BurmaNet News (r)

[c.downes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Not known at this address





>From: <strider@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Received: (from strider) by igc4.igc.apc.org (8.6.12/Revision: 1.15 ) id
IAA16692; Thu, 5 Oct 1995 08:39:07 -0700
>Date: Thu, 5 Oct 1995 08:39:07 -0700
>
>
>------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
>"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
>----------------------------------------------------------
>
>The BurmaNet News: October 3, 1995
>Issue#244
>
>Noted in Passing:
>As the process is going very smoothly, we don't need dialogue
>with anybody.=20
>-  Tin Winn, SLORC ambassador to Thailand
>on why the SLORC has not started a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi.
>(quoted in: BKK POST: SLORC 'WON'T DISCUSS REFORM WITH=20
>SUU KYI')
>
>
>Headlines:
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>BKK POST: SLORC 'WON'T DISCUSS REFORM WITH SUU KYI'
>WSJ: BURMESE FAMILY RETURNS FROM EXILE WITH KEYS=20
>BKK POST: SLORC'S KHIN NYUNT TO VISIT THAILAND =20
>BKK POST: MOEI RIVER RECLAMATION BEGINS
>FRDC: UPDATE FROM MASSACHUSETTS
>LETTER: ON MAKING "BEYOND RANGOON"
>ANNOUNCEMENT: PROTEST BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS=20
>----------------------------------------------------------
>Produced with the support of the Burma Information Group (B.I.G).
>
>The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma.
>Articles from newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wire
>services and the Internet as well as original material are
>published.              =20
>
>The BurmaNet News is e-mailed directly to subscribers and is
>also distributed via the soc.culture.burma and seasia-l
>mailing lists and is also available via the reg.burma
>conference on the APC networks. For a free subscription to
>the BurmaNet News, send an e-mail message to:
>majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx  =20
>  =20
>In the body of the message, type "subscribe burmanet-l"
>(without quotation marks) Letters to the editor, comments or
>contributions of articles should be sent to the editor at:
>strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------
>INFORMATION ABOUT BURMA VIA THE WEB AND GOPHER:
>Information about Burma is available via the WorldWideWeb at:
>
>FreeBurmaWWW http://sunsite.unc.edu/freeburma/freeburma.html
>[including back issues of the BurmaNet News as .txt files]
>BurmaWeb:  http://www.uio.no/tormodl
>
>Burma fonts:=20
>http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~lka/burmese-fonts/moe.html
>
>Ethnologue Database(Myanmar):
>   =20
>http://www-ala.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rap/Ethnologue/eth.cgi/Myanmar=20
>
>TO ACCESS INFORMATION ABOUT BURMA VIA GOPHER:
>
> gopher csf.colorado.edu.
>
>Look under the International Political Economy section, then
>select Geographic_Archive, then Asia, then Burma.=20
>----------------------------------------------------------
>BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST
>
>BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of
>different topics related to Burma.  The scope of the subjects
>involved is simplytoo broad for any one person to cover.
>BurmaNet is therefore organizing a number of volunteer
>coordinators to field questions on various subjects. If you
>have questions on any of the following subjects, please
>direct email to the following coordinators, who will either
>answer your question or try to put you in contact with
>someone who can:
>
>Arakan/Rohingya/Burma-	Michael W. Charney
>Bangladesh Border	GoMaha@xxxxxxx
>Campus activism: 	tlandon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Boycott campaigns: [Pepsi]  =20
>		wcsbeau@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    =20
>Buddhism:                    Buddhist Relief Mission,=20
> 			brelief@xxxxxxx
>Chin history/culture:        plilian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Fonts:                  		tom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>History of Burma:            zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Kachin history/culture:      74750.1267@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx=20
>Karen history/culture:       102113.2571@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>                             		Karen Historical Society
>Mon history/culture:         [volunteer needed]
>Naga history/culture: 	Wungram Shishak, =20
>			z954001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Burma-India border            [volunteer needed]
>Pali literature:            	 "Palmleaf"
>                             		c/o burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
>Shan history/culture:        [volunteer needed]
>Shareholder activism:       simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  =20
>Tourism campaigns:      	bagp@xxxxxxxxxx     "Attn. S.Sutcliffe"  =20
>World Wide Web:              FreeBurma@xxxxxxxxx
>Volunteering:           	christin@xxxxxxxxxx =20
>
>[Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage]
>*************************************
>BKK POST: SLORC 'WON'T DISCUSS REFORM WITH SUU KYI'
>October 2, 1995
>
>BURMA'S military government will not discuss political reforms
>with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to Rangoon's
>ambassador to Thailand.
>
>Reforms would continue to be undertaken solely by the as National
>Convention, Tin Winn said yesterday.
>
>The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council would leave
>the future of the country to the convention that las been
>drafting a new constitution since 1993.
>
>"As the process is going very smoothly, we don't need dialogue
>with anybody," he said.
>
>Earlier, there were expectations of talks between the regime and
>the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate to reform Burmese politics
>following her release from house arrest in July.
>
>Talks appeared possible when Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, sectary of the
>military regime, told United States Ambassador to the United
>Nations Madeleine Albright early last month that the government
>[s considering political dialogue with Suu Kyi.
>
>Convention members, criticised by opposition groups for being
>hand-picked by military leaders, will gather for a new session on
>October 24-25 to continue work on the draft.
>
>The ambassador said he could not anticipate when the task would
>be finished, but the next president needed military "knowledge"
>because his country required a strong government to unite 155
>minority groups.
>
>"It is not true that the president must have a military
>background, but must have military knowledge, he said. Civilians
>who met this qualification would not be ruled out.
>
>The military would hold one of the two vice-president posts
>because of its right to take part in politics, although it did
>not have a party, he said.
>
>The SLORC seized power in 1988. It refused to step down and
>accept the result of the 1990 election in which Suu Kyi's
>National League for Democracy won by a landslide, although she
>was under house arrest for a year before people voted.
>
>The SLORC refused to recognise the result, claiming the winning
>party did not live up to its promise to draw up a new
>constitution but instead called for the transfer of power from
>the military to the civilian administration, Tin Winn claimed.
>
>Burma had no constitution at that time as people refused to
>accept the 1974 constitution written during Ne Win's one-party
>system.
>
>The ambassador claimed that before the election all parties
>political leaders and the government discussed the drafting of
>the constitution and agreed the party that won j must initiate
>the draft. However, after the NLD won it asked for the transfer
>of power.
>
>Opposition groups dispute this, saying SLORC's declaration on the
>drafty came almost a month after the election and was a tactic by
>the military to retain power.
>
>The election was held in May. The announcement that elected
>members would draft a new constitution was dated July 27 and
>signed by then Brig-Gen Khin Nyunt.
>****************************
>
>WSJ: BURMESE FAMILY RETURNS FROM EXILE WITH KEYS=20
>TO UNLOCK RECLUSIVE NATION
> September 27, 1995            By Jeremy Mark
>
>RANGOON, Burma -- As Asia's more-reclusive socialist states
>emerged from isolation in the past 20 years, the role of
>reintroducing them to the world was often played by countrymen
>who found their fortunes as emigres.
>
>Now it's Burma's turn.  The closeted nation is trying to
>catch up with booming Southeast Asia, and a group of Burmese
>whose families once chose exile are coming home to help show
>Burma the way.
>
>"It's a chance of a lifetime," says Halpin Ho, the scion of
>a Burmese-Chinese family that left three decades ago after
>its businesses were nationalized.  Now he's sitting on the
>veranda of a lakeside Rangoon hotel run by his family,
>discussing plans for millions of dollars in future investments.
>
>"I know the situation inside [Burma]," Mr. Ho says, "I know
>the situation outside.  I have the backing of foreign companies.
>If I can make a contribution to my country, I will make my mark
>in history."
>
>Mr. Ho's family, which controls the Ho Group of gem and
>real-estate businesses in Thailand, is working closely with
>Kerry Financial Services Ltd. of Hong Kong, which itself is
>a part of the empire of Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok.  Kerry
>and Ho Group are partners in Irrawaddy Advisors Ltd., a small
>Rangoon-based company that is overseeing direct investments
>in Burma by the $28 million Myanmar Fund, listed in Dublin.
>One of the Myanmar Fund's investments is in the Hos' Kandawgyi
>Lake Hotel, which is completing a $20 million, 234-room expansion.
>
>The Ho family lost everything when the Burmese military took
>power in the early 1960s and launched the country down the
>road to economic stagnation.  The family was split up for years,
>with some children staying behind.  "We had a lot of businesses
>and property, and then we were refugees with nothing," says the
>40-year-old Mr. Ho.
>
>The family eventually fetched up in Bangkok, where it started over.
>Mr. Ho worked in the family business, sweeping floors and sorting
>stones as a child and eventually presiding over its expansion
>into property development in Thailand.
>
>"For a long time we were scared to come back.  Then I came back
>three and a half years ago and it wasn't like everybody was saying.
>Burma has its faults, but there are also good sides."
>
>The family is now planning a $200 million commercial center in
>Burma, complete with offices and a convention center.  Mr. Ho
>hopes to bring together major corporate investors from around
>Southeast Asia to build the center.  An industrial park is also
>in the works.
>
>*****************************************************************
>
>BKK POST: SLORC'S KHIN NYUNT TO VISIT THAILAND BEFORE=20
>ASEAN SUMMIT               October 2, 1995
>
>BURMA'S key military figure Khin Nyunt, will pay an official
>visit to Thailand before the ASEAN summit starts on December 15.
>
>Rangoon's ambassador Tin Winn said yesterday the visit might take
>place just after the third week of October when Ohn Gyaw returns
>from the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
>
>Tin Winn said the Thai Embassy in Rangoon on September 7
>officially invited Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt to visit Thailand as guest
>of Deputy Prime Minister Amnuay Viravan.
>
>Thailand hopes the visit by the Secretary No.1 of the State Law
>and Order Restoration Council will improve strained ties.
>
>Tin Winn said the delay in accepting an invitation from Mr Amnuay
>two years ago was not because of problems along the border but
>because of the effect the change of foreign minister in
>Thailand's previous government had on the timing.
>
>Burma supported a meeting of leaders of all 10 Southeast Asian
>countries as part of the ASEAN summit, but it would not consider
>attending until it received an official invitation from the host,
>Thailand, he said.
>
>The meeting would be a fundamental step toward all 10 nations
>becoming ASEAN members, he said.
>
>Burma acceded to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in July
>and is seeking observer status from the group.=20
>
>ASEAN has made clear that Rangoon will not be given automatic
>observer status upon accession. The treaty is the first step for
>countries in the region to apply for membership.
>
>Tin Winn said Burma would not rush to join the group until it was
>ready to play a part in the organisation.
>
>*****************************************************************
>
>BKK POST: MOEI RIVER RECLAMATION BEGINS
>October 1, 1995
>
>MAE SOT _ Thai border authorities have been dismantling all
>structures on reclaimed land along the Moei River to complete the
>work by today's deadline.
>
>Mae Sot District Chief Kasem Wattanatham yesterday instructed
>deputy district chief Chalee Inket to monitor the dismantling of
>the remaining structures encroaching on the river banks and to
>inform Burmese authorities in Myawaddy border town, opposite the
>site, of the work.
>
>Local Mae Sot officials said they hoped the Burmese would be
>satisfied with Thailand's move and subsequently resume
>construction the Thai-Burmese bridge across the Moei River which
>was suspended early this year after the land encroachment on the
>Thai side.
>
>Deputy Agriculture Minister Montree Danpaibool on Wednesday went
>to Mae Sot to hand over Bt600,000 in compensation to owners of
>the 16 structures.
>
>*****************************************************************
>Typed by the Research Department of the ABSDF {MTZ}    2.10.95
>*****************************************************************
>
>FRDC: UPDATE FROM MASSACHUSETTS
>September 27, 1995
>
>MASSACHUSETTS BURMA ROUNDTABLE
>
>The next Roundtable will take place on Tuesday, October 10.  It makes sense
>not to meet on Columbus Day Monday... The meeting will start at 7pm at the
>office of Franklin Research & Development at 711 Atlantic Avenue 4th floor,
>just across the street from South Station and opposite the Greyhound Bus
>terminal. =20
>
>Massachusetts Burma Roundtable Draft Agenda
>
>1.	Massachusetts Selective Purchasing Legislation (H2833)
>	update by Simon Billenness
>
>2.	Student Activism Update
>	update by Dorothy Chan, Miriam Leibowitz, Adam Richards
>
>3.	Cambridge Selective Purchasing Legislation
>	update by Ann Stewart
>
>4.	Future Activities Brainstorming
>
>
>=B7 BURMESE STUDENT LEADER VISITS BOSTON
>
>Moe Thee Zun, the Chairman of the All Burma Students Democratic Front, will
>be in the Boston area next week and making several speaking engagements. =
 In
>1988, Moe Thee Zun took part in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and was
>forced to flee to the Thai-Burma border in 1989.  You can meet him at the
>following events:
>
>October 2; 7pm-9pm.=20
>Alumni Lounge, Student Center, Brandeis University
>contact: Miriam Leibowitz:	(617) 736 8250	st931523@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>October 4; 8pm-10pm
>Emerson 105, Harvard Yard
>contact: Adam Richards	(617) 491 7510	arichard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx      =20
>
>Moe Thee Zun and Simon Billenness will be guests of Amnesty International=
 on
>Be Live, Channel 55, Cambridge Community TV from 6pm-6.30pm on October 2.
>
>=B7 Final Push on Massachusetts Burma Bill!
>
>On September 18, the Massachusetts Senate Ways & Means Committee favorably
>reported out H2833, State Rep. Byron Rushing's bill that would bar the=
 state
>from buying goods or services from companies doing business in Burma.
>
>The bill is scheduled to be debated by the Senate Steering & Policy
>Committee on October 18.  If it is reported out of this Committee, the bill
>will go to the Senate floor for its final vote.  *** Please use the=
 enclosed
>letters to write your State Senator and Governor Weld in support of the
>bill. ***
>
>Simon Billenness, Franklin Research, 711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02111
>(617) 423 6655 x225	simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
>-------------------------
>SEND A LETTER TO YOUR STATE SENATOR...
>
>Senator ________
>Massachusetts Senate
>State House, MA 02133-1053
>
>Dear Senator __________:
>
>I am writing to ask your support for H2833, Representative Byron Rushing's
>bill that would bar state purchasing managers from buying goods or services
>from companies doing business with the ruling Burmese military junta. The
>bill has already passed the House and was favorably reported out of the
>Senate Ways & Means Committee on September 18. Specifically, I am=
 requesting
>that you write to Senator Edward Clancy, the Chairman of the Steering &
>Policy Committee, to ask him to report H2833 out of committee quickly and
>favorably so that it can come to a floor vote.
>
>(Include a personal paragraph here. If possible, mention your personal and
>family history in Massachusetts and in your State Senator's district.
>Explain your interest in Burma.)
>
>Despite the recent release of pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize
>Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the struggle for democracy in Burma is not over.
>It was not until two years after the release of Nelson Mandela that he
>called for a lifting of economic sanctions on South Africa.  As a recent
>Boston Globe editorial noted: "Efforts to isolate the junta must continue
>until the colonels permit the Burmese to retrieve a legitimate,
>representative government. The world can be certain that Suu Kyi will=
 demand
>no less."
>
>Other cities and states are also considering laws that would effectively=
 bar
>the purchase of goods or services from companies doing business in Burma.
>In February, Berkeley, California, became the first city to pass such a=
 law.
>In August, the City of Madison, Wisconsin, passed similar legislation. On
>the federal level, Senator Mitch McConnell (Rep. Kentucky) has introduced
>the Free Burma Act (S1092), a bill imposing tough federal economic=
 sanctions
>on Burma.
>
>Massachusetts has a proud history of support for democracy and human rights
>both at home and abroad. The Massachusetts legislature played a leading=
 role
>in the successful struggle against apartheid in South Africa and continues
>to press for peace in Northern Ireland.  I ask you to build on this
>tradition by supporting H2833.=20
>
>You can obtain the name of your state senator by calling the State House at
>(617) 727-2121 or by calling CPPAX (address below).
>
>Please send a copy of your letter to Citizens for Participation in=
 Political
>Action (CPPAX), 25 West Street, Boston, MA 02111.  If you have any
>questions, contact Julia Carpenter at CPPAX at (617) 426 3040 or=
 cppax@xxxxxxxx
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
>-----------------------------
>...AND DON'T FORGET TO WRITE GOVERNOR WELD TOO!
>
>Governor William Weld
>State House, MA 02133-1053
>
>Dear Governor Weld:
>
>I am writing to ask your support for H2833, Representative Byron Rushing's
>bill that would bar state purchasing managers from buying goods or services
>from companies doing business with the ruling Burmese military junta. The
>bill has already passed the House. It was favorably reported out of the
>Senate Ways & Means Committee on September 18 and will soon come to a floor
>vote.
>
>(Include a personal paragraph here. If possible, mention your personal and
>family history in Massachusetts and in your State Senator's district.
>Explain your interest in Burma.)
>
>Despite the recent release of pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize
>Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the struggle for democracy in Burma is not over.
>It was not until two years after the release of Nelson Mandela that he
>called for a lifting of economic sanctions on South Africa.  As a recent
>Boston Globe editorial noted: "Efforts to isolate the junta must continue
>until the colonels permit the Burmese to retrieve a legitimate,
>representative government. The world can be certain that Suu Kyi will=
 demand
>no less."
>
>Other cities and states are also considering laws that would effectively=
 bar
>the purchase of goods or services from companies doing business in Burma.
>In February, Berkeley, California, became the first city to pass such a=
 law.
>In August, the City of Madison, Wisconsin, passed similar legislation. On
>the federal level, Senator Mitch McConnell (Rep. Kentucky) has introduced
>the Free Burma Act (S1092), a bill imposing tough federal economic=
 sanctions
>on Burma.
>
>Massachusetts has a proud history of support for democracy and human rights
>both at home and abroad. The Massachusetts legislature played a leading=
 role
>in the successful struggle against apartheid in South Africa and continues
>to press for peace in Northern Ireland.  I ask you to build on this
>tradition by supporting H2833 and signing it into law at the earliest
>possible opportunity.
>
>Please send a copy of your letter to Citizens for Participation in=
 Political
>Action (CPPAX), 25 West Street, Boston, MA 02111.  If you have any
>questions, contact Julia Carpenter at CPPAX at (617) 426 3040 or=
 cppax@xxxxxxxx
>*****************************
>
>LETTER: ON MAKING "BEYOND RANGOON"
>Professor U Kyaw Win
>
>Dear Paul Haakenson:
>
>You better believe that "Beyond Rangoon" is realistic.  I was the special
>advisor on location in Malaysia for five months and acted as the monk at
>the huge reclining Buddha and ASSK's elder escort at the rally when troops
>impeded our path with orders to shoot.
>Every incident in the movie's Burma background was true even though they
>were transplanted at other locations exercising artistic license.  I made
>sure of that.  Burmese witnesses to the events of Aug/Sep 1988 faulted me
>for not showing much more blood than was done by John Boorman.  Story of
>Laura is, of course, fiction.  But many Aung Ko's lost their jobs for
>aiding students in earlier uprisings.
>
>
>Professor U Kyaw Win
>Orange Coast College
>Costa Mesa, CA 92626
>e-mail: win@xxxxxxxx
>phone: (714) 432-5860
>****************************
>
>ANNOUNCEMENT: PROTEST BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS=20
>ON THE 3RD OF OCTOBER
>From: JULIEN MOE <moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>A demonstration will be staged before the United Nations in New York on the
>3rd of October,1995.The demonstration will be attended by the Burmese
>students and members of NCGUB and all interested paties are cordially=
 invited
>to present themselves before UN at 12 noon on the 3rd of October.The
>demonstration will be staged with a view to protest against the Burmese
>government's delegation to UN and influence the UN to modify its stand
>towards Burma.
>
>
>