
resumption of OAD," the spokesman added. The ministry plans to
sign the grant aid by the end of this month.(BP)





*********************INTERNATIONAL****************************
LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL: SIR DAVID STEEL DENIED ACCESS TO BURMA
        TO PRESENT AWARD TO AUNG SAN SUU KYI

Aung San Suu Kyi / Sir David Steel
worldlib@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx      


Mar  8, 1995 


Statement issued by Liberal International




London, 8 March, 1995

The Burmese embassy in London today had told Sir David Steel
MP that his proposed visit later this month is "not
convenient". Sir David, as President of the Liberal
International, was due to present the 1995 Liberal
International Prize for Freedom to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
democratically elected leader who has been under house arrest
for over five years.

The decision to make that award had not been made public
pending permission from the Burmese authorities for the
organisations President to make the necessary visit. The
Burmese government made it clear that it would not be
appropriate for Sir David to travel to Burma as a tourist and
that his proposed timing was not convenient to ministers for
an official visit.

Sir David said today: "I am prepared to accept the response of
the Burmese government at its face value and pospone my
requested visit to a time acceptable to it, on the assumption
that I will be able to present the award in person to Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, and to hold talks with her as well as with them.
According to the Burmese governments own interpretation of its
altered law she cannot continue to be held beyond 11 July 1995
and I look forward to seeing her on 12 July in Burma as a free
citizen."

Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the 1995 Prize for Freedom by
the Liberal International during a meeting in Belfast on 20
January. The Executive Committee of the Liberal International
unanimously adopted Sir Davids proposal to award her the
Prize, as a clear signal that the case of democracy in Burma
remained high on the agenda of the international community.
Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest in Rangoon
since March 1989, despite continuing campaigns on her behalf
by a large number of organisations and Nobel Prize Winners.
She was herself awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Sir David Steel said: "Although shut off from the outside
world and her own people Daw Aung San Suu Kyi keeps the flame
of democracy flickering. Her struggle is critical to the
survival of the dispirited and persecuted remnants of her
highly successful democracy movement. LI's Prize for Freedom
is a small token in comparison to the great personal sacrifice
made by the recipient and I salute her courage."

In a letter to Sir David the Secretary of State Douglas Hurd
stated: "I was delighted to hear that Liberal International
have awarded their 1995 Prize for Freedom to Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi. Her commitment to the cause of democracy and civil
liberties in Burma has kept the attention of the world on the
fate of the Burmese people. Her continued detention is
deplorable and we will continue to press the ruling military
regime for her unconditional and early release."

The Prize for Freedom is awarded annually for outstanding
personal contributions to the cause of freedom. In recent
years the Prize was awarded to Sadako Ogata, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (1994), to Mary Robinson, President
of Ireland (1993), to Maria Elena Cruz Varela, the imprisoned
Cuban poet (1992) and to the Kenyan lawyer Gitobu Imanyara and
the Paraguayan Senator Domingo Laino (both in 1991).


For more information:
Julius Maaten, Secretary General, Liberal International, phone
0171-839 5905
Sir David Steels office, phone 0171-219 3373 / 219 5650



*********************INTERNATIONAL****************************
NATION: UN SHOWS 'GRAVE CONCERN' AT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN
        BURMA
10 March 1995

The United Nations Human Rights Commission on Wednesday
accused the Burmese military junta of torture, arbitary
executions and other abuses, and appealed for the release of
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The resolution, sponsored by Australia, Chile, the United
States, Hungary and the European Union, was adopted by ashow
of hands. The commissiion said it was "gravely concerned" at
what it called extremely serious human rights violations in
the Asean country. Beside torture and summary execution, it
accused the junta of engaging in forced labour, abuse of
women, politically-motivated arrest and dention, forced
disaplacement of the population, restrictions on freedom of
expression and association and oppression of ethnic and
religious  minorities.

It called for the immediate and unconditional release of
political leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi,
a dissident who has been under house arrest for more than five
years and who won the Nobel peace prize  in 1991. Burma's
military junta promised to restore civilian rule after the
opposition won elections in 1990, but it has remained in
power. The commission also candemned the junta for a recent
offensive against Karen rebels fighting for autonomy and
against student activists.

*********************INTERNATIONAL**************************** 
GOA:   RIGHTS REPORT--"IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT THERE IS NO
       PROGRESS WHATSOEVER TOWARDS DEMOCRACY IN BURMA"

A report prepared by the Human Rights Sub-committee of the
Parliament of Australia

Government of Australia
 HRSUB: Tribal Refugee Welfare "-------------- */ 
[Subject:  To inquire into and report on the human rights
situation and lack of progress towards democracy  in 
Myanmar(Burma)  by  the Human Rights Sub-committee of the
parliament of Australia.         

Submissions   to   this   enquiry  by  various  people  and
organisations are re-posted here.
        This section is  redistributed  to  Internet/PeaceNet 
with permission from the Tribal Refugee Welfare in SE Asia,
P.O.box  215 Mirrabooka  Western Australia 6061. -- U Ne Oo]

# SUBMISSION NO. 1.

Part 1 of 2.

        THE TRIBAL REFUGEE WELFARE IN SOUTH EAST ASIA (INC)    
                    & 6 ATTACHMENTS

                HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA/THAILAND
                ------------------------------

        Since our inception on 3rd  April  1986,  this  office 
has received  thousands of reports against the Burmese (
Tatmadaw) Army which has carried out against its own  ethnic 
minorities  arbitrary execution,  torture,  robbery,  looting,
harassment, high taxation, arbitrary arrest and ransom, 
sexual  abuses,  attacks  on  civilian targets,    forced   
recruitment,    forced   relocation,   forced labour/slavery
and human mine sweepers.

        Reports received  by  us  including  Amnesty 
International reports  have been duly sent to our Members of
Parliament, Senators and the Parliamentary Human Rights
Sub-Committee with the hope that these human right violations
could be redressed and put a stop to. 
        We would like to make a submission on what is taking 
place on the Mons in Burma and in Thailand.

        Since  Burma  was  granted  her independence on 4th
January 1948, the Mons have been forced to wage a war against 
the  Central Burman  majority  government for equal rights and
they are situated in Lower Burma.

        From last year there was talk about  a  gas  pipeline 
from Martaban  to  Thailand,  with  the  Thais  buying  the
gas from the Burmese military junta. The  gas  pipeline  will 
run  through  Mon territory.  From  the beginning of this
year, the 9th Division has been trying to push the Mon
refugees into  Burma  to  what  is  now known  as  the  "old" 
Halockhani  Refugee Camp which is just a few miles away from
the SLORC outpost in Three Pagoda Pass.

        By March 1994, the Mons were pushed back into Burma
despite many appeals on their behalf by NGO's working in
Thailand. On  21st July  1994 whilst the ASEAN Conference was
on in Bangkok, 100 SLORC troops (Burmese Tatmadaw) from the
Local Infantry Battalion No.  62 based  at  Three  Pagoda 
Pass  occupied  the  western  section  of Halockhani Refugee
Camp known also as Palai Thumpai and Kwan Saya. 
        The soldiers rounded up all the men and put eight  of
them, including  the  section  leader  and  the teacher in
chains. Around midday, the troops  attempted  to  move  to 
the  main  section  of Halockhani,  half an hour's walk away.
They forced approximately 50 refugees as a human shield.
However, after about 15  Minutes,  they were  intercepted  by 
Mon soldiers and  forced to retreat to Palai Thumpai. Back in
Palai Thumpai, the SLORC soldiers burned down  the houses  of 
the  120  housholds  in  the  camp,  stole property and
destroyed food stocks. Approximately 50  families  lost  all 
their possessions.  The SLORC troops departed around 4.00 p.m.
taking with them 16 prisoners, eight of them in chains.  The 
Second-in-command of  62nd  Battalion,  Maj.  Aung Myint, told
the refugees that they could not stay at Palai Thumpai and
that his troops would return in three days and kill anyone who
remained.

        After the SLORC troops departed, the  refugees  from 
Palai Thumpai  fled.  The  refugees  from the main area of
Halockhani had already  fled  to  the   nearest   Thai  
Border   Patrol   Police, approximately  5,000  refugees  have 
been camped out at this site. They are living in   makeshift 
shelters  under  plastic  sheeting. Conditions are very
crowded and muddy. Therer is no clean water and toilets and
this has led to an incidence of diarroheras.

        Officers  of the Thai 9th Army, responsible for that
sector of the border, have said that the refugees must return
by the  11th of  August to Halockhani. The refugees, however,
are very afraid of future incursions by SLORC soldiers. The
9th Army has met with  the commander  of  the 61th Battalion,
which has replaced the 62nd in a routine rotation. The
battalion commander Col. Tin Kyaing has given assurances to
the 9the army that the  camp  will  not  be  attacked again. 
The  Mon  however  remain  skeptical  and  have asked, in a
statement issued July 28th, that  they  be  allowed  to 
remain  in Thailand.  According  to  Mon  sources,  they  will
try to take the matter to the Prime Minister's office before
they goa back. So  far they  have not been forced back into
Halockhani, but the local Thai authorities have threatened to
seal the road to the camp,  allowing no goods of people to get
through.

        The  fate  of 16 prisoners is unknown. According to
the Mon National Relief committee, two have been  released 
and  have  made their  way  back  to  the  camp.  The  9th 
army informed the MNRC that the others have also been released
but  this  has  yet  to  be confirmed.

        When  the Mon refugees at Loh Loe refugee camp were
ordered to move to Halockhani early this year, the MNRC
protested that  the site at Halockhani was not safe since it
was on the Burma  side  of the  border and very vulnerable to
attack from SLORC troops only an hour's walk away at Three
Pagoda Pass. The local  Thai  authorities from the 9th Army,
based in Kanchanaburi, had assured the MNRC that the  refugee
in that camp was on Thai soil and that their safety was
assured. In fact the exact location of the border in
Halockhani  is disputed  and  appears  to vary according to
the political issue at stake. The 9th Army has maintained that
the camp  is  on  the  Thai soil,  while  SLORC  claims  the
area is in Burma. The two western most   sections  of  the 
camp,  including   Palai   Thumpai,   are indisputably  inside 
Burma,  while  the  border  is thought to lie somewhere 
through  the  main  section  of  Halockhani.  The   Thai
authorities  first asked the Mon to move from Loh Loe in the
middle of 1993, but the refugees were not actually forced  to 
move  until March 1994.

        There  is  a fair amount of speculation as to what
prompted the attack. MNRC has said it  believes  the  attack 
was  aimed  at conscripting refugees to be porters and human
shields, or putting at more  pressure  on the New Mon State
Party to conclude a cease-fire with SLORC. It must also have
been in retaliation to the death of a SLORC soldier in Palai
Thumpai in June. On 20th June,  two  burmese soldiers,  armed 
with  machineguns,  entered  the  camp  at  about midnight.
The refugees, believing they were dacoits, repelled  them with 
home-made  hunting  rifles. The body of one soldier was found
later. The other made it back to his base camp.  According  to 
the MNRC,  the  camp  leaders in Palai Thumpai had previously
received letters from the 62nd's commander, demanding that
camp leaders meet with him and  supply  the  troops  with 
"necessities".  The  camp committee had not responded to the
letter.

        The  most  recent  attack  took  place as Burma was
for the first time attending the ASEAN meeting, as a guest of
Thailand. The incident apparently had little or no impact on 
the  welcome  SLORC received at ASEAN or the policy of
"constructive engagement". 
        The  UNHCR  has  made  an "urgent appeal" to the Royal
Thai Government that the refugees not be sent back.

        We have received  information  that  two  burmese 
infantry battalions  have  left  Ye township and are heading
towards the Mon headquarters on the Thai-Burma border.

        On 2nd September 1994 we received information that the 
BPP manning the New Halockhani campsite have seized rice which
has been stored  for  the  Mon  refugees in an effort to push
them back into burma. Those who return to the Old Halockhani
camp would  be  given their  ration of rice. Several thousand
sacks of rice were taken to the refugees by foreign relief
organizations several months ago. 
        Thai authorities are confusing  the  situation 
further  by deporting  captured  Burmese illegals to
Halockhani, where they are given precious food and shelter by
Mon relief officials. Meanwhile, no new supplies of food or
medicine are being allowed into the area in an effort to push
the Mon back into Burma by the 9th Army. 
        The reasons the Thai authorities are  pushing  the 
Mon  is part  of  the  policy  of  "constructive  engagement".
They want to pressure the Mon leaders into signing a
cease-fire  agreement  with SLORC.  In  return,  well 
connected  Thai  businessmen will receive lucrative  contracts 
for  timber,  gas  and  fish   from   Burmese territory.

        The  Mon  should  be  allowed to stay at the New
Halockhani campside (BAn Ton Yang) until such time Burma
becomes  a  free  and democratic country.

        The  inhabitants  at  the  New  Halockhani  are  6,000 
Mon refugees, 2,000 captured Burmese  illegal  immigrants  and 
of  the 8,000,  4,00  are  said to be infants and children
oblivious to the hardship and pending danger. Two more have 
been  born  during  the last  month  and  their parents fear
the day they would be forcibly pushed back into Old Halockhani
and delivered into the hands  of  a brutal regime.

        From  the  above submission, it is very clear that
there is no progress whatsoever towards democracy in Burma.

                                   SIGNED. ( C.V. ALLMARK)
DATED 15TH SEPTEMBER 1994.                   SECRETARY



Part 2 of 2.

        THE TRIBAL REFUGEE WELFARE IN SOUTH EAST ASIA (INC)    
                    & 6 ATTACHMENTS

LETTER TO THE UNHCR
-------------------

Mr Pierre-Michel Fontaine
Regional Representative, Australia New Zeland and
        South Pacific
UNHCR
9 Terrigal Crescent
O'Malley ACT  2606.

Dated 4th August 1994

Dear Sir,

        I have recently received information relating to
events  at Halockhanee  on  the  Burma-Thai  border which
occurred on 21st and 22nd July, in which the Mon refugee camp 
was  overrun  by  Burmese troops and the camp burnt to the
ground.

        The  report has been confirmed by a number of well
informed NGO sources in Bangkok, by reports in the Bangkok
media and by  the Australian Department of Foreign affairs.

        There  events come at a time when the ruling
authorities of Burma are actively  promoting  their  position 
as  being  open  to dialogue  with  the  ethnic 
nationalities,  and  as  deserving  of acceptance by the 
international  community.  The  Burmese  Foreign Minister
himself claimed in a statement to UN officials at the time of
the ASEAN conference that "there are no problems of human
rights in Myanmar".

        It  is  of  great  concern  to  me and my agency that
human rights abuses continue to occur  both  with  Burma  and 
along  the border.

        I  am therefore now writing to seek your assurance
that the UNHCR    representative in Bangkok will take up  this 
incident  in dialogue   with   relevant  parties  and 
agencies  in  the  region particularly in Bangkok and Rangoon. 
I  would  greatly  appreciate your  advising  me  of  any
follow up which you receive relevant to this matter.

Singed.
Yours sincerely, (C. de Mello) Vice-chairman


LETTER FROM THE UNHCR TO TRW
----------------------------
22 August 1994

Dear Mr de Mello,

        I refer to your letter of 4th August  1994  which 
outlines your  concerns  over  recent  incidents  in 
Halockhani Camp on the Myanmar/Thai border.

        UNHCR become aware of the incident on 21st July  1994 
when approximately  100  Myanmar  soldiers,  from  its  62nd 
battalion, entered the camp, torched about 100 houses and 
took  16  (by  some account  18) hostages. The facts of the
incident, while somewhat at variance, indicate that the
burning  of  the  camp  and  hostage  - takings  were  an  an
act of revenge in retribution for the earlier killing of two
Myanmar soldiers by the Mon refugees in reaction  to a threat
against a Mon woman, which of course does not excuse these
actions  by  the  Myanmar soldiers. The burning of the camp
appears likewise to have occurred in the  context  of  the 
Myanmar  army's search for the dead soldiers' missing weapons.

        It  should  be noted that while UNHCR considers the
site of the attack, Bledhun Phait, to be a  part of 
Halockhani  Camp,  the Thai  authorities  have on various
occasions taken the view that it is a Mon village  in 
Myanmar.  It  has  thus  proven  difficult  to persuade  the
Thai authorities that the incident was a violation of the
security that the Thais have offered the  Mon  refugees 
within Thailand.

        As  of  3  August  1994 UNHCR had received reports
that the SLORC had released some or all of the  hostages, 
although  it  was reported  that  two  of  them  may  have 
died  of  natural causes. Subsequently received advice is that
four of the 16  hostages  have returned  to  the  camp  but
the others, while not yet in camp, are understood to have been
released.

        As a result of the  incident,  and  in  light  of 
previous assurances  given  by  the  Royal  Thai  government 
with regard to providing for the physical  security  of  these 
refugees,  UNHCR's Branch Office Thailand has written to
General Charan Kullavanijaya, Secretary General of the
National Security Council, requesting that the  refugees  be 
permitted  to  remain  in  site  further inside Thailand then
Bledhum  Phait/Halockhani  Camp.  while  no  official reply 
has  yet been noted, the Thai Government has publicly stated
that the refugees would be  permitted  to  remain  inside 
Thailand until such time as it is safe for them to return to
Halockhani. 
        As  you are undoubted aware, the matter of the
situation of the Mon refugees from Halockhani Camp is evolving
day  by  day.  We can say at the present time that the Thai
government has so far not forcibly returned the refugees.

        It  is  clear  that  what happened in Halockhani Camp
was a violation of the physical security of the sort condemned
by UNHCR's Ececutive committee in EXCOM conclusions No. 45 (
XXXVII)  and  No. 48  (XXXVIII)  on  Military and Armed
Attacks on Refugees Camps and Settlements. UNHCR is seeking
from all concerned parties  adherence to  these  basic 
principles  and  in  the meantime trusts that the permission
granted by the Thai Government to allow the refugees  to
reside some distance away from the site of the incursion will
serve to  protect  the  refugees.  UNHCR  is  in  close 
contact with the National  Security  Council  and  has  made 
absolutely  clear  our position  that  forcible return to an
area that is presently unsafe should not occur.

        I sincerely wish to thank you for  your  interest  in 
this matter  and  I  have forwarded your correspondence to our
Office in Thailand and Headquarters so that they too might be 
aware  of  the NGOs community's desire for such incidents not
to be repeated. 
Yours sincerely,
Signed. Pierre-Michel Fontaine
Regional Representative

cc UNHCR Headquarters, Geneva
   UNHCR Branch Office, BAngkok

LETTER TO THE ROYAL THAI EMBASSY FROM TRW
-----------------------------------------

Ambassador Dr Rongpet Sucharitkul
Royal Thai Embassy
111 Empire Circuit
Yarralumla  ACT 2600

Dated 4th August 1994

Your Excellency,

        I am  writing  to  you  to  express  the  concern  of 
many Australians about the situation of refugees from Burma in
Thailand. I ask that you forward our concern and messages of
support to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai.

        As your Government is aware, on  the  21st  and  22nd 
July 1994,  Burmese  troops entered the Mon refugee camp of
Halockhanee, near Sanklaburi district, and fighting in that
area resulted in the inhabitants of the camp fleeing to seek
protection on Thai soil and in the camp being burnt down.

        Members of my organization  and  partner 
organizations  in South  East  Asia  have  long  been
concerned about the security of Burmese and Thai people along
the border,  where  fighting  in  the past  has  led  to  the 
loss  of  life and property. We are strong believers in the
need for  protection  for  displaced  and  refugee people  and 
appreciate the efforts of the Royal Thai Government to meet
the needs of those communities.

        We seek your assurances that the Royal Thai Government
will undertake to offer protection to the Mon and other  who 
have  fled fighting  and  forced  labour  and who at this time
are not able to live in security in Burma.

        During the time of the ASEAN meetings in Bangkok,  we 
also became  aware  of  the  concerns  of  non-government  and
community organizations in Thailand who wanted to convey 
their  messages  to the  Prime  Minister  in support of human
rights and democracy as a priority in developing international
relations. We support the Thai people in these views and hope
that  your  Government  will  pursue them  in  your  relations 
with  ASEAN  members and particularly in regard to your
relations with Burma.

        I would be very appreciative  of  your  forwarding  me 
any information which you can provide relevant to the matters
raised in this letter.

Your sincerely,
Signed. (C. de Mello) Vice-Chairman.

INCORPORATED DOCUMENTS
----------------------
1. REUTER, JULY 23: BURMESE REFUGEES REFUSE TO  RETURN  AFTER 
ARMY    RAID.
2.  AFP,  AUGUST  9:  UNHCR SEEKS HALT TO PLANNED EXPULSION OF
MONS    REFUGEES TO BURMA.
3. REUTER, AUGUST 10: BURMESE REFUGEES DEFY  THAI  DEADLINE 
TO  GO    HOME.
4. AAP, AUGUST 9: AID GROUPS WANT PROTECTION FOR bURMESE
REFUGEES. 5.  AUSTRALIA  COUNCIL  FOR  OVERSEAS  AID (ACFOA),
AUGUST 9: PRESS    RELEASE 15/94.
6. DAWN NEWS BULLETIN: ONGOING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.

Part 2 of 2.

****************************MISC******************************
BURMANET: LETTER--REQUEST FOR DRUG INFO

Reply to: carol@xxxxxxx  

Mar  9, 1995


In a few weeks I'll be giving a talk on US policy toward drug
production in Burma, specifically the debate between advocates
of increased anti-narcotics aid (DEA) and those who say such
aid will not only fail to stem the flow of drugs to the US but
will actually exacerbate Burma's political problems (State
Dept, human rights groups). 
I've read Bertil Lintner's BURMA IN REVOLT. I'd like to
supplement his fine research with info from other sources. In
particular, US govt documents: committee hearing transcripts,
CRS studies.
Any subscribers on the Hill who can help me with this?

Eyewitness accounts also useful, like the recently posted
RANGOON: CITY OF HEROIN.

Your helpful suggestions are encouraged. Thanks.

Carol Schlenker, BRC--J


************************************************************
NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:
 ABSDF: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT
 AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
 AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
 AW: ASIAWEEK
 Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt. EQUALS US$1 (APPROX),
 BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
 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
 KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
 KNU: KAREN NATIONAL UNION
 Kt. BURMESE KYAT; UP TO 150 KYAT-US$1 BLACK MARKET
                   106 KYAT US$1-SEMI-OFFICIAL
                   6 KYAT-US$1 OFFICIAL
 MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN
 MNA: MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY (SLORC)
 NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
 NCGUB: NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA
 NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER,RANGOON)
 NMSP: NEW MON STATE PARTY
 RTA:REC.TRAVEL.ASIA NEWSGROUP
 SCB:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP
 SCT:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
 SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
 SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL
 TAWSJ: THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
 UPI: UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
 USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
 XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
**************************************************************