BurmaNet News: September 1, 1995 #2

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Subject: BurmaNet News: September 1, 1995 #267


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The BurmaNet News: September 1, 1995
Issue #267

Noted in Passing:
The Burmese administrative system is unlike ours [Thailand] which 
allows the use of reasons and arguments [to settle problems]. - Thai 
Deputy Army Commander Gen Chettha Thanajaro.
(quoted in  NATION: CHETTHA PLANS RANGOON TRIP TO 
HEAL RIFT)


HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION: CHETTHA PLANS RANGOON TRIP TO HEAL RIFT
THE NATION: FIVE THAI FIRMS IN RUNNING FOR GAS PROJECT
THE NATION: THAI-OWNED FLOATING HOTEL IN BURMA CLOSES 
BKK POST: BURMESE STUDENT GROUPS TO JOIN FORCES
BKK POST: SECURITY FOR ASEAN MEET TO BE STEPPED UP
BKK POST: LACK OF DATA HITS MINING IN INDOCHINA, BURMA
S.H.A.N : CEC ACTS COY ON SECRET AGREEMENT REPORTS
NUS: EUROPEAN STUDENTS SUPPORT BURMESE STUDENTS STRUGGLE
NUS: NUSS, EUROPE SUPPORTS  THE NATIONAL STUDENTS  DAY 
AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT: REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA
ISBDA: MITI ENCOURAGED JAPANESE COMPANIES IN BURMA  

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THE NATION: CHETTHA PLANS RANGOON TRIP IN BID TO HEAL 
RIFT WITH BURMA           31 October 1995
by Somchit Rungchamratrasmee

Deputy Army Commander Gen Chettha Thanajaro yesterday announced 
his intention to travel to Rangoon soon in a bid to persuade high-level Burmese 
junta leaders to re-open the Thai-Burmese border and to resume the construction 
of a Thai-Burmese bridge.

Chettha's decision was prompted by his failure during yesterday's bilateral meeting 
to convince Burma's South-eastern Commander Maj. Gen Ket Sein to agree 
to the Thai requests.

The Thai general said Burma has a centralized administrative system and so 
Ket Sein did not have a mandate to make a decision on whether or not to 
reopen the Burmese crossing at  Myawaddy, which has been closed since 
early March.

Chettha said he would travel to Rangoon within the next few days to persuade 
top leaders of the Burmese junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration 
Council (Slorc), to reopen the Myawaddy passing with Thailand's Mae Sot 
district and to resume the construction of the nearly-completed Moei River 
bridge linking the two border towns.

Ket Sein, Deputy Construction Minister Col Aung San and about 10 other 
Burmese officials were received upon their arrival at Mae Sot by Chettha and 
other top Thai Army officers, including the Third Army Region Commander 
Lt Gen Thanom Wacharakup.

The two delegations then proceeded to a local hotel where Ket Sein and 
Chettha held tete-a-tete meetings for several hours.

Informed sources said Ket Sein told Chettha that both countries known full well 
what the causes of the current problems are and expressed his hope that both 
sides can resolve them on  the basis of fairness and righteousness.

Ket Sein, who met once with Chettha on July 14, was quoted as saying that 
he did not have a mandate to make a decision but would pass on the Thai 
requests to his higher-ups.

Speaking after seeing off the Burmese team, Chettha said both sides had 
held "the most open and frank" talks aimed at resolving the pending border 
problems by co-operation. He said a unilateral effort by either side would 
not work in this case.

He added that he had tried to persuade Ket Sein that it was in the interest 
of the Burmese side to see the border reopened, to help communications 
and transportation between both countries.

Chettha expressed the hope that Thailand would soon hear "good news" 
from his negotiating efforts which he expected would not last more than 
two months.

"The Burmese administrative system is unlike ours [Thailand] which 
allows the use of reasons and arguments [to settle problems].[For Burma] 
everything is centralised and this time the capital did not participate in the 
talks but sent a representative, who is an old friend, on a fact-finding mission," 
he said.

"He [Ket Sein] pledges to pursue [the Thai request]at the earliest opportunity 
and I believe there will not be any tension," Chettha said.

The Thai general said he believed that if both countries applied leniency, 
any problems could be resolved. Chettha said the construction of the 
Thai-Burmese bridge would take two more months. (TN)

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

THE NATION: FIVE THAI FIRMS IN RUNNING FOR BURMA 3-IN-1 
GAS PROJECT
31 October 1995

Five Thai firms are in the hunt for a multi-billion dollar downstream has 
development project in Burma. The Burmese government is scheduled to 
announce the winning bid on November 12 and Loxley Plc, MDX Plc, Petro 
Asia International and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand have all submitted 
separate bids for the so-called 3-in-1 project.

The project involves Burmese utilization of natural gas from the Yadana 
natural gas field. The 3-in-1 refers to a gas pipeline, a fertilizer plant and 
a power plant.

Burma signed a memorandum of understanding with the Thai government 
in September last year to sell about 95 per cent of gas production (equivalent 
to 525 million cubic feet per day) from the Yadana gas field in the Gulf of 
Mataban near Thailand. The remaining reserves were reserved for use in the 
3-in-1 scheme.

According to a source in Rangoon, 33 consortiums are competing for the 3-in-1 
project including the five Thai companies, Total of France, Unocal and Texaco 
from United States and Mitsubishi and Mitsui of Japan.

Total, Unocal and PTT Exploration & Production Plc are members of the 
consortium which is developing the Yadana gas field.

The winner of the 3-in-1 project would have to lay and 18-inch in diameter 
submarine pipeline over a 120 kilometre distance between Yadana and Rangoon.

The five per cent reserve of gas would be supplied to a 300 megawatt power 
plant and a fertilizer plant. The fertilizer plant is expected to be large enough 
to meet total demand in Burma and leave little surplus for export.

Industry sources, however, suggested that implementing the 3-in-1 project 
would not be an easy because of its tremendous size.

"It would be a hard task in terms of funding and logistics," said a source
 involved in the bid. Sources also said the chance that the Thai bidders
 would be awarded the project is very slim, but cautioned that nothing is 
certain until the bid result is officially announced.


The power plant would help relieve Rangoon's power problems, which leave 
city residents in the dark as many as 3-4 times a week. The fertilizer project 
is expected to strengthen the Burmese agricultural sector, once of the world 
largest exporters of rice.


Meanwhile, sources from PTTEP said Yadana gas field developers would 
call for bids next month for the construction of a 430 kilometre-long gas 
pipeline from the field to the Thai-Burmese border. The PTT also said 
yesterday it would begin accepting bids for the construction of a pipeline 
from the border to Thailand's Ratchaburi power plant early next year. (TN)

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

NATION: THAI-OWNED FLOATING HOTEL IN BURMA CLOSES 
FOR REPAIRS    31 October 1995

The Thai-owned Central Floating Hotel, opened in mid-1995 after a one 
year delay, has temporarily closed following the failure of its main electricity 
generator last Friday.

Hotel staff told The Nation it might take weeks to get a new generator installed. 
The hotel located accommodation for over 50 inconvenienced guests at the 
Inya Lake Hotel in Rangoon.

Friday's failure was not the first time the generator has malfunctioned. 
Similar events took place two weeks ago and also the night before the 
closing, according to a local tour company.

"(Central's generator) is not even second hand, its third hand", claimed a 
hotel source in Rangoon. Central Floating Hotel is owned and managed by 
the Central Group of Thailand. The group and its Thai partner, BUT Holding 
Co, which operates a trading business in Burma, bought the cruise-ship-
converted-to-hotel for US$10 million (Bt250 million) after it was refitted 
in Finland in 1992.

A Central employee said the hotel had requested an electricity hook-up from 
the city several times in the past-always unsuccessfully. The hotel has had 
depend on its own generators to produce electricity for the 100-room hotel.

The hotel is anchored in Rangoon port, close to the city's downtown core. 
An official source said Central seemed to have had problems with the 
Burmese authorities from the very beginning. The most obvious illustration 
was the one year delay in receiving approval to open.

Central Group is one of many hoteliers hoping to benefit from increased 
tourism in Burma. The "Visit Myanmar Year 1996" promotion is expected 
to attract 500,000 visitors and almost 20 new hotels are under construction 
in Rangoon.

According to latest figures released by the Ministry of National Planning 
and Economic Development, Thailand ranks third on the investment ladder 
after the United Kingdom and France, with a total investment of about $421 
million, of which $159 million has been poured into hotel and tourism ventures. 
Last year, 39,192 tourists visited Burma, spending just under five million dollars.

Italian-Thai Development Group, which owns the Oriental and Amari hotel 
chains, is constructing a new hotel in Bagan and has taken a 25 per cent equity 
in the $23 million project. The company is also involved in a new hotel project 
in Mandalay which is headed by the Baiyoke group.

Bagan, lying on the eastern bank of the Irrawaddy River, is one of the richest 
archaeological sites in Asia. Italian-Thai and the Baiyoke group have agreed 
to co-operate on guest transfers between hotels in Rangoon and Bagan. Baiyoke 
currently operates two hotels in Rangoon.

According to an October 1995 publication issued by Burma's Ministry of 
National Planning and Economic Development, foreign investment in Burma's 
hotel and tourism industry ranked second only to oil and gas projects in 
terms of accumulative capital investment. Investment in hotel and tourism 
projects totalled $604.88 million as of Sep 30, 1995. (TN)

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

BKK POST: BURMESE STUDENT GROUPS TO JOIN FORCES
31 October 1995

Burmese students in Thailand will unite under one banner to consolidate 
their movement, a police source said. More than 10 student groups active
in Thailand have agreed to come under the Burmese Democratic Students 
Party, which will be administered by no more than 12 people.

Agreement came after the groups concluded that independent activities 
had little effect. The development was likely to heighten police interest 
in security during the official visit by Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, first secretary-
general of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, to Thailand on 
November 25 as guest of Deputy Prime Minister Amnuay Virawan, the 
source said. (BP)

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

BKK POST: SECURITY FOR ASEAN MEET TO BE STEPPED UP
31 October 1995

Security will be tightened for the Asean summit, when Burmese students 
are expected to be politically active, according to the commissioner of the 
Special Branch Bureau.

Than Shwe, chairman of Burma's junta, is due to meet Cambodian and 
Laotian leaders on December 14-15 after the summit, Pol Lt Gen Veera 
Visuthikul pointed out.

Violence was not expected, but police would stand guard and make sure 
everything went well, he said. He also expects intensified politically 
activity from Burmese students when Slorc first secretary Lt Gen Khin 
Nyunt visits Thailand by the end of next month. He is coming as the guest 
of Deputy Prime Minister Amnuay Virawan. (BP)

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

BKK POST: LACK OF DATA HITS MINERAL MINING IN INDOCHINA, BURMA
31 OCTOBER 1995   (abridged slightly)

By Rajan Mosese, Bangkok, Reuters

THE potential for unearthing rich deposits of gold, copper and other metals 
in mineral-rich Indochina and Burma is high but miners are inhibited by the 
absence of reliable data, mining analysts said yesterday.

Without the advent of large and diversified mining and processing industries, 
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma are unlikely to become major platers 
and suppliers of any major mineral, escaped oil and gems, in the Asia-Pacific 
region, the analysts told a mining conference here.

"We find that it is a problem to obtain reliable economic, demographic and 
market information on these countries. To make a well-informed decision it 
is necessary to have current , reliable information," said Simon Handelsman, 
senior adviser at New York-based investment bank, Ridege wood Partners ltd.

"Analysts of current mineral production, mineral imports/exports and 
projecting suggests Indochina and Burma are not expected to be major 
players and suppliers of any mineral commodity (excluding petroleum and gem) 
to the markets in the Asia-Pacific region," officers in charge of the mineral 
section at the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific 
(ESCAP).

"The region is competitive and opening up but it still has underdeveloped legal 
codes and there is a difficulty in getting geological data from countries in the 
area," Geoffery Gold, publisher of the Asian Journal of Mining, told Reuters.

Burma had significant potential for mineral exploration, but it had been 
handicapped by shortages of mining and other equipment, power and water 
shortages and lack of proper mineral resource assessments, analysts said.

Principal metals produced in Burma are lead, silver, zinc, tin, copper 
concentrates, gold and gems. (BP)

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

S.H.A.N : CEC ACTS COY ON SECRET AGREEMENT REPORTS
October 29, 1995

In response to the report which appeared in the Bangkok Post on October
27,1995, the Central Executive Committee of the Shan State Restoration
Council, which has assumed power since August, has apparently decided to
adopt a wait-and see policy one day after one of its members made a
denial to the Post reporter. 

When S.H.A.N asked for clarification of the conflicting reports, the
CEC's First Secretary, Zao Khwanmong laughingly said : " As far as the
CEC is concerned, the stories might even be true. But we are not
admitting anything of course. " He refused to elaborate further, simply
saying, " If they were true, would it not be to the benefit of all those
concerned ? ". 

However, Khwanmong acknowledges that the CEC has made an offer to the
Rangoon government in September for problems between Burma and the Shan
State to be resolved through peaceful means instead of force. It has
also requested mediation by the neighbouring countries and the 1991
Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. 

He said that the Shans have been for some time under attack from some
mysterious "disinformation and misinformation campaigners," as in the
case of the false reports about CEC Chairman Gunjade defecting to the "
D-Day, sixth of June" mutineers. He confirmed the reports that Gunjade
had arrived back at the Homong Base on Friday, October 27, after a
three-month journey in the Shans' western part of the Salween. 

A veteran watcher speculates that Rangoon may leave its strongest
opponent to the Wa fighters and Maj. karnyord's Shan State National
Army, while it must concentrate its available forces against the
National League for Democracy that is reportedly considering boycotting
the so-called National Convention held by SLORC. 

GUNJADE - THE NEW LEADER ?

With the return of Gunjade from the front, the inevitable question of
whether he is going to really replace Khun Sa as the Shans' new leader
has arisen. S.H.A.N put this question to one of the members of the Shan
State Restoration Council, who requested anonymity. 

According to him, the Shan Resistance has witnessed three categories of
leadership during its 37-year struggle :  - strong leadership with poor
management as exemplified by Khun Sa's Shanland United Army - poor
leadership with good management as in the former Shan State Army; and -
strong leadership with good management as in the late Kornzurng's Shan
United Revolutionary Army. 

Thus, when the three merged to form the Mong Tai Army in 1985 and Khun
Sa emerged as the dominant leader, his leadership was the decisive
factor in shaping the MTA to what it is today : a strong movement with
poor management. As could be expecded, problems arose and multiplied as
the MTA grew from a mere 6,000 into more than 30,000 , until finally
they exploded into a mutiny. 

" What the CEC has been doing is essentially to build up a better
management, not a better leadership. But a movement needs both in order
to survive and suceed . So unless Gunjade is able to provide both, it is
going to need Khun Sa no matter what external opinions are against them.
" 

The question therefore is whether Gunjade is up to the demands of the
job, or Khun Sa still play the leading role while permitting the
introduction of a more efficient management and, if so, how they are
going to deal with the public image which is definately not in their
favour. 

The member, perhaps wisely, refused to answer.

*****    

NUS: EUROPEAN STUDENTS SUPPORT BURMESE STUDENTS 
STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY   (National Unions Of Students)
October 31, 1995


The annual meeting of ESIB- the National Unions of Students in Europe
this year was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia from 24 - 29 October, 1995.  The
meeting was attended by  58 delegates from 27 National Unions of Students in
Europe.

The resolution on Burma was sponsored by the National Unions of Students in
Norway and second by NSU of Switzerland.   The board of ESIB passed the
resolution by consensus on 29th October, 1995.

Resolution on Burma adopted by the National Unions of Students In
Europe(ESIB) Ljubljana, Solvenia

The members of the ESIB-The National Unions of Students in Europe would like

to extend our sympathy and support for the Burmese students who are
struggling for democracy in Burma in a very difficult situation.

We are very much concerned about the gross violations of human rights in
Burma by the Burmese military junta which seized power in a bloody military
coup in September 1988.

We are deeply disappointed by the fact that the chairman of the All Burma
Federation of Students Union(ABSFU), Min Ko Naing is still being detained 
in a solitary confinment cell for six continious years.  We are also worried
for the other Burmese studentsEF activists who are being detained in prisons.

The lack of academic freedom, lack of freedom of expression and lack of
participation of the citizens in the government are something that we cannot
accept in any country.

We strongly demand the Burmese military junta;

- to release all the Burmese student activists including Min Ko Naing and
all other political prisoners immediately and unconditionally,
- to allow Burmese students to form independent Burmese students unions and
- to go into dialogue with Burmese opposition groups for democratisation
process in Burma.

We would also call on the Government of Thailand to treat the Burmese
students living inside Thailand according to the international laws and
particularly we urge Thai authorities to immediately stop the block of the
humanitarian assistance given to the members of the All Burma Students
Democratic Front along the Thailand-Burma border from international NGOs.

We would like to urge the European Union to increase their support for
democracy movements in Burma and impose economic sanctions on Burma 
until after the democratic process.

Finally, we would like to express our full support on Oct 27, National
Students Action Day, initiated by the students activists from Universities
and Colleges in the United States in order to terminate foreign investment in
Burma.

ESIB
LJ, October 29, 1995

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

NUS: NUSS, EUROPE SUPPORTS  THE NATIONAL STUDENTS 
ACTION DAY ON BURMA
Ljubljana, October 27, 1995

We, the undersigned participants of the 29th ESIB`s seminar(the National
Unions of Students in Europe) held in Ljubljana, Solvenia would like to
express our full support on National Students' Action Day on Burma,
campaigning to halt foreign investment in Burma.

Gross violations of human rights committed by the Burmese military junta
also known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council(SLORC) and its
refusal to transfer the state power to the National League for
Democracy(NLD) which won over 80 of seats in the national parliament during
the election in May 1990 gave full justification to impose international
economic sanction on Burma.

We strongly believe that the foreign investment in Burma, right now, would
not help Burmese people but would only help the SLORC to grip on power and
discourage them to start genuine democratisation process in Burma.

We are very much embraced by the fact that the two European countries,
France and Britain are among the three top foreign investors in Burma.

We strongly call on European Union to impose economic sanction on Burma and
all foreign companies investing in Burma to withdraw immediately.

We would again like to express our upmost support on National Students'
Action Day initiated by the students activists from Universities in United
States and we would like to emphasis that there will be another Students'
Action Day throughout Europe if the foreign companies are refused to
withdraw their investment from Burma in the near future.

Signed By

Thirty-three leaders of National Students' Unions in Europe

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

AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT: REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN 
BURMA - CONCLUSIONS
October 27, 1995

I have just received a copy of the report of the Joint Standing Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade on Human Rights and lack of progress
towards democracy in Burma of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of
Australia.

I reproduce the conclusions. I hope that more of the report will be
published in the Thai-Yunnan Project newsletter No. 30. Acknowledgement is
made to the Australian Governbment publishing Service, Canberra.

CONCLUSIONS

1.Reports continue to be made of gross human rights abuses in Burma,
'consistently and on a wide scale.'  The concessions which the Government
of Burma has made, and made only under great international pressure - the
abolition of military tribunals, the release of some of the high profile
political detainees and the cessation of official executions - are
important but since they rely on the will or the whim of the Government
there is no certainty that these abuses will not occur in as great a
measure at any time. No structural changes have been made which might
assist in the long term protection of human rights. This requires the
perpetrators of abuses to be brought to justice, the establishment of an
independent judiciary and a free press, a recognition of the rights of a
democratic opposition and the subordination of the army to an elected
civilian government. There is no sign of any intention on the part of the
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) that they will implement
democratic changes which would ensure this kind of accountability.

2 The gap between the statements made by various representatives of the
Burmese Government and the actual conditions of life for ordinary Burmese
people appears to be very wide. For the most part, the worst conditions are
not matters that can be attributed to poverty or levels of development or
different, Asian, values. They are often attributable to government policy
or to the direct actions of the government or individual military
commanders. They result from a lack of accountability. Where there is no
domestic accountability then the only possibility for the protection of
people who are abused by their government is through the international
system, flawed as it is.

3 This Committee reiterates the view it put in its last report on A Review
of Australia's Efforts to Promote and Protect Human Righ~s, on the problems
that arise for states because of the demands by minority groups for
self-determination and independence. The Committee believes this issue
alone represents one of the major security issues facing the world today.
It is particularly pertinent to the countries of the region where there are
numerous examples of pressure being applied to central governments for
selfdetermination. In 1994, the Committee argued:

that governments cannot maintain national cohesion by force and the
continual oppression of minorities. It supports the proposition that
effective and successful multi-racial/multi-ethnic states need to express
their diversity in institutions and political structures which genuinely
accommodate the aspirations of their minorities. Failure to make that
accommodation, and worse, the abuse and oppression of minorities, gives
moral force to claims for independence and secession.

The Committee looked in particular at the problems of the border regions of
Burma where war has been endemic for nearly forty years. The problems
associated with the border regions of Burma are complex and longstanding.
However they clearly illustrate the interconnectedness of human rights,
political democracy, peace, security and development. The current Burmese
regime is a source of instability in the region. lts lack of accountability
and legitimacy allows for corruption and oppression; there is no forum,
independent of the government, to bring to account, consistently and
impartially, those who, through normal human venality, abuse, steal and
oppress their feUow citizens. There is no place for the aspirations of
minority groups who have a well founded suspicion of the power of the
majority to find expression. Corruption and violence appear to be endemic
and, so long as they exist, they encourage the evils of trafficking in
arms, drugs and people and the outflows of refugees. Burma's problems then
spill over into neighbouring countries and spread from there to the wider
world.

4. Therefore it is in the interests of the region and Australia that there
should be a solution to the problems Burma faces. Despite the ceasefires
and the acclaimed success of the military operations, the situation on the
borders continues to be fragile and precarious. For there to be a secure
peace there must be a political solution to the demands of the border
peoples. This will necessitate proper, not token and selected,
representation at the National Convention. Without proper representation at
this Convention there can be no lasting accommodation in the new
constitution of minority rights and little likelihood that such a
constitution will find long term acceptance, thereby providing the basis
for stability in the country.

5. On the question of political rights, this Committee rejects the
proposition that any of the actions for which political prisoners have been
detained could be construed as a threat to national security. In reality it
would appear that the laws are simply used against people exercising their
legitimate rights to free speech, free association and peaceful political
action - criticism of the actions of the SLORC, rightful protest about the
failure of the SLORC to respect the election victory of the NLD, criticism
of the dubious procedures of the National Convention and free dialogue and
cooperation with the Special Rapporteur as agreed to by the Government. The
laws are vague and at times amendments have been made by decree and
punishments have been applied retrospectively. Procedures have not been
open and the Government has not produced concrete evidence upon which
judgements have been made.. No distinction is made between the security of
the State and the 'security of the SLORC'. Consequently procedures have not
been in accord with natural justice and the 'prevailing laws' not in accord
with the international obligations of Burma as a member of the United
Nations to observe Articles 11, 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration
on Human Rights.

6. This Committee deplores the deliberate and systematic destruction of
political parties under the guise of legal process. It deplores the
manipulation of the National Convention in order to produce an
anti-democratic constitution which, if not modified, will entrench
in power a military regime which has usurped power and denied the will of
the people of Burma which was clearly expressed at a free and fair
election.

7. In Burma, there is a long history of authoritarian rule and isolation
from international contact and international scrutiny. Today, since the
SLORC deprived the elected government of power in 1990, most of the gross
human rights abuses committed by the Government result from that act of
illegality, the opposition it has engendered and the systematic attempts of
the SLORC to destroy the National League for Democracy and any political
opposition to its rule. The Government lacks accountability; its rule is
arbitrary; it has dispensed with a rule of law and has resorted to rule by
decree. There has been little progress towards democracy.

8. If political reform, embodying transparency, accountability and
participation, is the vital ingredient in creating the conditions for real
economic growth, a sound basis for investment in the country and
guaranteed, productive use of aid, then political reform must be a central
objective of Australia's foreign policy towards Burma. The benchmarks
encompass this principle. The Committee believes that the benchmarks
represent useful guides towards democratic development. Obviously it is not
intended that all benchmarks will be absolutely achieved before there is
some reestablishment of official contacts with Burma.

9. The Committee believes however that more genuine progress in
establishing a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD and a change to
the procedures of the National Convention are an essential starting point
before any further concessions are made to the SLORC. In this regard it is
important that Australia continue to seek the support of regional
neighbours in urging change in Burma.

10. Therefore the Committee draws attention to recommendation number 27
urging regional countries to use their good offices to press the Government
of Burma towards democratic change.

11. The latest statements from the SLORC that they do not need to negotiate
with any one are not reassuring. They appear to reveal that the regime has
no commitment to democratic development in Burma. Such hardline attitudes
offer little scope for confidence on the part of the international
community that there will be any change to the practices, outlined in this
report, that have been so widely condemned. While such contempt is directed
at the consensus resolutions of the United Nations, there can be no change
to the policies of major international institutions, whether financial or
political, to include Burma more fully.

12. The Committee hopes that the SLORC will take up the offer of Aung San
Suu Kyi for dialogue and so recognise the will of the Burmese people so
clearly expressed in 1990.

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ISBDA: MITI ENCOURAGED JAPANESE COMPANIES FOR LARGER  
BUSINESS IN BURMA
October 29, 1995.

Japan's Ministry for International Trade and Industry (MITI) announced 
today that it will persuade Japanese cooperations to do larger business
with the military regime in Burma by increasing  its maximum allowable
insurance value to a project in Burma, NHK radio reported. 
The maximum insurance amount that MITI will accept for business with SLORC
is increased to a billion dollar scale which is about a  thousand times
larger amount compared to past Japanese project in Burma insured by
Japanese government. This increment is reportedly to be in conformity with
the news that Japanese trading houses and steel manufacturers  are in good
position to win tender in a project for  gas pipeline connection from
Yadana gas field in  Burma to a power station in Thailand. The gas pipeline
tender bids are scheduled to call in November and SLORC will definitely
favor Japanese enterprises  who are fully backed by their government.

End Of News
************

To our friends:

If you have a few minutes to prepare a mail about  your concern on the
increased Japanese support to SLORC,  please send  it through  the
following offices in the Government of Japan:

PS: Please do not expect a reply from these offices: they usually do not
reply to anyone like you. If you get a reply, you are extremely lucky.

PPS: But, if you send a carbon copy to me I will let you know how many mail
went there.

Sincerely,
KT

Japanese VIPs & their Business Address:

Mr. Tomiichi Murayama 
Prime Minister of Japan
c/o email:    www@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Mr. Yohei Kono
Minister for Foreign Affair
c/o email: mofhogai@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto
Minister for MITI
c/o email:    webmail@xxxxxxxxxx

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