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BurmaNet News: April 22, 1995 [#154
- Subject: BurmaNet News: April 22, 1995 [#154
- From: burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 22 Apr 1995 09:10:00
Subject: BurmaNet News: April 22, 1995 [#154]
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
- ------------------------- BurmaNet ---------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: 22 APRIL 1995
Issue #154
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NOTED IN PASSING:
The biggest obstacle to humanitarian projects
today is direct or indirect control by the
military clique. In addition to rampant corruption
in every department, humanitarian assistance for
civilians through SLORC administration are always
abused or diverted to military use. There have
been recorded cases of UNICEF medicines being
captured at the frontline from SLORC troops.
Dr. Thaung Htun <See NCGUB: RESPONSE TO
TORONTO GLOBE ARTICLE>
Contents:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT REQUESTS
BAG-UK: 1996 YEAR OF THE TOURIST...... THINKING OF A CAMPAIGN?
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (BAD NEWS FOR ACTIVISTS)
NCGUB: RESPONSE TO TORONTO GLOBE ARTICLE
BURMANET RESOURCE LIST
ABSDF: CONDOLENCE MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE U.S.
GOC: OUELLET URGES MYANMAR AUTHORITIES TO FIND PEACEFUL SOLUTION
TO INTERNAL STRIFE
- --------------------------------------------------------------
BKK POST: NZ PARTY LEADER SEEKS THAI SUPPORT
BKK POST: BURMA PUTS LAWYER IN JAIL FOR ATTENDING A MEETING
BKK POST: E & O TO RUN RIVER CRUISES ALONG BURMA'S IRRAWADDY
AP/BKK POST: RANGOON LURES 110 US FIRMS DESPITE REPRESSION
SLORC: RETURN TO MYANMAR--A VETERANS' GROUP REVISITS BURMA
AFTER 50 YEARS
AP: BURMA JUNTA ATTRACTS INVESTORS
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strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
In Washington:
Attention to BurmaNet
c/o National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
(NCGUB)
Information Office
815 15th Street NW, Suite 609
Washington D.C. 20005
Tel: (202) 393-7342, Fax: (202) 393-7343
In Bangkok:
Attention to BurmaNet
c/o Burma Issues
PO Box 1076, Silom Post Office
Bangkok 10500 Thailand
Tel: (066) (02) 234-6674, Fax: (066) (02) 631 0133
The NCGUB is a government-in-exile, formed by representatives
of the people that won the election in 1990.
Burma Issues is a Bangkok-based non-governmental organization
that documents human rights conditions in Burma and maintains
an archive of Burma-related documents. Views expressed in The
BurmaNet News do not necessarily reflect those of either NCGUB
or Burma Issues.
- --------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT REQUEST 002
<Please reply to contact request 002, c/o burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Dear sir,
May I ask you to help me find a friend
who was like my brother many years ago. The last
time I know of his place was at the University of
Hidelberg, West Germany. He was doing research on
Burmese Literature at that time.
His name is U Tin Htway.
- --------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT REQUEST 003
If there are any Kachins or students of post-Colonial Kachin
history, please contact burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- --------------------------------------------------------------
BAG-UK: 1996 YEAR OF THE TOURIST...... THINKING OF A CAMPAIGN?
18 April 1995
Sarah Sutcliffe at the Burma Action Group UK is compiling
information on campaigns for 1996 in an effort to increase
information and ideas exhange. It contains a section on ideas and
discussions, particularly following a workshop that was held on
Tourism at a recent conference in Amsterdam, a section on specific
campaign plans / actions, and a section of contacts and addresses
of organsations and individuals interested in this issue, and a
brief description of their plans for 1996, and resources they have
available. This information will be continually updated, and is
intended especially for groups/individuals who are hoping to
actively campaign on this issue this year and next.
If you would like to receive this information, would like to be
included in the listing, or have ideas/plans you would like to
share, please send a message to Sarah at bagp@xxxxxxxxxx, putting
"Tourism coordination" as the subject.
Look forward to hearing from you.
- --------------------------------------------------------------
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (BAD NEWS FOR ACTIVISTS)
- From 75361.1143@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Fri Apr 21 09:32:42 1995
Date: 21 Apr 95 12:28:45 EDT
To: "INTERNET:tun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Pepsi Hires Hill & Knowlton
Hill and Knowlton is one of the three pr or communications firms
usually selected for their expertise on damage control. The others
are Dorf & Stanton ("a Shandwick Company with offices worldwide"),
currently having Hydro-Quebec as a client, and Burson Marsteller
(which handled the Union Carbide Bohpal "incident"). You can bet
your bottom dollars, activists, that your job will be a lot
harder. The big boys and girls are reading the media tea leaves
and monitoring oppositional movement.... One thing to ask Burma
activists in Washington to do is to go to the public records
department of the criminal division of the US Department of
Justice and make sure that H&K has registered as an agent of a
foreign principal if it turns out that they are doing damage
control regarding Burma (or any other law firm, lobbyist, etc.).
They are required by law to file a report of who they are meeting
with, etc., every six months. And if they are lobbying in states,
local activists might check with the appropriate state lobbying
agencies, also. Sincerely yours,
Ann Stewart
(registered lobbyist #4632 with the USDOJ for the Grand Council
of the Crees). 75361,1143@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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NCGUB: RESPONSE TO TORONTO GLOBE ARTICLE
Attention : The Editor
Toronto Globe and Mail
Fax: : (416) 585-5085
Dear Editor,
We have read with interest the report by John Stackhouse about the
lack of funding, medicines and other needy medical supplies "for
the elderly people, pregnant women and sick children" in Burma and
his inference that this humanitarian problem in Burma was due to
the international aid embargo imposed since 1988. The report we
are referring to -- "Hospital makes do on 40 cents a visitor-
Embargo punishes neediest Burmese" -- was published by the Toronto
Globe and Mail on April 19, 1995.
We, as well as the whole world, do agree with Mr. Stackhouse that
there are problems in Burma. But, what we cannot agree with him
is his conclusion that lack of aid is the root cause of problems
in Burma. The Burmese people would refer to his case as "Anar Ta
Lwe, Say Ta Lwe" -- the medicine being applied to the wrong spot
instead of where the pain is.
Even a person with a casual interest in Burma can see that Burma
is not only rich in natural resources but is also one of the
countries that has enormous economic potentials. The only reason
that a country of such potential has become impoverished is only
because of decades of mismanagement by the military dictators and
their total disregard for the welfare of the people.
The poverty in the country today is artificial brought about
particularly because of the junta's interest in beefing up the
military only. According to the World Development Report of the
World Bank, 1994, war expenditures in 1992 amounted to 22% of the
total budget while the health sector only got 6.8% and the
education, 17.4%.
The military has also been rapidly expanding its forces from
180,000 before 1988 to 350,000 to date. The military expansion
continues today. In 1992, the junta bought $1.2 billion worth of
modern military hardware from China and made a new deal worth of
$400 million last year.
The worst humanitarian situation in Burma today is that of the
nearly one million internally displaced persons who are living in
desperate conditions. These people living in non- SLORC areas (the
area that is not under the control of military regime called State
Law and Order Restoration Council) areas are getting no assistance
and are constanly harassed by SLORC troops.
The biggest obstacle to humanitarian projects today is direct or
indirect control by the military clique. In addition to rampant
corruption in every department, humanitarian assistance for
civilians through SLORC administration are always abused or
diverted to military use. There have been recorded cases of
UNICEF medicines being captured at the frontline from SLORC
troops.
Drugs with UNICEF labels can be bought in open-air markets in
Rangoon. An NGO worker who recently came out from Burma confirmed
that health workers in rural areas were having problems bringing
vaccines to their regions from the State capitals because the
allowances for transportation funded in hard currency by foreign
organizations were abused by the Health Ministry in Rangoon.
With the exception of religious organizations, there are as yet
no truly independent local NGOs. Therefore, foreign NGOs are
forced to rely on government services and infrastructures.
Decision-making by these agencies depend on a large degree on how
closely tied each individual official is to the military and
SLORC. Access to local people without official involvement is
limited even in SLORC areas. The concept of trying to empower the
local community is not something SLORC is keen to encourage.
Despite this known situation we understand that the UNICEF and the
UNDP are prepared to fund and encourage NGOs to work in Burma.
NGOs wanting to enter Burma should be fully aware of the situation
they are getting into as they are certain to be exploited by the
SLORC for political gain. For example, an Australian study of the
AIDS/HIV in northern Burma funded by the UN Drug Control Programme
was not allowed to interview prostitutes and military men. SLORC
has no overall health or development strategy within which NGOs
can operate. NGOs are being persuaded to operate in Burma only
because they are considered by SLORC to be the sources of the much
needed foreign funds.
In conclusion, we want every overseas humanitarian and United
Nations organizations to consider the realities in Burma, making
sure they do not becoming the tools for the military junta. The
assistance for the Burmese people should not benefit the SLORC.
We want assistance for the refugees on the border and inside
Burma, in the cease-fire zones, in the liberated areas and outside
Burma. We want cross-border humanitarian assistance for AIDS,
food, safe water, medicine, training, for education, etc, and all
this should not come through SLORC.
(Dr. Thaung Htun) Secretariat member National Coalition Government
of the Union of Burma
- --------------------------------------------------------------
BURMANET RESOURCE LIST
BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different
topics related to Burma. The scope of the subjects involved is
simply too broad for any one person to cover. BurmaNet is
therefore organizing a number of volunteer coordinators to field
questions on various subjects. If you If you have questions on
any of the following subjects, please direct email to the
following coordinators:
Art/archaeology: [volunteer needed]
Campus activism: tlandon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boycott campaigns: tlandon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buddhism: [volunteer needed]
Fonts: [volunteer needed]
History: [volunteer needed]
Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Karen history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Shan history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Tourism campaigns: bagp@xxxxxxxxxx "Attn. S. Sutcliffe"
World Wide Web: glen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Volunteering: "Volunteer coordinator", c/o
burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
- --------------------------------------------------------------
If you have expertise or experience in one of the areas above, or
if there is a subject related to Burma which should be added to
the list, please contact the editor: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- --------------------------------------------------------------
ABSDF: CONDOLENCE MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE U.S.
Mr. Bill Clinton
President
United States of America
Date: 21st April, 1995
THe ABSDF is deeply regret to hear about the huge car bomb blast
in Oklohama City building in United States which yesterday killed
at least 36 people including 12 children and may have buried
scores more. We are also very concerned about the missing of
more than 300 people and those who were seriously injuried in
this incident.
We, on behalf of the Burmese people would like to express our deep
sorrow, identical to that of you and family members of the victims
for the loss on April 20 in Oklahoma of the United States.
Sincerely yours,
(signed here)
Moe Thee Zun
Chairman
Central Leading Committee, ABSDF
C.C H.E Embassador to Thailand
Embassy of United States
- --------------------------------------------------------------
GOC: OUELLET URGES MYANMAR AUTHORITIES TO FIND PEACEFUL SOLUTION
TO INTERNAL STRIFE
Government of Canada
Foreign Affairs Minister Andre Ouellet today urged Myanmar's State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to work
peacefully and seriously toward national reconciliation with the
political opposition in Myanmar (Burma). The Minister also urged
the authorities to refrain from escalating the armed conflict
across the country and across the border with Thailand.
"Escalation of the armed conflict can only result in more human
suffering within Burma, create more transborder refugees and
impose a further burden on its neighbours and the international
community." said Mr. Ouellet.
The Minister added that Canada remains concerned about the current
situation in Burma, including continued human rights violations
and the SLORC's refusal to abide by the results of the 1990
elections. Mr. Ouellet said that such concerns impede the
development of full bilateral relations between Canada and
Myanmar.
The Minister called on the SLORC authorities to release Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, enter into meaningful
negotiations with representatives of the democratic movement, set
up a clear timetable and commitment to a transitional
constitutional process, provide legal guarantees to minorities,
abolish forced labour and facilitate access for humanitarian
groups to needy communities.
Attached is some background information on the situation in Burma
and on Canada's response to the conflict in that country.
For further information, media representatives may contact: Media
Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1894
Backgrounder
- ----------------
MYANMAR (BURMA)
Context
Since the military coup d'etat in 1962, General Ne Win's Burma
Socialist Program Party has controlled Burma and maintained it in
isolation. In 1988, in response to civil unrest, the military
established itself as the State Law and order Restoration Council
(SLORC) . The SLORC promised to return peace and prosperity to
Burma by ending internal political conflict, reestablishing
democracy and normalizing relations with the outside world. The
1990 elections were won by the National League for Democracy, led
by Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was placed under
house arrest in 1989. However, the SLORC refused to allow the new
Parliament to convene and claimed that a new constitution must be
adopted before the Council hands over power.
The SLORC established a National Convention, excluding most of the
elected leaders, to work on a draft constitution that will
formalize the military's role in Burma's political life. Two
senior generals held talks last fall with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
but no progress has been reported and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is now
in her sixth year of house arrest.
The SLORC has concluded military cease-fires.with most of the
ethnic armies that have been fighting the central government for
decades. No political settlements' have been reached. Last
December, the SLORC renewed military action against the Karen
National Union (KNU) forces along the border with Thailand.
The main Karen stronghold in the town of Manerplaw fell in late
January but the fighting continues along the Thai border. On
February 16, Thailand placed its armed forces on full alert along
the border after a series of incursions by Myanmar troops and
allied Karen forces pursuing KNU rebels into Thai territory.
It is estimated that the fighting in Burma has created over 70,000
refugees, most of them in Thailand but some also in Bangladesh.
CANADA'S RESPONSE
To address immediate human suffering, Canada provIdes financial
and material contributions to the United Nations High Commission
for Refugees, as well as other humanitarian aid groups operating
directly in the refugee camps. Canada also assists groups such as
Medecins sans frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and the Burma
Border Consortium of humanitarian aid agencies working with
Burmese civilians, either within Burma or in the refugee camps.
Canada has contributed almost $3.5 million to these programs.
Canada has also made several protests to the SLORC authorities
against human rights violations in Burma and has repeatedly
demanded the liberation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
February 22, 1995
- ------------------------------------------------------------
Burmese Embassy Protests at Canadian Statement
In a Burmese language broadcast at 1300 GMT on April 19, Rangoon
Radio reported that the Burmese embassy in Ottawa, Canada, has
sent an aide-memoire to the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Trade on 7th April 1995 regarding the Canadian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's 22nd
February 1995 press release, which contained baseless allegations
concerning the situation in Burma.
In the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade's press release, Canadian Foreign Minister Andre Ouellet
expressed Canada's concern over the battles along the border and
urged more efforts towards national reconciliation.
The aide-memoire presented to the Canadian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade by the Burmese embassy in Ottawa
pointed out that the Canadian foreign minister's statement was
untrue, lacked concrete proof, was unconstructive and constituted
interference, as it was based on groundless allegations and biased
accusations made by the armed insurgents and their supporters.
The state government has been striving for national reconciliation
since taking over the responsibilities of the state, and 14 armed
groups in the jungle have returned to the legal fold and have
joined hands with the government in regional development
activities. The remaining two armed groups are welcome to return
to the legal fold and join in regional development activities.
Although action has been taken against some people, it was not
because of their political principles or beliefs but because of
their violation of existing laws. The government is fully opposed
to human rights violations. There have been no human rights abuses
in Burma.
BKK POST: NZ PARTY LEADER SEEKS THAI SUPPORT
BKK POST:BURMA PUTS LAWYER IN JAIL FOR ATTENDING A MEETING
BKK POST:E & O TO RUN RIVER CRUISES ALONG BURMA'S IRRAWADDY
- --------------------------------------------------------------
BKK POST: NZ PARTY LEADER SEEKS THAI SUPPORT
21 April 1995
The New Zealand opposition leader yesterday called for support
from Thailand to include her country in the Asian-European summit.
Helen Elizabeth Clark, New Zealand's Labour Party leader, said
Thailand so far had a "general attitude" on the inclusion of her
country in the forum while Malaysia and Singapore were positive.
" I think in the future Thailand will be supportive of New
Zealand's involvement," she said. New Zealand wanted to take part
in the Asian-European leadership meeting because the
country is part of the Asia-Pacific region, she reasoned.
"One issue which has been concerning in New Zealand is the
prospect of the Asian-European summit, whether or not New
Zealand will be part.
It is because New Zealand is part of the region, and if
something is going on, New Zealand wants to be there," she told
reporters.
The Asian-European summit is expected to be held early next year.
Participants are not finalised.
Mrs. Clark is on a three-day visit to Thailand ending today. She
met with Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and Foreign Minister Krasae
Chanawong at Government House yesterday. She is
scheduled to hold talks with Finance Minister Tarrin
Nimmanhaeminda to day.
Mrs. Clark met with National Security Council Secretary
General Charan Kullavanijaya during a visit to hold talks on the
Burma situation.
She called on the Burmese government to immediately release
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi despite being
briefed by the Thai side that the situation in Burma was
changing, including a general election after the ratification of
the constitution.
"I think that the international community needs to continue to
express concerns that the election will be held and call for the
immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi," said Mrs Clark, who last
year moved a motion in the New Zealand parliament calling for the
freedom of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate on the anniversary of
her five-year house arrest.
It is uncertain that the Burmese junta government, known as the
State Law and Order Restoration Council, will release her. Mrs
Clark also urged the Asean Regional Forum to start talking about
confidence building measures to build a sense of
security and better understanding for countries in the
Asia-Pacific region. (BP)
- --------------------------------------------------------------
BKK POST: BURMA PUTS LAWYER IN JAIL FOR ATTENDING A MEETING
21 April 1995
A Burmese Muslim lawyer was recently sentenced to five years in
prison after he had attended a meeting to discuss a
government order to relocate a local Islamic cemetery in
southeastern Burma.
A press release from the All Burma Students' Democratic Front
(ABSDF) yesterday identified the lawyer as U Wai Lin from
Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State.
The lawyer was reported to have attended a meting held by a
group of Muslims who had expressed concern over the cemetery
relocation order by the Loikaw Law and Order Restoration
Council.
The ABSDF said the lawyer was handed down a five-year sentence in
the third week of March after military intelligence had discovered
that the meeting had taken place. It did not say when the meeting
was held, however.
U Wai Lin was charged with violating the Emergency Provision Act.
The act gives almost unlimited power to the
administrative body to arrest and imprison those charged for
security reasons.
Meanwhile, travel restrictions have been imposed on Muslims in
Arakan State, a member of the Muslim Liberation Organisation of
Burma said yesterday.
According to U Kyaw Hla, Muslims living in the southern
provinces of the state have been barred by the Slorc from
travelling to the Arakan capital of Sittwe (Akyab). He named the
provinces as Myahaung, Minpya, Bauktaw, Khauktaw and
Ponnakyu.
He also said that the same travel restrictions have been
slapped on Muslims living in Sittwe. These people are also
prohibited from travelling to Rangoon "simply because they are
Muslims."
However, he noted that the ban does not apply to certain
influential Muslim businessmen if they are willing to purchase an
80,000 kyat plane ticket for the flight to Rangoon. The normal
price is 1,200 kyats. (BP)
- --------------------------------------------------------------
BKK POST: E & O TO RUN RIVER CRUISES ALONG BURMA'S IRRAWADDY
21 April 199
A cruise ship that used to ply the Rhine and Elbe rivers in
Germany will enter service in Burma this coming November as part
of an expanded luxury travel service by Eastern &
Oriental Express.
The "Road to Mandalay" service will offer five-and six-day cruises
along the Irrawaddy River between the ancient city of Mandalay and
Bagan, site of more than 2,000 pagodas and temple remains. The
tour will also include visits to Mingun, Sagaing and Rangoon.
Fares for a five-night southbound cruises starting and ending in
rangoon range from 45,900 to 72,300 baht, including shared doubled
accommodation, meals, sight-seeing excursions and
transfers, domestic flights within Burma and two night'
accommodation in Rangoon.
The first southbound cruise from Mandalay will begin on
November 8 and the first northbound journey from Bagan on
November 11. The cruises will run fortnightly during November and
December. (BP)
- --------------------------------------------------------------
AP/BKK POST: RANGOON LURES 110 US FIRMS DESPITE REPRESSION
21 APRIL 1995
By Denis Gray
WASHINGTON blasts Burma for its human rights violations but 110
American companies are represented in the country. Burmese who
once risked their lives fighting for democracy now wield cellular
telephones and speculate on real estate.
Despite sharp Western critism and widespread anti-military feeling
domestically, the junta which rules Burma nonetheless attracted
$ 1.3 billion in foreign investment last year and appears to have
co-opted some segment of the populace.
Rangoon's generals are hanging tough, displaying a dash of
cockiness as they welcome a steady stream of foreign economic
delegations and entrepreneurs to a capital which has taken on the
air of a boom town after decades of stagnation.
"When we meet big western politicians they says business and
politics go together. When we meet gib businessmen they tell us
politic and business are different," say Minister for
National Planning and Economic Development Brig Gen David
Abel, penetrating his remark with a laugh.
In an interview, the minister cited a number of economic
successes including an annual growth in Gross Domoestic
Product averaging 7.5 % over the past three year and expected to
reach as high as 9% in 1995.
Within two year, he said, a programme of pritisation would be
nearly complete with only telecommunications some strategic
industries remaining in government hands. By then a stock
market would be operating in Burma.
>From the regime's point of view, among the brightest recent
developments has been the resumption of government aid by
Japan, which like the United States and other Western
countries halted such as sistance after the Military brutally
crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
Another prize is a billion-dollar investment by France' Total and
Unocal of the United States to exploit offshore natural gas.
This has made France the no 1 foreign investor followed by
Singapore, Thai;and and the United States which says it
neither encourages nor discourages private investment although its
embassy here publishes a guide for visiting American
businessmen.
"The economy is about to take off," says Set Maung, a senior
economic adviser to the junta.
And there is little doubt that given its vast resources Burma will
soon day become one of Asia's most prosperous countries.
Businessmen in the region already describe it in the same
glowing terms applied to Vietnam a few years ago, predicting is
on its way to becoming another Asian economic tiger, or at least
a tiger cub.
Deep sceptism, however, persists among some analysts and
critics.
Burma's infrastructure is decades behinds that of Asia's
economics dynamos, its currency is highly overvalued and
poverty is widerspread, with yearly per capital income
estimated at less than $250.
Because of its repressive regime, the United States continues to
veto and badly needed loan from the international Monetary Fund.
And while many foreign firms clearly have no compunction about
doing business with the junta, the risk of political upheaval
keeps others away or at least wary of sinking capital into
long-term projects.
"Burma id really on thin ice. The military has a very, very thin
hold which depends on guns. That's their only source of
authority," says Josef Silverstein, an American political
scientist specialising in Burma. He describes Burma's economy as
a superficial,"Potemkin village".
Mya Maung who follows Burma's economic development from Boston
College, said real progress was impossible as long as a
military council makes all key economic decisions while
lacking expertise and managerial skill.
Although the junta has crushed or crowd into sub-mission all
political opponents, analysts like Silverstein and Mya Maung say
detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu could one day unleash
pent-up popular anger against the Military.
Clearly aware of such as a possibility, the Slorc has ignored
calls from presidents and parliaments around the world for her
release fro nearly six years of house arrest.
"When there is no security problem she will be released,"
deputy intelligence chief Col Kyaw Win told foreign reporters
recently. "we will not bend to pressure from any quarter." With
only minor concessions to world public opinion, Slorc has been
Marching to its own tune, following China's path to tight
political control balanced by economic it beralisation which
appeases those who reap the benefit.
The military's game plan is quite clear. Directing the
drafting of a new constitution, it has reserved powers for itself
that will insure its pivotal role in politics after a new
government is empowered, probably near the end of 1996. Meanwhile,
the military - described by one government
officials as "a powerful state within a poor country" - is
entrenching and enriching itself through lucrative business deals.
Diplomats in Rangoon say Western Nations have come to realise the
junta is unlikely to fall in the foreseeable future and thus are
moving away from a no-win policy of confrontation to one of
"critical dialogue." (BP)
_
- --------------------------------------------------------------
SLORC: RETURN TO MYANMAR--A VETERANS' GROUP REVISITS BURMA
AFTER 50 YEARS
[This article may have appeared in print in Burma, but if so, it
was not indicated by the person who contributed it.--Editor]
By Kitty Delorey Fleischman
"Welcome Jungle Fighters. "
From the perspective of 50 years down the road, many
things had changed, but the beauty
of the people remained much as they remembered, and the
signs of welcome were everywhere.
A half-century changes a lot. Soldiers who had gone
into battle as teens and young men, returned as grandfathers. Even
the name of the country had changed--Burma is now Myanmar.
Myitkyina has gone from a village of 10,000 to a thriving
city of over 1 million. The airstrip that saw
the comings and goings of a buzz of Allied planes has now
been replaced by a modern airport.
For the first time in a half century, veterans of
the World War II China-Burma-India Theatre stood on the soil where
many of them had served with Merrill's Marauders. A flood of
memories brought to life comrades who had perished 50 years
earlier and turned the peaceful countryside back into the
battlefield of long ago where the cream of the Japanese
Army---including the famed Chrysanthemum Regiment of the
Emperor---was turned back in a rout as complete as it was
unexpected.
Popular opinion was certain the Japanese Army
couldn't be defeated. The forces that were sent to fight them were
a throwaway force sent merely to delay the Japanese. But the
military genius of Gen. "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, Gen. Frank D.
Merrill and Col. Charles Hunter, as well as the sheer
bravery, determination and grit of the troops which
followed them, proved to be decisive advantages
for the Allies.
In a February 1995 tour arranged by B/Gen. Robert L.
Castorr, to commemorate the end of the second Burma campaign, a
group of 25, including American veterans and survivors of
veterans, made the pilgrimage to retrace the steps of the famed
Merrill's Marauders, as guests of the Myanmar government.
Three weeks later, on the Big Island of Hawaii, as we
sit next to a golf course on a warm, sunny day, I asked my father,
retired Capt. Donald W. Delorey, to tell about the trip back in
time when the tour arranged by Castorr took them to the place
where, as young men, they had repelled the Japanese Army and
changed the course of history.
For me the trip has double importance. Not only was my father
in Merrill's Marauders, my mother, Mary Jane Healy Delorey was
a nurse who served with the 44th Field Hospital and the 69th
General Hospital. He was also retracing the steps of their
courtship as they crossed paths in India and Burma.
Delorey first heard about the trip at a meeting of the
Burma Star Association. As the group assembled, he was pleased to
find several of his friends among the travelers.
Roy Mattsomoto, a former Marauder was named as
a member of the Ranger Hall of Fame, for his gallantry in the
battle of Nhpum Ga.
Ted "Zak" Zakotnik was a member of the First Battalion of
"Old Galahad."
Richard Gillette was a machine gunner in the first
campaign. He was 20-years old when he
complained to Lt. Delorey that he hadn't made corporal yet.
Although he was a fine soldier, Delorey kidded him, I wouldn't
make you a corporal if you were the last man in the squad." Two
days later, he came back to restate his claim, saying that he was
the last man in the squad.
Lloyd "Cheeseburger" Hakenburg served in both
campaigns with the 5307th and 475th. When the 17-year old first
showed up in camp, Delorey told him to go and shave. It was his
first time.
Dave Quaid served the Marauders as a photographer
during both campaigns. He also serves as the historian for the
Marauders, and is a constant source of accurate information on the
unit.
Many of the other travelers went either because of
their interest as veterans, or in some cases, as sons and
grandsons of men who had served.
Although time had changed many features of the
land, peace had made the biggest differences. Rice paddies the
Marauders had waded across knee deep in water and under fire from
the Japanese looked much smaller during the dry season and without
the constant rat-a-tat of machine gun fire.
But, that is another part of the story.
The tour started off with an elegant dinner in
Washington, D.C. at the home of Ambassador & Mrs. U Thaung from
the Embassy of the Union of Myanmar.
It was the first of many parties to which the group was
treated. After their arrival in Myanmar, as they went from town
to town, it seemed almost as though each town was vying to
outdo the festivities in the town before it.
Dancers, singers and children in beautiful, lavish
costumes greeted the group wherever it went. Signs welcoming the
veterans' entourage were posted at the gates of the cities and
often along the roads. The veterans were a staple on the nightly
newscasts and in the daily newspapers.
Major General Saw Lwin, commander of the Northern
Command, took the group on a boat tour down the Irriwaddy River,
followed by a sumptuous dinner with entertainment provided by
students from the university at Myitkyina.
Major General & Madame Aye Kyaw of the North
East Command at Lashio hosted a trip to baths at a hot springs and
presented the group with lavishly hand-embroidered vests and
carvings of elephants.
Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State
Law and Order Restoration Council, presented each veteran with the
Myanmar government's Medal of Freedom, the highest award they
had, thanking them for their assistance in fighting off the
Japanese invaders. They also were presented with green berets, the
symbol of Myanmar's own elite forces.
At Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, the
veterans were joined by Esther Po Ja Naw, a 73-year old nurse who
had served with Dr. Seagraves and had traveled with his hospital
into India as they had fled the advancing Japanese. Gary Layton
had located her and invited her to join the group.
Following the liberation of Myitkyina, Seagraves'
medical team followed Stillwell back into Burma to reestablish the
hospital. Esther Po Ja Naw was presented with a Bronze Star by
General Stillwell for her work. Her husband found the decoration
and with pride had asked her to wear it to the dinner with the
veterans.
In town after town, the group was warmly welcomed. As
they toured the temples and marketplaces, Buddhist monks,
grandmothers and little children let their pictures be taken with
the veterans. "Everywhere we went, we were treated with such
courtesy and respect," Delorey said. "The people were so warm and
so kind to us. One 94-year old man who had served with the
American forces came 50 miles to see us.
The trip also had personal aspects for each. As sons and
grandsons tried to recapture the images that were sometimes the
last seen by their fathers or grandfathers, my father had his
picture taken on the rocks on the banks of the Irriwaddy River
where he and my mother had first planned their lives together. He
found the site where her hospital used to stand. And he sat at the
spot where they used to watch "Bedcheck Charlie," a Japanese
airman with a notoriously bad aim, try each night
to unsuccessfully unload his bombs on the airstrip.
For 50 years, we younger Deloreys heard the story of
"Babu," a little girl, around six years old, and Dad hoped to find
out the fate of little Babu.
As the Marauders had approached Myitkyina, they
arranged with the village leader to allow
the residents an opportunity to escape the coming clash of the
armies. The village people were to walk straight down the middle
of the road in the morning, so they could be certain no Japanese
soldiers were hiding in their midst.
Fearing for their safety, the villagers had instead
come through the jungles. Thinking it was
a Japanese ambush, the Marauders had opened fire. Several
people were injured before the soldiers
realized what had happened, and a grief-stricken grandfather
carrying the injured little girl, calling her
"Babu" as he went, etched a place deep in my father's heart.
He hoped to find Babu, but at least, through a man from the
village who had been 16-years old at the time and remembered the
incident, found answers to several of his questions, and received
some assurance that at least she probably was alright as the group
of villagers was rushed to the hospital for care.
Outside of Yangon the group toured an international
cemetery for Allied soldiers. Even a half-century later, there
were tears for fallen heroes. "Tommy, we love you even through
you're buried far away. Mom," the brass plaque read. It was a
message that could have been signed by many mothers whose sons
never returned.
After leaving Burma, the group entered Thailand and was
taken to the site of the Bridge on the River Kwai. Again, even
time can't heal all wounds as many who had suffered during tough
years of war saw testimony of the terrible suffering that was
endured by the prisoners who were forced--many for up to four
years--to live on a handful of rice each day while they toiled to
build the bridge that would have supplied the northern railhead
into Burma for the Japanese Army.
Frequent bombings kept the bridge from being as useful
as it was intended, but did nothing to relieve the suffering of
the prisoners who then had tobegin rebuilding it.
The trip to Burma was a trek that took the group
entirely around the world and 50 years back
in time as well.
Speaking for myself, it was wonderful to even hear about
the trip. My father is no longer a young man, but to us "kids" he
still is every inch a hero. I know it meant the world to him to
go be able to go back to Burma, a place he has always loved.
Shortly before my mother died, my parents were
returning from the grocery store one snowy winter afternoon in
Michigan. As my dad struggled to hold my increasingly-frail
mother's arm and manage a number of packages as well, he finally
decided to leave the packages for a subsequent trip
and help her first. Turning to him, she said, "When I first met
you, you acted like you owned the jungle, and now look at
you...you've turned into a whimp!" Offended at first, my father,
who fought in both campaigns with the Marauders and was awarded
the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, three
Purple Hearts, a presidential citation and a personal letter from
Harry S Truman, finally decided that at age 75, he had a right to
be a whimp if he wanted.
As for my dad, he still can scarcely believe that he
was back in Burma. It was a wonderful experience. In his own
words: "It was a real privilege to be with such a fine group of
men...to be part of a group that was able to do the things Gen.
Castorr arranged for us to do.
"It was the trip of a lifetime."
- --------------------------------------------------------------
AP: BURMA JUNTA ATTRACTS INVESTORS
RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- Washington blasts Burma for its
human rights record but 110 U.S. companies work here. Burmese who
once risked their lives fighting for democracy now wield cellular
telephones and speculate on real estate.
Despite sharp international criticism and widespread
anti-military sentiment inside the country, the ruling junta
attracted $1.3 billion in foreign investment last year and appears
to have co-opted some segments of the populace.
Rangoon's generals are hanging tough, cockily welcoming
a steady parade of foreign economic delegations and entrepreneurs
to a capital that has taken on the air of a boom town after
decades of stagnation.
``When we meet big western politicians, they say business
and politics go together. When we meet big businessmen they tell
us politics and business are different,'' Brig. Gen. David Abel,
the minister for national planning and economic development, said
with a laugh.
In an interview, the minister cited a number of economic
successes, including a 7.5 percent average annual growth in gross
domestic product over the past three years. It is expected to
reach up to 9 percent in 1995.
Within two years, he said, privatization will be nearly
complete, with only telecommunications and some strategic
industries remaining in government hands. By then, a stock market
will be operating.
Among the brightest recent developments for the government
is the resumption of aid from Japan, which like the United States
halted assistance after the military brutally crushed a
pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
Another prize is a billion-dollar investment by France's
Total and Unocal of the United States to exploit offshore natural
gas. There is little doubt that given its vast resources,
Burma will one day become one of Asia's most prosperous countries.
Skepticism, however, persists among some analysts.
Burma's infrastructure lags decades behind that of Asia's
economic dynamos, its currency is highly overvalued and poverty
is widespread, with yearly per capita income estimated at less
than $250.
Because of Burma's repression, the United States continues
to veto loans from the International Monetary Fund. And while many
foreign firms clearly have no compunctions about doing business
with the junta, the risk of political upheaval keeps others away.
``The military has a very, very thin hold which depends on
guns. That's their only source of authority,'' said Josef
Silverstein, an American political scientist specializing in
Burma.
Mya Maung, who follows Burma's economic development from
Boston College, said progress was impossible as long as a military
council without managerial skills is making key economic
decisions. Although the junta has crushed or cowed all
political opponents into submission, Silverstein and Mya Maung say
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner,
could one day marshal popular anger against the military.
Clearly aware of this possibility, the ruling State Law
and Order Restoration Council has ignored calls from around the
world for her release from a nearly six-year-old house arrest.
``When there is no security problem she will be
released,'' deputy intelligence chief Col. Kyaw Win told foreign
reporters recently. ``We will not bend to pressure from any
quarter.'' Meanwhile, the junta is directing the drafting
of a new constitution -- and reserving powers for itself to insure
a pivotal role in politics after a new government is empowered,
probably near the end of 1996. It also is entrenching and
enriching itself through lucrative business deals.
- --------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:
ABSDF: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT
AMNESTY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
AW: ASIAWEEK
Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt. EQUALS US$1 (APPROX),
BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
BF: BURMA FORUM
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
GOA: GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA
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)
THE NATION: A DAILY NEWSPAPER IN 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
RTG: ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT
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
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