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Burma Net News: June 10, 1996. #439



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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: June 8-10, 1996 
Issue # 439

Noted in Passing:
		It's not going to be very easy, there are  a lot of 
		vested interests between the Slorc and the individual 
		countries in the region.
		-Teddy Buri 
		An exiled elected member of Suu Kyi's NLD party 
		(See BKK POST: S'PORE'S LEE: SUU KYI CAN'T
		 RULE BURMA)

		Burma is rich in natural resources, not least reserves of 
		virtually every kind of stone and gems, opening more 
		employment opportunities and regional development.
		-Laurence Chin, 
		country manager of Burma Airway International Co, 
		(See BKK POST: BURMA HAS OPPORTUNITIES - 
		BUT WATCH YOUR WALLET)
 
HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION: PHILIPS/ THAI PICKS AGENT FOR BURMA
THE NATION: WORK PERMITS FOR BURMESE
BKK POST: JUNTA MOVES TO BAN SUU KYI'S PARTY
BKK POST: SUU KYI  BRAVES SLORC WRATH
BKK POST: S'PORE'S LEE: SUU KYI CAN'T RULE BURMA
BKK POST: WHAT BURMA'S CONSTITUTION WILL LOOK LIKE IF THE SLORC 
HAS ITS WAY
BKK POST: REQUEST FOR BURMESE ABBOT AT LAMPANG WAT REJECTED
THE NATION: SUU KYI PULLS PUNCHES IN LATEST PUBLIC ADDRESS
THE NATION: WHAT'S IN A NAME? IN BURMA, MAY BE A TRUCE
THE NATION: THE LINE OF THOUGHT LEE KUAN YEW BUILT
BKK POST: BURMA HAS OPPORTUNITIES - BUT WATCH YOUR WALLET
ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR OPPOSITION TREADS CAUTIOUS LINE
ASAI TIMES: LUXURY CAR DEALER HOPING TO CAPTURE MYANMAR MARKET
------------------------------------------------------------
THE NATION: PHILIPS/ THAI PICKS AGENT FOR BURMA

June 8, 1996

The Nation

PHILIPS Electronics (Thailand) Ltd recently appointed Maymyo 
Import Export (Myanmar) Ltd, as the Burmese distributor of 
Philips business electronics, communication and security and 
office automation products.

With this new distributor arrangement, Philips will strongly 
increase its professional activities in Burma by supplying key-
telephone system SOPHO-IS 300 series PABX, MATV, sound and 
security systems, conference and public address systems, personal 
computers and monitors.

The distribution agreement was signed by Robert Martijnse, 
chairman and managing director of Philips Electronics (Thailand) 
Ltd, and Maung Kyaing, managing director of Maymyo Import Export 
(Myanmar) Ltd, on June 4 at Philips head office in Bangkok. (TN)

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

THE NATION: WORK PERMITS FOR BURMESE

June 8, 1996

The Nation

THE Labour Ministry has proposed issuing work permits for many of 
400,000 illegal Burmese labourers in the country, the Job 
Placement Department chief said yesterday.

Prasit Chaithongphan said that under the proposal, business 
operators will be required to register their workers at 
immigration offices and pay a fee of Bt1,250 for each employee, 
he said.

The fees will be returned to the operators if the employment is 
terminated, but the operators will have to pay another Bt3,750 if 
the registered workers flee or commit offences, he said.

However, the jobs are limited to five areas: fisheries, 
construction, farming, industry and transportation. Foreign 
labourers are not yet allowed to work as maids, Prasit said, 
adding there are about 400,000 illegal Burmese workers in 39 
provinces across the country. (TN)

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

BKK POST: JUNTA MOVES TO BAN SUU KYI'S PARTY

June 8, 1996

Rangoon, AFP

BURMA'S military government issued an order authorising the Home 
Ministry to ban NLD and imprison its members state-run Radio 
Rangoon reported.

The order, signed by Gen Than Shwe, gives  the ministry power to 
ban any organisation violating laws against unlawful gatherings 
or obstructing the development of a constitution through the 
government's National Convention, the report said.

NLD officials said they would go ahead with the meetings this 
weekend despite the threats, setting up another potential 
confrontation in a months-long political stand off.

Effective immediately, members of a banned organisation could be 
given prison sentences of five-to-20 years and fines if found 
guilty of encouraging or instigating activities which "adversely 
affect the national interest," state radio said.

Yesterday, rolls of barbed wire appeared outside Aung San Suu 
Kyi's home, apparently being stored ahead of her weekend 
addresses.

Two big truck laden with roll of barbed  wire were moved onto the 
edge of the road on either aide of her lake-side compound on 
University Avenue, their loads discreetly covered with branches 
and grass.

The NLD was told on Tuesday that the party would be banned if it 
went ahead with a resolution adopted at a party congress last 
week to draft an alternative constitution and continued to hold 
the public meetings.

Military authorities have sent out progressively threatening 
signals to Aunt San Suu Kyi and, in an editorial yesterday, 
warned the NLD could be banned and its members jailed if the 
party continued along its present course.

A commentary in the Burmese press said the plan  to frame a new  
constitution was a direct challenge to the authority of the 
ruling junta.

"If the NLD persists in going ahead with its decision to draft a 
constitution, it would automatically join the ranks of other 
outlawed organisation... which have also prepared such so-called 
constitutions," the commentary said.

An analysts in Rangoon said that neither side was likely to back 
down from the stand-off, adding that Aung San Suu Kyi would press 
on with what she has described the "normal work of a political 
party."

NLD officials said Suu Kyi was determined to carry on with the 
meetings and they pledged her addresses would take place inside 
her lakeside compound if authorities kept the crowds away.

Political events in Burma began to snowball three weeks ago as 
the military rounded up 262 NLD activists, including 238 party 
candidates elected in abortive elections in 1990, in a bid to 
scuttle a key pro-democracy meeting.

NLD officials say 144 party activists have been released from 
detention so far.

One analysts said the tone of the articles about Aung San Suu Kyi  
and the NLD had become "more nasty, if that is possible," in the 
past few days, pointing to yesterday's threat to lock up 
opposition members.

"If the NLD becomes outlawed, all its members candidates who were 
treated as temporary guests of the government during their recent 
detention, would be sent straight to the Insein University of 
Life," the article in the state-run newspaper said.

Insein is Rangoon's main prison, where international human rights 
groups say torture is common and conditions are crowed and 
miserable.

Analysts say the military is steadily cracking down on the 
opposition following Aung San Suu Kyi's defiant announcement on 
May 26 that the NLD would hold regular party congress and draft 
its own state constitution.

The junta has been overseeing the drafting of a new Burmese 
constitution, which would guarantee the military a central role 
in future civilian governments, and has pledged to step aside 
when it was completed. (BP)

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

BKK POST: SUU KYI  BRAVES SLORC WRATH

June 9, 1996 

Associated Press, Rangoon

Defying threats of harsh punishment from the government, pro-
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi addressed more than 5,000 
supporters who gathered in front of her house today.

The one-hour meeting took place without any interference from the 
authorities.   The crowd cheered and shouted "Long live Aung San 
Suu Kyi" and "Let the cause for democracy be successful" when she 
appeared at the gate to her compound late this afternoon.  

Burma's military government announced Friday that prison 
sentences of five to 20 years awaited anyone who incited, 
demonstrated, spoke, or wrote "in order to undermine the 
stability of the state, community peace and tranquillity and 
prevalence of law and order."  

The law's immediate target appeared to be Suu Kyi, winner of the 
1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to 
Burma. She has met with her supporters every Saturday since being 
released from six years of house arrest last July.   Her speech 
today was much milder than usual, containing no remarks critical 
of the regime. It was not clear whether she would be subject to 
legal action over the rally.   

The government imposed the law in reaction to recent challenges 
by the democratic dissidents to the authority of the military 
which for 34 years has governed Burma, also called Myanmar.   
Besides prison sentences, the law calls for fines and 
confiscation of property, and decrees that any organisation found 
in violation will be suspended, disbanded or outlawed.   

The law came a day after the military informed Suu Kyi's party 
that it was banning the Saturday meetings -- already prohibited 
under a law that forbids gatherings of more than 50 people, but 
which has not been enforced. Suu Kyi said then that the meetings 
would continue.   

The new law, signed by the chairman of the country's junta, 
Senior Gen. Than Shwe, also makes unauthorised writing of a 
constitution subject to the same penalties.   Suu Kyi's National 
League for Democracy announced last month after a party congress 
that it was doing just that, rejecting a constitution being 
drafted by a government-organised convention that has been 
meeting for three years.   

The weekend meetings represent virtually the only opportunity 
that Burmese have to see Suu Kyi -- pronounced Soo Chee.   The 
government has blocked most of her efforts to travel around the 
country or even to gatherings in the capital's suburbs.   About 
2,000 people have been coming to Suu Kyi's Saturday meetings, and 
thousands more listen to tapes made there of what she says. The 
crowd grew to 10,000 people on the day the party congress met at 
Suu Kyi's house, despite the government's efforts to block the 
meeting by arresting 262 participants.   

The congress adopted resolutions calling on the military to turn 
over power to the overwhelmingly pro-democratic parliament 
elected in 1990. The regime never honoured the elections, and the 
congress was to bring together surviving candidates on the sixth 
anniversary of the vote. 

The opposition reported on Friday that 154 of the detainees from 
the recent roundup had been freed.

Meanwhile, the Multi-party Democracy General Election Commission, 
which was in charge of the 1990 general election that the NLD won 
by a landside, made a announcement in a statement that Yu Gan and 
Saw Hla Oo resigned from the pro-democracy party for health 
reason while Chit Khin and Aunt Bo quit because they were no 
longer interested in party politics. (BP)

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

BKK POST: S'PORE'S LEE: SUU KYI CAN'T RULE BURMA

The nation could collapse like Bosnia'

June 9, 1996

Agencies, Singapore

BURMESE pro-democracy leader Aunt San Suu Kyi may not able to 
governor her country and would be better off remaining a 
political symbol, according to Singapore's elder statesman Lee 
Kuan Yew.

Lee, a tough-talking advocate of strong government and unabashed 
critics of liberalism, also told a forum with foreign and local 
media late on Friday that Burma could collapse "like Bosnia" into 
various parts under outside pressure.

Lee, who has advised various Asian governments since stepping 
down after 31 years a prime minister in 1990, said Washington 
must be prepared to help run Burma and keep it intact if it 
insists on bringing down its military regime.

"I have visited the place and I know that there is only one 
instrument of government, and that id army," said Lee, who 
personally knew former Burmese dictator Ne Win.

Ne Win was replaced in 1988 by a junta known as Slorc, which has 
refused to honour the victory of opposition groups led by Aunt 
San Suu Kyi in the 1990 general elections.

Lee, citing Burma's problems, said that "if I were Aunt San Suu 
Kyi, I think I'd rather be behind a fence and be a symbol" than 
be "found impotent" to lead the country.

"You've go to create an instrument of government and there isn't 
one," added Lee, who said a civil service as it is known in 
countries like Singapore "does not exist in Burma."

Singapore and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
(Asean) members advocate "constructive engagement" with Burma. 
Rejecting US and European calls to isolate the Slorc to promote 
democratic change. Asean also includes Brunei, Indonesia, 
Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Asean is not the US or the EU. Asean cannot rescue Burma even if 
it wants to and I have the awful feeling rescuing Burma is beyond 
the capacity of even the US," Lee said.

Meanwhile, analysts and Burma exiles said yesterday that Asian 
leaders will be reluctant to help the US apply co-ordinated 
pressure on Burma's military rulers to ease their crackdown on 
anti-government activists.

Two US envoys seeking support to end the campaign against 
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be hampered by a Southeast 
Asian tradition of non-interference in other countries and 
Washington's perceived lack of leverage in the region, they said.

The Clinton administration has urged Burma to halt its "pressure 
tactics" and said it would send experts William brown and Stanley 
Roth to the region to discuss a co-ordinated response to brewing 
political tensions in Burma.

They will visit Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Manila 
and Tokyo from June 10 to 17.

Diplomatic sources in Tokyo said Japan, the largest aid donor to 
Burma, would be urged to use its influence on Rangoon to move 
towards democracy.

But despite regular cautions to Burma against cracking down on 
dissidents, japan has so far held off from using its aid of about 
$140 million a year as a lever.

Burma's military rulers passed a tough new law on Friday that 
effectively bans Suu Kyi and her party from saying or doing 
anything contrary to the government's planned new constitution.

Analysts said the tradition in Asean of staying out of other 
countries' business will make the US envoy's job tough.

"There is a very strong feeling within Asean that one should not 
comment on the internal politics of another country," said Bruce 
Gale, an analyst with Political and Economic risk Consultancy in 
Singapore.

Burma last year took the first step towards membership of Asean 
which says it wants Burma to join by the year 2000.

"To the extent that Burma might be seen as a possible further 
Asean member, they (Asean) may feel uncomfortable going along 
with the US because it would create  a precedent that might be a 
little bit worrying," Gale said.

An exiled elected member of Suu Kyi's NLD party, Teddy Buri, said 
the business links between Slorc and its Southeast Asian 
neighbours did not bode well.

"It's not going to be very easy," said Buri. "There are  a lot of 
vested interests between the Slorc and the individual countries 
in the region." (BP)

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

BKK POST: WHAT BURMA'S CONSTITUTION WILL LOOK LIKE IF THE SLORC 
HAS ITS WAY

June 9, 1996

TIN MAUNG MAUNG THAN reports on the Slorc's attempts  to finetune 
the concentration of power.

IN April 1992 Burma's ruling Slorc announced it would convent a 
meeting to formulate "the basic principles for the drafting of a 
firm and stable Constitution".

Subsequently, in October, the National Convention Convening 
Commission (NCCC) was formed, chaired by the (then) Yangon 
Regional Commander and composed of ranking military officers and 
senior judicial and administrative officials.

The NCCC classified eight categories of delegates for the 
National Convention (NC): nominees of political parties; 
representatives-elect; nationalities; peasants; workers; 
intellectuals and intelligentsia; service personnel; and other 
invited delegates. For the first category, each of the 10 
existing political parties which contested the 1990 General 
Election was allowed five nominees.

Six political parties were invited to send altogether 99 
delegates from among their elected representatives. All eight 
elected representatives which stood as independents were 
included.

Also invited were 215, 93 and 48 nominees representing the 
nationalities, peasantry and workers, respectively, who were 
selected by a hierarchy of state/division, township zone and 
township supervision committees.

Each 15-member selection committee comprised heads of local 
government agencies and respected residents of the community. 
Forty-one delegates from the intellectual / intelligentsia 
category were "prominent intellectuals" and "knowledgeable" 
persons.

Their selection was scrutinised by a committee led by the 
Director General of the Government Office and comprising heads of 
government organisations and selected members of the 
intellectual/intelligentsia community.

The state service personnel group's 92 members were selected by 
committees formed within the respective ministers and agencies. 
Of the eight category's 57 delegates, 41 "invitees" were chosen 
from members of the ethnic groups which had given up their armed 
struggle against the government, while others were "experienced 
persons in political, economic, social and administrative fields 
in the State".

However, 86 delegates from the National League for Democracy 
(NLD) - a party which won 80 per cent of the seats in the 1990 
General Election - left the NC in protest at the beginning of the 
plenary session in November 1995 and were subsequently excluded 
for breaching NC rules.

The NC commenced on Jan 9, 1993, guided by six objectives 
envisioned by the NCCC as: non-disintegration of the state; non-
disintegration of national solidarity; perpetuation of 
sovereignty; flourishing of a "genuine multi-party democracy", 
further burgeoning" of "justice, liberty and equality"; and 
enabling the military "to participate in the national political 
leadership role of the future state".

Subsequently, 15 chapters for the constitution were spelt out and 
detailed principles pertinent to each chapter were discussed at 
length by participants.

Altogether, 104 "fundamental principles" underlying the 
prospective constitution were distilled by the NCCC from the 
various proposals put forward during the proceedings and were 
later prescribed by the NCCC as a basis for future deliberations 
under each chapter heading. Though the NC has yet to reach a 
conclusion, the essential points regarding the state structure, 
the legislature, the executive, and the role of the military has 
been delineated.

The state structure is based on a secular republic comprising 
seven "regions" and seven "states". There will be "Union" 
territories (under central government),a hierarchy of district, 
township, and village/ward under each region or state, and self-
administered territories for ethnic communities whereby a 
distinct "national race" constitutes a majority within its 
boundaries.

In this regard, the NC endorsed the establishment of self-
administered areas for Naga, Danu, Pa-O, Palaung and Kokang races 
and the Wa self-administered region.

For the legislature, a bicameral parliament with a five-year 
tenure in the form of a 440-seat House of Representatives and 
224-seat House of Nationalities which together constitute the 
Union parliament is envisaged. There will also be a provincial 
parliament for each region or state.

One-quarter of all seats in the legislature is reserved for 
military representatives nominated by the armed forces Commander-
in-Chief (C-in-C).

In the executive branch, the head of state will be the President. 
The Union Cabinet, comprising ministers and the attorney-general, 
will be appointed by the President, and its members need not be 
elected representatives.

The chief minister of the region or state government is also a 
presidential appointee. Self-administered areas will be governed 
by "leading bodies" whose members will be represented in the 
territorially relevant region or state government. Administration 
at district and township levels will be by civil servants.

Administration of wards and village tracts is by appointed 
personnel.

As for the military, it will enjoy complete autonomy with its C-
in-C as the supreme commander. Ministerial portfolios for 
defence, security/home affairs, and border areas in the Union 
Cabinet are reserved for military personnel nominated by the C-
in-C, who will also nominate the deputy ministers.

Furthermore, co-ordination with the C-in-C is required to appoint 
military personnel to any other minister/deputy-minister post. 
The assignment of military personnel to leading bodes of self-
administered areas is also the C-in-C's prerogative. There will 
be a provision for the supreme commander to assume state power in 
a national emergency.

The President, whose parents must also be citizens, will play a 
crucial role in the governance of the Myanmar state. The 
candidate must not only have a minimum of 20 years continuous 
domicile in Myanmar but also satisfy the requirement that the 
"President of the Union himself, parents, spouse, children and 
their spouses" must not owe allegiance to or "be a subject of 
foreign power or citizen if a foreign country" and shall not be 
"entitled to the right and privileges of a subject or citizen of 
a foreign country".

Another condition that the person be "well acquainted with the 
affairs of State such as political administrative, economic and 
military affairs" would rule out most political figures.

The presidential election procedure is significant. The electoral 
college comprise three groups from the Union Cabinet: equal 
numbers of elected representatives "elected on the basis of 
population"; and military representatives nominated by the C-in-C.

Each group shall elect one vice-president who need not be an 
elected representative. The president will then be chosen from 
among them by the entire electoral collage after scrutiny by a 
body composed of leaders and deputy leaders of the two cabinets. 
The unsuccessful candidates will assume the vice-presidencies for 
the five-year term of office.

The wide-ranging powers of the union president allow 
unprecedented control over the executive branch. The president 
can designate ministries and appoint or dismiss ministers, deputy 
ministers, attorneys-general, auditors-general, as well as 
members of a Union Civil Service Board. He can prescribe 
ministries and the number of ministers for the region or state 
government, and also nominate respective chief ministers (from 
elected representatives of region/state).

The president can assign region/state ministers and chairmen of 
self-administered areas/regions (nominated through the chief 
minister by the respective leading bodies) in co-ordination with 
the relevant chief minister.

All such assignments must be confirmed by the respective cabinet 
but the latter have no right to reject the president's nominee 
provided the person satisfies the constitution's provisions.

Thus, the president and the armed forces C-in-C between them 
wield considerable authority and all important government 
executives are ultimately responsible to the president only. The 
political parties will face a situation whereby executive 
positions may be filed with personnel external to the body 
politics.

Even when elected representatives are chosen to serve in the 
government they have to forego party affiliations and resign form 
the legislature.

In this way, the elected representatives' role will generally be 
confined to legislative and deliberative functions and the raison 
d'etre of competitive politics - to form a government - will be 
obviated. It effectively de-links state power from political 
competition and representation of voting constituencies.

Consequently, a corporatist state may evolve in which the ruling 
elite will be insulated from electoral politics.

The successful conclusion of the NC, which would lead to the 
actual drafting of Burma's future constitution according to 
agreed-upon principles, has become imperative.

Meanwhile, the NC has opened for constitutional principles which 
emphasise the autonomy of the executive under the leadership of a 
president and the authoritative dual role of the military as a 
counter-poise to the apparent failings of politicians.

This will result in an unprecedented and unique constitution for 
the Union of Myanmar which is different to previous ones which, 
in contrast, were premised on governance by elected 
representatives. (BP)

Tin Maung Maung Than is a Fellow at the institute of Southeast 
Asian Studies, Singapore.

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

BKK POST: REQUEST FOR BURMESE ABBOT AT LAMPANG WAT REJECTED

June 9, 1996

A REQUEST from Burma for two citizens of that country to be made 
abbot and deputy abbot of Lampang's Sri Chum Temple has been 
rejected.

The monks involved are the Venerable Sayadaw Ashin Nyana Siri and 
Sayadaw Sudhamma.

The Foreign Ministry passed the Burmese government's request to 
the Interior Ministry, saying such appointments would not conform 
with Thai monastic rules.

The relationship between monks and the government in Thailand 
differed from that in Burma, the ministry pointed out. In Burma, 
the government issued directives that monks were bound to follow, 
especially concerning their role in society.

The Interior Ministry agreed, noting that there are already 
numbers of Burmese monks at various temples in Bangkok and the 
provinces, many of them illegal immigrants. (BP) 

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

THE NATION: SUU KYI PULLS PUNCHES IN LATEST PUBLIC ADDRESS

June 10, 1996

AYE AYE WIN 

AP

RANGOON - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi took a careful 
step back yesterday from a showdown with the military regime, 
giving a bland, inoffensive speech to supporters to avoid 
violating draconian new public order laws.

Some 5,000 people braved the new decrees, which can land 
offenders in prison for up to 20 years, to gather outside the 
gates of Suu Kyi's home for her customary weekend lecture. The 
number was higher than usual, but half that of two weeks ago.

As on Saturday, when 5,000 people turned out for the first 
meeting since the new decrees were announced, authorities did not 
interfere, fueling confusion about whether the regime was being 
tolerant or delaying a crackdown for a quieter moment.

But yesterday, expectations ran slightly less high of an 
immediate police swoop to break up the gathering.

Some Burmese afraid of being seen in the crowd slowly drove back 
and forth before Suu Kyi's home in a sign of support for those 
courageous enough to join the audience.

"I'm not afraid of anything," said a woman in the crowd, speaking 
on condition of anonymity. "many people who dare not come to this 
gathering are awed by the courage of these people."

The regime escalated its conflict with Suu Kyi on Friday by 
announcing a law curbing nearly all political activity, with 
prison sentences for anyone seeking to "undermine the stability 
of the state, community peace and tranquility".

Despite the arrest of 262 supporters last month, she held a 
congress marking the sixth anniversary of parliamentary elections 
overwhelmingly won by the opposition. The junta never allowed 
Parliament to convene.

The 18 delegates who eluded arrest called on the military to 
surrender the power it has held since 1962 and announced plans to 
draft an alternate constitution to a charter being formulated by 
a government-stacked panel.

The junta announced on Friday that any organisation drafting a 
separate constitution would be banned.

Suu Kyi gave a deliberated non-inflammatory speech yesterday 
about democracy in India and even praised the junta for keeping 
school fees low. Her supporters clapped less than usual.

Despite the threat of arrest, the crowd did not seem nervous.

Before Suu Kyi appeared, they chanted for several minutes, "Long 
live Aung San Suu Kyi" and "Let the cause for democracy be 
successful".

Closing her 10-minutes talk, Suu Kyi said: "You are not gathering 
here because we speak. This is a gathering of the people, who 
proved themselves to be very orderly disciplined."

She asked them to leave quietly with out blocking traffic. No 
barbed wire or police were in sight.

Suu Kyi, 50, were a green Burmese jacket and garlands of pink 
roses and jasmine in her hair. People held dozens of tape 
recorders to capture her speech, which would be distributed 
surreptitiously around Rangoon in hours.

She gave no news conference.

Earlier, authorities gathered 3,000 people near Suu Kyi's house 
to watch a billboard go up denouncing interference in Burmese 
affairs - code attacks on Suu Kyi and foreign support for her.

Foreign governments have urged the junta not to crackdown further 
on Suu Kyi's supporters.

Opposition officials said that only 154 of the 262 activists 
detained three weeks ago to stop the congress have been freed. 
About 20 are believed to have been transferred to Insein prison 
near Rangoon, notorious for torture.

In Canberra, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer 
described the latest move by the regime to silence dissidents as 
an unacceptable curtailment of political liberty.

Owner said the new decree would increase tensions in the country 
and - far from bolstering security as the military government 
claimed - may lead to further instability.

The prospect of instability was a matter of regional and 
international concern and Downer said he would raise it Monday 
with US Secretary of State Warren Christopher in Washington. (TN) 

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

THE NATION: WHAT'S IN A NAME? IN BURMA, MAY BE A TRUCE

June 10, 1996

The only Rangoon-newspaper that dared to print Aung San Suu Kyi's 
name last week could become a proxy channel for dialogue, Silvia 
Feist writes from the Burmese capital.

To read Burma's state-run newspaper last week one gets the 
impression that the name of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is 
a synonym for the words "destruction", "traitor", or "enemy".

He mane itself, or that of her party, the NLD are rarely used. 
During the crucial period when the NLD-congress was held, only 
one Burmese-langauge daily Kyemon dared publish her name; in a 
two-instalment article under the headline, "Why the Demand for 
Dialogue Was Not Implemented".

The article offered a striking contrast to the common tone of 
other Burmese newspapers: welcome a dialogue, outlining topics to 
be clarified before a dialogue could be implemented and even 
referring to "voluntary public labour" with an unstated admission 
that this labour is far from being voluntary on all occasions. 
And - perhaps most astounding - it directly addressed "Dear Daw 
Aung San Suu Kyi".

The article caught the attention of various embassy officials who 
described it as "very unusual" and said "it might be a hint that 
they)the military) are moving". The article stated that there are 
two school of though in Burma on national reconciliation, calling 
one the "Utopain National Reconciliation Policy" versus the 
"Objective National Reconciliation Policy.

The so-called utopain policy, it said, prescribed the separation 
of the military and parliamentary, and was an apparent reference 
to NLD policy. Surprisingly this idea is accept in principle, but 
rejected for the time being.

The so-called objective policy legitimises the dominant role of 
the military as "a natural result" of Burma's social and 
political developments, especially what it called the "diversity 
in insurgency", which the newspaper described as unique in the 
world. Suggesting that this policy would be more adequate for 
present-day Burma, the article urged "Myanmar (Burma) leaders and 
the people of Myanmar to use their own political experience".

To strengthen this argument the article quotes Suu Kyi saying 
"the Burmese people experience a parliamentary era", but - as the 
article concludes - during this era "internal insurgency and 
terrorism were raging", there fore the Anti-Fascist People's 
Freedom League (AFPFL) "had no choice but to commit acts that 
countered democratic practice".

The indirect implication that the Slorc and AFPFL handled 
politics in the same way - at least in the question of counter-
insurgency - is disturbing for many reasons. Nevertheless it is a 
challenging argument, since Suu Kyi's father, Gen Aung San, was 
one of the AFPFL. And Suu Kyi often contracts the tatmadaw 
(People's Army) with the forces of her father's time.

The article urges Suu Kyi to declare her attitude towards these 
two policies as an important step on the way to dialogue. And 
three days later the NLD congress did recognised the tatmadaw as 
a necessary institution of the country, but reaffirmed the 
supremacy of parliament.

The article concludes with a warning not mentioning Suu Kyi's 
name, but nevertheless directly addressed to her, that: In case 
she decides to "follow the imaginative (utopain) national 
reconciliation path, you will be avoidably pushed to 
intimidating, pressuring and coercing the present government". 
That fits the statement Tourism Minister Gen Kyaw Ba made last 
week in an interview with Radio Australia, putting forward that 
Slorc cannot tolerate Suu Kyi's criticism.

As far as it is known the writer of the article, U Hla Myint, is 
not directly related to the military government. But since his 
article was published in a state-controlled daily, there are only 
two possibilities of interpretation: either it was published by 
mistake or Slorc is slowly starting to open a channel for 
dissenting ideas. This might be considered as some kind of "proxy 
dialogue" on the way to the dialogue Suu Kyi has been demanding 
for so long. (TN)

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

THE NATION: THE LINE OF THOUGHT LEE KUAN YEW BUILT

June 10, 1996

Age mellows some people and hardens others. It seem to have done 
neither, however, for Lee Kuan Yew.

In the rapidly changing world, the Singapore patriarch remains as 
doggedly convinced of the right of his authoritarian ways, more 
recently referred to as the "Asian Way", as he was during the 
island state's tumultuous formative years.

For such as obviously brilliant man, Lee's mind is surprisingly 
inflexible. It matters not whether he is talking about India, 
Korea or Burma, he remains convinced that only hardline "no-
nonsense" government can lead to growth and prosperity.

To govern any other way asserts, would result in the chaos that 
is supposedly modern-day America or Bosnia.

In his formal news conference to foreign reporters since 1959, 
Lee on Friday once again made the argument that what he calls 
"Western-style" democracy has no place in the developing world or 
Asia.

Lee's line is now fairly well known. Stability and power, no 
matter whether that power, no matter whether that power is 
legitimate or not, are the key factors to development.

He defended the current regime in Burma, saying that the ruling 
military is "the only instrument of government" in that country. 
He said troops are needed even to clear squaters from streets. 
(Burmese dissidents might also suggest they are useful when it 
comes to rounding up free labour for infrastructure projects).

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has none of those powers, 
he said adding that she should stay "behind a fence and be a 
symbol."

Phenomenal success

As outrageous as he can should sometimes, Lee is a tough man to 
debate, not only because of an agile mind but also because of the 
phenomenal success of Singapore. It is an economic miracle that 
cannot be denied. During 21 years as prime minister, Singapore 
rose from being a swampy backwater to a regional powerhouse. 
According to one recent survey, it is the most economically 
competitive country in the world.

But as Lee enters the twilight of his political career it is 
interesting to ponder what his legacy will be. The institution 
weakness of Singapore's self-styled democracy - there is no real 
freedom of the press, the opposition is cowed and the leaders 
have cultivated a tradition that tolerates no public criticism - 
mans there are no real external controls to ensure that those who 
follow in Lee's footsteps will maintain the high standards he 
demanded of government officials.

Weighing on the minds of some is the traditional Chinese 
cautionary tale about the rise and fall of successful families. 
The grandfather lays the foundations for wealth, the son 
consolidates it and the grandson inevitably squanders it. Can 
Singapore avoid a similar fate?

Lee says yes but it only if it continues to have "tough minded, 
dedicated, determined, able and the honest leaders."

But there are few guarantees, institutions or mechanisms to 
ensure this will happen.

Lee concedes that 30 years of growth and stability have made his 
people complacent. On Friday night he said Singaporeans are more 
concerned about material benefits and selfish gains.

"This is very dangerous, because things can go terribly wrong 
very quickly," he said.

Outside of Singapore, Lee's legacy is even more worrying. 
Southeast Asia's newest generation of autocrats in Cambodia and 
Burma have made no secret of their admiration for Lee's though 
talk. In effect, he has thrown them a lifeline to legitimacy amid 
a sea of international condemnation and also a front for carrying 
on in less than up to what were once accepted as "international" 
standards. Now they govern according to "Asian standards".

If Lee's rhetoric sounds not all that dissimilar to that of some 
of his reformed communist neighbours it is because they rose to 
power in similar fashion. Whereas in the Indochina countries 
communist parties, often working behind nationalist fronts, took 
power and eliminated their non-socialist allies, Lee did the same 
only in reverse. His model, "autocratic capitalism", proved 
infinitely more successful than "autocratic communism" but both 
systems have an Achilles' heal - the lack of opposition structure 
to keep everything in order and above board.

Social chaos

Lee offers a point of view that is comforting to many because it 
is unambiguous  and unapologetic. Even if much of what he says is 
contradictory.

It is the strength of so-called Western democracies that has 
allowed them to indulge, many would say over-indulge, the 
individual and produce the social chaos Lee warns against. But as 
Yugoslavia's Tito proved, iron-fisted individuals are no match 
for - to use a Lee phrase - the "primeval forces at work" in 
humanity.

For all the noise and colorful debate Lee so derides, democracy 
when done right protects against the failings of individuals, who 
so intoxicated with their own power, invariably lead developing 
states to misery.

It is perhaps ironic and possibly a shame, that Lee, the 
consummate "I did it my way" individual has so little faith in 
democracy as a force for social cohesion. (TN)

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

BKK POST: BURMA HAS OPPORTUNITIES - BUT WATCH YOUR WALLET

June 10, 1996

by Yolaine d'Udekem

The view that political conditions in Burma are such that it is 
not worth even thinking about doing business there has been 
challenged by a presentation on opportunities in Rangoon.

Participants in a discussion after the presentation organised by 
the Singapore-Thai Chamber of Trade were told the pitfalls are 
real but there are ways to avoid them and be successful.

Two businessmen who have been active in Burma told the gathering 
at the Jewellery Trade Centre in Bangkok that prevailing 
conditions could be better.

Halpin Ho, president of Ho Group and owner of the Jewellery Trade 
Centre, said Burma's international image is not that good.

"We have to visit first the country and spend time over there 
before starting anything," he said.

When he arrived for the first time in Burma in 1964 he lost 
everything and left the country. He returned four years ago with 
his gems business in mind, after visiting many countries, 
including Burma. His eyes were opened and he had a different and 
better view of everything.

His objective is to create jobs apart from making approve it. He 
is now planning infrastructure and property projects, starting 
soon, which will provide jobs.

"If you want to be successful in anything over there, you need to 
be very patient and persistent," he said.

Laurence Chin, country manager of Burma Airway International Co, 
said "Burma is rich in natural resources, not least reserves of 
virtually every kind of stone and gems, opening more employment 
opportunities and regional development."

Burma, he said, has abundant human resources and business depends 
a lot on a labour pool which is very cheap. The minimum daily 
rate for an unskilled workers is 20 kyat. At the official rate, 
US$1 represents six kyat.

"The time needed to find staff depends on good management and 
discipline," said Ho.

Chin said: "Because of the situation now, you can pick up anyone 
for work, teach them what you want and give a speedy training.

"The government has adopted a market-oriented system increasing 
employee opportunities," he said.

Under investment laws, foreign concerns are allowed to invest and 
submit proposals in the form of wholly foreign-owned enterprises 
or partly-owned or in the form of a joint ventures with a private 
or public local entity.

The main sectors that attract investors are manufacturing, 
tourism, oil and gas and mining.

"Our objective is to make money," said Chin. "Burma Airways is 
for instance, trying to be quick, making a profits in eight 
months.

A foreign entity that operates under the foreign investment law 
has the right to enjoy economic benefits and to send money back 
to its own country.

"To be successful when investing in Burma, keep your eyes open, 
see where the opportunities are and choose the good ones 
otherwise you lose money," cautioned Chin.

"Do your homework, know what you want, choose your partner well, 
improve business and take a risk." (BP)

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

ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR OPPOSITION TREADS CAUTIOUS LINE

June 10, 1996

Yangon

Stephen Brookes, Asia Times

Faced with the threat of an imminent government crackdown, 
Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) appears 
to be backing away - at least temporally - from the 
confrontational stance it has adopted in recent weeks toward the 
ruling military government.

The increasingly tense stand-off between Myanmar's ruling Slorc 
and the opposition NLD entered a new and potentially volatile 
stage on Saturday, when the government announced penalties of 
five to 20 years' imprisonment for "inciting, demonstrating, 
delivering speeches, making oral or written statements and 
disseminating in order  to undermine the stability of the State, 
community peace and tranquillity and prevalence of law and 
order."

The new law, which took up almost the entire front page of the 
daily New Light of Myanmar, also made it illegal to draft a 
national constitution without official permission.

The law was aimed directly at the NLD and its leader, Aung San 
Suu Kyi, according to government sources, and was drawn up 
following the NLD convention last month.

In a move one analysts called "provocative", the NLD vowed to 
draw up a constitution for Myanmar, in direct opposition to an 
ongoing constitution convention being held by the government.

"It's a whole new game now," said one analysts in Yangon. "The 
centerpiece of the NLD conference was the announcement that it 
would draw up a constitution. But if they proceed on that path, 
the party will be shut down."

The NLD won 82 per cent of the parliamentary seats in Myanmar's 
last general elections in 1990, but was not allowed to form a 
government. In May, the league called for the government to 
immediately honour the results of those elections, something 
Slorc has refused to do.

"This is a warning," said a top government official who requested 
anonymity. "We're trying to take preventive measures. But if Mrs 
Aris (Suu Kyi is married to a Briton, Michael Aris) refuses to 
understand and is confrontational, the government will have no 
choice. The survival of our country is at stake."

The NLD appears to be taking the warning seriously. At her 
customary Saturday afternoon speech tot he public, Suu Kyi told a 
crowd of about 3,000 that she had never said anything against the 
prevalence of law and order, and that the law should apply 
equally to all." I have a clear conscience about that," she told 
the crowd.

The NLD, she added, had been working toward democracy for the 
good of the country. She also noted that Slorc had done a number 
of positive things for the country, including holding elections, 
releasing political prisoners, building roads and bridges and 
moving towards a market economy.

She also seemed to play down the NLD itself, saying that the 
party was not well-organized and faced a number of difficulties. 
She also said it was established to bring about democracy, not to 
gain power.

One diplomat later said the speech was "skilful" and that she had 
managed to promote her democratic ideals while avoiding 
mentioning the national convention and directly defying the new 
law.

Nevertheless, she ignored official instructions on both Saturday 
and Sunday by speaking to crowds lined up along Yangon's 
University Avenue in front of her home.

According to the government source, top NLD personnel had been 
told on Friday that the speeches could only be held inside the 
compound. The barbed wire barricades, which the traffic police 
usually set up between the street and the pavements, were removed 
early on Saturday morning.

"If she takes the advice of her more level-headed advisors," said 
the government official in remarks early on Saturday, "then there 
won't be any trouble. Bit if she doesn't, things will go from bad 
to worse."

Asked during the weekend whether she feared arrest, Suu Kyi said 
she did not fear being detained, but that she had to consider it 
a possibility.

Suu Kyi spoke to a crowd of about 5,000 on Sunday afternoon, and 
again avoided the topic of the national convention. In a measured 
speech that evolved a restrained response, she spoke for about 20 
minutes about the recent elections in India and noted that they 
proved that democracy could exist in Asia.

She said she would discuss the convention in her speech next 
weekend. The audience, which had greeted her with great 
excitement, chanting "Democracy must prevail", appeared should 
after her remarks.


The government had no immediate response to her speeches, 
although it held a rally early on Sunday morning a few hundred 
meters from her home.

According to an eyewitness, between 2,000 and 3,000 people at 
7.00am at the intersections of Kaba Aye Pagoda Road and 
University Avenue, where they unveiled a billboard denouncing 
"destructionists".

The group reportedly split into three "columns", according to the 
witness, one of which marched up University Avenue toward Suu 
Kyi's house. (AT)

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

ASAI TIMES: LUXURY CAR DEALER HOPING TO CAPTURE MYANMAR MARKET

June 10, 1996

Yangon

Stephen Brookes, Asia Times

When Charles Stroud looks at Yangon during rush hour, he sees 
streets filled with junk-bumper-to-bumper junk.

"Those are all second-hand vehicles from Japan, spewing 
pollutants into the air," said the manager of BMW's new showroom 
in Myanmar.

"Other countries are unloading all their excess rubbish into this 
market - and somebody needs to put a stop to that."

Stroud intends to be one of those getting Myanmar out of clunkers 
and into quality cars. His showroom for Land Rover and BMW opened 
in March, one of the mushrooming number of new car out-lets in 
Myanmar. Nissan opened a showroom in Yangon on Tuesday, and 
Toyota, Mazda and Honda are also setting up operations in what 
may be one of the world's fastest-growing car markets.

?Myanmar is just opening up," said Stroud. "A lot of people had 
cold feet about coming in - nobody wanted to be the first. But 
we're the first European car company to be here, and we think 
that will pay off."

The BMW showroom - a joint venture between Indonesia's Asia 
International, Myanmar Cinthe Motors, and Japan's Marubeni - is 
the first of several planned for Myanmar. A second service centre 
is being built in Yangon, and a third is planned for next year in 
Mandalay. The total investment so far is about US$5 million, 
according to BMW.

The number of cars in Myanmar has been growing by an estimated 10 
per cent a year for the past two years. But because of high taxes 
on new car imports, most of the imports are used. New car sales 
still represent a small but fast-growing number, expanding from 
240 cars in 1994 to 684 in 1995, according to BMW, which expects 
the market to grow by about 14 per cent annually in the next few 
years.

"I see the market for Land Rovers being very big, because there's 
already a lot of product knowledge here," said Stroud. "BMW is a 
very new product here, and it may take a little longer. We'll 
probably sell about two of them every three weeks initially, but 
it could rise rapidly. It take time for people to see the 
vehicles on the road." 

In fact, it may take time for people to even see them in the 
showroom.


Because of a bottleneck at the port of Yangon - where some 61 
ships are waiting to be unloaded - Stroud only has six cars in 
the country, with another 33 en route.

Nevertheless, he's in for the long term, exploring a market that 
very little is known about. "We've done market research," he 
said, "But there's a new mentality that we have to get used to. 
We have to sift the time-wasters from the real potential 
customers. It's an elusive market, because you don't know who has 
money."

And in a country where the starting price for a 3-Series BMW is 
US$32,000, or roughly 110 times the average per capita income, 
the customers are likely to be few and far between, at first.

Stroud expects the wealthier merchants, some government ministers 
and people from the large international companies to be his 
initial clients.

"Fortunately for us, Mercedes-Benz is not in the market," he 
said. "So people look to BMWs as the status symbol to get. I 
think it's going to be very difficult for Mercedes to enter the 
market now."

For anyone entering the new car market in Myanmar, worrying road 
bumps still remain. Taxes on new are rugged in most areas, the 
quality of gasoline is poor and there are few skilled mechanics.

But for those who came in for the long haul, said Stroud, the 
rewards were there.

"There are going to be a lot of new car dealers opening up - 
you're going to have companies like Volkswagen and Audi," he 
said.

"And the dealers here now are expanding because the market is 
there. The people who have second-hand cars are going to sell 
them and buy new cars, and that new car will be upgraded from a 
Nissan to a Toyota to a Land Rover or a BMW. And this is where 
the market is going to grow." (AT) 

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