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The BurmaNet News February 27, 1997




------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News: February 27, 1997
Issue #651

HEADLINES:
==========
BURMANET: UPDATE # 2: FORCED RELOCATION 
THE NATION: MAUNG AYE COMES CLEAN ON OFFENSIVE
BKK POST: FIRST BATCH OF KAREN REFUGEES MOVED 
WSJ: EDITORIAL-SLORC HAS THE LAST LAUGH
RANGOON RADIO MYANMAR: RESIGNATION OF NLD MP 
SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0024
THAILAND TIMES:BURMA AGREES TO TAKE BACK REFUGEES
THAILAND TIMES:BURMA'S MINORITIES SIGN PLEDGE TO FIGHT 
THAILAND TIMES: MON FLEEING BURMESE ABUSES
REUTER: KAREN REFUGEE LABOUR CHEAP AT THAI BORDER
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: NEWS BRIEFS
THE NATION: MACAU, BURMA IN AIR PACT
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:BURMESE URGE BOYCOTT OF BEER
ANNOUNCEMENT: EURODELEGATION PVDA, 1 MARCH 1997
INFO BIRMANIE: NEW COORDINATES
WILPF(ADEL.): INVITATION-BURMESE WOMEN UNION
------------------------------------------------------------------

BURMANET: UPDATE # 2: FORCED RELOCATION AND REPATRIATION OF KAREN REFUGEES
IN WESTERN THAILAND
February 27, 1997

The Burma Army reportedly took over Htee Htah last night, and it is expected
that Htee Kee, KNU 4th Brigade Headquarters has also fallen by now.  The KNU
and KNLA (Karen troops) have moved out.  Reports indicate approximately 40
KNLA have died and approximately 200 Burma Army troops are dead or injured.
There are approximately 3,000 refugees, all women and children, still at Ban
Pu Nam Rawn village, Amphur Muang, Kantchanaburi Province.  The Burma Army
is 3-5 km away.  The refugees and Thai villagers are reportedly unprotected,
as there are no KNLA or Thai Army troops in the area.  

On February 26 the Thai Army refused entry to 500 men attempting to flee the
BA offensive in Minthame and Htee Kee.  These men are common villagers
seeking safety.  Furthermore, the Thai Army gathered over 100 young male
refugees in Pu Nam Rawn and forced them back to Htee Kee.  Some of the males
were only 10 years old.  The Thai Army told the young males they should
either fight or surrender.

Sounds of mortar and small arms fire were clearly heard from Pu Nam Rawn
during the past 24 hours.  Channel 7 Thai TV reported, with film footage, on
the February 26 evening news that (2,000) refugees (women and children only)
from Ban Bong Tee village were loaded into large, orange, 18-wheel trucks
belonging to a Thai logging company.  The women and children were moved to
Ban Ta Goe Bone/Ban Baw Weh village, Amphur Suan Pung, Ratchaburi Province.
"Amphur officials welcomed them", and then they were "pushed back to their
own country".  They were sent to Hta Ma Pyo and Paw Mah Pwu, directly west
of Suan Pung, inside Tenasserim Division.  Male refugees were previously
forced across the border at Bong Tee.  

Channel 7 reported that Thai villagers in Pu Nam Rawn were packing and
preparing to leave their homes.  Thai Army Major General Suwit is in charge,
and Major Paitoon is in charge of the Border Police.

The reports of February 26 have been confirmed, signalling clearly that the
Thai Army is forcibly repatriating refugees in an active war zone.

Fleeing refugees reported that Burma Army troops raped five women in front
of their families in Kaserdoh township, located in the Kah Tawnee/Ban Chaung
area.  Burma Army troops are also burning houses and villages.  300-500
refugees left Amalah Kee, which is about 10 km south of Htee Kee, but their
current location is unknown.  Reports indicate that the Burma Army recently
ordered 1,000 Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA) uniforms to be made in
Moulmein.  There are already indications that Burma Army troops involved in
the offensive are wearing DKBA uniforms, which indicates further terrorism
likely awaits the refugees.

There were also approximately 50 ABSDF family members (women and children)
in the Pu Nam Rawn area, but where they have gone or what has happened to
them remains unknown.

Concerted efforts to separate families, force refugees into an active war
situation, and prevent any appearance of a 'refugee situation' in the
Thai/Burma border region violate international law and humanitarian values.
The safety of the Karen refugees is being sacrificed.  An urgent call has
gone out to governments, UN agencies, private humanitarian organizations,
media, and concerned persons to call for a halt to these operations and to
call for the establishment of a safe refuge for the refugees. 

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

THE NATION: MAUNG AYE COMES CLEAN ON OFFENSIVE
February 26, 1997

TACHILEK, Burma ­ Rangoon's ongoing offensive against Karen rebels is part
of its attempt to establish order along the Thai-Burmese border before its
admission into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this July. 

Burmese Army Chief Gen Maung Aye told his Thai counterpart, Gen Chettha
Thanajaro, during a meeting yesterday that his army had to use force against
Karen rebels to end Burma's insurgency as Rangoon did not want other Asean
countries to be concerned about the issue, Thai officers present at the
talks said. 

This was the first meeting of the two army chiefs since Chettha assumed
leadership of the Army last October. 

The officers quoted Maung Aye as saying that his army was exercising ''the
highest degree of caution" in its ongoing operation to pressure Karen rebels
to surrender. 

He also apologised for the brief clashes last week between Thai and Burmese
troops in northern Umphang district of Tak province and promised to return
at the earliest a Thai vehicle and military communication gear taken by
Burmese forces during the skirmirshes. 

During the two rounds of talks yesterday, Maung Aye said the ruling Burmese
State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) would welcome home over
100,000 Burmese refugees taking shelter in Thailand but wanted Bangkok's
help in screening them before they are allowed back, the Thai officers said. 

He said that the fugitives would be safe from prosecution in Burma, just as
a group of about 500 rebels of the Karen National Union (KNU), who had
surrendered earlier this month to the Slorc. 

But as Maung Aye, also the Slorc vice chairman, was giving his guarantee of
safety for the refugees in Burma, about 3,000 more Karen refugees fled
advancing Burmese troops yesterday into Thailand's western Sai Yok district
of Kanchanaburi province. They are being confined in an old mine in the area
close to the frontier. 

Relief workers said the situation around the KNU's 4th Brigade is critical
as some 3,000 Burmese troops are pressing towards capturing its headquarters
at Htee Kee. The Karen guerrillas have decided not to defend its stronghold
and could soon abandon it once the civilian population crosses safely into
Thailand, they said. 

The workers said many of the Karen villagers are still trapped inside the
country, and many have sought refuge on the Dawna range because the Burmese
troops are moving close to the Thai-Burmese frontier to block their flight
into Thailand. 

During the talks yesterday, Maung Aye, who was accompanied by several top
military officers, including the navy and air force chiefs and Slorc
intelligence chief Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, said the Burmese army does not intend
to annihilate the Karen race but simply wants to pressure them to surrender. 

The Slorc, he said, had chosen the military option because the KNU had
refused during four rounds of negotiations to lay down their arms. 

Maung Aye said the Burmese army has exercised caution in its offensive
against the KNU by trying to restrict its military activities to within
Burmese territory and has informed Thailand in advance and in writing
whenever it planned a new offensive. 

The Thai officers said the Burmese commander wanted the construction of the
Thai-Burmese bridge across the Moei River to resume. But he first wanted the
two countries, which hold identical border maps made in 1989, to solve the
boundary dispute in the area. 

They agreed to a meeting of the Thai-Burmese border demarcation committee
and the joint technical team on March 4 in a Burmese border town to locate
the deepest part of the river, which will be used to determine the border line. 

The two panels will continue to meet until both sides settle the territorial
dispute, he added. 

Maung Aye, who had ordered the suspension of work on the bridge after his
tour of the area in early April, said he wanted the bridge to be completed
before Chavalit's official visit to Burma. 

Chettha, who was pleased with the outcome of his talks with Maung Aye,
briefed Chavalit last night about the meeting, the officers said. (TN)

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

BKK POST: FIRST BATCH OF KAREN REFUGEES MOVED TO NEW HOLDING CENTRE
February 26, 1997
Supamart Kasem, Tak

After villagers raise environment concern

A group of 618 Karen refugees has been moved to a site 13km east of a border
village to which they had fled.

The Karen fled the Sakhantit black market before it was seized on February
12 and took refuge in Ban Thi Pho Chi.

They have now been moved to Tambon Mae Chan, Umphang district, after
villagers said they were causing environmental damage.

A task force from the Fourth Infantry Regiment, Border Patrol Police and
district officials started moving them on Monday to the site near Ban Nu
Pho, in Umphang wildlife reserve.

It was agreed on February 16 that 7,000-8,000 refugees who fled to Ban Perng
Klerng, Nong Nok Ped, Klo Tho, Thi Pho Chi and other border villages be
moved to the new site.

The removal of the first group of 618 is expected to be completed on Friday.
After that, 7,975 refugees will be moved from Ta Per Poo, No Pa Doh, Noh Ka
Thaw Wah and Mae Ta Raw Kee camps.

The number of refugees, both new and old, at the new holding centre is
expected to reach 15,000, and authorities have voiced concern about damage
to the wildlife sanctuary.

Thanee Viriyarattanaporn, the Tak forestry chief, said cabinet approval was
needed before the sanctuary could be used this purpose. The Tak governor has
submitted a request to the cabinet through the Forestry Department.

Mr Thanee suggested the site be enclosed and measures be taken to prevent
the refugees damaging trees and hunting.

Security has been beefed up along the border in Mae Hong Son province as the
Rangoon-backed Karenni National Democratic Army (KNDA) is expected to attack
refugee camps on the Thai side soon.

A Thai border official said the 7th Infantry Regiment Task Force led by Col
Thawatchai Wattana has sent military forces, BPP and rangers to guard border
areas in Mae Hong Son as the Burmese army is helping KNDA troops pressure
Karenni refugees to return to Burma.

Some 300 soldiers were ordered to inspect border villages of Ban Huay Bon,
Ban Li Sor, Ban Nong Saeng in Muang district to make sure the locals were
not stockpiling arms to fight alongside the rebels.

The KNDA guerrillas are said to be poised to attack camps in Muang district
which house up to 10,000 Karenni refugees, the source added.(BP)

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

WSJ: EDITORIAL-SLORC HAS THE LAST LAUGH
 February 25, 1997

 Regular readers of this page know that we are  not fans of economic
sanctions. They fall into  that basic category of trade weapons that we
 routinely eschew as counter-productive; at best  they are blunt
instruments. There is one thing  worse than sanctions, though--and that is
issuing empty threats to use them. If you draw a line in the sand and then
look the other way while it is repeatedly crossed, you have done more harm
than if you had drawn no line in the first place. Issuing a challenge and
then backing off from the fight is an advertisement of weakness guaranteed
to provoke more, not fewer, assaults on cherished principles or
long-suffering people.

 This is the situation the United States finds itself in with respect to
Burma. Back in September, President Bill Clinton signed legislation
mandating a U.S. ban on new investment in Burma if the ruling generals of
the State Law and Order Restoration Council escalated repression against
either Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi or members of the
democratic opposition she leads. The legislative descriptions of behavior
that would trigger sanctions were rather amorphous. Perhaps the vagueness
was deliberate. The law Mr. Clinton signed was drafted to head off much
 tougher legislation banning U.S. investment in Burma entirely, and thus was
a triumph for Burma's biggest American partner, the resource
 exploration company Unocal, and for the military regime itself.

 This posturing could cost the Burmese people dearly, as Slorc grows
increasingly brave in defiance of the spirit of the U.S. sanctions law. As
current Secretary of State Madeleine Albright noted while she was still
ambassador to the U.N. last December, the regime has been engaged in a kind
of "rolling repression in which small steps forward alternate with
 crackdowns and episodes of intimidation and violence."

 The latest is the massive military campaign under way to eradicate remnants
of the Karen National Union army and some 3,000 Karen
 civilians now fleeing toward the Thai border. Slorc and its supporters like
to paint the Karen--and all 15 or so ethnic groups the government has tried
to bring under its thumb--as criminals and a threat to Burmese stability and
territorial integrity. The fact is the Karen National Union is a largely
 Christian, staunchly anti-Communist movement that has been resisting
central control and struggling for autonomy for nearly half a century. One
has only to look at Slorc's much-publicized "deals" with other ethnic
 groups and movements to see what is likely to happen next to the Karen. In
many cases once Slorc took back control of an area, the reprisal blood
flowed and drugs cultivation and trafficking dramatically increased.

While nine Slorc battalions go after the Karen, back in the capital of
Rangoon, Burmese democrats remain firmly under the boot. Instead of mass
arrests, these days the regime may be trying out a new tactic. Burmese
democrats expressed concern yesterday about the fate of
 Dr. Than Aung, a physician who won a seat in Parliament as a member of Ms.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in the aborted elections of 1990. A
government statement issued Sunday said he was being charged with
malpractice after a patient under his care allegedly died of neglect.
According to the regime's account, a parking lot attendant stopped at Dr.
Than Aung's clinic last week, got an injection, and stopped on his way home
to describe his symptoms and treatment to government authorities. When he
returned to the clinic the doctor sent him immediately to the
 hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Democracy advocates fear that Dr.
Than Aung's travails may herald a new form of repression.

 No one in the U.S. has ever offered a rational explanation for why the
Clinton Administration signed on to the sanctions threat against Burma's
regime while showering China's unelected and often brutal ruling party with
patient understanding in the name of constructive engagement. Perhaps Burma
has been chosen by some unfathomable process of default
 as this decade's pinup victim, a place where governments and politicians
can display their human rights credentials on the cheap.

 There was never strong reason to believe that banning U.S. companies from
doing business in Burma would bring a quick end to Burma's brutal
 and illegitimate regime. Although Slorc is widely hated at home, plenty of
Burma's neighbors, and companies like Unocal, stand to make a fortune by
exploiting the regime's dependence on their willingness to do business
 with a pariah.

 What Mr. Clinton's State Department apparently does not understand is that
nothing is more dangerous than crying wolf and passing a law you lack the
courage to enforce. American diplomats may confuse some people with the
ridiculous proposition that the U.S. can't impose sanctions because then it
would no longer have the threat of sanctions to use as leverage. We don't
know who is fooled by this gobbledegook. But Slorc certainly sees right
through it. And if ever the United States or the international community do
get serious about controlling the outrageous and
 destructive behavior of Slorc or any other rogue regime, they should not be
surprised if the bad boys laugh in their face.

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

RANGOON RADIO MYANMAR:COMMISSION ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION OF NLD MP FROM SHWEGU
(translated from Burmese)
February 23, 1997 

1. Daw Sein Tin of the National League for Democracy, Hluttaw [People's
Assembly] representative elected at the Multiparty Democracy General
Election from Shwegu Township Constituency, Kachin State, submitted of her
own volition to this commission that she be permitted to resign due to her
old age. 
2. Upon the abovementioned Daw Sein Tin's submission, this commission hereby
announces that Daw Sein Tin has been permitted to resign from being Hluttaw
representative-elect of Shwegu Township constituency effective today under
Section 11 (e) of the Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law. 

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

SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0024
February 26, 1997
Ok Kar <OKKAR66127@xxxxxxx>

        Dr. Than Nyein (elected member for the National League for Democracy
Party) had his medical practional license being revoked for breaching health
regulations. An incident occurred on the 18th of Feb. when the Tharketa
Township Private Clinic Supervisory Body Chairman and Township Health
Officer, Dr. Nyi Nyi Min reported to the township police station of Dr.
Than Nyein opening a private clinic since 21st of January 1997 without the
approval from the Township Private Clinic Supervisory Body. (standard
procedure since 1972). As a result, concerning township police station has
opened a case and action has been taken against Dr. Than Nyein according to
the health regulations of 1972. Due to Dr. Than Nyein's refusal to abide by
the regulations regarding opening of private clinics, he has been found of
breaching the medical
professional ethics, consequently his practional's and doctor's licenses had
been revoked on the 19th of Feb. 1997 by the Ministry of Health it is learnt.

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

THAILAND TIMES:BURMA AGREES TO TAKE BACK KAREN REFUGEES SAYS CHETTA
(abridged)
February 26, 1997
Reuters

BANGKOK : Thailand's army chief said yesterday that the Burmese
military had agreed to take back Karen refugees sheltering on the
Thai side of the border, but only if they wanted to go.

Only those returning willingly to Burma would be accepted, Thai
army commander in chief General Chetta  Thanajaro said after
meeting his Burmese counterpart, General Maung Aye, at the
Burmese border town of Tachilek.

"The meeting was very successful, especially when they (Burmese)
agreed to take the refugees back," Chetta told reporters after
the three hour talks.

"The Burmese side said they are willing to take back only those
who return on a voluntary basis."

Burmese officials were not available for comment. 

Burma in the past has repeatedly charged that KNU rebels have
been hiding in the Thai refugee camps. Rangoon has also refused
to take back the refugees citing lack of documentation.

The Thai army said last week that it would strictly screen KNU
rebels out from civilians and centralize the camps.

A KNU source told Reuters yesterday that several KNU official who
fled fighting last week between the KNU and Burmese troops into
the western Thai town of Umphang had been rounded up over the
week-end and housed in a central location.

Maung Aye, also vice chairman of the ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc), yesterday was quoted as saying Burma
would continue its peace efforts with the rebels.

"The government always welcomes the KNU although they neglect
peace and the armed forces and the entire people warmly welcome U
Saw Tha Mu He and members for their efforts for peace, " Muang
Aye was quoted as saying by official media.

He was speaking at a welcoming ceremony for 496 KNU rebels,
including Saw Tha Mai He, Commander of the KNU's 16 battalion,
who surrendered to the government in Karen state on Monday, the
media said.

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

THAILAND TIMES:BURMA'S MINORITIES SIGN PLEDGE TO FIGHT AGAINST JUNTA
February 26, 1997
by Seri Klinchan Assawin Chumworatayee 

BANGKOK: The Burmese military junta has issued Karen Nation Union
(KNU) troops stationed opposite the Thai provinces of Chumphon and
Kanchanaburi with an ultimatum: surrender by Friday or be prepared for
severe military crackdown, a local official said yesterday.

Weera Sriwattanatrakul, chief of Chumphon province's Tha Saw district, said
KNU troops were desperately trying to negotiate a concession from the junta
amid widespread panic among Karen civilians.

Refugees have been flooding into Thailand over past weeks following major
offensives against the KNU, with a further two or three thousand Karens
arriving in Chumphon and Kanchanaburi provinces yesterday.

Weera said that since last week there have been 200 new arrivals,
mostly women, children, and the elderly, in Tha Saw district alone.

Yesterday's exodus adds to the 4,500 Karens already sheltering in
the two provinces.

Those who have made it across to Thailand are the lucky ones,
Reports from the terrified refugees tell of widespread human
rights abuses at the hands of the junta's troops as they advanced
through the southeastern Burmese district of Minthamee.

Still bearing the physical and mental scars of their ordeal, the refugees
whisper of the indiscriminate rape and murder of women, and the torching of
over 3,000 houses.

Despite the severity of recent onslaughts, sources from the KNU have said
they would never surrender to the military regime, fearful of further
torture should they do so.

The KNU are far from being alone in being at the receiving end of the
junta's fire. A Mon soldier said yesterday that the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (Slorc) plans to suppress all ethnic groups
through-out southern Burma.

But the KNU will bear the brunt of the onslaught, with SLORC troops
targeting the vast stretch of KNU held territory in Tanintharyi state.
Following the fall of several major KNU strongholds over recent weeks,
control of the southern territory is one of the KNU's last remaining hopes
of survival.

The Mon officer said a number of his colleagues were fighting
alongside KNU men, although the bulk of the 4,000 strong Mon army
had signed a ceasefire agreement with the Slorc.

Reports indicate that several of Burma's minority groups yesterday pledged
their mutual support in the face of the advancing Slorc troops. Together
with the KNU, groups including the Kayah, Mon, Khachin, Shan and Arakan
issued a statement saying they would continue fighting until the junta
agreed to grant them autonomy.

While the KNU is the only group still officially holding out against the
junta, other minorities have grown increasingly disillusioned with Slorc's
lack of sincerity in honoring the ceasefire pacts.

Meanwhile, a meeting between Army Commander in Chief Gen Chettha
Thanajaro and his Burmese counterpart Gen Maung Ae yesterday held
out little promise for Burma's minorities.

Chetta said Slorc had asked Thailand to repatriate the refugees, demanding
however that NGOs and the UN did not intervene in the process.

Despite recent incursions across the border by troops supported by the
junta, Chetta expressed his confidence that Slorc had no intention of
allowing its civil war to affect Thailand.

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

THAILAND TIMES: MON FLEEING BURMESE ABUSES HAS LEG BLOWN OFF
February 26, 1997
by Assawin Pinitwong 

TAK: A Burmese man who had been forced to work as a porter for Rangoon
troops had his leg blown off by a land mine yesterday
while fleeing over the border into Thailand.

Kosin, 32, attempting to escape from the human rights abuses he had suffered
form the Burmese army, had his dreams shattered when he stepped on the mine
in the border area just opposite Tak province's Mae Ramard district.

Five of his friends sustained minor injuries in the blast, but
were able to carry Kosin until they reached Thai soil.

Thai officials, however, ignored their plight and arrested them
for illegal entry, prior to deportation.

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

REUTER: KAREN REFUGEE LABOUR CHEAP AT THAI BORDER
February 26, 1997
By Sutin Wannabovorn

    HUAYKALOK REFUGEE CAMP, Thailand, Feb 26 (Reuter) -
"Brother, please don't blame me for using child labour," the owner of a
coffee shop near here joked to her customer as he peered curiously at the
12-year-old Karen girl serving him water.
    The little girl is among thousands of young Karen refugees from camps
along the Thai-Burma border trying to earn a living by offering themselves
as cheap labour in nearby towns.
    "I allowed two of them to work here because I felt pity for them," the
owner said. Their houses were burned down recently during fighting between
the Karen and their enemies, she said.     In Mae Sot near the Burmese
border, another Karen girl working at a restaurant said she hoped to save
enough money to buy proper documentation to allow her to stay in Thailand
forever.
    "When we have enough money, we can buy an indentity and go to Bangkok,"
said the Karen girl, adding that many of her friends had disappeared from
the camps after bribing Thai officials for indentity cards.
    
    YOUNG REFUGEES LURED BY CITY LIGHTS
    To the young refugees in the camps, the chances of returning home to
their native Karen state look as remote as democracy coming to Burma, whose
military government has been criticised for a range of alleged human rights
abuses and suppression of pro-democracy forces.
    Most young refugees jump at the chance to leave the spartan camp
conditions for the bright city lights, refugee officials say.
    Many eventually become maids for wealthy Thais, waitresses
and even prostitutes, they said.
    Thai narcotics police raided a brothel in Bangkok last year
and rescued 17 Karen girls, police said.
    "Nobody wants to go back to Burma, especially the young
people," the Karen girl at Mae Sot said.
    The Karen National Union (KNU), formed in 1948 to fight for greater
autonomy from Burma's central government, is among the oldest rebel groups
in the world.
    This month the KNU, which has launched lightning attacks against Burmese
troops inside Burma, were counter-attacked and their mobile jungle bases
destroyed.
    In 1995, a Buddhist faction split from the mostly Christian KNU. The
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) linked up with Burmese government
troops and drove the KNU out of most of its previously secure strongholds.
    So far, more than 60,000 Karen refugees who have fled the fighting
between the KNU and Burmese troops to shelter in camps set up by the Thai
authorities just across from the Moei River border.
    Another 30,000 refugees are scattered across the jungles.
    FUTURE LOOKS BLEAK FOR OLDER REFUGEES
    Pak Kah, 45, said his future looked bleak and could not see
peace returning to his Karen homeland.
    "Look. this all I have left," he said pointing his fingers
to the loin-cloth wrapped around the lower part of his torso.
    He was speaking in the burned out remains of his home in the refugee
camp, which was torched by a friend who turned foe a few weeks ago.
     Pak Kah was among the first group of more than two thousand
refugees, mostly family members of the KNU, who fled Wangkha
camp inside Burma to Thailand in 1984.
    His fate has been the same as that of thousands of others living in the
camps which have since 1995 been regularly attacked by DKBA guerrillas.
    "I will rebuild the living shelter here and will never go back to Burma,
as long as there is still no peace and democracy there," said Pak Kah.
    HOPE FOR RETURN TO BURMA EVAPORATES
    Many other refugees interviewed at the camps also said hope to return to
Burma had already evaporated from their souls.
    "We will continue to live and die in Thailand. Nobody wants to go back
to Burma anymore, especially the young children. They don't even know
Burma," said Si Da Hea, 35, who has been living in this camp for a decade
and has had three children in that time.
    Ei Moo, 17, who accompanied her family during the 1984 evacuation from
Burma said she rushed back from Mae Sot where she worked as a maid to help
her family after rebels torched their home in the camp.
    "While the parents live in the camps, the children go out
and work in the city," said Ei Moo.
    The refugees constantly live in fear of attacks by the DKBA
and lead an unsettled life.
    "We are appealing to the Thai government to provide more security for
the refugees in the camps," Marry On, vice-chairman of Karen Refugees
Committee and also acting as the Huaykalok camp leader told Reuters recently.

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

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: NEWS BRIEFS
February 25, 1997
     
SECRETARY-L MEETS CHAIRMAN OF MARUBENI CORP 
     
     YANGON, 24 Feb-Secretary- 1 of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt received Chairman of Marubeni Corporation Mr Kazuo
Haruna and party of Japan at Dagon Yeiktha of the Ministry of Defence this
afternoon.
     
     Present on the occasion together with the Secretary-1 were Minister for
National Planning and Economic Development  Brig-Gen Abel, Minister for
Foreign Affairs U Ohn Gyaw and  Director-General of Protocol Department
Thura U Aung Htet. 
     
-----------------------------

MINISTER RECEIVES OFFICIALS OF PRC CORPORATIONS 
     
     YANGON, 24 Feb-Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation  Lt-Gen Myint
Aung received General Manager Mr Chen Zhong De of Shanghai Tractors and
Engines Corporation of the People's Republic of China and Manager Mr Wang
Chun Lei of GMH  Import and Export Corporation at his office this afternoon.
They discussed export of tractors to Myanmar and 
manufacturing of power-tillers in Myanmar. Mr Wang Chun Lei handed related
documents of a 30-ton rice mill, which was presented by GMH to the ministry
to Minister Lt-Gen Myint Aung. Deputy Minister U Tin Hlaing and officials
were also present. 
     
------------------------------

MINISTER RECEIVES HOTEL IMPERIAL VICE-CHAIRMAN 
     
     YANGON, 24 Feb-Minister for Commerce Lt-Gen Tun Kyi received
Vice-Chairman of Hotel Imperial Singapore Mr L Niwas Jhunjhnuwala and party
at his office this afternoon. They discussed matters relating to investment
in setting up factories and hotels in Myanmar and trade in agricultural
produce. 
     
-------------------------------

MINISTER MEETS COMMERCIAL ATTACHE OF FRANCE FOR SEA REGION 
     
     YANGON, 24 Feb-Minister for Finance and Revenue Brig-Gen 
Win Tin received Commercial Attache of South East Asia Region 
from Ministry of Finance Mr Marc Schwartz of France, Singapore 
based, at his office this afternoon. They discussed monetary and financial
matters. Present also were Governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar U Kyi Aye
and Director-General of Budget Department U Kyaw Hlaing. 
     
http://www.myanmar.com/gov/news/nlm.html

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

THE NATION: MACAU, BURMA IN AIR PACT
February 26, 1997
AP - Dow Jones

Hong Kong - Macau and Burma have agreed to an air services pact that lasts
beyond 1999, when the Portuguese enclave reverts to Chinese sovereignty,
news agency Lusa Lusa said yesterday.

Portuguese-based Lusa quoted the Macau Civil aviation Authority as saying
the agreement was initialed by Macau Civil Aviation Authority's chairman
Jose Queiroz and the director-general of Civil Aviation Department of Burma,
U Tin Aye.

The agreement will be submitted to the Sino-Portuguese Joint Liaison Group,
a body that oversees transitional matters straddling the handover, for
approval before signing.

Macau has already signed 30 air services agreements.(TN)

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SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:BURMESE URGE BOYCOTT OF BEER
February 25, 1997

Drinking Foster's beer  showed support for Burma's military regime, a
leading  Burmese dissident said in Sydney yeaterday.
	
The Burmese Women Union (BWU) foreign affairs spokeswoman, Thet Thet Lwin,
called for a complete boycott on trade with Burma during an Evatt Foundation
breakfast.
	
"Drinking Foster's beer buys more bullets for soldiers to kill
refugees," she said.
	
"The only way [Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council, SLORC] will
be changed is for international boycotts and pressure."

SLORC, a military junta which has governed the country since 1988, was
set up after a democracy movement was quashed by the military
Government.

Thet Thet said Australians should boycott companies operating in Burma
and named Foster's Carlton and United Breweries, Ericsson and Caltex
products as targets for protest.

"Companies such as Heineken and Pepsi-Cola have been forced to pull out
of Burma because of protests at home and it's time Australians did the
same thing," she said. "Some governments have argued that economic
development can bring around democratic changes in a country.

"This will not be the case in Burma because foreign investment only
brings prosperity to the military elite while the majority of civilians
remain in poverty."

Burma was one of Asia's richest countries when a military coup installed
the Government of Ne Win in 1962. But the economy suffered from State
control and low world prices for rice and other exports.

Burma was granted least-developed-nation status in 1987 by the United
Nations.

Hundreds of thousands of students, citizens and military men staged
massive protests against Ne Win's Government throughout the 1980s before
forming the National League for Democracy(NLD)

Led by 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD won an
overwhelming victory in a May 1990 election. But the SLORC has refused
to hand over its power to the NLD.

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ANNOUNCEMENT: EURODELEGATION PVDA, 1 MARCH 1997
February 26, 1997 

For your info. There will be a conference on 1 March 1997, coming Saturday,
on the issue of European Human Rights Policy (Place: West Indisch Huis,
Herenmarkt 99 Amsterdam)

Points of discussion (in brief):
	* contribution EU on respecting Human Rights, as well as in as outside the
Union
	* Dutch Human Rights Policy
	* Does international compagnies have responsibility if Human Rights are at
stake?
	* What is the relation between trade and investments on one hand and
international labor (norms/rights) on the other hand
	* Do we think that Human Rights violations in China are different from
those in Burma; is a difference in reaction justified?
	* Do we need to have restrictions made conc. Development aid, to countries
where HR are largely violated?

Present: Foreign Minister Mr. Hans van Mierlo, Ed van Thijn, Eren Keskin
(Turkish Human Right activist, recently released!), staatssecretaris van
Dok-van Weele, Ir. Slechte (president-director Shell), Hedy d'Ancona, 
Piet Dankert, Wiersma and many others.

Information/subscription at: PvdA Eurodelegatie, Plaats 27a, 2513 AD Den Haag. 
Tel: 070-3467000, Fax: 070-3637669

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INFO BIRMANIE: NEW COORDINATES
February 26, 1997

The new numbers for Info Birmanie in Paris are:

tel 33 1 40 38 01 80
fax 33 1 40 38 01 92

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WILPF(ADEL.): INVITATION TO MEET REP. OF BURMESE WOMEN UNION
February 24, 1997

BRINGING FREEDOM TO BURMA
Come and Meet
THET THET LWIN (Burmese Women Union)

Thet Thet Lwin is a Burmese woman now living in exile in Thailand. She
works for the democracy movement headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. She will be
speaking on the current political situation in Burma, particularly about
women refugees. She is the foreign relations officer for the Burmese Women's
Union and represented them at the Beijing World Conference on
Women.

PLACE: PILGRIM CHURCH HALL, 12 FLINDERS STREET, ADELAIDE
DATE: MONDAY 3 MARCH 1997
TIME: 7:15 FOR 7:30 PM START

Light supper served at 9pm. LIve Music by Nikki MOrtier.

hosted by Women's International League for Peace and Freedom(WILPF)
and Women's Refugee Education Network(WREN) with the support from
Overseas Service Bureau (OSB).

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