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The BurmaNet News, March 28, 1997
- Subject: The BurmaNet News, March 28, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 21:39:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: March 28, 1997
Issue #678
Noted in Passing:
?Sometimes we have to deal with repulsive regimes. We have to weigh up
whether the conservation benefit is worth the risk of being seen, directly
or indirectly, to be supporting those regimes.?
Robert Pellew,WWF-UK director (Observer:Burma?s Junta Goes Green)
HEADLINES:
==========
REUTER: MOSLEMS ATTACKED ON EVE OF MILITARY DAY
FBC: BURMESE JUNTA PLAY A HAND IN RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
BBC:ISLAMIC LEADER-MOSQUE ATTACKS 'POLITICAL?
THE OBSERVER:BURMA'S JUNTA GOES GREEN
BKK POST: A LETTER TO CHETTHA
THE NATION: JUNTA URGED TO FREE FISHERMEN
THE NATION: QANTAS, BA EYEING AN EASED UP BURMA
THE NATION: GREEN LIGHT FOR PIPELINE, A RED LIGHT
BKK POST: WELCOME TO THE RANGOON CLUB
BKK POST: JUNTA DENIES HARBOURING DRUG SUSPECT
THAILAND TIMES: MAE HONG SON POLICE ARREST 3 BURMESE
ANNOUNCEMENT: MIDWEST GRASSROOTS CONFERENCE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
REUTER: MOSLEMS ATTACKED ON EVE OF MILITARY DAY
March 26, 1997
RANGOON, March 26 (Reuter) - Several isolated incidents of vandalism
against Moslem property were reported around Rangoon on Wednesday, as
religious tension simmered on the eve of a key Burmese military celebration,
diplomats said on Wednesday.
``They are small scale, sporadic incidents,'' said one diplomat. ``It is
simmering...just pops up in various places. But it's not like wide scale
unrest.''
Security remained heavy in the capital as growing numbers of armed
troops manned checkpoints and stood guard at various key religious and
military sites ahead of Armed Forces Day on Thursday, witnesses said.
One diplomat said he had confirmed reports that three houses belonging
to Moslems in a Rangoon suburb had been vandalised, and monks were reported
to have thrown stones at a mosque and a teashop in another Moslem district
in the Rangoon area.
Diplomats said the military feared possible terrorist attacks by ethnic
insurgents who might take advantage of the fact that all top military brass
would be in the capital at one time for the celebrations.
Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose house has been blocked off
to the public by the military government for months, also announced plans to
hold an alternative celebration on Thursday at her residence for up to 1,500
invited guests.
Diplomats and opposition sources said they doubted the government would
allow the celebration to take place at Suu Kyi's house, which doubles as
headquarters for her National League for Democracy (NLD).
``So far everything is going smoothly,'' one senior NLD official told
Reuters. ``But we don't know what will happen tomorrow. We have invited
about 1,400 to 1,500 NLD members and supporters, and press and embassies
have also been invited.''
The last event held at Suu Kyi's house -- which served as her prison
during six years of house arrest -- was in honour of Union Day in February,
when she called for talks between the government, ethnic groups and
pro-democracy forces to try to build national reconciliation.
Government officials were not immediately available to comment on the
NLD's celebration or on latest reports of vandalism of Moslem property by
Buddhist monks.
There were also reports of unrest at a Buddhist monastery where monks
were said to have thrown bricks and stones at riot police standing guard
outside.
The religious troubles began about 11 days ago in Burma's second city
Mandalay after Buddhist monks attacked several mosques and protested in the
streets.
The government says the unrest began following reports that a Buddhist
girl had been molested by a Moslem. But other sources said it was sparked by
reports that an important Buddha image in Mandalay had been damaged.
The government said on Tuesday the attacks were politically motivated by
elements bent on destabilising the nation.
***********************************
FBC: BURMESE JUNTA PLAY A HAND IN BUDDHISTS-MUSLIMS RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
March 27, 1997 (rec?d)
The Free Burma Coalition
C/O Department of Curriculum and Instruction
225 North Mills Street
Madison, WI 53706
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Win Ko (310) 202-9112 (Los Angeles)
Zarni (608)-827-7734 (Madison)
Madison, WI: The Free Burma Coalition (FBC) is saddened by the news of the
recent religious conflict between Buddhist monks and Burmese Muslims. On
March 15, a rumor that a Buddhist girl was raped by a Muslim man sparked the
unrest in Mandalay and later spread to other cities and town. Curfew has
been in place in a number of cities including the central city of Mandalay.
Many people were said to have been injured and even deaths of some monks
were reported. In Mandalay alone, eighteen mosques were destroyed and many
Muslim-owned businesses, properties, and residences were vandalized.
Historically, there is a prejudice among the majority Buddhists against the
Muslim population who make up about 5 percent of Burma's population.
However, the tension between the two religious communities in Burma was
never such as to cause the unrest of this magnitude. The FBC Coalition has
confirmed reports that Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) is involved in causing this unrest. The trucks from SLORC's
Municipal Departments were used in order to transport monks to various
predominantly Muslim residential places where there were mosques and
Muslim-owned businesses and properties. Some of the monks were believed to
be SLORC agents in disguise.
The Burmese military leaders have had a long history of exploiting religious
and communal prejudices to divert people's attention from the deeper
economic and political problems. In 1967, when the rice shortages reached a
crisis level, the military government, then known as Revolutionary Council
Government, orchestrated anti-Chinese riots using agent provocateurs having
exploited anti-Communist China sentiment among the majority Burmese
population. A few years ago, the SLORC infiltrated the Karen National Union
(KNU) and exploited the Christian-Buddhist tension within the KNU to its
advantage. Later when a Buddhist faction of the KNU split away from the
main KNU, the SLORC openly supported the Buddhist faction with arms.
The FBC strongly condemns the SLORC's policy of "DIVIDE, DESTROY, AND RULE"
and appeals to both Muslim and Buddhist communities to refrain from further
violence. Furthermore, the FBC urges these communities not to fall prey to
the SLORC's despicable tricks designed to divert the people's attention from
the country's real economic and political crises.
Win Ko, a FBC coordinator and Burmese muslim student in Los Angeles, said,"
We, as Burmese muslim community in Burma, have played an important role in
our country's political, economic, and cultural affairs." He said," U
Razak, a Burmese muslim from Mandalay, was assassinated along with U Aung
San and considered a founding father of Burma. I wish both sides recognize
that the SLORC is the Public Enemy and not us, the Burmese Muslim."
According to the FBC founder, Zarni, a Burmese graduate student at
University of Wisconsin at Madison, the latest unrests indicate the brewing
political and economic crises and the inability of the SLORC leadership to
finish the so-called economic liberalization. The SLORC has opened up the
country for foreign investment while not loosening its hold on political
power for nearly a decade. "I think the public dissatisfaction with the
SLORC's incompetence, misrule, and mismanagement of the country is nearing
an all time high. And another major revolt may be brewing." said Zarni.
"This political climate is not even in the short-term interest of foreign
investors," added he.
******************************************
BBC LONDON: ISLAMIC LEADER SEES MOSQUE ATTACKS AS 'POLITICAL DIVERSION'
(translated from Burmese)
March 24, 1997
The BBC contacted Ahad U Thein, chairman of Islamic Council
Headquarters in Rangoon to ask about unrest in Burma involving members of
the Islamic faith and Buddhist monks. I asked Chairman Ahad U Thein about
the cause of unrest. Ahad U Thein answered as follows:
[Begin recording] [Ahad U Thein] One cause was cited. That was in
connection with an incident two weeks ago. It was quite a normal charge.
The charge involving a woman was discussed with the authorities and the
ward council concerned and the matter was pretty much settled. Frankly
speaking, this does not really make sense. However, there are groups who
are using this as a political diversion [two preceding word rendered in
English] to divert [preceding word given in English] from the problem.
For instance, there is a problem and there is likely to be a diversion
[preceding word given in English], and there may be diversions from many
directions. It will be another direction also [preceding 10 words rendered
in English].
As we understand it, it is something linked with a political diversion
[preceding eight words rendered in English]. We presume there are certain
instigations, including political instigations. Those behind these
instigations are possibly aiming at creating religious antagonism among
fraternal national people. So, we need to act with restraint to prevent
such a development.
[Unidentified BBC correspondent] Mr. chairman you implied possible
instigations in this issue. Can you describe in detail who is possibly
involved, what kind of evidence do you have to make such a statement.
[Ahad U Thein] We will have to review the incident in Mandalay in
connection with this issue. The incident [attack on mosque] in Mandalay
took place on 16 March. When we reviewed all the events the situation
became clearer. The majority of the general public did not participate.
We concluded that only a very small group took a leading role in creating
the crisis. I think this group is not very big because the majority of the
public did not join. Initially it was thought that the security for mosques
was not strong enough, but there is more security now and as security
improves there is more law and order. We can say it is quite peaceful now.
The situation in Mandalay is now under control
It spread from Mandalay to Rangoon with a few incidents taking place
in Rangoon. According to the latest developments, incidents were reported
in Pakokku and Pegu today. They are just minor incidents.
Such incidents are likely to take place when there are instigations
aimed at creating a crisis. However, we are quite optimistic [preceding
four words rendered in English] that peace will soon prevail.
To enable members of the Islamic faith to handle this issue patiently,
four Islamic organizations met repeatedly and coordinated efforts to
provide security, protection, and maintenance to mosques. These
organizations will also consult government organizations, when necessary,
and will consult among themselves as well. The main issue is to overcome
and gain control over the current situation. [end recording]
*********************************
THE OBSERVER:BURMA'S JUNTA GOES GREEN
March 23, 1997
Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark in Burma and David Harrison
SAVE THE RHINO, KILL THE PEOPLE
Rangoon wants a nature reserve. So do conservationists. But first they
have to get rid of the villagers. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark in
Burma and David Harrison report.
We found them deep in the Burmese jungle, east of the Tenasserim river.
About 2,000 of them, hungry, exhausted and fearing for their lives. They
have no money, no change of clothes and they eat what food they find. They
sleep under palm leaves propped teepee-style against the trees. A sickly
child is crying. An old woman sobs endlessly. Saw Lyi, 56, holds out his
hands: 'We do not know what to do. We do not know what will happen to us.'
Saw Lyi knows he will not be going home. He and thousands of the Karen
ethnic group, a gentle, cultured and religious people, have been driven out
of their homes by the Burmese army. He also knows that in a strange way he
is lucky, because he made it to the jungle, starving and homeless but alive.
Hundreds of people, including Saw's son, a father of six, have been
murdered in the two months since the army launched its offensive to crush
the Karen, according to human rights groups which base their evidence on
independent research, including hundreds of eyewitness accounts. Tens of
thousands have been forced to work, unpaid and unfed, building roads and
railways, and 30,000 have fled into the jungle or across the border to Thailand.
Why? Because the Burmese army is clearing the Karen area, razing entire
villages, killing, raping, enslaving, to make way for the biggest nature
reserve of its kind in the world. Dwarfing the Masai Mara and the
Serengeti, it is home to rare flora and fauna, tigers, elephants and the
Sumatran rhinoceros. It will attract millions of tourists. Most
importantly, it will be a sign to the world that Burma, shunned because of
its appalling human rights record, cares about endangered wildlife and the
environment.
All the Rangoon government needed was a few major international
conservation organizations to turn a blind eye to atrocities committed
against an irksome ethnic minority. It got them from the top drawer of
wildlife protection: the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society and
the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. It also claimed to have 'an open
channel of communication' with the Worldwide Fund for Nature International,
whose patron is Prince Philip.
The junta running Burma was thrilled - as we discovered when, after our
dispiriting trek into the jungle, we made for Rangoon to see if a Minister
would talk about the project and the role of those conservation giants. The
two-storey Forestry Ministry squats at the end of a long tree-lined road in
the Burmese capital. It is part of a complex of Ministries run by the State
law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and a stone's throw from the home
of Burma's most famous dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi who is under virtual
house arrest.
Security is tight, more so since a bomb exploded in Rangoon three months
ago. The Ministry was surrounded by barbed wire and bougainvillea. A dozen
soldiers, bayonets glinting in the sun, stopped us at the first road block.
We had dressed in khaki and boots to add plausibility to our guise as
environmental researchers from a British University, but we had no
appointment, no letter of introduction.
The soldiers were suspicious but sent us on to the next roadblock to put
our case to the military intelligence officers, sinister figures in pale
blue uniforms and reflector sunglasses. But they seemed to buy our story
and we were ushered into a spartan office where two senior Ministry figures
received us with a mixture of scepticism and delight that respectable
British scientists were interested in their 'big idea'.
One introduced himself as Ye Myint, adviser to the Forestry Minister.
Eager to impress, he boasted of SLORC's plans to establish a 'unique'
million hectare 'biosphere', the Myinmoletkat Nature Reserve, in the Karen
area, one of the semi-independent regions set up just before Britain pulled
out of Burma in 1948. 'We hope the reserve will win world heritage status,'
he enthused.
The reserve would also encompass a section of a gas pipeline being
constructed by Total and Unocal, the French and American oil companies,
which signed deals with the Burmese to pump gas from the Andaman Sea in the
west to Thailand in the east. Human rights groups say forced labour is
being used on the project.
Ye Myint told us of another 'exciting' project, the Lanbi Island Marine
National Park, off the southern Burmese coast. Coral islands would be
transformed into an 'eco-tourism venture' in the first stage of a grand plan
to open the entire 200 mile Mergui archipelago to mass tourism and
scientific study.
His colleague Aung Din, a senior policy adviser, described how
international environmentalists were lending the SLORC their expertise and
reputations. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Smithsonian
Institution were helping to run both projects, he said. Other organizations
were also involved. 'We have a very close relationship with Worldwide Fund
International,' said Aung Din.
He showed us a programme from a WWF conference in Rangoon last month.
Delegates at the Asian Elephants Specialist Group's seven-day conference
included WWF representatives and the curator of Chester Zoo. WWF-UK, the
organization's British section, contributed £2,000 towards the cost.
As we left, Dr Alan Rabinowitz, a senior scientist from the WCS, arrived to
meet the same officials. We were told Rabinowitz had established a
management committee for the Lanbi Island project and along with other
scientists from the Smithsonian, was also running training programmes and
conducting wildlife surveys. Rabinowitz was there to update officials and
finalize plans for an expedition to upper Burma last week, part of a
worldwide research and conservation programme which has taken the New York
based WCS to 52 countries.
The WCS and the Smithsonian are the first non-governmental groups to have
worked with the SLORC since the Rangoon massacres of 1988, when 3,000
demonstrators were killed by police and troops during riots which led to the
ousting of President Sein Lwin.
Later that day we talked to other officials, Aung Than, director of
forestry for the Tenasserim Division, spoke of the Ministry's 'open channel
of communication with the WWF'. He said the WWF had discussed the new
nature reserves with the SLORC, encouraged Burma to become a member of the
Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species, and made an
'exploratory mission' to Burma.
When we asked if we could visit the new sites to conduct an audit of the
rare and endangered species we were told; 'I'm afraid that will not be
possible at the moment. You must be aware we have problems in this area.
There is a large security operation going on. Mopping up must finish before
anything else can begin.'
Mopping up. That chilling phrase appears frequently in Burma's
state-controlled press. It refers to the forced removal of 'troublesome
elements'. That includes members of the Karen ethnic minority who object to
their homes being torched and their families killed or forced to flee to the
jungle.
This contempt for human life was not evident last September at the launch
ceremony for the Myinmoletkat Nature Reserve, held in Rangoon. Dr Kyaw
Tint, Director-General of Forestry, assured guests that the welfare of local
inhabitants would be paramount. Not only would rare species be protected
but the lives of the rural poor would be improved.
Three months later soldiers of the Tatmadaw, the SLORC's military wing,
arrived at Saw Lyi's paddy fields at his village north of Mergui. The 56
year old grandfather was marched to a makeshift football field with the
other villagers and told to leave within 24 hours or be shot.
Overnight he lost his home and his livelihood. The SLORC needed his land
for the nature reserve.
He told his story, typical of the fate of thousands, at his jungle
hideout, surrounded by his dead son's children and widow and other
despairing relatives. 'I was tied to a bamboo post with Saw Kri, my son and
hit twice in the face with a rifle butt. The soldiers punched and kicked
him for about 30 minutes until he passed out. Then they killed him with a
bayonet,' he said.
We had been smuggled into the Tenasserim Division area by members of the
Karen National Liberation Army who are resisting the SLORC slaughter. An
isolated Asian frontier-land, cut through with verdant river valleys and
wrapped in dense jungle, the Tenasserim already has wildlife sanctuaries
established by indigenous groups.
The brutal offensive began in February after troops of the newly formed
Coastal Military Command, led by Brigadier General Thura Thihathura Sit
Maung, had massed at both ends of the Division. Human rights monitors, who
have interviewed refugees fleeing from the area and visited the region
themselves say more than 2,000 have been killed, 30,000 have been evicted
from their homes and as many forced to work for the SLORC in the past 18 months.
Other victims told us their stories. Mal Thein Win was taken from his
village near the coastal town of Tavoy and sent to a labour camp where
conscripts were forced to build a railway running north to the town of Ye.
After 17 people died of malaria, three of his friends tried to escape.
They were caught, forced to dig their own graves and then executed. 'The
soldiers buried the dead bodies but left the legs and hands exposed; nobody
tried to escape after that,' he said.
In a village south of the Total pipeline, Mi Aye, 34, a mother of seven,
told how women were raped by soldiers guarding forced labour projects: 'they
raped many women, but Mi Thein, one of the girls was raped so many times she
died. She was just 18 years old.'
As well as gathering scores of first-hand accounts, the Observer was shown
order issued by the Tatmadaw to village leaders, commandeering men and women
for work. One stated: 'If you do not come this time you will be attacked
with artillery. If you do not come it will be your fault, and don't think
the army is bullying you.'
Saw Bobo told how the army fired at villagers in the southern zone of the
proposed 'biosphere' as they tried to escape from forced labour. 'I saw at
least 10 people die, women and children among them.' Almost every village
in a 40 mile stretch between the towns of Tavoy and Mergui, the western
perimeter of the biosphere, has been ordered to move one or more times since
September 1996.
One NGO report said: 'Several thousand villagers are being used every day
as forced labour. Children as young as 12, people over 60 and women still
breast-feeding are forced to haul dirt, build embankments, break rocks and
dig ditches.'
Many of the people the Observer saw in the jungle were sick and bore the
scars of recent beatings. Some told how they had been pressed into helping
the army as it attacked Karen villagers. Aung Thien, 27, said: 'The
soldiers made me go to the scene of fighting to pick up dead bodies.'
My best friend, Thon We, was killed when he refused. They tied him to a
post, knocked his teeth out with a gun butt and shot him.'
Others like Peu May, 32, were used as human shields in attacks on insurgents.
Stories have also begun to emerge of killings and disappearances on Lanbi
and other islands in the Mergui archipelago. One elder from a village near
Mergui said: 'We received reports of 140 deaths between October and
December. On Lanbi Island, we were told that many people had died.'
Western diplomats in Rangoon and human rights organisations are
investigating the reports.
A second village leader said the islanders were given a deadline to move.
They refused and were massacred. Also killed were many villagers from
Bobyin, on the mainland.
However, while inquiries into the killings and disappearances continue, the
Burmese government is selling the archipelago as a 're-emerging lost island
paradise.'
The slaughter of the innocents go on, but the conservation groups are
winning the battle with their conscience.
Josh Ginsberg, science director at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New
York said: 'We do not sanction forced relocation, torture or killings. But
we have no control over the government.
'We are in Burma because it is one of the highest biodiversity countries in
Asia. We can walk away from it, but that wouldn't do any good for anybody.
We are focused on biodiversity and conservation.'
A spokesman for the Smithsonian Institution said: 'We are there to do
important conservation work. We may disagree with a regime but it is not
our place to challenge it.'
Robin Pellew, director of WWF-UK, said WWF had done an elephant survey last
year and planned to do a 'quick and dirty' tiger survey in the future.
It had discussed the Lanbi nature reserve with Burmese officials, but had
decided not to get involved. The WWF currently had no projects in Burma and
no formal relationship with the Burmese authorities.
'Sometimes we have to deal with repulsive regimes,' he said. 'We have to
weigh up whether the conservation benefit is worth the risk of being seen,
directly or indirectly, to be supporting those regimes.'
***********************************
BKK POST: A LETTER TO CHETTHA
March 27, 1997
Non-governmental organisations from the US, Britain, Sweden and France among
others have sent notes to Army Commander Gen Chettha Thanajaro asking him to
allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help
Karen refugees along the border with Burma.
"The army commander was quite surprised at receiving so many letters from
NGOs. It might be part of a concerted effort by the Karen National Union
(KNU), which is trying hard to get a UN presence in the border area," said
one security official.
Last Saturday, the Karen Refugee Committee issued a statement "requesting
the Royal Thai Government to permit the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees to perform its mandated role in the protection of refugee rights
and security and to continue to extend refuge as before to the Karen
civilians who have been forced to seek refuge in the border area of Thailand".
The security official said copies of the letters from the NGOs were also
sent to several security agencies in the hope they might be able to exert
pressure on the government to yield to the committee's request.
An army insider said Gen Chettha did not pay much attention to the letters
and the request from Karen committee as he thought the UNHCR would only
complicate border problems.
"It is not the army but the government that initiates such policies," said
the insider, adding that the request from the Karen could indicate the KNU
wanted to make its fight with Rangoon an international issue.
"We should not fall into such a trap as it would inevitably cause a lot of
border tension. We could lose our sovereignty if we allowed the UNHCR to
work along the border. This would further complicate the situation," said
the officer. (BP)
*************************************************
THE NATION: JUNTA URGED TO FREE FISHERMEN
March 27, 1997
The Nation
Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro said Thailand has asked
Burma's military junta to free the remaining 280 Thai fishermen imprisoned
in Rangoon for illegal fishing.
According to Chettha, he submitted requests to Burmese military chief Gen
Maung Aye during their recent meetings in Tachilek and Myawaddy.
Chettha said he had asked Rangoon to send back 50 Thai fishermen at each
meeting.
"We need to be careful, since we have asked [Burma] for help many times.
But I think there will be no difficulty in such negotiations," he added.
Chettha was referring to his negotiations with Maung Aye that led to the
resumption of the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge, long suspended because of
Burmese allegations that Thai villagers had intruded on the Moei River.
Chettha labelled Thai fishermen "selfish" for intruding into Burmese
territorial waters, and warned them to refrain from doing so again.
"Right now, Thai fishing trawlers do not even fly Thai flags while in
Burmese waters, because we have violated their waters so many times," he said.
Meanwhile, Chettha yesterday condemned a Karen National Union plea for the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to intervene in the
handling of Karen refugees taking shelter in Thailand.
Chettha said Thailand could handle the situation, contending that the Karen
hold no refugee status, but are rather "people fleeing fighting". The UNHCR
mandate covers only those with refugee status.
"Any decision about how we handle the refugees is domestic. We prefer the
right to deny such a request," he said. (TN)
*******************************************************
THE NATION: QANTAS, BA EYEING AN EASED UP BURMA
March 27, 1997
Jim Puntasen
THAILAND is expected to become an increasingly important hub for
international flights to the region when Burmese authorities loosen
regulations, Nick Moore, the manager supervising both Qantas and British
Airways in Thailand, says.
Burmese destinations are now under ''specific" study by the management of
the two airlines, and British Airways will likely become the first to offer
a stopover in Rangoon for more than one route.
Vietnam already offers a significant number of destinations for Qantas. In
the future, British Airways will also fly there, not only to Hanoi and Ho
Chi Minh, but other cities as well.
Meanwhile, the return of Hong Kong to mainland China is not expected to
affect the British Airways operation, according to Moore, due to a long
relationship between the airline and local authorities.
This year, British Airways and Qantas will seek to operate more flights to
China, particularly Beijing and Shanghai.
Currently, British Airways owns 25 per cent of Qantas and has no plans to
sell its stake in the Australian airline.
''Thailand is becoming more and more important to us and despite the
economic slowdown, a large number of Thais still travel overseas for
business, holidays and study," Moore said.
This year, British Airways will promote business packages to Europe and
will also coordinate with United Airlines to offer major American
destinations. (TN)
*******************************************************
THE NATION: GREEN LIGHT FOR PIPELINE, A RED LIGHT FOR ENVIRONMENT
March 27, 1997
Editorial
The National Environment Board (NEB) on Monday approved the environmental
impact assessment (EIA) on the controversial gas pipeline project which runs
along the Burmese-Thai border. This action has brought the NEB into disgrace.
The unprofessional and unethical decision made the agency little more than
a rubber stamp for government projects.
The Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), the project owner, knew in
advance that NEB would give the OK to the pipeline's construction by
approving the environmental studies. PTT signed a contract with a German
construction firm earlier this month but told the contractor not to start
work before Monday to prevent criticism from concerned groups.
A question immediately emerges: Are we once again being deceived by our
government agencies? Look at the 20,000 villagers who are protesting in
front of Government House. Aren't they the result of mistakes made by past
governments who approved infrastructure projects without addressing social
and environmental concerns?
This time, the EIA approval did not come as a total surprise. After all,
the NEB chairman is Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, while his Cabinet
members serve as board members. Hence, the decision from the environmental
board was made by the very people who endorsed the project.
Going over NEB's two-decade history, we can see that the board has never
stood up against government and industry forces which have always pushed
''development" projects regardless of the amount of damage they could bring
to society and the environment.
However, environment and human rights groups have said that they were
shocked by the NEB's sudden decision. Only a few weeks ago, the Office of
Environment Policy and Planning, which did the first reading for the NEB,
twice rejected the project's EIA on the grounds that it did not contain
sufficient information on the pipeline's possible effect on endangered
wildlife.
A biologist from the Wildlife Fund Thailand commented that, according to
international EIA principles, PTT should have spent at least another year
studying life cycles of various species to determine the possible impact to
the ecology.
But PTT cannot wait. Not because Thailand is in a dire need of natural gas
from Burma to feed our power plants, but because it is forced by a contract
with Burma to import gas by July 1998 or face a fine of Bt100 million a day
to the Yadana gas field development consortium in Burma should purchase be
delayed.
In short, Thailand is being made to abuse its own environment and people
for the Burmese military junta, which is infamous for abusing the rights of
their own people and destroying their forests. Unlike Thailand, the pipeline
construction on the Burma side is on a fast track because of suppression of
the environmental movement and an operation to sweep away ethnic rebel
groups from the border.
A NEB board member admitted that the go-ahead to the pipeline project had
to be given due to a bilateral deal between Bangkok and Rangoon. Besides,
construction of the other two projects in the same package the power plant
in Rachaburi and the pipeline on the Burmese side are almost complete.
But the Thai government should not underestimate the environmental movement
in this country simply because it does business with Burmese military
dictators. Residents of Kanchanaburi province, who managed to stop the Nam
Choan Dam project a decade ago, pledged to fight the pipeline project for
the same reason they once opposed the dam to prevent massive destruction
of pristine forests and wildlife.
There is an urgent need for the NEB to have a structural reform, as well as
review its decision about the pipeline project. Concerned citizens, like
those in Kanchanaburi and independent economic and environmental experts,
must have a voice on the board if the NEB is to play a significant role in
the country's economically viable and environmentally sound investments. (TN)
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BKK POST: WELCOME TO THE RANGOON CLUB
March 27, 1997
Editorial
The presence of Li Yun-chung in Burma is a further indication of the ruling
junta's questionable attitude to international drug traffickers. Rangoon
apologists in Asean might do well to temper their enthusiasm for admitting
an illegitimate government that defies international efforts against narcotics.
Sightings in Rangoon of Li Yun-chung, the international narcotics suspect
who jumped bail in Bangkok in February, raise the prospect of a crucial test
of Burma's commitment to global efforts to combat the menace of drugs and of
its sense of responsibility to its neighbour to the east. LI is a fugitive
from justice in Thailand, where he violated bail conditions set by the
Criminal Court, and in the United States, where he has been indicted on
charges of importing 486kg of heroin.
The disappearance of Li during consideration of a request by the United
States for his extradition has been nothing short of a national
embarrassment that has left a stain on Thailand's otherwise outstanding
contribution to international efforts to stem the production and movement of
narcotics by organised crime syndicates that know no borders and respect no
laws. Once Li's presence in Rangoon is confirmed, Thailand will make the
necessary representations to bring about his return but officials here had
better not hold their breath.
The record of the State Law and Order Restoration Council in harbouring
drug barons and traffickers is appalling. Li will, after all, feel quite at
home in the Burmese capital, where his neighbours include Khun Sa, the
former leader of the Mong Tai Army, and Lo Hsing-han, both of whom are also
on the international wanted list. Every year is Visit Myanmar Year, it
seems, if you happen to be an international narcotics fugitive with
sufficient assets to impress the generals who have turned Burma into an
economic basket case.
The arrival of the latest recruit to the small and exclusive club of
international gangsters who have ploughed their drug profits into what pass
for legitimate businesses lends weight to growing concerns that what Sicily
is to Europe, so Rangoon may become to Southeast Asia. Indeed, hospitality
shown by Slorc to the likes of Li Yun-chung, Lo Hsing-han and Khun Sa raises
critical questions about Burma's attitude to organised crime in general and
narcotics in particular.
Thailand's border with Burma has always been porous to movements of people,
arms, drugs and run of the mill contraband, but today there is
controvertible evidence that much of the supply of amphetamines that is
frying the brains of so many young Thais originates in Burma, in territory
taken from minority groups by Slorc forces.
Senior figures in our government have gone to great lengths to portray
themselves as champions in the battle against amphetamines but their efforts
are likely to be undermined by the presence of laboratories on nearby
foreign territory controlled by a regime that likes to make international
traffickers feel at home. It is Slorc's fondness for fugitives that should
induce Slorc apologists in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to
wake up to the concept that a man can be judged by the company he keeps.
In the context of Burma, the apologists have found it convenient to dismiss
appalling human rights violations as an internal matter even though Slorc's
actions send thousands of refugees fleeing across its borders.
They might find it altogether more difficult to dismiss Slorc's connections
with international traffickers in the same manner, particularly since that
country remains the world's number one heroin exporter and meets much of the
demand for amphetamines in Thailand. (BP)
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BKK POST: JUNTA DENIES HARBOURING DRUG SUSPECT
March 27, 1997
AP
Burma's military government yesterday ridiculed reports that it was
sheltering an alleged drug trafficker wanted in connection with the largest
shipment of heroin seized in the United States.
Li Yun-chung, also known as Phongsak Rojanasakul, was released on
five-million-baht bail on February 7 while awaiting extradition to the
United States on charges of masterminding a shipment of 486 kilos of heroin
seized in Hayward, California in 1991.
The judge who released him is being investigated for judicial malfeasance
and possible corruption.
Li never showed up for his March 7 court date, and police said they had
information he had already fled to Burma, although some other reports placed
him in northeastern Thailand. (BP)
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THAILAND TIMES: MAE HONG SON POLICE ARREST 3 BURMESE SOLDIERS
March 25, 1997
Report by Khachon Bunphiphat
Mae Hong Son: Three Burmese soldiers were arrested by Mae Hong Son
police on Sunday while trying to enter Thailand, according to Mork Champae
sub-district police.
Police said the three Burmese soldiers who carried hand grenades had
tried to enter Thailand because they could not stand the starvation in the
military camp.
The three soldiers, arrested at Ban Napapapack village in Maung
district, were identified as Min Soe, 16; Aung Kyaw Min, 18; and Aung
Hnaing Win, 19. They were of the Burmese 99th battalion stationed near the
Thai-Burmese border opposite Mork Chapae sub- district in Mae Hong Son.
They told the police that Burmese troops stationed along the border
are facing food and weapons shortage. The food sent by the central
government from the nearby city could not reach them because of assaults by
minority groups.
Meanwhile, deputy Mae Hong Son Police chief Pol-Col Boonmi Suksom said
police officers and Pang Ma Par district officials are trying to help six
Thai villagers who were earlier held hostage by Burmese soldiers. No
progress was reported on the negotiations.
Boonmi said Burmese soldiers have proposed that they will release the
six Thai villagers whenever Thai officials would let them transport the
seized food and construction materials through the border pass at Piang
Luang village.
The goods were seized from the Burmese by Thai authorities about a
week before the six villagers were arrested. The Thai soldiers refused the
passage of goods as they were military products. It is reported that the
six villagers are safe.
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ANNOUNCEMENT: MIDWEST GRASSROOTS CONFERENCE
March 23, 1997
Midwest Human Rights & Environmental Conference Indianapolis, April , 5-6,
Butler University & Queen Of Sheba , Ethiopian Restaurant
ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:
THE ROLE OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS
WHEN: APRIL 5-6, 1997
WHERE: INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
Christian Theological Seminary, 8am-3pm Saturday April 5
Butler University, Reilly Room, 6pm Saturday April 5
Roundtable Feast!: Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant, 11am Sunday April 6
WHO: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS WORKING TOWARD A
GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA, BURMA, COLUMBIA, EAST TIMOR,
MEXICO & THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
** PRESENTED BY **
* THE FREE BURMA COALITION http://wicip.org/fbc
* AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
* SIERRA CLUB
*FREE NIGERIA MOVEMENT
*SPEAKOUT
*GLOBAL EXCHANGE
*FOOD NOT BOMBS
Saturday night's keynote address, Reilly Room, Butler University, 6pm
*DR. OWENS WIWA Nigerian physician, brother of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and
MOSOP activist, Toronto, CANADA
Saturday's workshops panelists:
*YUZANA KHIN Women's Representative, National League for Democracy
(Liberated Area) Burma, Baltimore, MD
*DR OWENS WIWA Nigerian physician, boycott shell oil campaign, Toronto
*EDITH BOWLES Jesuit Refugee Service on Thai-Burma border, Bloomington, IN
*HAFSAT ABIOLA Nigerian Human rights Activist, Washington, DC
*TIM KEATING Executive Director of Rainforest Relief, Brooklyn, NY
*TUNDE OKORODUDU-Labor Activist, Pres. Free Nigeria Movement, Oakland, CA
*DAVID WOLFBERG- L.A. Free Burma Coalition and Dierector Rainforest Action
Network, Los Angeles, CA
*NOBLE OBANI-NWIBARI-Vice-President MOSOP, St. Louis, MO
*KIM MIZRAHI Free Burma Activist and activist in Plastics Campaign, L.A.
*MUKHTAR DAN'IYAN- Sec.-Gen. Free Nigeria Movement, Indianapolis, IN
*PAUL KAWIKA MARTIN EarthCulture Activist, Laurel, MD
*MIRA TANNA-St. Louis Support Committee for MOSOP, St. Louis, MO
*GODFREY TANEH-MOSOP Activist, St. Louis, MO
*JAMES UEBARI-MOSOP Activist, St. Louis, MO
Sunday's Roundtable Panelists:
*DAPO OLORUNYOMI-Nigerian dissent journalist, PANOS Institute, Washington,DC
*KEVIN DANAHER Co-Founder of Global Exchange, Author of <Corporations Are
Gonna Get Your Momma: Globalization and the Downsizing of the American
Dream>, San Francisco, CA
*MARTHA OJEDA, Executive Director of the Coalition
for Justice in the Maquiladoras (CJM)
*DR. JOE DREXLER-Special Projects Director:OCAW (Oil, Chemical and Atomic
Workers Union), Denver, CO
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP ORGANIZE & FUND THE CONFERENCE
please contact conference coordinator with your suggestions:
Dalia Brahmi
9040 Wickham Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46260
(317) 573-9463
email: dbrahmi@xxxxxxxxxxx
fax: (317) 274-1108
registration fee (includes housing friday-sunday, food friday-sat)
students/low-income $10
full fee $20 or donation
optional ethiopian feast sunday $10
PLEASE BRING SLEEPING BAGS, COFFEE MUGS, SPOONS & BOWLS
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