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The BurmaNet News, March 19, 1997
- Subject: The BurmaNet News, March 19, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 00:38:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: March 19, 1997
Issue #671
HEADLINES:
==========
BURMANET: REFUGEES AT KANCHANBURI AND RATCHABURI
BURMANET: BORDER REPORT #3:
THE NATION: WHAT WILL TOMORROW BRING?
THE NATION: SIX INJURED IN EXPLOSION
BKK POST: BURMA TO GET CALL TO RETURN SUSPECT LI
THE NATION: SUSPECT KILLED IN DRUG HAUL
BKK POST: PTT WARNS SELLERS OVER 'HIGH' PRICE
ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR'S TABLOIDS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: NEWS BRIEFS
DBSO (MID-WEST, USA): CONFERENCE
DBP: DAW AUNG SAN SU KYI'S SPEECH, MARCH 16TH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BURMANET: REFUGEES AT KANCHANBURI AND RATCHABURI PROVINCE
March 19, 1997
Kanchanburi Province
The situation of the refugees at Pu Muang is still uncertain, fighting has
broken out between SLORC forces and the KNLA at the border, directly behind
the camp. The distance is estimated to be 3-5 kms. Shelling can be heard
from the camp.
The noise of shelling was heard by the delegation from the British Embassy
visiting the camp on Monday 17th.
There remains no further news regarding the fate of the adult males in the
camp who were reportedly told they could no longer stay in the camp after
Sunday 16th. A letter signed by all males (approximately 50) in the camp
has been circulated to concerned parties at the border.
Ratchaburi Province
The fighting mentioned above makes the position of the refugees encamped at
the Htaw Ma Pyo Hto site increasingly untenable. Border sources say that
the refugees may well now be within range of SLORC heavy weapons and mortars.
By late yesterday night the KNU administration had agreed to let the
refugees move closer to the borderline and prepare to enter Thailand. It is
believed that, as of this morning, a small number (600-700) have, in fact,
crossed over without incident. A member of the Dutch Embassy was said to
have been assured, within the last two days, by the 9th Division in
Kanchanaburi that the refugees at Htaw Ma Pyo Hta site could pass over into
Thailand if, and when, the fighting directly affected the camp area.
As of the time of this release it is not clear whether or not the 9th
Division have agreed to let all the refugees at this place enter Thailand.
An appeal has been made to the relief groups and the international community
to recognize the situation of these refugees and offer any assistance possible.
*******************************
BURMANET: BORDER REPORT #3:
March 18, 1997
RE: SLORC use of Thai soil to attack Karen from behind on 17 March
1997, vicinity Phu Muang (Takien Ngam) Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand
REPORT:
1) On 17 March 1997 at least 300 SLORC soldiers walked through Thailand
Northwest of Phu Muang (Takien Ngam) Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. These
soldiers walked (from their own lines inside Burma) into Thailand in order
to get behind the Karen front lines and attack the Karen from behind.
Without using Thai soil these troops could not have circled behind the Karen.
Numerous civilians witnesses as well as Karen troops on the Burma side of
the border observed the Slorc troops walk through Thailand and then re-enter
Burma at a location aproximately 10 airmiles from the Slorc/Karen
frontlines. The SLORC troops commenced to attack the Karen and by early
afternoon on the 17th, had captured a saw-mill (Karen).
However, the Karen were unable to drive the SLORC troops back to Thailand
and they remain near the saw-mill. Unless they are resupplied by air these
SLORC troops will need to be supplied through Thailand. There are also
reports that SLORC troops may have been trucked in but these are unconfirmed
and unreliable; the only evidence is that they came on foot.
Simultaneously, other SLORC troops came down the Tenasserim river and
attacked Min Htaing which is 10kms north of Hta Ma Pyo Hta. HMPH is where
over 4,000 Karen refugees now seek shelter and is the area where over 1,000
refugees were pushed into from Thailand. The fighting is within hearing
distance of HMPH as it is only 10kms away by road.
2) There are also reports of 30-50 SLORC troops on a hilltop inside
Thailand, 3-4kms from Phu Muang refugee camp. The military response in unknown.
*********************************
THE NATION: WHAT WILL TOMORROW BRING?
March 18, 1997
Families brokens up, men forcibly repatriated, relatives missing... the
Karen refugee in Kanchanaburi live in a constant state of fear and
uncertainly, writes Subhatra Bhumiprabhas.
ON Feb 23 and 24 more than 3,000 Karen civilians crossed the Thai-Burmese
border. Fleeing fighting in village in the Mergui-Tavoy territory
(Marid-Tawai) of Karen State, the arrived in Baan Bongti and Baan Pu Nam
Rawn both in Kanchanaburi province.
Despite earlier announcements by the Thai government that all civilians
fleeing hostilities would be granted temporary asylum, 1,070 of the new
arrivals at Baan Bongti were sent back to Burma by the Thai military just
two days later.
Another 200 Karen men were trucked to Mae Saming, a site on the border
directly oppose Baan Pu Nam Rawn. Women, children, the elderly and the
disabled were taken to Ta Ma Piew, again on the border, opposite Ratchaburi
province's Suan Phuend district.
"It was so pitiful, they were hugging and crying before they were separated.
I also cried with them," recalls one of the truck drivers who helped
transport the refugees.
This forced repatriation of Karen fleeing a cohesive Slorc military
offensive in their homeland - an area allocated to them under ceasefire
agreement with the Slorc -caused an outcry. The US and other governments
were vocal in their protests, as were human rights organisations around the
world.
"We want to tell Slorc that we are civilians. All we want is to live
peacefully alongside Burmese civilians in our homeland. Please look at what
you have done and what has happened to us," says Kapawtoo, a Karen man, his
voice trembling with emotion.
Kapawtoo is currently living with 2,300 other Karen asylum seekers at Baan
Pu Muang evacuation centre in Kanchanaburi. Not so very long ago, he was
headmaster of the Ammon Mission school in small Karen township opposite Baan
Bongti in Kanchanaburi's Sai Yok district.
This group was transferred from Baan Pu Nam Rawn to Baan Pu Muang, deeper
inside Thailand, on March 4. A fact-finding mission organised by the
Coordinating Committee in Human Rights Organisation in Thailand ad the Thai
Action Committee for Democracy in Burma from Bangkok visited both sites that
same day.
The team was composed of 22 representatives of Human Rights organisations,
the House Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the press.
On arrival on Ban Pu Nam Rawn, team members were shocked to find that more
than half the new arrivals were children. Most had serve diarrhoea, the
result of bad food and unsanitary drinking water.
"One of the pregnant woman had cholera and the infection has spread to her
unborn baby," said Soontorn Hongsa, a Thai staff member of the Pu Nam Rawn
Health Centre. He looked and sounded depressed.
Despite the tension in the Pu Nam Rawn centre, the Karen were hesitant about
the move to Pu Muang. Babies cried while their mothers silently packed their
meagre possessions.
E-shi, 39, also a former teacher at the Ammon school, is just one of the
Karen who crossed back into Thailand from Mae Saming not long after the
forced relocation.
"I can the other 200 Karen men who were sent back to Mae Saming in Burma
returned to Kanchanaburi. We can't live (in Karen State) anymore. We don't
want to be killed by the Burmese military."
E-shi has five children - ranging in age from 10 months to 10 years. He fled
with his family to Bangti, where he separated from them and sent to Mae
Saming. He doesn't know where his children and his wife are at present.
"There are no Karen (in Bongti) now," says E-shi sadly. "I hope they are
still alive in Ta Ma Piew (where they were sent)."
E-shi arrived back in Pu Nam Rawn on Feb 27. This time, he was allowed to
stay. He was told to take care of his fellow Karen, mainly women, children
newborns and the elderly. Likely Kapawtoo, E-shi was also relocated t Pu Muang.
A member of the Thai military who asked not to be named, explained: "We only
permit women, children, the old and the disabled to live in the evacuation
centre. But some men have been allowed to stay on to help."
The soldier added that he felt sympathy for these people but that he
couldn't break the rules by sheltering Karen men aged between 15 and 50 years.
"The Thai military doesn't want to give the Slorc the impression that it
supports the Karen Army."
Poa Pree is another resident of Pu Muang. she is nine months pregnant. she
and two-year-old son walked from Baan Thun Leng village to Pu Nam Rawn. The
journey took seven days. Her husband didn't come with her because he wanted
to go the front.
"I have no idea whether he is alive or dead," she says sadly, clutching her
child tightly.
An excerpt from a letter presented by one Karen leader to fact-finding
member, Suwarot Phalan, spokesman of the House Committee for Justice and
Human Rights, during the visit to Pu Nam Rawn, reads: "We are expecting to
go to a place which is free from anxiety. We hope that the plan to move us
to a new location - which depends on the kindness of the authorities - will
bring us peaceful and secure living conditions."
The Karen still don't know how long they will stay at the hot, dry Pu Muang
site.
"I would like to start teaching the children if we don't have to move from
this place, Says Kapawtoo.
Of the other refugees he says: "We don't know yet who comes from which
village. We only know that our villages were destroyed when the Burmese
military arrived."
When Kapawtoo was a young buy he didn't see any differences between the
Burmese and the Karen. But as he grew up, he become increasingly aware of
oppression and discrimination practised by the Burmese government against
ethnic minority groups such as the Karen.
Since the beginning of the year, the Slorc offensive against the Karen has
escalated. Nobody knows how and when it will end. War is unkind, it is a
gross abuse of human rights.
Many Karen women have been raped and the men killed. villages, schools and
temples have been razed to the ground. The homeless Karen were separated
from their families on arrival at the Thai Border. Many of those sent back
from this supposedly humanitarian country to the war zones face death. The
ones who escaped live in fear in a temporary camp at the Thai border.
"We will go home when Burma has democracy. But we do not know when that time
will come," Kapawtoo said. (TN)
*****************************************************
THE NATION: SIX INJURED IN EXPLOSION
March 18, 1997
Somchit Rungchamratrasmee, The Nation
Mae Sot - Six people were wounded when dynamite exploded on the bank of the
Thai side of the Moei River yesterday morning, local Thai authorities said.
Four of the casualties were Thai and two were Burmese. Among those injured
was Surat Tangsrisuwan, manager of Bangkok Bank's Mae Sot branch. The bank
official was accompanying Pichai Chaichanayothinvajara, a Thai national and
petrol station operator, in the Burmese border town of Myawaddy to inspect
the Tha Sai Luad pier.
Seriously injured with Phichai was Prajak Sutham, a 23-year-old Thai, and Ma
Kyi, a 40-year-old Burmese woman.
Although there was a second loud explosion about 15 minutes after the first
blast at 10.15 am, local police and authorities said they found no evidence
to prove the second explosion was due to dynamite or a bomb.
The second blast could have been a gas explosion from the fire that broke
out after the first bomb, one official said.
Authorities at the scene said, while they strongly believe the blast was due
to a business conflict, they are not ruling out the possibility that Karen
rebels, either those of the Karen National Union (KNU) or of the Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army, may have planted the explosives.
It was also unclear why Burmese authorities closed the Myawaddy crossing
yesterday before the blast. Thai officials suspect the closure may have been
due to heavy fighting during the night between KNU and Burmese forces at
Thichala, about four kilometres north of Myawaddy. The number of casualties
is not yet known.
The Tha Sai Luad pier has served as an unloading site for Thai petrol being
sent to Myawaddy for the past several months since Pichai, who is originally
from Chiang Rai, received permission from Burma to operate a petrol station
last year. The pier is not an official crossing site. (TN)
*****************************************************
BKK POST: BURMA TO GET CALL TO RETURN SUSPECT LI
March 18, 1997
Police raise doubts about his nationality
The Police Department will ask Burma to return a major international drug
suspect who jumped bail, a source said yesterday.
Li Yun-chung, or Pongsak Rojanasaksakul, was believed to have fled to Burma
after being released on five-million-baht bail by Somchai Udomwong, former
criminal court deputy chief justice, on February 7.
The suspect, arrested in Thailand on July 23, is wanted by a federal court
in New York on a charge of masterminding the shipment of 486kg of heroin
into the United States in 1991.
The source said police would call on the Burmese embassy to ask Rangoon to
trace and return Li for extradition to the US. However, he said, the police
were not optimistic because Burma is in conflict with the US.
Since Li was reported to have been a key associate of Khun Sa, the drug
warlord who is at liberty in Rangoon, Burma might deny he was there.
Some reports, however, said Li is still in Thailand, and Pol Gen Salang
Bunnag has been assigned to look for him.
The Special Branch, meanwhile, has raised doubts about Li's nationality. Pol
Lt-Gen Pas Chaksurak, the commissioner, said Li could be the same person as
Jeng Mong sae Li, who went by a Thai name as Kusol, and was granted Thai
nationality in 1980.
Kusol's address was in Tambon Poi, Chiang Khong, Chiang Rai.
Checks of Li's record, who is said to be a Chinese Haw, found no evidence he
had changed his nationality to Thai, Pol Lt-Gen Pas said. Judge Somchai
earlier he granted Li bail because he is a Thai citizen.
Pol Lt-Gen Pas said he would check the fingerprints of Li and Kusol to see
whether they matched.
However, he said, there are four ways aliens can apply for nationality.
First, they can contact the Special Branch Bureau if they live in Bangkok.
Second, they can apply at local police stations in the provinces. Third,
they can be granted nationality at a cabinet resolution and fourth they can
receive the nationality at the interior minister's order.
Pol Lt-Gen Pas said it was possible Li had sought citizenship from a local
police station so they Special Branch Bureau could not find the information
from its files.
Li, he said, used a fake ID card since the first figure on his card was 3,
which was reserved for people given nationality at birth only.
Foreigners granted citizenship have numbers beginning with 5 and 8.
Li's record showed that he was a Thai citizen. He was born on March 1, 1955
to Thai parents, according to the record. He reported his card lost and
applied for a new one, issued on February 6, 1992, which said he lived in
Klong Chan, Bangkok. (BP)
*****************************************************
THE NATION: SUSPECT KILLED IN DRUG HAUL
March 18, 1997
Reuter
Mae Hong Son - Thailand's narcotic suppression police yesterday shot and
killed one drug trafficker, arrested another and seized 3.5 kilogrammes of
heroin close to the Burmese border, police said.
Lao Fu, 24, an ethnic Chinese, was killed during a shootout while his
colleague - identified only as Saam - was arrested.
Police said the shootout happened after the suspected traffickers discovered
undercover police posing as their customers.
Saam, who is in police custody, used to be a liaison officer for former
opium warlord Khun Sa, witnesses said. Saam was working for Khun Sa in Mae
Hong Son before the druglord surrendered to Burmese troops last year. (TN)
*****************************************************
BKK POST: PTT WARNS SELLERS OVER 'HIGH' PRICE
March 18, 1997
Boonsong Kositchotethana
Cheaper sources available - Piti
The Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) may decide against buying natural
gas from fields on the Malay-Thai continental self, and additional gas from
fields in Burma, if sellers insist on "high" prices.
PTT Gas president Piti Yimprasert said yesterday the PTT had various sources
of gas supplies to choose from and there was no need for the state oil firm
to pay the high tariff sought by the developers.
His statement came amid deadlock in negotiations between the PTT on one hand
and the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Authority (MTJA) and its production
contractors - Petronas Carigali of Malaysia and the US exploration firm
Triton Energy - on the other, for gas from block A-18.
Block A-18 is one of three lying in the 7,250-square-kilometre Joint
Development Area shared by Thailand and Malaysia. The MTJA is a Thai-Malay
government statutory body vested with the right to exploit petroleum
resources on the JDA.
Dr Piti said the PTT was not prepared to buy an additional 100-150 Mmcfd of
gas from the sister fields of Yadana now being developed in the Gulf of
Martaban by a group led by the French oil firm Total.
"If the gas prices (from Yadana's sister fields) are 15-20% cheaper than
Yadana, then we will consider buying," Dr Piti said. (BP)
*****************************************************
ASIA TIMES: MYANMAR'S TABLOIDS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS
March 18, 1997
Stephen Brookes, Asis Times
Is Koo Stark carrying the Dalai Lama's baby? Ok, I know it sounds a little
far-fetched. The British soft-porn celebrity canoodling with the spiritual
leader of Tibet's exile community? C'mon. But that's the story according to
Wun Tha Nu, one of Myanmar's most popular new tabloids, which ran the story
complete with pictures of the alleged lovebirds holding hands and beaming
into the camera.
Wun Tha Nu (Patriotism) is only one of more than a dozen different papers
hawked in the streets of Yangon these days, bringing gossip, wild rumor and
pure nonsense from around the world to the people of Myanmar. There's Hmu
Khinn (Crime News Journal), Yoke Shin (Movie News) and Hlyat Ta Pyet
(Glimpse) to name just a few. Make no mistake, this is not some Myanmar
version of samizdat. These are tabloids, pure and simple, full of the usual
stuff - celebrity scandals, dead bodies, unexplained miracles and, of
course, babes in bikinis.
Babes in bikinis? Shocking but true. Flip through Patriotism, for example,
and you'll find educational stories about archeological discoveries in
Taunggyi, as well as political articles. Here's a photo of stern-faced
Maggie Thatcher, illustrating an article about "a distinctive woman in
Myanmar who is like Thatcher, concentrating on talking about other people's
affairs and demanding fairness and rule of law and human rights".
But right under the story - whoa, check it out - a spectacular Alessandra
Rodriguez strutting her stuff in tasselled bikini, a few strategic feathers
and not much else. The story: A British fashion show for "strange dresses",
with the editors' admonition that they hope Myanmar "will not follow this
example". Sure, guys.
Turn the page and it gets juicier. There's Koo (robes, no bikini) and the
Dalai Lama, then a big shot of two naked American women who painted their
bodies like leopard skin and paraded around Tokyo to protest against furs,
or something. There's a spread on prostitution in Thailand, news about
decadent Western celebrities and a miracle-survival piece about a nice
American family that escaped after their car was crushed by a runaway truck.
But this is just warm-up to the beauty shot - a full page of Claudia
Schiffer dripping wet and sultry in (you gotta love it) a camouflage bikini.
And across the page, more swimsuit shots of what the paper calls "the
delectable dozen", from Pamela Anderson and Elle MacPherson to a
chunky-looking Princess Di - and a contest inviting readers to vote for
their favorite.
So what is this stuff doing in olive-drab, no-nonsense Myanmar? Believe it
or not, the tabloids are produced either directly or indirectly by various
government departments. Take Crime News Journal, for example. One of the
most popular, it's published by the Information Committee for Lowering the
Crime Rate and Educating the People, and runs blood-and-guts stories along
the basic theme of "crime doesn't pay".
Crime News has dead bodies splashed across most of its pages - one guy
beaten up after a poker game, another who managed to walk into a moving
train. There are "true scam" stories, like the character who told a woman he
was a judge so she'd marry him. She fell for it, but then the local cops
pegged him for a phony, so now she's suing - and "hoping to find a real
judge", according to the paper.
Then there's the spirit medium who, in a fit of possession, poured gasoline
over himself at a public performance and lit a match, promising that the
celestial beings would protect him. "Roasted!" quipped the paper.
And in international crime news, there was a full page on mega-mammarian
Anna Nicole Smith, the alleged actress and former Playboy model who married
a millionaire octogenarian a few years ago "out of true, true love", as she
avowed. No bikini, but a mug shot from the Texas police after she was busted
for drunk driving, and a shot of her kissing the old geezer before he croaked.
I asked a friend in Yangon about the papers. "It used to be much worse, or
maybe better, I don't know," he said. "They've toned down a lot. No more
bloody murder scenes, and not so many bikinis. The rule is that you can show
women in bikinis, but they have to be foreign women."
But still, these papers are out to make money for their sponsors - which
means different sections of the government are competing against each other
in the free market. And since the basic law of competition is to give people
what they want, the smarter publishers are using the time-tested formula of
celebrities, crime and babes. And to get that, they go directly to the
Western press.
The Anna Nicole Smith piece, for example, came from the American rag The
National Enquirer, and Claudia's bikini from the British tabloid The Star.
Even the Thai press (hated in official circles) is mined for material, with
articles lifted word for word from the Bangkok Post and The Nation. Whole
stories are also taken from Time and Newsweek, with the emphasis on
political scandal in the West.
Now, this creates some ideological problems which have yet to be entirely
solved, since the Western press is usually portrayed as public enemy number
one. Take a recent editorial in one of the official papers. "It is necessary
to inform the Myanmar masses of the despicable scheme of the Western nations
in using the mass media to enslave the small countries and install their
puppet governments," grumbled the writer, Mya U. "A counteroffensive against
the Western media is necessary. Personnel and technocrats working in the
mass media throughout the country are therefore urged to work relentlessly."
Moreover, he complained, some writers had been giving speeches in which they
actually entertained their audiences. "The speakers were veterans and the
audience was rolling with laughter," he wrote disapprovingly. "One thing I
noticed was their ability to make the audience laugh, but there was no
reference whatsoever to the cause to crush destructive elements."(AT)
*****************************************************
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: NEWS BRIEFS
14, March, 1997
MIC CHAIRMAN RECEIVES VICE-PRESIDENT OF TEXACO INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION
YANGON, 13 March - Member of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Deputy Prime Minister Chairman of Myanmar Investment Commission
Vice-Adrniral Maung Maung Khin received Vice-President Mr Don Hynek of
Texaco Intentional Production of the United States, Director Dr Richard N
Haythomthwaite of Premier Oil Plc of UK and Managing Director Mr Toshitsugu
Konishi of Nippon Oil Exploration Ltd of Japan at his office at 3 pm. They
discussed exploration being carried out at Yetagun Offshore Oil and Gas
Field by Texaco International Production, Premier Oil Plc and Nippon Oil
Exploration Ltd and future tasks.
___________________________________
SECRETARY-1 RECEIVES US WAR VETERANS GROUP
YANGON, 13 March - Secretary- 1 of the State Law arid Order
Restoration Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt received Mr Robert A Saltzstein
and party of OSS 101 US War Veterans Organization at Dagon Yeiktha of the
Ministry of Defence this evening. Minister for Foreign Affairs U Ohn Gyaw,
Deputy Chief of the Office of Strategic Studies Deputy Director of Defence
Services Intelligence Col Kyaw Win and Director-General of Protocol
Department Thura U Aung Htet were also present.
___________________________________
MINISTER FOR FORESTRY RECEIVES VICE-PRESIDENT OF DELTA INTERNATIONAL
YANGON, 13 March - Member of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Minister for Forestry Lt-Gen Chit Swe received Vice-President of
Delta International Mr Nasir M Al Shiha and party at International
Business Centre this evening. They discussed bilateral cooperation in
investment matters. Present also were officials of the ministry.
____________________________________
DEPUTY PREMIER AND PARTY OF THAILAND ARRIVE
YANGON, 13 March-At the invitation of Minister for Energy U Khin
Maung Thein, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry of Thailand
Mr. Korn Dabbaransi and wife and party arrived here by air this moming.
They were welcomed by Minister for Energy U Khin Maung Thein and
wife, Deputy Minister U Tin Tun, Ambassador of Thailand Mr. Poksak
Nilubol and officials of the embassy and Departments under the ministry.
The deputy premier and wife and party visited Myanmar Gems Emporium
Hall on Kaba-Aye Pagoda Road and Shwedagon Pagoda.
The delegation comprises of 68 members including the deputy premier
and minister of industry and wife.
_______________________________________
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT OF GENTING SANYEN
(MALAYSIA) SDN BHD
YANGON, 13 March - Member of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Deputy Prime Minister Chairman of Myanmar Investment Commission
Vice-Admiral Maung Maung Khin received Executive Vice-President of
Genting Sanyen (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Mr Jeffrey Chan Kam Fatt and party at
his office this morning.
They discussed investment opportunities in Myanmar to establish
natural gas power station, in Myanmar.
Present also were officials of the Office of Myanmar Investment
Commission.
*******************************
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (16 March,1997)
COTTAGE INDUSTRIES DEPT, ANITA ASIA LTD SIGN LAND LEASE AGREEMENT FOR
WOMEN'S GARMENT FACTORY
YANGON, 15 March-A signing ceremony for land lease agreement between
Cottage Industries Department and Anita Asia Ltd of Austria was held at the
Traders Hotel this morning. Director-General of Cottage Industries
Department Dr Than Htaik and Director Mr Volker F J Binder signed the
contract. Under the contract, Anita Asia Ltd will build women's garment
factory with cent per cent investment of US $ 1 million. The factory will
be built in eight months and it will produce brassieres and pants for export.
********************************
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (17 March, 1997 )
SECRETARY-1 RECEIVES OFFICIALS OF SAUDI ARABIA DELTA INTERNATIONAL
YANGON, 16 March Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt received Vice-President of Saudi Arabia Delta
International Mr Nasir M Al Shiha and Myanmar Project Manager Vice-President
Mr Paul L Blanton Faia and party at Dagon Yeiktha of the Ministry of Defence
this morning.
________________________________________
TRANSTEL TV GROUP OF GERMANY TO FEATURE MYANMAR JADE
YANGON, 16 March - Minister for Hotels and Tourism Lt-Gen Kyaw Ba
received Director Mr George Peter Muller of Transtel Group of Germany at his
office this morning. Present together with Mr Muller were Mr Jan Kerart and
U Hsu Tin in charge of management for Myanmar.
Transtel TV plans to feature Myanmar jade, including imperial jade,
in a teleplay 'Jade Road'.
__________________________________
MYANMAR TRADE DELEGATION LEAVES FOR INDONESIA, VIETNAM
YANGON, 16 March-A seven-member Myanmar delegation led by Minister for
Commerce Lt-Gen Tun Kyi left here this morning by air for Indonesia and
Vietnam at the invitation of Minister for Industry and Trade of the
Republic of Indonesia Mr Tungki Ariwibowo and Minister for Trade of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam Mr Le Van Triet. The Myanmar delegation was
seen off by Minister for Forestry Lt-Gen Chit Swe, Minister for
Communications, Posts and Telegraphs U Soe Tha, Ambassador of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam Mr Tran Viet Tan, officials of the Indonesian Embassy
and Singaporean Embassy, Adviser to the Ministry of Commerce, the
directors-general and the managing directors and officials at Yangon
International Airport.
***************************************
THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (18 March, 1997 )
MYANMAR PORT AUTHORITY, SAHAVIRIYA GROUP SIGN MOU FOR DEVELOPMENT OF
DEEP-SEA PORT IN BOKPYIN AREA
YANGON, 18 March Myanma Port Authority and Sahaviriya Group
Corporation Limited of Thailand today signed a memorandum of
understanding for development of deep-sea port in Bokpyin Area,
Taninthayi Division.
Managing Director of Myanma Port Authority U Tin Oo and Chairman of
Sahaviriya Group Corp Ltd Dr Suthee Singha-Saneh signed the MoU and
excbanged documents.
The MoU signing ceremony is to officially acknowledge the proposal of
Sahaviriya Group Corp Ltd to execute the pre-feasibility study of the
project namely Golden Gateways Projects for development of two sea
ports, in Bagn Saphan on the Gulf of Thailand.which svill become the
Eastern Gateway and the other in Bokpyin area beside the Andaman Sea
which will become the Western Gateway.
These two sea ports after connection by a land bridge consisting of a
highway, a railway and natural gas pipelines will open up an ideal
avenue for commerce between the Middle East and Europe on one hand and
Far East and the America on the other.
The study is planned to finalize within six months from the date of
signing of the MoU and if it proves to be feasible, Sahaviriya Group will
build and operate the project under BOT system.
__________________________________
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES CHAIRMAN OF SAHAVIRIYA GROUP
YANGON, 17 March Member of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Deputy Prime Minister Chairman of Myanmar Investment
Commission Vice-Admiral Maung Maung Khin received Chairman of
Sahaviriya Group Dr Suthee Singha Saneh and party from Thailand at
his office this evening.
They discussed construction of road in Bokpyin region, establishment
of industrial zone, development of deep sea port and investment
opportunities.
____________________________________
PRESIDENT OF HINRICH FELDMEYER GMBH OF GERMANY CALLS ON MINISTER FOR
FORESTRY
YANGON, 17 March - President Dr Hinrich L Stoll of Hinrich Feldmeyer
GmbH of Germany called on Minister for Forestry Lt-Gen Chit Swe at the
International Business Centre this afternoon.
Nine districts greening projects, Teak Centre on Asia and the Pacific,
holding of workshops, forest conservation in Myanmar and cooperation with
non-governmental organizatiolns were discussed.
Dr Hinrich L Stoll presented K 300,000 for nine district greening
projects.
____________________________________
BRUNEI DARUSSALEM EMBASSY OPENS
YANGON, 17 March-A ceremony to mark commencement of functions of Brunei
Darussalem Embassy was held at Sedona Hotel- this evening.
The ceremony was attended by Minister for Foreign Affairs U Ohn Gyaw,
Deputy Minister U Nyunt Swe, the directors-general of the Ministry, Dean of
Diplomatic Corps Ambassador, of the Russian Federation Mr Valeri Nazarov
Ambassadors of the ASEAN Countries and representatives of Brunei Investment
Agency and Royal Brunei Airlines.
Charge d' Affaires ai of the Embassy-Mr Haini Bin Hj Hashim called
on Minister for Foreign Affairs U Ohn Gyaw on 27 February 1997 and
presented credentials to the minister.
Office of the Brunei Darussalem Embassy has been opened
temporarily at the hotel.
_____________________________________
REMAINING MEMBERS OF MTA EXCHANGE ARMS FOR PEACE
YANGON, 17 March- The State Law and Order Restoration Council
Tatmadaw government is endeavouring for emergence of a peaceful, modern
developed nation and an enduring State Constitution after laying down 12
political, economic and social objectives while all national races are
safeguarding the State with Union spirit. Remaining members of MTA which had
been led by U Khun Sa, after realizing the correct efforts and goodwill of
the State, have been exchanging arms for peace since 5 January 1996.
Altogether 42 members led by company commander U Kya Yaw of
MTA bringing in three carbines, one M-22, two walkie talkie, launchers,
all sorts of mines and ammunition came to regional battalion in Tachilek an
5 March.
A ceremony to exchange arms for peace was held at the station hall in
Tachilek on 8 March.
A total of 14,606 members of MTA bringing in 8,895 arms and mines,
grenades, other ammunition and communication equipment has exchanged
arms for peace since 5 January 1996.
Remaining MTA members will be coming in.
_____________________________________
http://www.myanmar.com/nlm/
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DBSO (MID-WEST, USA): CONFERENCE
March 18, 1997
Ye Myint
Doctoral Program
Southeast Asian Politics
Northern Illinois University
SECOND PLENARY CONFERENCE
DEMOCRATIC BURMESE STUDENTS' ORGANIZATION (DBSO) - MID-WEST ZONE
=====================================================
(Reported by Ye Myint <NIU>)
The Second Plenary Conference of the DBSO (Mid-West Zone) was successfully
held at Indiana Purdue (Fort Wayne) Campus. The conference took two days -
March 15 and March 16, 1997 - and was aimed at rejuvenating the
organization's structural principles and finding new strategies and tactics
for its political objectives. All the discussions at the
conference basically point to a common interest that the organization's
structural patterns and functional set-ups must contribute to its unity and
successful implementation of its goals.
In that direction, participating students at the conference
enthusiastically put forward innovative ideas, looking at issues raised at
the conference from every possible perspective . A draft constitution for
the DBSO (Mid-West) was thoroughly discussed at length by almost all the
participants.
According to this constitutional document, five zone secretaries and 21
zone committee members were elected.
(III) As agreed upon the principle of collective leadership which is most
appropriate for the present circumstances, the conference formed "five
committees": Finance Committee, International Relations Committee,
Propaganda and Organizing Committee, Educational Committee and News and
Information Committee.
(IV) A research department is formed to handle the "Future Burma" project.
(V) Three political objectives were adopted:
- To annihilate the military dictatorship;
- To end the civil war; and
- To establish a genuine democratic system in the country.
(VI) Four major tasks are designated for the DBSO to be implemented in the
near future.
- (1) To prepare for the Second Conference of the DBSO (USA) which will be
attended by all the student representatives from every part of the United
States;
- (2) To draw the DBSO (USA) Constitution Draft;
- (3) To join hand in hand with all the 8-8-88 generation organizations;
and
- (4) To prepare for implementing more objectives as will be adopted by the
conference.
*********************************
DBP: DAW AUNG SAN SU KYI'S SPEECH IN MARCH 16TH PROGRAM
March 18, 1997
The March 16 program of the Democratic Burmese Radio originally on 2NBC
in Australia, is now available for real-time playback via RealAudio
from BurmaSong at
<http://users.imagiware.com/wtongue>
This is a Burmese-language program featuring Burma news, views, Daw Aung San
Su Kyi's speech and music of Burma presented by Burmese now living in
Australia. It will be appreciated any suggestion about program ,
Please sends E-mail to (ausgeo@xxxxxxx ).
*****************************