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BurmaNet News October 16, 1995




------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: October 16, 1995
Issue# 252

Noted in Passing:
We will never allow our activities anywhere to be the cause 
of human suffering. - Unocal on alleged human rights abuses 
in the pipeline area. (quoted in NATION: EXPLOITATION 
THROUGH FORCED LABOUR)

HEADLINES:
==========
NATION: EXPLOITATION THROUGH FORCED LABOUR
NATION: LETTER - CUBA AND BURMA
BKK POST: TEAK SEIZED IN TAK                       
BKK POST: GOVT ASKED TO FREE BURMESE
DAILY YOMIURI: LETTER TO THE EDITOR - IMPROBABLE WINDOW
KYEE MON: NEWS FABRICATOR EXPOSED AND ARRESTED
DAILY YOMIURI: MYANMAR'S NO. 2 MAN PLANS TO VISIT JAPAN
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NATION: EXPLOITATION THROUGH FORCED LABOUR
October 14, 1995      by Yindee Lertcharoenchok

There is widespread opposition to Burma's multi-billion dollar
gas pipeline project, writes The Nation's Yindee Lertcharoenchok.


The reason behind the attack in early March on a natural gas
pipeline survey team in southern Burma has remained a mystery up
to now as none of the parties involved in the multi-billion-dollar project 
have commented on what they believe could be behind the violence.

On March 10 French oil giant Total announced in Paris that five
members its survey team were killed, while 11 others were wounded
two days earlier by a heavily armed group near the coastal
village of Kanbauk in southern Tenasserim Division.

Total spokesman Joseph Daniel said all the victims were Burmese
citizens and the attack took place as they were carrying out
preparatory work on the natural gas pipeline project. The wounded
were taken to Rangoon for treatment.

"We have no idea as to who is responsible for the attack and no
one has claimed responsibility," he said.

Since 1989. the ruling Burmese junta known as the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) has been inviting foreign companies 
to explore and develop the country's vast oil and natural gas resources.

During the fourth meeting of the Europe/East Asia Economic Summit
held from Sept 20-22 in Singapore. Brig Gen David Abel, Burmese
Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, said six
multinational companies have been given permission, under a
production-sharing basis to conduct exploratory drills in seven
onshore and five offshore areas.

A total of $ 1.44 billion has been earmarked for Burma's oil and
gas industries as of Aug 31 this year, enabling it to snare the
bulk of foreign investments.

In July 1992, Total won the bid to explore and tap a natural gas
deposit in Burma's Gulf of Martaban, which is a potentially
lucrative deal. Under an agreement signed with state-owned
Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, Total will conduct survey work
and extract natural gas from the Yadana natural gas field. Most
of the gas will be sold to Thailand through a 420-km underwater
and overland pipeline.

Diplomatic sources in Rangoon said Total had paid a "signing
bonus" of $50 million to secure the contract in the face of fierce 
competition from Esso, Shell, and Unocal Corporation. This was 
according to a statement released by environmental groups opposed 
to the project because of the potential ecological consequences and 
gross human rights violations of local people by SLORC. 

Total conducted a seismic survey in Blocks M-5 and M-6, which
covered 7,884 km, and drilled four test wells. Yadana is
recognized as one of the single largest gas fields in southeast
Asia; test results have indicated deposits of up to 6.7 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas, with at least 5.7 trillion cubic feet
deemed extractable.

Arrangements have been made to produce 650 million cubic feet of
natural gas daily from this field, with 525 million cubic feet to
be sold to Thailand and the rest for domestic use.

Gas will be supplied to Thailand via a 36-inch diameter pipe
running 360 km underwater and 60 km overland.

Despite having lost in this bid, California-based Unocal
Corporation was later brought on board and allowed to acquire a
47.5 per cent share of the project. In April 1993, Unocal entered
into an agreement with Total and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise
for a joint venture gas drilling project in Yadana, which is 128
kms south of Bogale Township, Irrawaddy Division.

The estimated $ 1.08 billion Yadana project also includes
offshore field development ($520) and the laying of an undersea
pipeline on the western coast of Burma and an onshore pipeline at
the Thai border at Ban-E-Tong in Kanchanaburi ($560).

After over a year of negotiations, Thailand and Burma signed in
Rangoon on Sept 9, 1994 a memorandum of understanding for the
sale of natural gas with delivery to start in July 1998 at the
rate of 130 million cubic feet per day (cfd), rising to 525
million cfd in 15 months.

On Feb 2, 1995, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and the Petroleum
Authority of Thailand, on behalf of the two respective
governments, signed in Bangkok an official 30-year contract
wherein Thailand agreed to pay Bt10 billion annually for the
purchase of the Yadana natural gas.

Under the agreement, Thailand will pay for the gas from Burma at
the initial price of $3 per for one million BTU of gas. The price
will be adjusted and calculated according to bunker oil prices,
the consumer price index and other references.

Unocal currently holds a 33.25 per cent stake in the Yadana gas
field development project, with Total holding 36.75 per cent and
PTT Exploration and Production holding 30 per cent. Myanmar Oil
and Gas Enterprise has an option to acquire a 15 per cent share
which, if exercised, would reduce the other participant's holding
shares proportionately.

In an article on the Sept 13 edition of the state-owned daily New
Light of Myanmar, " Towards the Building of a New Nation", it was
mentioned that Premier oil company from England, US oil giant
Texaco, and Nippon Oil from Japan have also forged a joint
venture agreement with Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise in
developing the Yetagun natural gas project in Block M-12, M-13
and M-14 off the Tenasserim coast.

The Yetagun gas field is 200 kms off the town of Mergui and
natural gas reserves there are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic
feet. Negotiations are underway for the sale of Yetagun gas to
Thailand on the same overland route of the Yadana pipeline. A
20-inch diameter seabed pipeline, which will be laid near the
Yetagun gas field, will run for about 200 km to join the Yadana
line on the coast. On land, the two pipelines will run parallel
to the Thai frontier.

The project includes the utilization of 20 million cubic feet of
gas in order to operate a 65-megawatt gas turbine in Kanbauk area
where the power produced will be distributed for use in the
Tenasserim Division and Mon and Karen states.

It also includes the laying of a 140-km pipeline from the Yadana
gas field to Rangoon and the construction of urea plant capable
of producing 1,758 tons daily, as well as a 200-megawatt gas
turbine to generate electricity.

The Yadana development project has l not proceeded smoothly
without opposition from inside and outside Burma, with the
onshore pipeline the key subject of debate and criticism.

Critics and opponents say the pipeline and related construction
work will damage the environment and has already contributed to
more human rights abuses, including forced relocation and the use
of forced labour by SLORC.

On the ground, ethnic Mon, Karen and Tavoyan villagers in the
elongated Tenasserim coastal land have complained about forced
relocation by the Burmese army from their homes to secure the
pipeline area.

The villagers have also deplored the massive and forced
conscription of labour by SLORC to build infrastructure,
including the 160-km Ye-Tavoy railroad, which they said will be
used to transport construction materials, equipment and workers
to the pipeline site.

A report on forced labour released in April 1994 by a Mon relief
agency said the railroad will also be used for the transport of
Burmese troops to protect the pipeline. Under the contract signed
with foreign oil developers, SLORC has guaranteed the safety of
the pipeline operation, it added.

"On the part of SLORC, it is not just necessary to simply
guarantee the security the gas pipeline for urgent economic
gains, but also to gain control of the area for long-term
military and economic advantage. The construction of the Ye-Tavoy
railway will greatly support all of the Slorc's aims," the report said.

It estimated that Slorc has forcibly conscripted into labour
about 2,000 people since the beginning of the construction of the
railroad in October. From November 1993 to April 1994, up to
60,000 were said to have been forcibly conscripted into labour.
Since the start of the project, an estimated 120?000- 150,000 of
the local populace have been subjected to forced labour. In all,
nearly half a million people have suffered.

Meanwhile, Mon and Karen guerrillas active in the area have
threatened to obstruct and sabotage the pipeline project, arguing
that the natural resource belongs to the Burmese people and not
Slorc, which has been using foreign capital to purchase arms to
suppress the Burmese people. 

Abroad, international human rights and ecological groups have
expressed strong opposition to the project, saying the pipeline
route will have a direct negative impact on the last remaining
rain forests in southeast Asia and adversely affect the watershed
areas in southern Burma.

Moreover, they argued that the pipeline is at risk of rupture due
to earthquakes, not uncommon in the region, and that subsequent
gas leaks could hurt not only people living in the vicinity, but
also damage wildlife and other natural resources.

The groups have criticized both Total and Unocal for either
supporting or contributing to the ongoing widespread human rights
violations by Slorc.

Citing aerial and ground surveys, however, Total and Unocal have
denied any connection between their activities in Burma and human
rights abuses, noting the lack of evidence to prove forced
relocation and the use of forced labour.

"Since April 1993, our engineers have conducted several surveys
along the whole length of the Burmese pipeline route on foot, by
car and by helicopter. The area is very sparsely populated. There
are few villages and the region is perfectly calm. No population
displacement should occur anywhere along the pipeline route,"
Total said in its March 25, 1995 letter to Investor
Responsibility Research Centre.

Total said the pipeline itself will be done by international
contractors using local manpower as much as possible, "providing
remunerative job opportunities."

In its 1994 report to shareholders, Unocal has denied all
allegations of human rights abuses associated with the company's
project in Burma, saying that "we will never allow our activities
anywhere to be the cause of human suffering."

Back in the US, Unocal has faced protests and boycott movements.
A coalition led by Franklin Research, which includes church,
union and human rights and environmental groups, has launched a
campaign for corporate withdrawal from Burma, with Unocal as one
of its targets.

The coalition has been urging Unocal shareholders to pass a proxy
resolution calling on the company to make a comprehensive report
on conditions in Burma where alleged human rights abuses have
been linked to the pipeline project.

They also urged state, county and city governments to pass
"Selective Contracting Laws" that will prohibit the government
from contracting goods or services with firms doing business in
targeted countries where human rights abuses are rampant.

The March attack on the Total survey team was the first of any
kind of violence related to the gas pipeline project on ground.
While Total has denied the death of any foreigners, dissident
Burmese students cited sources as saying that one French
technician was killed in "the clash between Slorc and KNLA (Karen
National Liberation Army) battalion No 10 at Kanbauk township. "

So far, the Karen National Union (KNU) and its military wing, the
KNLA, have remained silent. They have neither accepted
responsibility nor denied involvement in the attack.

When asked in private by Thai government officials for detailed
information of the incident, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand
(PTT) confirmed Total's report that no foreigners were killed.

Although PTT and Thai officials agree with Total that the
pipeline route has beep carefully selected to avoid populated
areas, they have suggested the creation of a fund to be given to
those who might be affected by the project.

In recent interviews, a senior KNU official revealed that only
six assailant; were involved in the ambush on the Total survey
team. Of this group, only one was g KNU soldier, while the rest
were local Karen villagers who were forced to leave their homes
because of the pipeline.

The official, who asked not to be identified, cited ground
reports to say that the attack was on a travelling convoy and
that two of the five victims were westerners, while one was Thai.

The same Karen official also disclosed a confidential meeting on
April 21 in Chiang Mai between a KNU delegation and a prominent
US congressman from California to probe the KNU stance towards
the natural gas pipeline project.

The Republican congressman, who has strong connections with
Unocal, informed the two KNU representatives during the meeting
that the US oil firm had given to Slorc $1 million to be handed
out to those who would be affected by the pipeline project. 

Only after the March ambush did the company discover that the
compensation money never reached affected villagers and was
instead misused in some military activities, according to the
congressman, who was accompanied by two other assistants.

Foreign oil firms were not allowed to establish any contacts with
anti-Rangoon armed ethnic groups or Burmese political dissidents.
Otherwise, their contracts would be nullified, added the US
lawmaker, who is one of the strong critics of Slorc.

The official said the US congressman also wanted to know "whether
we [KNU] have any intention to destroy or sabotage the project."

In reply, the KNU delegate said the ethnic group is against any
foreign investments that would benefit only the military rulers
in. Rangoon and that it would throw its full support behind the
pipeline project only if it is carried out once a democratically
elected government is installed and peace and national
reconciliation are restored in the country.

*****************************************************************
NATION: LETTERS - CUBA AND BURMA
October 14, 1995

In his speech to the United Nations last Oct 3, Slorc Foreign
Minister Ohn Gyaw claimed that Burma has signed agreements for
$2.7 billion in foreign investment. In Vietnam and China, only 30
per cent of licensed investments were actually invested. It will
be no different in Burma. Many of the agreements with Slorc were
signed by promoters with little or no money of their own. And
they will soon find out how difficult it is to raise funds for
longterm projects in Burma without a political settlement. Also,
Sen Mitch McConnell's Free Burma Act will force the termination
of of the proposed $1.0 billion natural gas pipeline to Thailand.

Slorc economic development is very much like economic reforms in
Cuba. There are many similarities between Burma and Cuba. The
Cuban peso is officially pegged as 1:1 to the dollar, but
actually trades at 25:1 on the streets. The Burmese kyat also
trades 20-25 times the official rate. Neither currency is convertible.

Every foreign firm in Cuba pays the Cuban government the dollar
salaries of their employees. The government pays the workers in
pesos and pockets the dollars. We have a similar system in Burma.

Both Cuba and Burma have resorted to tourism to earn hard
currency to survive and have encouraged oil and gas exploration.
Neither country has attracted export-based manufacturing
industries, which have fuelled the growth of Asian economics.

The big difference between Burma and Cuba is that Fidel Castro
still has the support of the Cubans. But Slorc does not have the
support of the Burmese. This may be why one analyst predicted
that American sanctions will topple Slorc within one year.

Myint Thein
Texas

*****************************************************************

BKK POST: TEAK SEIZED IN TAK
October 14, 1995       Tak

SOME 300 pieces of processed wood and teak logs worth 500,000
baht were found in Mae Sot yesterday.

A 50-strong forestry police unit found the wood near the Moei
River, about 3 km from Ban Wang Takhian.  They also seized 
a raft in the river and two electric chainsaws. No arrests were made.

Tak forestry chief Thanee Wiriyararattanaporn, who inspected the
site, said it appeared to have been the work of poachers who had
fled to Burma.

********************************************

BKK POST: GOVT ASKED TO FREE BURMESE
October 14, 1995

A GROUP of exiled Burmese students have called for the release of
over 30 fellow countrymen detained at Bang Khen Police Private
Training School apparently without clear charges brought against them.
The call was contained in a message addressed to the Prime
Minister by John Aung, a secretary-general of the Action Group
for Human Rights in Burma.

*************************************

DAILY YOMIURI: LETTER TO THE EDITOR - IMPROBABLE WINDOW
October 14, 1995

We are writing in response to David Flack's letter "Travel to
Myanmar?  Yes" (Oct 8 P5), in which he rationalized accepting
the invitation to visit Burma (Myanmar) issued by the State Law 
and Order Restoration Council, that country's military dictatorship.

Flack claims he wants to befriend Burmese people.  Great.  So
why not start with one of the thousands of Burmese here in
Japan?  Many of them are political refugees who cannot return to 
their families as long as people like Flack insist on propping up 
SLORC with their tourist dollars, beginning with the $300 payment 
to the military junta upon arrival.  "Small change" in Flack's deep 
pockets, but lots of bullets in the guns of a government soldier.

Alternatively, Flack could travel to the Thai - Burma border
and befriend some of the tens of thousands of Burmese refugees
there.  He might want to pack some rice, a box of clothes or
some medicine along with his expansive knowledge.

Inside Burma, however, Flack's being a "window ... to the
outside world" is highly improbable.  Does he know more than
the BBC and VOA announcers to whom educated English - and
Burmese - speaking citizens listen avidly?  Does he speak any
of the hundreds of dialects by which people in the neglected
frontier regions communicate?  Does he imagine that he, the
tourist, rather than the Burmese citizen he hopes to edify, will
be punished for any conversations of a political nature
overheard by the omnipresent military intelligence?

If Flack better understood the relationship between tourism and
militarism in Burma, he would not wish to go there. It is he,
therefore, and not the Burmese citizen, who suffers from a lack
of information.  Or maybe he just suffers from a lack of conscience.

Carol Schlenker and Aung Thu
Tokyo

***********************************

KYEE MON: NEWS FABRICATOR EXPOSED AND ARRESTED

ISBDA Translation from the October 4, 1995 issue of Kyee Mon
(The Mirror) Burmese Language Newspaper

(editor's note: there are several inaccuracies in this report.  Most
glaring, BIG does not put out Burma Issues or Radio Burma.)

News Fabricator Exposed and Arrested
News Sent Out To Anti-government Groups and 
Money Received For That 
Making Foreign Countries Misinterpret Burma 

Rangoon, October 3, 1995

Ye Htut (father's name: U Maung Maung) who lives at Apt 29,
Building # 12, Phasapala Ward, (Rangoon), was arrested together
with proof and documents, on September 27, 1995 by members of
military intelligence after revealing his fabrications of false news on Burma.

Getting Fees
According to testimony of Ye Htut, he had been fabricating news
and falsehoods since 1991, and has to send these to Yin Htwe and
Ms Win Win Htay who are residents of Canada. In 1992, Ms Win
Win Htay introduced him to Kyi Zaw @ Zaw Gyi @ Aung Zaw,
who is living in Thailand at PO BOX (22), Rajathevee Post
Office, Phayathai Road, Bangkok 10401, Thailand, and also to
Mr. John Jackson at PO BOX 120 4, Nana Post Office, Bangkok,
210112, Thailand, and he sent the news to them.   For sending
these news stories he received money as fees.

The receiver of the news  is Kyi Zaw @ Zaw Gyi @ Aung Zaw is
leader of  Burma Information Group (BIG) which is an illegal
organization based in Bangkok, Thailand.  The BIG is an
organization that distributes false news on Burma by publishing
and distributing the bulletins such as The Irrawaddy, Radio
Burma, Burma Issues, etc. In these bulletins, anti-Myanmar
people, including exiled U Thaung (Aung Ba La), Bertil Lintner,
have been writing news articles. The publications of BIG are
regularly send to the Foreign Relations Committee of US Senate,
Congressional Foreign Affair Committes.  Moreover, the
publications are distributed to Amnesty International (London),
Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights (New York), Human
Rights Watch (Asia) (New York), Burma Relief Center (Japan),
Evengelical Church in Germany, Churches Development
Services, AFP Bangkok, JVA (Japan), etc. For this publication
program, NGOs from America, Australia, and Norway etc., have
been finacially supporting BIG.  

To be Charged
According to the authorities, actions are to be followed in
accordance with the law on Ye Htut (father's name: U Maung
Maung)  who send to Burma Information Group the fabricated
and false news on Burma to be misintrepreted by foreign countries. 

\End Of Translation
*************************

DAILY YOMIURI: MYANMAR'S NO. 2 MAN PLANS TO VISIT JAPAN
October 15, 1995              By Yoshiharu Fujiwara

Bangkok -- Maung Aye, vice chairman of Myanmar's ruling
State Law and Order Restoration Council, is to make an
unofficial visit to Japan late this month, the highest - ranking
SLORC official to do so, according to sources close to the Yangon government.

Myanmar is consulting with the Japanese government to
arrange meetings between the vice president and Cabinet members.
Maung Aye, an army general, will arrive on Oct. 30 and leave
Nov. 5, the sources said.

He assumed the NO. 2 post in SLORC in April last year and
will be the highest - ranking SLORC official to visit Japan since
the miliary junta took power in 1988 following a coup.

The vice president will discuss with Japanese officials Myanmar's 
economic reforms and the resumption of yen loans, the sources said.

He will be stopping off in Japan following a trip to New York
to attend a U. N. General Assembly meeting.  He will be
accompanied by Energy Minister Khin Maung Thein and
Oliver Abel, the minister responsible for national planning and
economic development.

Whether Japan will resume yen loans to Myanmar has become
a key question, following the release of pro - democracy movement 
leader Aung San Suu Kyi after six years of house arrest in July.  
Suu Kyi is calling on Japan to exercise caution and move at a pace
that matches the progress of democratization in Myanmar.