The BurmaNet News, May 20, 1997

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------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------     
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"     
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The BurmaNet News: May 20, 1997     
Issue #726
   
HEADLINES:     
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BKK POST: DRUG SUSPECT LI APPEALS FOR QUICK PASSAGE 
NATION: RANGOON TO HELP STEM TIDE OF ILLEGAL WORKERS
BKK POST: THAILAND, BURMA PLAN TO PULL BACK
BKK POST : RANGOON EXPECTS DO MUOI's VISIT SOON
NATION: QUIET TENSIONS RATTLE SINO-BURMESE RELATIONS
WASHINGTON POST: BURMA'S ARMY KEEPS ITS GRIP 
BKK POST:BURMA READY FOR WORD FROM ASEAN
BKK POST: KAREN REBEL ROB VILLAGE HEADMAN
BKK POST: DELAYS IN BUILDING YADANA PIPELINE COST PTT 
BKK POST: TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
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BKK POST: DRUG SUSPECT LI APPEALS FOR QUICK PASSAGE TO 
US
May 19, 1997
Surath Jinakul

Fears for his life in prison

Alleged drug kingpin Li Yun-chung fears for his life if sent back to jail
and has asked to be extradited quickly to the United States to face drug
trafficking charges there.

Li was flown back from Rangoon on Saturday after jumping bail in 
February. He is being held in police custody and is due to appear before the
Criminal Court today.

Narcotics Suppression Bureau commissioner Lt-Gen Noppadol 
Somboonsap said yesterday Li appealed to police chief Pracha Promnok to keep
him in police custody as he feared for his life if he is sent back to jail.
He also sought police protection for his wife and family, saying that they
might be kidnapped by people who arranged his bail.

Li was interrogated by Pol Gen Pracha for 20 minutes yesterday. Details of
the interview were not available, but it is believed that it dwelled on how
much bribe he allegedly paid for his brief freedom.

A police source said Li had paid out about 120 million baht to a 
middleman in Chiang Mai, known only as Phuek, to arrange for his freedom.

Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol said he was concerned about Li's safety and would 
assign him an officer if he was sent to jail pending extradition
proceedings. If so he would be kept in solitary confinement, separate from
other prisoners.

Li said yesterday he wanted to be quickly extradited to the US and urged 
the court to speed up extradition proceedings.

He expressed regret for bringing bad name to Thailand by jumping bail in
February.

But Li refused to discuss how he managed to receive bail from Somchai
Udomwong, deputy chief justice of the Criminal Court, who is being
investigated by a judicial panel for his role in Li's brief flight to freedom.

Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol said Thai authorities would coordinate with their US
counterparts to set a date for Li's extradition. Once the legal proceedings
are completed prosecutors would request the court to temporarily release 
the suspect who will then be put under police detention after which he will
be handed over to US authorities.

Li would go through an extradition procedure similar to the one used for
former Chart Thai MP Thanong Siripreechanpong who is fighting drugs 
charges in the US.

Li and another person were arrested in Samut Sakhon on July 23 last year
after being indicted by a federal court in New York on charges of
masterminding the shipment of 486 kilogrammes of heroin to the United 
States in 1991.

While awaiting extradition proceedings, Li was granted bail on February 7
after putting up a five-million-baht guarantee. He later jumped bail and
fled to Burma.

Reports that Li went into hiding in Burma were confirmed after Burmese
authorities contacted Thai army chief Gen Chetha Thanacharo to tell him 
that they had captured the drug fugitive.

Rangoon handed over the suspect to Prime Minister Gen Chavalit 
Yongchaiyudh during his visit to Burma late last week.

Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol said Li's escape trail took him to Chiang Rai where 
he boarded a plane for Rangoon on February 12, five days after he was 
granted bail. He later met his wife, Mayuree Mavin, at a hotel in the
Burmese capital.

Li has also been charged with money-laundering and Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol 
said police were trying to determine how much of his assets should be frozen
under Thai law.

He said it was beyond the authority of drug suppression police to take
action against people who helped Li escape to Burma, including his wife.

Police also cannot take action in the case in which Li has been charged 
with sumbitting fake documents to the Criminal Court, he said, and asked the
court as the damaged party to file a complaint against Li.

Meanwhile, Gen Chettha said relations between Rangoon and Washington 
should improve after Li is extradited to the US.

"It may slightly help improve relations between the two countries," he said
yesterday before leaving for a two-week visit to the US as a guest of US
Army Chief-of-Staff Denis J. Reimer.

Gen Chettha who is known to have close ties with the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc), the ruling junta in Burma, praised the country
for handing Li over to Thai authorities, saying Burma had demonstrated its
sincerity, through Thailand, to the world community that it was committed 
in its fight against narcotics.

Gen Chettha said he did not think it would be a good policy to isolate
Burma, noting that the country was moving on the path of democracy and 
the transition would take time. (BP)
---------------------------------------------------
 [excerpts from related article]
THE NATION: RANGOON RETURNS NARCOTICS SUSPECT WHO 
JUMPED BAIL
May 18, 1997

When asked by foreign journalists to explain Slorc's decision, Chavalit 
only said: "He has Thai nationality. He must be sent to us."

According to a very knowledgeable source, Washington had been informed 
of the handover before the actual event.

Though Slorc delivered Li to Thailand, where he will await extradition to
face trial in the United States, the junta still refuses to extradite a
number of notorious drug traffickers wanted by Washington, particularly
Golden Triangle warlord Khun Sa, who gave himself up to authorities in
Rangoon in January 1995.

Shortly after his surrender, Khun Sa and some of his leading lieutenants -
including his uncle Khun Saeng - moved to Rangoon. Khun Sa has since 
been living under strict security surveillance.

When Slorc leader Khin Nyunt held a ceremony on April 23 to inaugurate 
an "anti-drug museum" in Mongla in Burma's northeastern Shan State, at 
least two major druglords wanted by Washington - Sai Lin, aka Lin
Ming-shing, and Pao Yu-chiang - were on hand to welcome the Burmese leader
and Rangoon-based diplomats, whose numbers included US charge d'affaires
Kent Wiederman.

The Mongla ceremony, which claimed to "commemorate the total 
eradication of narcotic drugs" in the area, took place on the very same day
Washington announced economic sanctions on Burma.

NSB police officers arrested Li and Cha Chung-chang, aka Praphan
Thongchaisawang, on July 23, 1996. Li's alleged partners, all of whom are
wanted by the United States, were later captured and are awaiting a final
ruling on their extradition.

According to Police Chief Pracha, Rangoon, after receiving an official
request from Thai police, told Army Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro that it 
had already captured Li and wanted to hand him over during Chavalit's visit.

Chettha said yesterday that Slorc had informed him about a week ago of its
decision to return Li to Thailand. Both Pracha and Boyce praised Chettha 
for the successful handover.

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

THE NATION: RANGOON TO HELP STEM TIDE OF ILLEGAL 
WORKERS
May 18, 1997 [abridged]

Rangoon has agreed to cooperate in stemming the influx of illegal Burmese
workers into Thailand, Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasan said 
yesterday.

Prachuab said upon his return from Rangoon that the two countries will 
also cooperate in training workers to improve their skills.

Thailand is seeking Rangoon's cooperation to certify the citizenship of
about 700,000 Burmese illegal workers allowed to work in Thailand under
temporary measures adopted last year.

Authorities now fear that the Burmese will not return after the two-year
temporary work permits lapse.

The agreement is one of several successes Prachuab claimed in summing 
up the two-day official visit to Burma by Prime Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, which ended yesterday.

Prachuab said that the leader of the ruling junta, Gen Than Shwe, also
briefed Chavalit on the progress of the drafting of a new Burmese
constitution, which he said was half-way completed.

"The Burmese are now debating a clause dealing with the powers of 
various sections of society, which they said is very delicate and needs to be
carefully considered," Prachuab said.

The minister said the Burmese leaders assured that the transfer of power to
the people will definitely come about, but priority should be given to the
development of strong economic and social foundations.

According to Prachuab, Chavalit noted the process with satisfaction and
agreed that each country has the right to determine its own method of
national development, and that any outside interference would badly hurt
this process.

On economic cooperation, Thailand asked Burma to supply 1,500 
megawatts of power a year beginning in 2010. A memorandum of understanding
will be signed in July, Prachuab said.

It was also agreed to increase airline services between the two nations to
3,500 passenger seats a week, beginning in October.

River, road and railway links will also be boosted. The two main corridors 
- Myawaddy-Pha An-Rangoon-Mandalay and Laem Chabang-Bonti-Tavoy -  will be
given serious consideration in infrastructure development planning.

Two agreements were signed - one to allow citizens from each country to
enter the other with a border pass, and another on sovereign rights over the
Thai-Burmese Bridge, which is still under construction. (TN)

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

BKK POST: THAILAND, BURMA PLAN TO PULL BACK
May 17, 1997
Bhanravee Tansubhapol, Rangoon

Both parties want to 'avoid confrontation'

Thailand and Burma have agreed to work for an early withdrawal of troops
from a disputed border area between Doi Lang and the Shan State in order 
to "avoid confrontation," government spokesman Varathep Rattanakorn said
yesterday.

The two countries also agreed to speed up the settlement of other
demarcation problems along the 2,400 kilometre boundary to mark the 
50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year.

Mr Varathep made the disclosure after hour-long talks between Prime 
Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and his Burmese host, Gen Than Shwe, prime
minister and chairman of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council.
Gen Chavalit and Gen Than Shwe are also defence ministers.

Army chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro attended the talks, which followed a 
grand reception at Rangoon airport, and a courtesy call on Gen Chavalit by 
Slorc's first secretary-general Lt Gen Khin Nyunt .

Gen Chavalit also witnessed the signing of an agreement on border 
crossings and an exchange of documents on the jurisdiction of the
Thai-Burmese friendship bridge linking Mae Sot with Myawaddy.

Burma is believed to have deployed between 1,200 to 1,500 men in the
northern Shan State area adjacent to Thailand's Doi Lang hill. Thailand is
believed to have stationed the same number of troops and according to 
senior military officials spends about 100 million baht a year to finance the
operation.

Conflicting sovereignty claims in the 32 square-kilometre area came to a
head last year when Burmese troops reached territory once controlled by 
the Mong Tai Army of drug warlord Khun Sa, who subsequently surrendered to
Rangoon.

The Doi Lang-Shan State junction is one of three disputed areas along the
Thai-Burmese border. The other two lie on Hill 491 between Chumphon 
and Burma's Tenasserim division and around three islands - Koh Ganga, Koh
Nok, and Koh Kan - off the coast of Ranong province.

According to Mr Varathep, the two prime ministers agreed to move troops 
in the Doi Lang-Shan state area deeper inside respective territories and to
instruct the Joint Boundary Committee to discuss other problems.

Gen Chavalit emphasised that he had met all the leaders of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations and said that they had confirmed that Burma 
would be admitted into Asean at the same time as Cambodia, and Laos.

Gen Than Shwe was quoted as pointing out that Burma was trying to solve 
its internal problems and that the country needed to join Asean in order to
obtain funds and technology for development projects.

On the United States' recent sanctions on new US investments in Burma, 
Gen Than Shwe said Burma was preparing measures to cope with 
repercussions. He also said that foreign tourists were still coming to Burma
despite the sanctions, Mr Varathep said.

Gen Chavalit inquired about Burma's constitutional draft and was told that
the process was underway, although at a slow pace because there are seven
states with minority groups. Gen Than Shwe added that the political
situation in Burma would improve, and that democracy would be achieved 
"in future."

Documents exchanged by foreign minister Prachuab Chaiyasarn and his 
Burmese counterpart Ohn Gyaw, confirmed that the two countries would agree
to keep respective river banks as the borderline for jurisdiction on the
Moei River, a senior foreign ministry official said.

At the same time, they agreed to share jurisdiction on the friendship bridge
across the river from the middle of the bridge, the official added.

Gen Chavalit also proposed that the two countries begin consultations on 
the management of marine resources. He also asked Burma to allow Thai 
banks to open representative offices on the border.

Gen Than Shwe supported the Thai proposal for a road that would link
Myawaddy and Mae Sot with central Vietnam. The two prime ministers 
also discussed the development of a deep-sea port in Tavoy and the problem
of some 700,000 illegal Burmese workers in Thailand. They agreed that
concerned ministers should discuss the latter in further detail. (BP)

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

BKK POST : RANGOON EXPECTS DO MUOI's VISIT SOON
May 17,1997
Reuters

Rangoon- Vietnamese Communist Party chief Do Muoi will soon visit 
Burma, where he is expected to discuss ties and Burma's membership in Asean,
government sources said yesterday. 

Government sources said his delegation would likely visit Burma on May 
22 to 25.

Communist Party officials in Hanoi said on Thursday that Mr Muoi, 80, 
was due to visit Rangoon and Beijing in his first overseas trips in many 
months, although details of the visit to China were not finalised.(BP)

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

THE NATION: QUIET TENSIONS RATTLE SINO-BURMESE 
RELATIONS
May 19, 1997
Aung Zaw

The flourishing drug trade and lack of stability in Burma are bothering
Beijing, Aung Zaw reports.

Every morning when Burmese pedal their bicycles to enter 
Mandalay City they joke, "We are off to work in China?.

While merely a joke, the line offers an insight into the tensions between
local Burmese and Chinese.

Burma's ancient city, Mandalay was established in 1857 by King Mindon. 
It was taken over by the British during the reign of Min Donís son, King
Thibaw. But now there is new foreign influence at play in the city - the
Chinese.

In recent years, China has become Burma?s major arms supplier and trade
partner. Moreover, China has been seeking access to various seaports off
Burma?s coast. But the close ties between Burma and China have led to
problems at the domestic level.

In early 1997, China and Burma signed an agreement to strengthen 
military cooperation. According to the agreement, China will train Burmese
air force and navy officers. In addition, Beijing will offer additional
places in military colleges for senior Burmese officers.

Local Chinese, however, are not applauding the Sino-Burma friendship as 
they are much more concerned about possible riots in the future.  

"This is just a PRC-Slorc friendship - not Chinese and Burmese - in fact,
Burmese people hate us," says a Chinese trader in Mandalay.

One analyst in Rangoon noted that there has been growing anti-Chinese
sentiment since December. 

When university students took to the streets to denounce the Burmese
military regime officially known as the State Law and Order Restoration
Council [Slorc], the military authorities quickly sent troops and
Chinese-made tanks onto the streets to quell the protests. 

That upset Chinese businessmen who feared anti-Chinese reprisal. Thus, 
local Chinese quickly and openly support student demonstrators by sending
food and donations.

In its evaluation of the unrest, the Slorc concluded that it was
manipulated, exploited and fomented by communists and the opposition. 

In a speech at a special press conference on December 31, powerful
intelligence chief and Secretary One of Slorc, Lt Gen Khin Nyunt said: "I
stated categorically that the BCP [Burma Communist Party] had not yet 
been annihilated totally.....although many of the BCP agents have been
arrested. To sustain the existence of the party, the BCP Central Committee
residing in a neighbouring country, has been recruiting new members and
expanding its underground network.?

Though Khin Nyunt did not name the neighbouring country, it was 
obvious that he was referring to China. Ex-BCP members have been living in
China since it collapsed after a serious mutiny in 1989.

"Khin Nyunt's statement dented the good relationship between China and
Burma," noted one analyst. 

Ironically, on the same day, Chen Baoliu, Chinese ambassador to Burma,
appeared in the official newspaper donating a computer to the foreign 
ministry.

Undoubtedly, Chinese officials were angry at the generals' speech but did
not lodge a protest.

Nevertheless, it wasn't the first time that China has faced a dilemma in its
dealing with Slorc, especially in trade and drug issues. 

"Chinese authorities do not care which government is in power in Burma 
as long as there is stability", noted one analyst. 

?But Slorc,? said a source on the China-Burma border, "cannot guarantee
stability in the country and the Chinese realise it."

So what about opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD [the 
National League for Democracy]?

Beijing sees Suu Kyi as too weak to hold the country together but they also
doubt the junta's abilities.

Because of this, says one foreign analyst, "The new theory is that the NLD
could be, in some way, better than Slorc. 

He reasoned that the opposition could handle the country's ailing economy
better ó that's good for China, which wants to trade with Burma.

In addition, officials in Yunnan are upset at Slorc for not controlling the
smuggling of drugs at the China-Burma border.

Recently, Khin Nyunt went to eastern Shan State where he met local Wa 
and Kokang ethnic leaders including Lin Min Xian, also known as Sai Lin and
Pao Yu Chang. They both are renowned drug warlords.

?Heroin from that border area is spilling over China, and the Chinese are
not very happy,? said another analyst. 

Wa and Kokang rebels have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Slorc 
since 1989 but so far the regime has been impotent to control illicit drug
trade in that area.

Chinese in Rangoon and Mandalay see Chen, who is the Chinese 
ambassador to Burma, as a ?pro-Slorc? ambassador.

?Perhaps it is wrong to say that she is a ?pro-Slorc? but judging from what
we have seen, Chen is close to Khin Nyunt and other high-ranking 
officials,? said one local ethnic Chinese. The embassy's only contact is
Slorc he added.

Once active with cultural events and the establishment of diplomatic
contacts in Rangoon, the Chinese mission in Rangoon is now seen by local
Chinese as a ?pro-Slorc embassy?. 

That has not go down well with local Chinese.

"In the past, in Burma, Chinese ideology was very popular. You could easily
find Mao's little red book everywhere. Many in Burma worshipped Mao but not
any more," one analyst stressed. "Today, the Chinese want to sell their
consumer goods to Burmese."

But there is a sense of trepidation among the Chinese businessmen towards
Slorc?s handling of the economy. A Chinese in Rangoon said that Slorc 
would be better served getting serious about dealing with national problems
instead of accusing foreign nations and dissidents in exile. 

?Unlike China which faced popular democracy uprisings in 1989, Burma's
leaders never learned from the 1988 events.? 

We should not take it for granted that China is in favour of Slorc. While
China might have sided with the Slorc in the past, the situation is
changing,? says one dissident on the China-Burma border. 

Beijing's local authorities on the border areas have also maintained
regular contacts with rebel groups such as the Kachin, Wa and recently 
withstudents to sound out their opinions.

?Beijing's current approach is more open and flexible now,? the dissident 
on the border added.

Thus some local analysts on the border area suggested that the Burmese 
and Chinese authorities are shaking hands over the table, but kicking each 
other under the table.

?They are very careful not to disclose any tension between them,? one 
source said.

A Rangoon-based analyst suggested that Beijing has a role to play - it  can
nudge Slorc leaders to embark on genuine political reform including to 
open a political dialogue with Suu Kyi and ethnic leaders.

The only question then is whether Slorc leaders listen to their ?Big 
Brother?? 

Aung Zaw is a freelance journalist. He contributed this story to The 
Nation. (TN)

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

WASHINGTON POST: BURMA'S ARMY KEEPS ITS GRIP 
May 18 1997
By R. Jeffrey Smith

Embattled Opposition Could Be Targeted Anew After Regional Group's Meeting

The police captain at the first checkpoint on the roadleading to the home of
1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was unyielding as he and
nearly a dozen colleagues blocked the path of a taxi and insisted that
"foreigners are not allowed to visit" her walled compound.

When an American visitor with an appointment to see Suu Kyi at her home,
less than a mile away, asked why, the captain -- who gave his name as Thein
-- would only say, again and again: "Because of the order."

Thirty-five years after seizing control of this country, and seven years
after annulling democratic elections won by Suu Kyi's political party, the
Burmese military regime is accustomed to issuing orders without providing
explanations. Many citizens here -- after looking around for spies of the
government -- charge that its decisions are arbitrary, corrupt or inept and
can be carried out with lethal brutality. As a result, they say, its leaders
remain widely hated and greatly feared.

 Despite the public's animosity, and the growing hostility of  the Clinton
administration, however, the military's grip on power in this Southeast
Asian nation of 48 million shows no signs of slackening. In fact, the
generals may even be getting stronger due to new repressive measures
instituted in the last seven months against Suu Kyi and her supporters.

Hundreds of university students have been jailed since student protests
against government education policies and police tactics flared briefly last
December, effectively decapitating the student movement, according to
several diplomats. Universities, which have been a crucible of
anti-government sentiment in Burma since 1920, were abruptly shut that month
with no date set for reopening.

Separately, a fierce offensive by as many as 100,000 troops since February
has routed insurgent forces allied with the Karen National Union, an
ethnically based party in Karen state, east of the capital. That party,
until its repression in 1995, played a key role in opposing the military regime.

In the last year, the military junta here has persuaded a half-dozen
other ethnic minorities that controlled vast areas in northern and western
Burma to sign cease-fire agreements by promising them more autonomy and --
according to several Western diplomats -- permitting them to cultivate and
refine a substantial portion of the opium gum that winds up
on U.S. streets as heroin.

In addition, the military has jailed as many as 300 members of the National
League for Democracy, the chief opposition party and the platform for Suu
Kyi's activities, since last summer, including several of her close personal
aides.

Win Thein U, for example, was sentenced to 14 years in prison last year for
having arranged a meeting between Suu Kyi and some farmers to
discuss the poor rice harvest and for having helped an American television
reporter interview a victim of torture. Suu Kyi's press secretary, Aye Win
U, also has been imprisoned without trial.

Suu Kyi, the charismatic daughter of the architect of Burma's independence
from the British in 1948, has been blocked from making any public speeches
since November. She also has been forced to restrict
her movements outside the compound since hundreds of men in civilian garb
were allowed to pass through a government cordon that month to
attack her motorcade, smash its windows and beat up many of her supporters.
No arrests were made in the attack.

Largely because of U.S. government complaints about the regime, some
visiting Americans are subjected to extraordinary scrutiny by plainclothes
men who ask where they are going and whom they represent -- at the airport,
on the street and in hotel lobbies. Photographs are taken of those who try
to see Suu Kyi, drivers are questioned, and those seen engaging in
conversation with an American sometimes are subjected to more detailed
police interrogation.

Interviews with dozens of people during a week of traveling in Burma
suggested that public discontent is heightened by the country's economic
failures.

The government's statistics indicate the economy's growth rate has been
falling steadily since changes were introduced in 1992 to move the country
away from socialism toward a more market-oriented system.

Inflation exceeds 30 percent, defense expenditures reportedly consume as
much as 50 percent of the budget, and corruption and inefficiency are rife
at hundreds of large state-owned corporations or private firms controlled by
senior military officers. Without striking a deal with such a firm, or
handing over at least a 5 percent commission to a uniformed officer, it is
virtually impossible to invest here, according to a half-dozen foreign
businessmen.

Conditions outside this capital are stark. "They are basically losing a
generation," said a diplomat. "Their infant mortality and life expectancy
rates are as bad as you might find in the worst nations of Africa."

But the armed forces have prospered since 1988, when the State Law and Order
Restoration Council was formed to bring military officials into a more
direct governing role. The number of troops, then 186,000, has doubled.
Everywhere, the council's facilities are the most modern and well tended,
including an elaborate museum here with displays touting achievements of
each of the country's regional military commanders.

To stem a grave shortage of foreign currency and build up its domestic
manufacturing industry, the government last summer banned all imports of
nonessential goods -- creating what several businessmen described as a brisk
under-the-counter trade.

But the measure did little to promote the creation of factories in this
overwhelmingly agricultural nation, with the result that few up-to-date
consumer goods are on display. Only a few construction cranes dot
the skyline of the capital, a city of 3 million to 4 million people with a
decrepit, faded air that contrasts sharply with the modern bustle of
neighboring Asian capitals.

The Clinton administration last month banned most American investment in
Burma because of the government's failure to thwart the drug trade.
But with few American goods in evidence -- other than Coke, Pepsi, Budweiser
beer, and Lucky Strike and Salem cigarettes -- and few joint ventures with
American firms outside the oil and gas sector, no one believes the sanctions
will cause much immediate harm to the Burmese economy.

Many do say the publicity Washington's action has generated will discourage
some foreign firms that are subject to consumer boycotts at home from
investing here, and may further discourage foreign tourism. Since the U.S.
sanctions announcement, the value of the local currency has
fallen nearly 8 percent against the dollar on the black market.

"The sanctions are good, but they are not enough,"said a university student,
who asked that his name be withheld because his family has been harassed
for advocating democracy. He complained that other nations have not put
similar pressure on the regime, a view echoed here by others interviewed on
the street.

But many diplomats say that activists here are naive, and that there is
little reason to expect the regime will substantially alter its hard-line
policies
under foreign pressure. "Too many generals are making too much money," said
one envoy.

There appears to be a consensus among Western diplomats here that as bad as
Suu Kyi's personal situation is now, it may become even more grim after a
decision on Burmese membership in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, a regional trading group that could formally decide the issue
as early as July. Many diplomats see the military's recent actions as having
been relatively restrained by a desire to avoid embarrassing its ASEAN
neighbors on the eve of the vote.

"If they get in, they will likely lock her up again," a senior diplomat said.

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

BKK POST:BURMA READY FOR WORD FROM ASEAN
May 17,1997

Burma has opened an Asean department in preparation for becoming a full
member of the association, a Burmese source said yesterday.

The department opened on May 2, a month behind schedule, with Khin 
Maung Win as its first director- general. He will retain his position as
director- general of the Political Department of the Foreign Ministry.

Asean requires prospective members to set up a special department to
coordinate contacts and participation in more than 200 meetings a year.

Cambodia and Laos, also seeking membership in Asean this year, opened
offices some months ago.

Asean foreign ministers meet in Kuala Lumpur on May 31 to decide when 
the three  countries will be admitted.(BP)

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

BKK POST: KAREN REBEL ROB VILLAGE HEADMAN
May 19, 1997

Tak-Pro-Rangoon Karen rebels have robbed a Thai village headman of about
100,000 baht worth of valuables.

Police said around 20 heavily armed members of the Democratic Karen 
Buddhist Army (DKBA) penetrated 15 kilometres into Thai soil to carry out
the raid on Friday, at 2 a.m.

The rebels laid siege to the home of Somyos Trakulkhiri, headman for Ban 
Tu Ter, Tambon Mahavan in Mae Sot district.

The renegade Karens appeared to be looking for Lt-Col Per Kha Chu, a 
former officer of the anti-Rangoon Karen National Union, who was thought to
be taking refuge at Som-yos's house, said police.

The DKBA troops forced their way into the house while Mr Somyos and 
his family fled.

The rebels ransacked his home, taking about 30,000 baht in cash, a
motorcycle, two video players, gold ornaments weighing four baht, a watch
and two tape recorders.

A company of Border Patrol Police rushed to the scene but failed to locate
the intruders who fled back across the border. (BP)

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

BKK POST: DELAYS IN BUILDING YADANA PIPELINE HAVE 
COST PTT B3BN
May 19, 1997

Local residents and NGOs voice concerns in Kanchanaburi

Delays in building the Yadana gas pipeline have cost the Petroleum 
Authority of Thailand (PTT) three billion baht.

The hold-ups have chiefly been caused by resistance from local villagers 
and NGO groups and slow decision-making by the Thai government.

PTT says delays in opening the 16.5-billion-baht project, which is due to 
be completed in the middle of next year, will cost an estimated 10 billion
baht a year.

Following cabinet approval for the project late last year, the PTT submitted
it for consideration to the National Environment Board. It approved the
project on February 25 after viewing PTT's environmental impact 
assessment study.

Now environmental groups, NGOs and villagers in the Thong Pha Phum 
district of Kanchanaburi are having their say.

They claim the gas pipeline threatens villagers' livelihoods, fertile
forests and rare animal and plant species, such as the Rachinee (Queen) 
crab and Kitt bats.

So far the PTT has completed only five percent of the 260-kilometre
pipeline, which links Thong Pha Phum district and the Ratchaburi gas-
fired power plant. The Burmese government has, however, almost completed its
part from the Andaman Sea to the Thai-Burmese border.

The Kanchanaburi Conservation Group said villagers in Thong Pha Phum
district were scared that the pipeline could lead to a repeat of the
Phetchaburi Road gas explosion several years ago.

Gen Boonsak Kamhaengridhirong, secretary-general of the National 
Security Council who chaired the public relations sub-committee meeting,
said that the committee was not effectively dealing with the opposition groups.

"The task is to bring to people's attention the necessity of having the gas
supply and to help them understand that the pipeline is safe," he said.

The PTT, he added, should improve its image, pay compensation where it 
was due and create a Forestry Environment Rehabilitation Fund to help
sustain the environment.

The PTT said the best way of generating electricity was to have another
gas-fired power plant, since this has the least impact on the environment.
The authority said it takes 16 large dams, and dammed water covering vast
areas causing deforestation, to generate 2,700 megawatts of power. In
comparison, 700 million cubic feet of gas per day supplied for power
generation could produce as much as 3,000 megawatts.

The PTT said gas reserves in the Gulf of Thailand can only supply 1,500 to
2,000 million cubic feet per day but demand in 2000 is expected to rise to
about 3,000 million cubic feet per day.

The authority has a 10-year contract with the Burmese government to buy 
525 million cubic feet of natural gas from the Yadana field per day. This
would go to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's Ratchaburi
Power Plant.

As for the environmental impact, the PTT said the project would 
temporarily affect only 625 rai of Kanchanaburi forest land. Fifty
kilometres would be laid in the forest and a 20-metre-wide strip disturbed
to do so.

It added that safety measures meant villagers had little to worry about.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) had been involved in the gas explosion on
Phetchaburi Road and this was more dangerous than the natural gas to be
carried in the pipeline. The PTT had operated a similar pipeline in the
central region and there was no record of any major incident.

The pipe would also be able to withstand an earthquake measuring eight on
the Richter scale. The highest recorded tremor in Kanchanaburi was only 
5.9. (BP)

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BKK POST: TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
May 19, 1997
Rangoon, AFP

A Burmese court has sentenced two convicted drug traffickers to death and
handed down life jail terms to five others, official reports said yesterday.

Six of men were arrested in August by a regional military patrol in 
Burma?s north-eastern Shan state with more than 142 kilograms of heroin in
their possession, the state run New Light of Myanmar said.

Two members of the gang, which also had two Chinese-made Jeeps, three 
M-22 rifles and 140 rounds of ammunition, managed to escape the military 
swoop in Hsenwi township, which lies 32 kilometres from the Chinese border.

One of the escaped smugglers was later captured and convicted in the  
nearby township of Muse along with his six accomplices. The court ordered
the seizure of the property of the man who is still on the run.

According to a US International Narcotics Strategy Control report released
in March, Burma is the world largest producer of opium.

With increased interdiction efforts in Thailand in the past few years, most
of the opium gum and refined heroin produced is trafficked out of the 
region to international markets through China, it said.

The US report accused Rangoon of allowing armed ethnic groups which 
have signed cease-fire agreements with the ruling junta to engage in drug
trafficking activities unhindered.

It noted that some 13 mobile heroin laboratories were destroyed in Burma
last year, but said the effect on the volume of the drug flowing out of the
region was so far insignificant.

But the authorities here have recently reported a string of drug-related
arrests, narcotics seizures and the destruction of clandestine refineries
and chemicals in Shan state, which forms part of the infamous ?Golden
Triangle? of opium production along with Laos and Thailand. (BP)

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