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BurmaNet News April 3, 1996
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The BurmaNet News: April 3, 1996
Issue #374
HEADLINES:
==========
MAINICHI DAILY NEWS: ASSK'S LETTER FROM BURMA #9
BKK POST: BURMESE VOTERS GET NO DIRECT SAY IN PRESIDENT POLL
BKK POST: BURMA AGREES TO DEMOLISH ILLEGAL BRIDGE
BKK POST: BROTHEL OWNERS INDIFFERENT TO PROSTITUTION BILL
BKK POST: 500 BURMESE REFUGEES MADE HOMELESS BY FIRE
ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA TV DOCUMENTARY
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MAINICHI DAILY NEWS: ASSK'S LETTER FROM BURMA #9
Monday, April 1, 1996
BOH AUNG GYAW REMAINS AN INSPIRATION TO STUDENTS
"A Few Introductions (2)"
Among the group of Burmese cadets with whom U Lwin went to Japan for
military training in 1943 was a young man who became a particularly close
friend and later, his brother-in-law: U Kyi Maung. At university, U Kyi
Maung had been active in the students' movement for independence. In 1938,
he marched at the head of demonstration holding aloft the flag of the
Students' Union. Mounted police sent to stop the demonstration rode into
the ranks of the students with batons swinging. U Kyi Maung was one of the
first students to be struck down, hit in three places on the head. Another
student marching close behind him, Ko Aung Gyaw, also received on the head a
single sharp blow that knocked him down. A few hours later, the young man
died from his injuries in the hospital, causing great anger throughout the
country and raising the tempo of discontent against the colonial government.
"Boh Aung Gyaw," as the student martyr came to be known, remains an
inspiration to students fighting for justice and freedom today.
At the outbreak of the war, U Kyi Maung joined the Burma Independence Army,
where he came to know many of the men who would form the core of the armed
forces of independent Burma. A staunch believer in the importance of an
apolitical, professional army, he was strongly opposed to the military
takeover of 1962. It was thus hardly surprising that in 1963, at which time
he was serving as the commander of South Western Command, he was asked to
retire from the armed forces.
During the quarter century that followed his retirement from the army, U
Kyi Maung was imprisoned twice, for a total of seven years, on suspicion of
opposing the military, later the Burmese Socialist Programme Party,
government. Soon after the outbreak of the democracy movement in 1988, U
Kyi Maung was pulled into prison for the third time, but he was released
within a month. In September 1988, he became one of the 12 members of the
Executive Committee of the National League for Democracy.
When U Tin U and I were placed under house arrest in July 1989, the
Executive Committee of the NLD decided on collective leadership, but it
would not be wrong to say that U Kyi Maung was the man who led the party to
its resounding victory in the elections of 1990. After the first few weeks
of euphoria, the people of Burma began to suspect that the authorities had
no intention of honoring the results of the elections. Their worst fears
were confirmed when U Kyi Maung was arrested in September 1990, tried by a
military tribunal and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. He was, however,
released in March 1995.
Another eminent leader of the NLD released on the same day as U Kyi Maung
was U Tin U. As chairman of the NLD, he had been placed under house arrest
in July 1989 and in December of the same year tried by a military tribunal
and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. When the end of his prison term
was approaching, he was tried again on the same charges as previously and
given another prison sentence of seven years. The years U Tin U spent in
Insein Jail from 1989 to 1995 were his second stint in the infamous prison.
His first period of incarceration had lasted from 1976 until 1980. U Tin U
joined the army as a mere 16-year-old in 1943. After the war, he was
included in the 150 Burmese officers to be given commissions in the
reorganized Burma Army which formed the basis of the nation when it became
independent. During the 1950s, he was twice awarded for valor shown in
action against Kuomintang troops which had fled into Burma at the time of
the communist victory in China. He rose rapidly from rank to rank through
the 1960s and early 1970s, and in 1974 he was appointed chief of Defense
Services and minister of defense.
The year 1974 was also when the meanness of spirit shown by the authorities
over the funeral of U Thant, retired secretary-general of the United
Nations, scandalized the people of Burma and fermented anger among students
already resentful of conditions imposed by the Burmese Way of Socialism. In
the course of disturbances related to this episode, and even more during the
1976 demonstrations by workers, U Tin U was hailed as a champion of the
people. It is likely that his popularity with the public had much to do
with his dismissal from the armed forces in March 1976. In September of
that year he was arrested, charged and alleged misprision of treason and
sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.
On his release from prison under a general amnesty program in 1980,
U Tin U went straight to a monastery, where he stayed as a monk for two years.
When he returned to lay life, he studied law and acquired the Registered Lawyers'
certificate as well as the LL.B. degree. The democracy movement of 1988
drew him from a quiet, private life into the struggle to bring justice and
human rights to Burma. He was appointed deputy chairman of the NLD in
September 1988, and in December of the same year he replaced U Aung Gyi as
chairman of the party.
*********************************************************
REUTERS: AI RAISES CONCERN ABOUT VIOLENCE IN BURMA
April 1, 1996
MYANMAR: KAYIN (KAREN) STATE: THE KILLINGS CONTINUE
APRIL 1996 SUMMARY AI INDEX: ASA 16/10/96
DISTR: SC/CO
After over seven years of military rule by the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC), the Myanmar security
forces continue to commit gross human rights violations with
impunity. The catalogue of these violations is extensive.
Over 1,000 political prisoners remain behind bars, the
majority of whom have been tried after unfair trials. Amnesty
International believes that most of these people may be
prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for the peaceful
expression of their non-violent opinions. Prison conditions
are so deplorable as to constitute cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment. Martial law decrees which prohibit
gatherings of more than five people and forbid public
criticism of the military remain in force. Opposition
political parties operate under severe restrictions and in
the last five months dozens of their members have been
arrested.
The security forces have not only singled out
government critics for repression but also regularly target
ethnic minorities for widespread abuse. Ethnic minorities,
who comprise one-third of Myanmar~s population and live for
the most part in border areas, are also victims of human
rights violations. Security forces have subjected members of
the Karen, Mon, Shan, Karenni and Rohingya minorities to
torture and ill-treatment in the course of forced labour and
portering, and have unlawfully killed unarmed civilians
during counter-insurgency operations against ethnic minority
armed opposition groups. Because the armed ethnic minority
group the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burmese army
have not yet reached a ceasefire agreement, Karen civilians
continue to be caught in the midst of the army~s counter-
insurgency activities.
In the last eight years the Burmese army, known as the
tatmadaw, has killed unarmed civilians as part of its
counter-insurgency campaigns against the KNU in the Kayin
(Karen) State, eastern Myanmar. Karen civilians who were
fleeing from troops as they approached a village have been
shot dead in what appears to be a de facto shoot-to-kill
policy of anyone who runs from the tatmadaw. Others have been
killed reportedly because the tatmadaw suspected these
individuals of supporting the KNU in some way. The army has
killed still other victims seemingly at random, in an
apparent effort to terrorize villagers into severing their
alleged connections with KNU soldiers. Amnesty International
is gravely concerned by these killings; they are part of a
long-standing pattern of extrajudicial executions by the
tatmadaw of members of the Karen ethnic minority.
Families and associates of victims, who had escaped to
neighbouring Thailand, told Amnesty International about
extrajudicial killings of 16 Karen villagers, mainly in Papun
district, northern Kayin State, during 1995. Extrajudicial
killings are the most serious of a range of human rights
violations occurring in the context of the tatmadaw~s
counter-insurgency operations. They violate the most
fundamental of human rights, the right to life, which is
guaranteed by Article 3 of the Declaration of Human Rights.
In an apparent effort to break civilian links with or
support for the KNU, the army has also begun a program of
forcible relocations of ethnic Karen villages in Papun
district to Papun town and nearby areas. The tatmadaw has
reportedly sent threatening letters to village headmen,
enclosed with a bullet and a chili pepper, which is believed
by recipients to be symbolic of the future that awaits them
if they do not co-operate. Civilians who have been subjected
to such removals have not been compensated for their loss of
land and homes. The tatmadaw has also targeted ethnic Karen
civilians for unpaid forced portering and labour duties, in
the course of which the Karen have sometimes been ill-
treated. This pattern of killings, forced portering and
labour, looting and burning of villages, and killings of
Karen civilians, appears to have occurred in other districts
in the Kayin State. Detailed but unconfirmed reports from
Toungoo, Nyaunglebin, and Thaton districts in 1995 indicate
that such a wide pattern of human rights violations may be
part of the tatmadaw's overall strategy of destroying
civilian links or support for the KNU.
This report focuses solely on human rights violations
committed by the tatmadaw and abuses committed by its de
facto allies, the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA)
against Karen civilians. Amnesty International is also
concerned about possible abuses committed by the KNU;
however, without access to Myanmar, the organization has not
been able to confirm such abuses to the same degree of certainty.
********************************************************
FBC: VISIT MYANMAR YEAR CHANGED AGAIN, NEW PHONE #s
April 3, 1996
1) Visit Myanmar Year 1996 has been pushed back, once again, to November
18, 1996.
2) All the telehone numbers in Burma will be changed from five figures to
six starting on April 14, 1996.
*******************************************************
ABSDF: BAYINT NAUNG PALACE PROJECT MAKES THE LOCAL
PEOPLE HOMELESS
April 2, 1996
"Kanbawza Thadi", or Bayint Naung Palace Project, one of the
Slorc's promoting "Visit Myanmar Year 1996" projects in Taungoo township,
is forcing the local people in region to relocate from their home to new place
and also forcibly work in the discovery and renovation of ancient Bayint Naung
Palace Project.
Local people from Taungoo township are forced to work in exploring
the old ancient place of Burmese King "Bayint Naung" in Taungoo and
renovating the ancient style mote, fortress, castle and palace to attract
the tourists. Slorc has initiated to explore and renovate the ancient
"Oaktha" City in Pegu township,, "Hanthawaddy" ancient city in
Hanthawaddy and "Bayint Naung" ancient palace in Taungoo since mid- 1989,
in a preparing for the 1996 Visit Myanmar Year. Since the beginning of the
Bayint Naung palace project, many residence near the project have been
relocated and local people have been forced to work in the project.
Many houses of the local resident were relocated without
compensation and every household were forced to contribute their labor and
taxation. According to the local resident from Taungoo, in last year,
every household in Taungoo were asked to give 150-600 kyats for the
"Bayint Naung Palace project", depending on the size of family. The only
exception people are VIP residents from Min Kyi Nyo ward in Taungoo who
are the Slorc township level committee members and committee members of
USDA.
Human right abuses in Thantaung township
A military column from Slorc's LIB No.539, under the command of
western military command raided the Chin Maung Taung Ywama village, 15
mile northeastern of Thantaung, Karen State and burnt down the several
houses including one Anglican Church on March 23, 1996.
The majority of the local villagers in the village are Gayba Karen
and Slorc has accused the villagers for supporting and having contacts
with the KNU and ABSDF troops. The Slorc column invaded into the village
at 8:00am on that day and blasted the several houses at random. Among
them, one Anglican church and some paddy storage of the villager were
included. Total 15 million kyats worth of village's property were damaged
due to the destructive attack by the Slorc troops.
On March 21, the same Slorc's column arrested over fifty villagers
from Bawdi Gone village, in Thami Tike village group, Thantaung township.
Village headmaster of Bawdi Gone village was later killed with accusation
of the hard-core of the KNU and the ABSDF, it is reported.
ABSDF News Agency
ABSDF (DAWN GWIN)
********************************************************
REUTER: KARENNI REBELS ABANDON LAST POSITION AFTER ATTACK
BURMA FIGHTING
April 1, 1996
BANGKOK, April 1 Reuter - Several hundred Karenni guerrillas in
eastern Burma abandoned their last stronghold over the weekend
after a three-day offensive by Burmese government forces, Thai
police and rebel sources said today.
Thai security forces were deployed along a stretch of the
Thai-Burma border in northwestern Mae Hong Son province to prevent
any spillover of the fighting after the guerrillas pulled out of a
hilltop base just inside Burma, a Thai border police officer said.
"We had to abandon our position after three consecutive days of
heavy shelling," a Karenni guerrilla officer told reporters on the border.
He said the about 400 guerrillas who abandoned the camp broke up
into small groups and would wage guerrilla warfare against the
Burmese army.
The guerrilla source said at least 20 Burmese soldiers were
killed over several days of fighting. Three guerrillas were killed
and twelve others wounded.
The separatist rebels agreed to a ceasefire with the government
in March a year ago but the truce collapsed several months later
after Rangoon forces moved into the small Karenni zone in what the
rebels said was a violation of the agreement.
****************************************************************
BKK POST: BURMESE VOTERS GET NO DIRECT SAY IN PRESIDENT POLL
March 31, 1996
Burmese voters will not have a direct voice in electing the
nation's president under measures adopted at a military-run
constitutional convention.
Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National
League for Democracy, have boycotted the convention. They said
delegates were not allowed to debate, but merely approve,
measures proposed by the military.
Under the rules adopted by the convention on Friday the two
houses of parliament will each elect a vice president.
Military members of parliament, guaranteed 25 per cent of the
seats, will then elect a third vice president.
A joint-session of parliament will then elect a president from
among the three vice-presidents. All will serve five-year terms.
The president must be at least 45 years old and have lived in
Burma for the past 20 years. The president, or his parents,
spouse or children, must not be a subject or citizen of a foreign
power, or enjoy the rights of a citizen of a foreign country.
The presidency requirements, adopted on Thursday, disqualify Suu
Kyi from holding the post since she is married to a foreigner,
British academic Michael Aris.
Another guideline adopted on Friday mandates that ministers and
deputy ministers for the Defence, Interior and Border affairs
ministries be military personnel nominated by the commander-in-
chief of the armed forces.
Other Cabinet members can be members of parliament or outsiders.
Government employees taking up ministerial positions must resign
from government service.
#The NATION on March 31, 1996 added:
The president may pick all other cabinet members from among
members of parliament and other circles.
While government employees have to resign from the civil service
after taking a cabinet post, military personnel serving as
ministers or deputy ministers need not resign from military
service, according to the guidelines.
The president has to submit his cabinet list to parliament for formal
approval. The legislature, however, cannot reject any appointment
unless it has sufficient grounds for disqualifying a certain candidate.
*******************************************************
BKK POST: BURMA AGREES TO DEMOLISH ILLEGAL BRIDGE
March 31, 1996 (slightly abridged)
Burma yesterday agreed to half-demolish a wooden bridge which was
built across the Moei River without consultation with Thailand.
The bridge, linking Burma's Myawaddy with a strip of land
straddling Thailand's newly-dug river channel, was completed yesterday.
Tak Governor Kasem Nakharat said the bridge was not only built
without Thailand's consent, but also blocked navigation of the river.
He sent Chairman of the Local Thai-Burmese Border Committee Suvit
Maenmuan to negotiate with Myawaddy authorities about the
demolition yesterday.
Col Suvit said Burma agreed with Mr Kasem's demand, but refused
to tear down part of the bridge within its borders.
He said Myawaddy Governor Muang Muang Yein claimed Burma built
the bridge so people in Thailand could visit a temple fair being held in
his town between April 1-7 to raise funds for the construction of a pagoda.
Mr Kasem, however, questioned why Burma did not resort to using
the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge linking Mae Sot and Myawaddy
instead.
The bridge was nearly completed but Burma had suspended its
construction and banned people from using it.
*******************************************************
BKK POST: BROTHEL OWNERS INDIFFERENT TO PROSTITUTION BILL
April 1, 1996
THREE brothel operators in Mae Sai and Muang Chiang Rai
districts say they are indifferent to the bill seeking to
end underage prostitution climbing procurers could
eventually find legal loopholes to maintain their operations.
Asked not to be identified, they said underage prostitution
would remain a fact of life as there would always be needy
parents and people who desired young prostitutes.
Procurers and operators would more than likely eventually
find legal loopholes in the bill to carry on their
operations, they said.
Underage prostitutes are readily available at brothels ion
the North.
Most of the young prostitutes in northern border provinces
are not Thai, but girl from Mandalay and Chiang Tung in
Burma or Sipsongpanna in southern China, they said.
The head of a non-governmental organization dealing with
women's development in the province expressed support for
the bill.
Sompop Jantraka, director of the Development and Education
Programme for the Daughters and Communities Centre in Mae
Sai district, said he appreciated the efforts of legislators
supporting the passage of the Prostitution Prevention and
Suppression Bill, a revised version of the 1952 Prostitution
Prevention Act.
The bill, initiated by Bangkok Palang Dhama MP Sansanee
Nakpong and Phayao Democrat MP Laddawan Wongsriwong, seeks
harsher penalties for procurers and operators of brothels
offering underage prostitutes, those who have sex with them
and parents and others who allow minors to be lured into
prostitution.
"It's good to learn that some politicians are working for
society. They should have the resolve to tackle any
obstacles which could block the bill," Mr Sompop said.
The bill passed its first reading last September and is due
to face its second and third readings on Wednesday.
Under the bill, those engaging in sexual acts with underage
prostitutes would face 1-20 years in jail and /or a fine of
20,000-400,000 baht.
Procurers, operators, parents or others who lure minors into
prostitution would face 5-15 years in jail and/or a fine of
200,000-400,000 baht.
Commenting on the bill, Mr Sompop suggested penalties should
also be imposed on government officials who were neglect in
trickling prostitution.
The Government must not only eradicate child prostitution,
but all forms of prostitution countrywide.
Women who quit prostitution usually have family problems.
Most separate from their husbands and leave their children
for society to look after, he said. (BP)
****************
BKK POST: 500 BURMESE REFUGEES MADE HOMELESS BY FIRE
April 1, 1996
Mae Sot, Tak
[Editor's Note: The fire in Huai Kaloke refugee camp destroyed the market,
not a residential area. The market consisted of 2 rows of small shops selling
food, clothing, medicine, and other small items. The camp leader strongly
suspects that the fire was deliberately set. After investigating the scene, she
reported that the fire did not begin in one of the shops but rather between two
shops. The fire started late at night, when everyone was asleep. The DKBA
has burned down sections of other camps, and it is possible that this fire was
also started by a member of the DKBA. The SLORC and DKBA hope to
create problems between the Thai authorities and the refugees. If the Thais
feel that the refugees cannot maintain safety and order in the camp, then they
will have an excuse to move the refugees out of the camp.]
AROUND 500 Burmese refugees were made homeless yesterday
after a blaze at a camp.
Police said all those affected were residents of Section 8
of Huay Kaloke refugee camp in Tambon Mae Pa.
The fire hit the camp's residential quarter shortly after
midnight while most of the refugees were asleep.
More than 10 fire engines were sent to battle the blaze but
strong winds and thatched roofs helped it spread quickly
through homes.
It took firemen more than two hours to bring the fire under
control after at least 112 buildings were burnt to the ground.
Police believed the fire originated in a row of shophouses
where a candle had been left unattended.
Most of the refugees made homeless by the fire had little
time to move their belongings which were destroyed along
with their homes.
Camp leader Mary Ohn said most of the homeless sought
temporary shelter with relatives and friends in other sections
of the camp but 50 families had to live in makeshift shelters.
Section 8 is the last residential quarter at Huaykaloke camp
and was set up three years ago. It holds some 1,000 refugees.
The camp currently has a total refugee population of 6,500.
*****************************************************
INTELASIA: BURMA'S WA FORCE THREATENS ACTION ON THAI BORDER
April 2, 1996
Bangkok 2nd April[INTELASIA] - A Burmese ethnic minority force blamed for
fuelling opium production threatened on Tuesday to retaliate against Thai
authorities who sealed all their border crossing points with one of the
group's enclaves.
A representative of the Wa force in Burma's northern Shan state said the
group would cut the supply of water from its side of the frontier to Thai
villages unless Thai authorities lifted a ban on cross-border trade.
``They (Thai troops) used to be relaxed about food and other essential
supplies coming into our area but since Khun Sa surrendered they put all the
pressure on us. All border points have been closed since then,'' the Wa
official told Reuters by telephone from northern Thailand.
Wa guerrillas agreed to a ceasefire with the Rangoon government in 1989
in exchange for autonomy in their zones of control in Shan state.
One enclave is in the southern part of Shan state bordering Thailand,
while the other is in the northern part of the state on the border with
China.
The Wa were long-term rivals of opium warlord Khun Sa, and the Burmese
government supplied them with ammunition to fight Khun Sa and his powerful
rebel army until his surprise surrender to the government at the beginning of
this year.
The Wa representative said that since Khun Sa's surrender in January,
Thai authorities along the frontier had completely cut off the Wa in their
enclave in the southern part of Shan state.
``If they continue to seal the border we will retaliate by cutting the
water supply to Thai border villages, then we'll see who suffers more,'' the
official said.
The United Wa State Army (UWSA) controls the high ground on the Burmese
side of the frontier. A string of Thai villages in the Mae Ai district of
Chiang Mai province on the low-land below depend on small streams and pipes
from Burma for their water, he said.
``They keep accusing us of being involved in narcotics trafficking but
refuse to come and see with their own eyes that these days the area under our
control is free of opium,'' the Wa official said.
Wa leaders in the zone told a visiting Reuters news team last October
that they had agreed to a five-year opium eradication programme with the
Rangoon government but said alternative crops for the impoverished hill
farmers must be introduced for any eradication plan to be successful.
While no opium was seen being grown in the Wa's southern zone, narcotics
suppression officials said the Wa's zone in the north of Shan state was the
group's main opium-growing area.
A Thai anti-narcotics police officer told Reuters earlier this month that
the Wa were still producing heroin and had bought about 60 tonnes of opium
since Khun Sa's surrender.
*********************************************************
FTUB(WB): REQUEST FROM BURMA LIBRARY
April 3, 1996
In accordance with the decision made in the committee
meeting held in January 1996, the library committee have taken a step
by holding a weekly literary talk, commencing on 25 February, 1996,
in which everyone is free to participate and discuss any subject of his
choice in the talk. The conversations spoken in the talk were recorded
on the audio tape and were published into a booklet under the name of
Pann Sagar(Forum).
So far, we have been able to hold the 6th weekly talk, and, out
of which five booklets have been published successfully. Due to lack of
publishing facility, we have to seek permission from the NCGUB(WB)
to use its computers for the publication. The NCGUB has willing
granted our request. Therefore, we are able to use the computers
whenever they are free. Under the circumstances, we are not able to
complete the booklet of corresponding talk within a scheduled time,
i.e., within a week after the corresponding talk.
The cost incurred on publication has been borne by the
library. So far, no financial aid for the publication has been received
by the library. Although, in the beginning, the publication was meant
to be distributed free of cost, the financial situation has restricted us
from doing so. Therefore, in order to cover the printing cost and postage,
the library requests all the interested parties to subscribe the publication at
US $.4 (Rs. 140) per every four copies of Pann Sagar, i.e. per month.
The librarian, Burma library.
Mailing Address:
Burma Library
C/O Mr. R.J Verma
87-C, GG-I, Vikas Puri,
New Delhi-110018, India.
*****************************************************
ANNOUNCEMENT: BURMA TV DOCUMENTARY
March 1996
British journalist, John Pilger has just finished a documentary called
"Land of Fear" in which he goes undercover to reveal the atrocities SLORC have
inflicted on the Burmese people. Includes interview with Aung San Suu
Kyi. John Pilger has made 40 documentaries in the past. His most recent was
"Death of a Nation" which brought world attention to the plight of East
Timor. "Land of Fear" going to be shown soon on ITV (Britain).
********************************************************