The BurmaNet News February 6, 1997

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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: February 6, 1997
Issue #630

HEADLINES:
==========
NATION : SUU KYI CLAIMS MURDER THREAT
AP : BURMA'S SUU KYI URGES SANCTIONS 
REUTER : US STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS UNOCAL'S FREE TO INVEST
REUTER : BURMESE DEAD ARE OBSTACLE TO MODERNIZATION
BYVA: PRESS RELEASE - JAPAN 'S TOKYO OFFICE BROKEN INTO
BKK POST : SUPPORT FOR CALL MOVE CAMPS AWAY FROM DANGER 
THE NATION: BURMA URGED TO PROBE RAIDS ON KAREN CAMPS
THAILAND TIMES : THAILAND CHIDES BURMA OUR ATTACKS
THE NATION: CHETTHA SAYS ARMY IN CONTROL OF BORDER
RANGOON TV MYANMAR NETWORK:NEW RADIO SITE INSPECTED
THE NATION: EDITORIAL- THAI ARMY'S LACK OF ACTION
THE NATION: NLD URGED TO START TALKS
RANGOON MYANMAR ALIN : LASHIO-HSENWI SECTOR OF HIGHWAY
THAILAND TIMES : BURMA'S MILITARY RULERS LIVE OFF OPIUM
ANNOUNCEMENT: MASSACHUSETTS BURMA ROUNDTABLE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

NATION : SUU KYI CLAIMS MURDER THREAT
February 4, 1997

RANGOON - Prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi alleged yesterday that, a
Burmese government minister had encouraged junta supporters to murder her.

Suu Kyi said that Railways Minister Win Sein had, during a recent talk
upcountry to members of the pro-junta Union Solidarity Development
Association (USDA), "roughly told them to kill, that I should be killed." 

The minister was not immediately available for comment, but a government
official commented, "I think she has been watching too much of the Alfred
Hitchcock type of suspense movies."

Referring to the checkpoints which the junta said it had put up for her
protection on roads leading to her home, Suu Kyi said, "If I need to be
protected from anybody, it's from a minister like that. It's from members of
the government."

On Nov 9, Suu Kyi's motorcade came under attack from a mob wielding sticks
and stones. She and her opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)
accused the USDA of mounting the attack, while the junta suggested that the
attack focused on security officials, implying that the NLD supporters were
behind it.

Asked whether the allegation against the minister had been corroborated, Suu
Kyi said the information came from several different people who had been
present at the talk.

She repeated calls for international sanctions against the military
government as well as for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)
to refrain from admitting Burma to membership.

Describing the general situation in Burma as "Volatile", she said, "There is
large-scale repression of the democracy movement going on with over 100
people arrested within a month."

Of some 105 people detained since the December unrest, 24 were students, 34
NLD members or supporters, 18 members of the NLD youth movement, she
indicated, adding those tried had not been given access to legal assistance.

She told reporters, who were allowed to pass through the check-points to
attend yesterday's news conference at her lakeside compound, that
international investment funds were going straight "into the pockets of the
Slorc's privileged elite."

Slorc refers to the State Law and Order Restoration Council, the official
name of the ruling junta.

"What Burma needs is not more investment, more capital, but good government.
We need rule of law. We need justice," she said.

Asked for her reaction to Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw's recent statement that
the Pepsi decision to pull out of Burma under pressure from US groups was of
no significance, she remarked , "If the foreign minister has said so, then
we can easily request all investors to pull out with a clear conscience,
confident that
it will not harm the country." 

She said she would be willing to drop her call for sanctions if Slorc agreed
to "a genuine dialogue which is to bring about a change in this country."

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

AP : BURMA'S SUU KYI URGES SANCTIONS 
February 3, 1997 

RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi appealed
Monday for international sanctions against Burma's military regime, saying
it has arrested scores of pro-democracy supporters since 
quelling a student uprising. 

 More than 100 people -- double the number acknowledged by the government --
have been arrested in the wake of the December student protests, including
52 supporters of her National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi said. 

After secret trials, Burma announced it had sentenced 34 people to
seven-year prison terms for fomenting the protests, Burma's most significant
demonstrations since an uprising against military rule in 1988. 

 Sanctions are essential given ``large-scale repression of the democracy
movement,'' Suu Kyi told reporters, who were given a rare chance to 
meet with her in what has been increasing government restrictions on her
movements. 

 Security officials checked journalists' identifications before allowing
them past the government barricades around the lakeside home of Suu Kyi,
winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to
Burma. Plainclothes officers took photographs of those entering. 

 Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council, which succeeded an
earlier military regime in 1988 after gunning down thousands of protesters,
has opened the economy to foreign investment after years of isolation. 

 Suu Kyi rejected the argument that foreign investment in Burma will raise
living standards and freedom. 

 ``The reason why we want sanctions is because what the international
investment is doing now is putting more and more money into the 
pockets of a small privileged group, who become more keen on preserving the
status quo,'' she said. 

 She also praised the ``great perseverance and courage'' of supporters who
have gathered at the Shwedagon pagoda, Rangoon's holiest shrine, in recent
weeks in the vain hope she would appear to speak. 

``We think that every single person who turns up for the weekend has 10,000
behind him or her,'' she said. 

  Inside the compound, about 20 party supporters made preparations for a
celebration Suu  Kyi plans to hold Feb. 12 for Union Day, marking a pact
signed by anti-colonial leaders against British rule. 

 Suu Kyi expressed hope that 4,000 to 5,000 people would come -- more than
the regime has allowed her to meet in months. 

  She faulted the government for the secret trials of those accused in the
December protests. 

 ``If the authorities have solid evidence of their guilt, they should have
no qualms about making the trials public,'' Suu Kyi said. 

The U.S. State Department, in its annual human rights report issued last
week, said that such trials in Burma usually are decided in advance 
and that maltreatment in prison is common. 

Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw said Saturday the report was ``not duly
substantiated.'' 

The government has refused her calls for a dialogue. Suu Kyi's supporters
overwhelmingly won democratic elections in 1990, but the regime never
honored the result. [Associated Press, 3 Feb 1997].

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

REUTER : US STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS UNOCAL'S FREE TO INVEST MORE IN BURMA
February 5, 1997

THE US State Department has said it neither approved nor disapproved of a
new deal by Unocal Corp, the largest US investor in Myanmar, to expand its
petroleum business there despite official human rights concerns.

"We don't encourage American investment in Myanmar," State Department
spokesman Nicholas Burns said on Monday. "We don't actively discourage an
American company from going in, but we don't encourage it either."

"So I guess it's Unocal's decision if it wants to go in," he added, when
asked for the US view of the company's decision to expand cooperation with
Myanmar's military rulers.

Unocal announced a deal extending its rights to explore and develop offshore
gas fields last Thursday, the same day the State Department, in its annual
human rights survey, said Myanmar's "severe repression of human rights
increased in 1996".

President Bill Clinton in September signed into law a bill authorising a ban
on new investment by US companies if "large-scale" repression of the
democratic opposition worsened in Myanmar or if Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel
peace laureate and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy,
were harmed, exiled or detained again. This measure, known as
Cohen-Feinstein for its Senate sponsors, "at least presents the possibility
of further sanctions, and should the situation warrant it, then the
administration has that as an option," Mr Burns told a news briefing.

The US already maintains many sanctions against Myanmar's ruling State Law
and Order Restoration Council, which seized power in 1988 after crushing a
pro-democracy uprising. Unocal spokesman have arranged one-on-one briefings
for reporters in Washington this week to explain its Myanmar involvement and
make the case against further US sanctions. -- Reuter

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

REUTER : BURMESE DEAD ARE OBSTACLE TO MODERNIZATION
February 3, 1997

RANGOON, Burma (Reuter) - The bones of Burma's dead are getting in the way
of efforts by the living to modernize their capital Rangoon.

As pile-drivers and cranes spearhead rapid commercial development, officials
insist that graves have no place inside the city and are attempting to shift
cemeteries to more tranquil surroundings in the outskirts.

As a result, residents have been scrambling to obey orders to dig up and
remove their dead family members.

The issue is an emotional one, and city authorities have softened their
stance, especially after looters took advantage of the situation to rob
graves and poor Burmese pleaded for financial help to take their dead
relatives away.

At Rangoon's oldest and largest cemetery of Kyan Daw, a deadline for
relatives to exhume the remains of their beloved expired on January 31, but
the Rangoon municipality has ruled that it will wait until no more claimants
come before clearing the site.

"We will wait until there are no more relatives coming to exhume the remains
of their dead before the cemetery is cleared and mass cremations of the
unclaimed will be made," Maung Maung Oo,Yangon (Rangoon) City Development
Committee (YCDC) supervisor at the graveyard, told
Reuters.

The Kyan Daw cemetery houses 19,000 graves and so far about one third of
them have been dug up and relocated.

"Every day, people are coming to exhume their dead," he said.

To encourage relatives to find a new resting place for their departed, the
YCDC has offered free burial plots at a new cemetery about eight km (five
miles) from the city centre.

Residents said there were rumours that the Kyan Daw cemetery might be
developed into an entertainment centre by the former drugs warlord Khun Sa,
who surrendered to Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) in January 1996.

Asked about the rumour a SLORC spokesman, Colonel Kyaw Thein, said: "You had
better check with the ghosts. This is not true."

At the Kyan Daw cemetery, the order to remove the dead has meant a roaring
trade for grave-diggers and coffin makers.

Graveyard workers said the entire process of exhuming, storing the bones in
urns, making coffins and moving to the new site and erecting tombs could
cost anywhere from 3,000 kyats (about $20) to 30,000 kyats.

Top-of-the-range teak coffins cost up to 10,000 kyats, the cemetery
supervisor said.

Such prices are a heavy burden for the poor, who as a result tend to employ
workers whose work is less than perfect. In several spots at the Kyan Daw
cemetery, remnants of clothes worn by the dead lay strewn near graves.

But some residents in the area are happy with the cemetery's move. It means
they will no longer have to endure the stench of bodies being cremated.

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

BYVA: PRESS RELEASE - JAPAN 'S TOKYO OFFICE BROKEN INTO
February 5, 1997
 
On the evening of the 4th, February, somebody snuck into BYVA-Japan 
office in Tokyo. One of the members who lives in office came back at 
11:25pm, saw the office door was unlocked. When he entered, the office files 
and papers were scattered around the whole office.Immediately we reported to
the nearest police station. A police officer came andchecked the situation.
He than refered the case to "Sugamo-ward police station". Two officers came
and checked around the office and took finger prints. They concluded that
the intruder's broken-in was not for money or valuables. There was some
amount of money left in the office were untouched. All of the valuable
things such as computers, printers, copier, T.V, video decks etc. were left and 
nothings was missing. Three E.C members are living in the office and at
least a member is left in the office before 5:00pm. The intruder broke into
the office may be between 5:00pm and 11:00pm. There would be at least two or
three person involved in this incident. The intruders broken into the office
were searching all of the papers, so that they were looking for the
documents and correspondence with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other dissident
and pro-democracy groups worldwide. We believed that the intruders were send
from Burmese Embassy or SLORC.
We would like to warn all of the pro-democracy groups worldwide to be more 
careful from the SLORC's agents. SLORC tried to broke the pro-democracy
groups and find evidence to accuse Daw Aung Suu San Kyi for connecting with
dissident groups worldwide.

Information Committee
Burma Youth Volunteer Association-Japan.

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

BKK POST : CALL OF MOVE CAMPS AWAY FROM DANGER WINS MORE SUPPORT
February 5, 1997

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and representatives of
non-governmental organisations yesterday agreed to a proposal to move Karen
refugee camps near the Burmese border deeper into Thai territory.

The agreement was reached at a meeting in Mae Sot, Tak province, chaired by
4th Infantry Regiment task force commander Col Suvit Maenmuan, with UNHCR
representative Miss Ruven Meniktiwela, members of the Karen Refugee
Committee and about 20 other officials in attendance.

The meeting followed a visit to Huay Kaloke camp in Mae Sot district and Don
Pa Klang in Mae Ramat burnt down last week by Army Commander in Chief Gen
Chetha Thanajaro who said yesterday he will soon raise the relocation
proposal with Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. 

Under the proposal, approved the National Security Council on Monday in the
wake of recents raids by Karen rebels of the DKBA on refugee shelters, Tak
and Mae Hong Son provinces would each house only two camps.

The pro-Rangoon DKBA,acronym for Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, has twice
in the past week attacked refugee camps that shelter mostly members of its
rival Karen National Union (KNU) which is fighting for independence from Burma.

Those raids left 10,000 refugees homeless. There is a general consensus that
if the camps were moved 10 km deeper into Thailand Karen refugees would be
less prone to cross border raids.

Relocating the camps would not be a problem because army personnel and
Interior Ministry staff looking after the refugees can ensure that it is
done speedily.

Gen Chetha said he will ask the Foreign Ministry to pursue the matter with
the UNHCR.

The Army chief yesterday refused to comment on reports that Burmese forces
supported the DKBA raids, only saying that has yet to be proven. 

"As neighbours we (Thailand and Burma must have trust and confidence in each
other. I don't think the Burmese government was involved with the raids.

"As for Thailand we have never supported any party (interfered in another
country's internal matters) but if armed elements, no matter from which
side, encroach hour land we have to protest our country.

"The situation along the border is under control," he announced. 

He then fired a warning to the intruders, saying that Thailand would not
hesitate to use force to deal with them if need be.

Four DKBA members have been killed and more than ten others injured in
recent gunbattles with Thai troops.

IN the lastest incident, Border Patrol Police in Tha Song Yang on Monday
night fired five rounds of 81 mm morter shells at about 30 armed DKBA men
trying to come ashore at Ban Mae Ork Pha Ru.

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

THE NATION: BURMA URGED TO PROBE RAIDS ON KAREN CAMPS
February 5, 1997

THE Foreign Ministry urged Burma yesterday to launch an immediate
investigation and arrest those responsible for raids carried out last week
on three Karen refugee camps in northern Thailand. 

Director General for East Asia Affairs Suvidhya Simasakul said Burmese
Ambassador U Hla Maung was told that although the identity of the aggressors
who carried out the Jan 28 and 29 attacks in Tak province was not known, the
attacks originated from Burma. ''Thailand seeks clarification from Burma
over the attacks and encourages it to conduct an immediate investigation in
order to bring the attackers to justice," Suvidhya said after a meeting with
the envoy which lasted just under an hour. 

During the meeting Hla Maung received an aide-memoire outlining Thailand's
concerns. Suvidhya said the envoy was quoted as saying that recent incidents
close to the border were a result of internal conflicts in Burma. 

In a separate interview, Hla Maung said that the Burmese government wants
the Karen refugees, who have sought asylum in Thailand, to return to Burma
for national reconciliation, which he said would result in peace in border
areas. 

''The problems that occurred on the border resulted from conflicts between
two groups [the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, or DKBA, and the Karen
National Union, or KNU]. We have to find ways to help them resolve their
dispute," he said. 

''The KNU has been unable to reach agreement with the Burmese government.
However, the KNU is not an active group," the envoy added. 

He also called on the media to report incidents accurately as this could
affect bilateral relations. He questioned whether the press reported that
members of the KNU had launched attacks on pro-government Burmese forces
from Thai territory. 

The aide-memoire detailed the Jan 28 attacks by 160 members of the
Rangoon-backed DKBA on Baan Huay Ka Lok refugee camp in Tak's Mae Sot
district. During the raids, 670 refugee shelters, a school, church, mosque,
hospital and three other buildings were torched. 

On Jan 29, about 30 DKBA troops launched 10 rocket-propelled grenades at
refugee shelters in Mae La, in the same district, destroying 16 shelters,
killing one Karen and injuring two others. A few hours later, about 100 DKBA
forces fired mortar shells from Burmese territory across the border which
landed in the Pak Huay Ma La area. 

Suvidhya said that during the meeting both sides agreed to strengthen
military cooperation as well as increase the exchange of information in an
attempt to prevent a recurrence of the attacks. 

The envoy was told that border incidents are still rampant, despite the good
understanding between the Thai and Burmese governments and their relentless
efforts to solve friction along their common frontier. 

''We ask Burma to take the time to explain to its local officials the
government's policy, as some bilateral conflicts have stemmed from their
misunderstanding of that policy," Suvidhya said. 

He also reiterated Thailand's continued commitment to provide humanitarian
assistance to the Karen refugees. ''Thailand has to help the Karen refugees
for humanitarian reasons, although we do not want to keep them inside Thai
territory," he said. (TN)

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

THAILAND TIMES : THAILAND CHIDES BURMA OUR ATTACKS
February 4, 1997
by Rutchanee Uerpairojkit

Bangkok; Thailand will send a strongly worded letter to Burma in protest of
recent attacks on Thai refugee camps by Karen renegades, Foreign Ministry
spokesman Surapong Jayanama said yesterday.

Submitting the letter through Burma's Ambassador to Thailand U Hla Maung,
the foreign Ministry urges Rangoon to take serious action against violations
of the border by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), Surapong said.

"The assaults were carried out by people from Burmese territory, so the
Burmese government has to take responsibility,"he said.

DKBA forces set ablaze two Thai refugee camps on January 28, leaving over
8,000 Karen inmates of the camps homeless. More cross border incursions were
reported over the weekend. 

Foreign Minister Prachaub Chaiyasarn told reporters after meeting with
senior officials from the ministry and the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs that if Burma failed to respond to the criticism, it was no concern
of his.

However, Thailand had to be seen as being responsible towards, refugees who
live on Thai soil, he said.

He added that he had assigned Suvidhya Simasakul, the director general of
the East Asia Department, to investigate the matter and submit the evidence
to U Hla Maung.

Suspicions that the DKBA would strike again were confirmed yesterday when 40
men crossed the border to Mae Lah refugee camp and clashed with Thai border
patrol police.

A number of DKBA soldiers sustained injuries in the hour-long skirmish, and
five automatic guns and two walkie talkies were seized. After the incident,
the renegade troops retreated to Burma.

Two Karen refugees were also injured in the crossfire, but there were no
reports of damage to Thai border police.

Karens wishing to live in the camps would only be admitted if they were
unarmed, he said. Chettha confirmed that Thai forces had been ordered to
retaliate immediately if troops from Burma were found encroaching on Thai soil.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh yesterday confirmed that
Thailand's policy of constructive engagement towards its neighbour was still
firmly in place, and that Thailand gave its full support for Burma's bid for
Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) membership.

The premier pledged not to interfere in what he called Burma's internal
affair. Border disputes between the two neighbours, however, would receive
Thailand's full attention, he added.

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

THE NATION: CHETTHA SAYS ARMY IN CONTROL OF BORDER
February 5, 1997
Yindee Lertcharoenchok

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro said yesterday the Thai
military was in full control of the border situation and assured there will
be no more incursions or aggression by foreign intruders against Karen
refugee camps. 

Chettha said the situation along the northwestern Thai-Burmese border is not
serious and that the Army will be able to control any situation, no matter
how grave. 

Chettha was in the northern province for three hours for a closed-door
meeting and a briefing with officers of the Army's Light Infantry Unit 4. It
was their second meeting in two days. 

In the past week, Chettha has been repeatedly questioned on how and why the
Thai Army failed to prevent the violent Jan 28 and 29 attacks by the
Rangoon-backed Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) on three Karen refugee
camps inside Thailand. 

He has also been asked to explain how the Army will deal with seemingly
incessant Burmese and DKBA aggression. ''There will be no more such
incidents," he said before departing for Bangkok. 

Asked about repeated DKBA threats to forcibly evict tens of thousands of
Karen taking refuge in Thailand, Chettha said the Thai authorities are aware
of the threats but he added that such threats are a kind of psychological
warfare and will not work with Thailand. 

The Army chief said he has instructed local officers to be on alert for any
fresh developments. He added that full Army control of the border situation
would help prevent a third party from exploiting the situation. 

Chettha said his initiative to relocate the refugees from their current open
camps near the Burmese border to sites deeper inside Thailand, reflected the
country's humanitarian commitment. He said he hoped the United Nations would
appreciate his proposal and see the sincerity of Thailand's treatment of
ethnic fugitives. 

He said the relocation of some 60,000 refugees would also benefit Thailand
as it will help separate civilians from troops. ''Only the real civilian
population, not the armed forces, will be allowed in the camps. This
position reflects the Thai government's policy of not supporting armed
foreign elements in the country," he added. 

The Army chief said his relocation proposal needs to be discussed and
approved by a full board of the National Security Council, headed by Prime
Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. 

He said it was not clear how many relocation camps would be needed. Either
one or two would be necessary, he said, but the fewer, the better. 

In a separate meeting yesterday morning with representatives of Burmese
relief agencies and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Fourth Light
Infantry Commander Col Suvit Maenmeun proposed that about 10,000 refugees
from the near destroyed camps be relocated to Mae Taoke in Umphang district. 

An aid worker said relief agencies have no objection to the relocation, but
that the new sites should be safe with plenty of water and space.(TN) 

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

RANGOON TV MYANMAR NETWORK: KHIN NYUNT INSPECTS NEW SITE FOR TV, RADIO STATION  
February 2, 1997 (translated from Burmese)

Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, secretary-1 of the State Law and Order
Restoration Council, accompanied by ministers and responsible officials,
inspected the site for a new building for the Department of Myanmar
Television and Radio Broadcasting near the western entrance way of
Sandawshin Kyaikkhauk Pagoda, Syriam Township, at 0800 this morning. U Ant
Kyaw, director general of the Human Settlement and Housing Development,
briefed the
secretary-1 on the site for constructing a new building for the Department
of Myanmar Television and Radio Broadcasting near the western entrance way
of Sandawshin Kyaikkhauk Pagoda. Next, Major General Aye Kyaw, information
minister and U Kyi Lwin, director general of the Department of Myanmar
Television and Radio Broadcasting explained the building plan, the
installation of modern machinery and equipment, and the construction plan
for the Department of Myanmar Television and Radio Broadcasting. After
giving necessary instructions, the secretary-1 inspected the building site. 

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

THE NATION: EDITORIAL- THAI ARMY'S LACK OF ACTION DISGRACES NATION
February 5, 1997

It is indeed baffling why Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh chose to play
down the attacks on three refugee camps in Thailand by pro-Rangoon
guerrillas calling themselves the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). It
is also equally mind-boggling as to why the Thai Army failed to prevent the
bold intrusions of the DKBA into Thai territory. 

The impending question is whether this meekness is linked with Chavalit's
visit to Rangoon some time next month. It is an open secret that the prime
minister is chummy with the Rangoon junta, and his ties with them go back to
1988. Also, many of the generals in Rangoon are well-known to their
counterparts in the Supreme Command, so much so that many of them refer to
each other on a first name basis. Of course, on such a friendly basis, it
will come as no surprise if both sides have mutual business interests. 

But is this a valid enough reason to turn a blind eye when the country's
sovereignty and territorial integrity are trampled upon? The Thai Army's
primary responsibility is to protect the lives of those living on Thai soil.
The events last week only serve to make us feel ashamed of our own armed
forces. 

Worse still, Army Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro refused to acknowledge that
his men let the country down and instead blamed the incursions of the
Rangoon-supported DKBA guerrillas on the presence of Karen refugees in
Thailand. If the refugees weren't there, he said, the DKBA would not have
attacked the villages. 

This line of reasoning is totally irresponsible and is tantamount to a
breach of duty to the nation, which in other countries would prompt public
calls for the general's resignation. 

Anyone who has been to the Huay Kalok and Huay Bong refugee camps in Mae Sot
would have seen for themselves how deep these two areas are in Thai
territory under the command of the Third Army Region. Just what the army's
intelligence gathering unit was up to last week, to have overlooked foreign
troop movements along the Thai-Burma border, is anybody's guess. One thing
was obvious, there was a breakdown in the country's intelligence. 

Was this a part of a malicious scheme, in connivance with the Thai Army, to
get the Karen National Union to enter into a ceasefire agreement with the
Rangoon junta at the expense of innocent Karen men, women and children ­ not
to mention Thai villagers that were also killed? Questions abound but the
answers are few. 

On Monday, Burma's ambassador to Thailand, U Hla Muang, had the audacity to
tell reporters that the Thai government ''understood Burma's position". 

''The [Thai] government is not expressing concern. It is the media's
concern," he added. 

Also on that day conflicting reports were emerging from Government House on
the meeting between Chavalit and Hla Muang. Deputy government spokeswoman
Kanala Kanthapharb said the prime minister and the Burmese ambassador did
not discuss the DKBA's violent raid. 

''Nothing was said, not even half a word about the situation. They talked
only about golf," she said, adding that the discussion focused on the future
construction of the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge. 

In a separate press conference, later, Chavalit told reporters he discussed
the DKBA attacks with the Burmese envoy. ''We [Thailand and Burma] are old
friends and need to settle this problem," he said without elaborating. 

This unholy alliance between Chavalit, the army and the Burmese junta has to
end immediately. That Thailand is not a signatory to the UN Convention on
Refugees, does not mean that the army can treat refugees on Thai soil as
dirt. The army has a honour-bound duty to protect them because they are in
the country. 

Chavalit, as prime minister, has failed in his first test in protecting the
country's honour and pride. At this juncture in time, we can't help but
recall the 1988 debacle at Ban Rom Klao. We lost to a militarily inferior
force and that shame was due to Chavalit, who was army chief then. Let not
that same disgrace befall the country with Chavalit, now, as prime
minister.(TN) 

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

THE NATION: NLD URGED TO START TALKS
February 5, 1997

Reuter

Two Burmese politicians expelled from opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's
party yesterday urged her to soften here stance and start a dialogue with
the military govnerment.

They also called on the Nobel laureate to take her National League for
Democracy party (NLD) back into the government-organised National Convention
and become involved again in the drafting of a new Burmese constitution.

The NLD withdrew from the convention in November 1995.

"We are trying to put up these different ideas and ways for the NLD to
survive through these difficult times," said Than Tun, 47.

"We must get dialogue first ... the Slorc is ignoring us all the time. They
[NLD] want to stick to principles. To get compromise you must not always
stick to principles," he said.

He believes Suu Kyi is pressing too hard for democracy and that most Burmese
are not ready for democracy immediately.

Than Tun was accompanied by Thein Kyi at the pair's first news conference
since they were expelled on Jan 6 by the NLD's central executive committee
(CEC).

They were elected in 1990 general elections that were not recognised by the
ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc).

Some diplomats and analysts believe Than Tun and Thein Kyi may have been
manipulated by the Slorc to foment dissent within the NLD and try to weaken
its ranks and morale.

"There is no need for anybody to create these kind of divisions within the
NLD now. It does not take the two sides anywhere politically and is
unnecessary," said one diplomat.

Than Tun and Thein Kyi said Suu Kyi should refrain from calling for trade
sanctions and discouraging investment in Burma.

Both said they were expelled without a hearing for circulating a paper
suggesting a softer NLD  stance, dialogue with the rulers and ways for a
return to the National Convention.

A total of seven members of parliament supported the paper but only two were
expelled, they said. Than Tun and Thein Kyi yesterday called on the Slorc to
encourage the head of the Convention to meet Suu Kyi to enable the NLD to
take part in its proceedings.

The military govnerment has refused to hold talks with Suu Kyi and was
agreed by the NLD's withdrawal from the National Convention soon after her
July 1995 release from six years of house arrest.

Since then, the Slorc has harassed the NLD at various levels, detained or
jailed its members, attacked Suu Kyi in the state media and placed curbs on
her movements and prevented the party from holding its own national
convention. (TN)

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RANGOON MYANMAR ALIN : LASHIO-HSENWI SECTOR OF HIGHWAY TO CHINA BORDER OPENED
January 30, 1997 (translated from Burmese, abridged)
Min Thein

Our journalist delegation led by Construction Minister Major General Saw Tun
arrived at Lashio on 17 January 1997 by Myanmar [Burma] Airways with
arrangements made by a local company -- Asia World Company [owned by
former drug warlord Lo Hsing Han]. We came to attend the inauguration of the
28-mile-long Lashio-Hsenwi Road -- the first such endeavor undertaken by a
local company -- on the morning of 18 January 1997. In accordance with the
Myanmar Investment Commission Permit No. Ma-Na-Ta-035/96 issued on 22 July
1996, the Asia World Company and the Public Works Department of the
Construction Ministry signed an agreement on 22 July 1996 to construct the
102-mile-3-furlong-long Lashio-Muse [town bordering China] sector of the
Mandalay-Lashio- Muse Union Highway. The 28-mile-long Lashio-Hsewi Road will
be opened in the first phase while the 16-mile-long Hsenwi-Kutkai Road, the
27-mile-long Kutkai-Nantphetkar Road, and the 25- mile-long
Nantphetkar-Mongyu Road will be opened in the latter part of this year.
After Asia World Company signed the contract it either leased or imported
US$4 million worth of heavy machinery, bitumen distributors, water bowsers,
agitator trucks, and
dump trucks. With its technicians and workers working day and night the
company was able to complete the 22-foot-wide 28-mile-long Lashio-Hsenwi
Road in three months. It is learnt that the total investment in the
Lashio-Muse Road project will be over 800 million Myanmar Kyats and US$27
million. 
Furthermore, toll ways, toll offices, control and communication systems,
parking areas, entry and exit roads, rest areas, and recreation centers will
also be built. Asia World will collect toll fees in accordance with the
agreement signed with the Public Works Department.
The toll fees will be appropriately determined by the government once all
the toll gates are completed.
Once the Mandalay-Lashio-Muse Union Highway is completed, transportation
will become much smoother, bolstering regional economic and social growth
and leading to a reduction in commodity prices. Moreover, it will further
enhance the goodwill and economic cooperation between the peoples of Myanmar
and China. Instead of the government taking full responsibility,
the participation of the public, who directly benefits from such endeavors,
to a certain extent for a better and smoother transportation shows "the dawn
of a new historical era". 

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THAILAND TIMES : BURMA'S MILITARY RULERS LIVE OFF OPIUM
February 5, 1997

Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council treated an
assortment of foreign dignitaries to an impressive bonfire of narcotics last
Thursday. More than a ton of opium, 504 kilos of heroin and 582 lbs of
marijuana disappeared in a puff of smoke -proof positive, Slorc hoped, of
its commitment to cracking down on the problem.

But it was hardly convincing; not just because this was a trifling haul for
the biggest producer of illegal opium and heroin about half the world's
heroin supply comes from Burma -but also because, as a detailed expose in
the American news magazine the Nation reveals, the people officiating at this
spectacular event are up to their necks in unofficially promoting production
and trade.

The journal quotes Francois Casanier, an analyst with the Paris-based
Geopolitical Drug Watch, saying that "all normal economic activities, if you
can call anything in Burma normal, are instruments of drug money laundering,
and no drug operation in Burma can be done without the Slorc."

The American embassy in Rangoon estimates that Burma has more than doubled
its illicit drug exports since the Slorc took power in 1988. Between 1987
and 1990 the amount of land under poppy cultivation grew by two-thirds. This
year's opium harvest is expected to be a record 3,000 tons.

A report put out by the US embassy last July found that at least half of
Burma's economy is black. "Exports of opiates alone appear to be worth about
as much as all legal exports," the report said.

Early last year, Khun Sa, the world's most wanted drug smuggler-cum-warlord,
who hails from Burma's unruly northern Shan Province where he headed an army
of up to 15,000, gave himself up to the Slorc. But the Slorc has refused to
extradite him to the US, where he is charged with smuggling in more than 350
million dollars of heroin between 1986 and 1988 and where 2 million dollars
has been offered for information leading to his arrest and prosecution.
Instead, the Nation reveals, the generals granted him a fawning welcome in
Rangoon.

Burma's intelligence chief, Khin Nyunt, said of him and him his henchmen:
"We will look after them well on humanitarian grounds and for the sake of
the national spirit."

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ANNOUNCEMENT: MASSACHUSETTS BURMA ROUNDTABLE
February 5, 1997

Next Roundtable will be at 7pm on Tuesday, February 11.
Location: Franklin Research & Development, 711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02111
(Just across the street from South Station)
For more information, contact Simon Billenness at (617) 423 6655 x 225 or
simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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