Wired News on March 13, '95

[FreeBurma@xxxxxxx]

Attn: Burma Newsreaders
Re: Wired News on March 13, 1993
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Thailand asked to protect Karen refugees   

    By Somchit Rungchamratrasmee 

    KANAELAY, Burma, March 13 (Reuter) - General Bo Mya, president of the
Karen National Union (KNU), has appealed to Thailand to do more to protect
thousands of Karen refugees on Thai soil from Burmese harassment. 

    In an interview at his makeshift camp in southeast Burma, the veteran
campaigner complained that fighters of the breakaway Democratic Kayin (Karen)
Buddhist Organisation (DKBO) continued to kidnap KNU officials under the nose
of Thai authorities. 

    ``Although Thailand has been taking very good care of the Karen refugees
living in the camps, harassment by the DKBO is increasing,'' Bo Mya, 67,
said. 

    ``The KNU would appreciate more safety measures to protect Karen
civilians from the DKBO,'' the general added. 

    At least six leaders loyal to the KNU were kidnapped and five other
refugees of the ethnic minority were killed in the past two months when DKBO
guerrillas crossed the River Moei to raid refugee camps in Thailand, a Karen
refugee official told Reuters. 

    The DKBO was formed last December after a Buddhist faction of the KNU
staged a mutiny against the Christian-dominated KNU leadership and later
defected. 

    The breakaway fighters joined Burmese government troops and spearheaded a
military drive that led to the capture of the KNU's 20-year-old headquarters
at Manerplaw in January, and of their last major stronghold at Kawmoora last
month. 

    Of the more than 71,000 Karen refugees housed in 20 camps in Thailand,
some 8,000 are newcomers who fled in January and Febuary, the refugee
official said. 

    Bo Mya, a stocky figure who has been playing the leading role in the KNU
rebel organisation for more than 20 years, said he differentiated between
military and civilian objectives. 

    ``The KNU is continuing its struggle for Karen autonomy with a new
strategy of purely guerrilla mobile warefare, so casualties among Karen
fighters are less important. But we are still very concerned about the
civilian refugees,'' he said. 

    Bo Mya, who is expected to be replaced at a KNU leadership meeting still
in progress, vowed to continue his lifelong struggle against the Burmese
government. 

    ``Even if I have to retire from my current position I will continue to
fight the enemy until the Karen gain autonomy from Burma,'' Bo Mya said. 

    The KNU was formed immediately after Burma won independence from Britain
in 1948 and has been fighting troops from Rangoon ever since. 

 REUTER


Transmitted: 95-03-13 00:51:48 EST
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Burma, Vietnam say visit lays good basis for ties   

    HANOI, March 13 (Reuter) - A visit by Burma's top military leader to
communist Vietnam has laid the groundwork for further cooperation, the two
countries said on Monday. 

    Agreements signed last Saturday on cooperation in controlling drug abuse
and in forestry ``will provide new momentum for further enhancement of the
friendly relations and multi-sided cooperation between the two countries in
the years go come,'' a joint communique said. 

    It was issued after General Than Shwe, chairman of Burma's ruling State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and prime minister, flew home from
Ho Chi Minh City after the five-day visit. 

    The two countries resolved to work with others in southeast Asia to
contribute to regional peace, stability and cooperation, the communique said.


    Burma welcomed Vietnam's scheduled membership of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by next July as a positive contribution, it
added. 

    The communique gave no details of talks between Than Shwe and Vietnamese
Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet on regional and international issues. 

    Communist Party leader Do Muoi and state President Le Duc Anh accepted
invitations from Than Shwe to visit Burma. Kiet went there last May, the
first Vietnamese leader to do so. 

 REUTER


Transmitted: 95-03-13 08:08:19 EST
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Thailand cracks down on oil smuggling   

    BANGKOK, March 13 (Reuter) - Thai customs officers have arrested the
captain of a fishing trawler and seized more than 60,000 litres (13,200
gallons) of diesel in a crackdown on fuel smuggling, officials said on
Monday. 

    The trawler, whose storage space had been converted into fuel tanks, was
stopped and boarded 12 nautical miles off Songkhla in southern Thailand late
on Sunday, the officials told reporters. 

    Almost 300,000 litres (66,000 gallons) of smuggled diesel have been
seized in the past two months, in a gathering campaign to stamp out illegal
fuel trading in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea that costs the
government millions of dollars in unrealised taxes. 

    Last week marine police on the holiday island of Phuket arrested 12
people and seized 200,000 litres (44,000 gallons) of diesel from a fishing
trawler they suspected of smuggling fuel from a Singapore depot, a marine
police source told Reuters. 

    Acting Prime Minister Banyat Bantadtan told reporters on Monday the
government had launched an operation against the fuel smuggling in September.


    Authorities believe most of the smuggled fuel is redistributed within the
Thai fishing industry, rather than being resold on land as alleged by some
Thai politicians. 

    ``We know that huge amounts of diesel have been smuggled into the country
annually but I believe this is part of the fishermen's struggle for
survival,'' the marine police source told Reuters. 

    ``From my own knowledge, very little if any of this diesel has been sold
to gas stations,'' said the source, who is part of an anti-smuggling task
force comprising customs, marine police and the Thai navy. 

    The chairman of a provincial trawler association also dismissed
accusations that the smugglers were bringing the fuel ashore. 

    The official, speaking to Reuters by telephone, admitted that some
trawler companies smuggled in diesel from Singapore, but he said it was used
by fishing fleets that had to make longer journeys because of dwindling
inshore fish stocks. 

    Also, some fishing fleets included unlicensed vessels. 

    The official estimated at between 5,000 and 6,000 the total of licensed
and unlicensed Thai fishing trawlers operating off Thailand, Burma,
Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia, adding that most of the boats relied on
the cheap diesel smuggled from Singapore. 

    ``We admit that many of the fishing trawlers are operating illegally,
which means they cannot tank up in foreign ports,'' said the chairman, who
asked not to be identified. 

    The market price of diesel in Thailand is 7.50 baht (30 cents) per litre
but the smuggled fuel sells for 3.50 to four baht (14 to 16 cents) per litre.


 REUTER


Transmitted: 95-03-13 02:57:14 EST
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