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The BurmaNet News, June 18, 1997
- Subject: The BurmaNet News, June 18, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 02:43:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: June 18, 1997
Issue #751
HEADLINES:
==========
AP: DASSK REDUCES WORKLOAD AFTER FALL
TT: KAREN REBELS ATTACK BURMESE DEPLOYMENT
SLORC: MYANMAR NEWS RELEASE VOL.9 NO.12
THE NATION: RELOCATION BEGINS FOR KAREN REFUGEES
BKK POST: DEFIANT FIRM SENDS CLEAR MESSAGE OF INTENT
KYODO: TOKYO ENVOY MEETS BURMESE GEN. KHIN NYUNT
REUTER: EX-KHUN SA GUERRILLAS KILL 25 CIVILIANS
BKK POST: TRAFFICKER SHOT DEAD BY THAI TROOPS
AP: INDIA'S NORTHEAST FLOODED BY HEROIN
BKK POST: 14,000 SPEED PILLS SEIZED
SLORC: MYANMAR NEWS RELEASE VOL.9 NO.11
THE NATION: HOUSE PANEL ASKS PM TO CLARIFY POLICY
BKK POST: WHY THE NEED FOR SECRECY?
THE NATION: NY MEDIA PANEL CRITICISES MONITOR
RANGOON KYEMON: "MAIDEN NEEM TREE, GROWING UNDER
ANNOUNCEMENT: HONORING AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S BIRTHDAY
BURMA-UN SERVICE OFFICE: LETTER TO NYC TEAK RETAILER
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AP: DASSK REDUCES WORKLOAD AFTER FALL
June 17, 1997
RANGOON-- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has reduced her workload
while recovering from a fall down the stairs of her home in which she hurt
her back, neck and shoulders, her political party said Tuesday.
Rumors had been circulating around Rangoon about the Nobel peace
laureate's health. Her aides had said she was suffering from diarrhea;
diplomats said she appeared extremely underweight and word had spread of an
accident.
The National League for Democracy said Suu Kyi fell May 21 and has
responded to medical treatment but is still resting.
She usually is reluctant to speak about physical ailments or family life
with reporters. An aide at her home told The Associated Press, "she can
work as usual now, but she refrains from doing strenuous work."
Another aide, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Suu Kyi's
friends and supporters had persuaded her to temporarily give up her
vegetarian diet and resume eating meat until she could regain her weight
and strength.
A diplomat in Rangoon who requested anonymity said the military had
offered to send Suu Kyi a doctor, but she refused. Suu Kyi's aides said they
were unaware of any such offer.
**********************************************
THAILAND TIMES: KAREN REBELS ATTACK BURMESE DEPLOYMENT
June 16, 1997
MAE HONG SON: Fierce fighting broke out in Burma over the
weekend when Karenni rebels attacked government forces in Kayah
state following the deployment of additional troops in the area, a border
source said yesterday.
The clashes occurred on Friday and Saturday when dozens of Karenni (Kayah)
rebels ambushed Burmese soldiers who had just been posted to the
Karenni-controlled area. Nine soldiers were killed in the skirmish, seven
from the junta and two from the minority group.
A senior officer of the ethnic Karenni group said the Burmese junta had
deployed four battalions in the area early this month in an attempt to
resolve a long-standing logging dispute with the ethnic Karenni groups.
However, the Karenni officer said negotiations could only proceed on the
condition that the junta retreated all its 24 battalions from the area, and
that talks should take place in a third country.
He said senior Karenni leaders had similar talks with the junta two years
ago to resolve the logging dispute. He said, however, that after the
meeting, many of the ethnic leaders were diagnosed as being ill from food
poisoning, adding that is why the next round of meetings should be held in
another country .
***********************************************
SLORC: MYANMAR NEWS RELEASE VOL.9 NO.12
June 18, 1997
[BurmaNet Note: see The BurmaNet News, issue 747 for previous discussion]
THE VIEW FROM THE EMBASSY OF MYANMAR IN OTTAWA
It is regrettable to learn that the KNU statement (Response from the
KNU and KNU News, Information and Research dated 10 June, 1997) is
indicative of their present leaders still nurturing and rekindling the old
flames of animosities among the national brethren of Myanmar. Also it is
simply anachronistic and grossly outdated to continue to defend the divisive
legacies of colonialism in Asia. They must realize that those who do this
may only do so at their own peril. Because even the ten linguistically and
colonially divided countries of South East Asia have matured and developed
into a united regional organization, where the spirit of Amity and
Cooperation among each other is central to their philosophy. The newly
reorganized ?ASEAN 10? may be viewed as the final victory over the divisive
and diverse legacies of the colonial past.
It is time for the only remaining insurgency of Myanmar to see the
light in the same context before it is too late. Before long the last of
the foot soldiers that have been trickling back either in bands or as
individuals to exchange-arms-for-peace will finally leave the inflexible and
grudge-bearing KNU leadership in isolation as the band wagon of peace in
South East Asia rolls on. As much as dwelling in the past may be
unrealistic, remaining oblivious of the present progress towards peaceful
reunion is an equally hazardous attitude to maintain.
It is absolutely true that the former insurgencies such as the
Kachin, the Wa and the Kokan insurgencies did not have to surrender. But
neither were they simple ?cease-fires?. The uniqueness of the present day
peace-process centers on good-will, trust, amity and cooperation which are
the very foundations of both the national and international policies of the
Government of the Union of Myanmar. Hence its relevance to ASEAN as well.
After all ?blood is thicker than water?. Almost every Myanmar
national nowadays can proudly claim to have a drop or more of blood from one
another which strongly suggests how far they have come towards complete
admixture and assimilation among themselves. To imagine oneself of being
foreign in origin and bearing allegiance to a far away past-colonial-master
is a dangerous delusion. One should not forget that this was entirely a
family affair and should never look for solutions outside of the Union.
Time is now to forgive and forget.
Time is now to avoid confusion and despair.
Time is now to reunite and rejoin the family.
If the ten countries of ASEAN with different political ideologies and
religious beliefs can get together as ?the regional grouping? why can?t the
nationalities of the Union of Myanmar get back together as a Union? After
all Kayins are Myanmars too.
Just as the ?ASEAN? was the dream of the original founders of the
ASEAN movement, the ?Union of Myanmar? was the dream of the country?s
independence fighters led by General Aung San. We must not waver now but
strive to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the hard-earned Independence
together, with or without those self-interest groups abroad who may not view
the ?Union? in favourable light ? simply because it is not in their interest.
Recently, It has been confirmed that on May 31, 1997, 150 men of the
?Beik Mon army? led by battalion commander Aung Thaik Hin handed over 470
assorted arms to the local government authorities in Beik (formerly Mergui)
within Myanmar territory in a gesture of ?Trading-Arms-For-Peace?.
They also brought in with them 90 family members as well as the news
that the remaining 150 men-in-arms and 700 family members stationed across
the border are expected to follow suit in the near future
The Beik Mon Army is a breakaway group from the main stream New Mon
State Party (NMSP) led by chairman U Naing Shwe Kyin, who returned to the
legal fold on June 29, 1995.
This is another highly favourable development in an unstoppable
series of spontaneous gestures in response to the government?s offer of the
?olive branch? to all insurgent groups fighting a succession of central
governments since the country?s? independence from Britain in 1948.
The level of peace restored in the Union of Myanmar has been
unprecedented and above all have been achieved without the intervention or
mediation of any foreign party. Although there are some small breakaway
groups from a few former movements, 15 mainstream insurgencies have returned
to peacefully settle down and help develop their states and regions.
Now it a heartening sign that these breakaway groups have begun to
return as well.
Paradoxically, in the case of the KNU (Karen National Union), while
breakaway groups have been tracking back in similar gestures, their
mainstream leadership still remains stubbornly belligerent. The overwhelming
patriotic Kayin majority within the Union will find it hard to understand why?
******************************************
THE NATION: RELOCATION BEGINS FOR KAREN REFUGEES
June 17, 1997
Agence France - Presse
THAILAND yesterday began to relocate 2,400 Karen refugees from a camp near
the Burmese border to a larger and safer camp further inside Thai territory,
a senior military official said.
The ninth army infantry division started early yesterday to truck refugees
from Phu Muang border camp in Kanchanaburi province to Tham Hin camp in
Ratchaburi province to the south.
Col Somdej Seumak, the division commander, said they were being relocated to
Tham Hin, 10 kilometres from the frontier, because it was safer for both
refugees and aid workers. He added that it will be easier to take care of
the refugees if they are kept together in one place.
The 2,400 refugees are among the more than 10,000 Karens who fled this
year's Burmese government offensive against the rebel Karen National Union
(KNU), the only major insurgency group yet to reach a ceasefire with Rangoon.
They join about 5,000 refugees already staying at Tham Hin, effectively
consolidating all the Karen refugees who fled the KNU's Fourth Brigade
Division in southern Burma, when the offensive began in February.
Relief workers welcomed the authorities' action in moving the refugees to
safer locations inland, but remained concerned about conditions in Tham Hin
as the rainy season approaches.
Authorities in Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi appear reluctant to let refugees
put down roots and refugees are concerned that they could be sent back to
Burma against their will, sources at the border say. (TN)
******************************************************
BKK POST: DEFIANT FIRM SENDS CLEAR MESSAGE OF INTENT
June 17, 1997 [abridged]
Boonsong Kositchotethana
Would pull out only if forced to do so by US law
Unocal Corp has sent out its clearest message yet - it will not withdraw its
controversial participation in Burma's Yadana gas development project unless
forced to by law.
"I know from our Unocal people here in Thailand that a number of you wonder
how long we are going to take the heat for being involved in Myanmar
(Burma). Let me say unequivocally that the only way we will leave is if we
are forced to by the enactment of law," Roger Beach, Unocal chairman and
chief executive officer, said in a statement made in Bangkok recently.
Underlining Unocal's unwavering stance on the issue, Mr Beach branded the
thinking that Unocal's pull out would force a change of government in Burma
as "absolutely wrong."
"We contend that open markets set the fastest route to an open society.
Greater investment and involvement from other nations and other US companies
will speed the transition to democracy in Myanmar (Burma).
"Sanctions are counterproductive. They hurt people, not regimes. In numerous
countries, sanctions have had the effect of hurting the poor the most,
without having overturned the leadership," the American executive said.
Part of the Yadana gas would be delivered to an onshore location near
Rangoon via a 240-km pipeline. There, a 300-MW power house and a fertiliser
plant would be built based on the offshore gas.
"These are the kind of long-term, major infrastructure projects that
underpin a steady climb out of a devastated economic. These are the kind of
projects that can foster societal change," Mr Beach said.
He said criticism of the project came primarily from activists. He claimed
that the information they were receiving about the scheme was inaccurate and
denied reports that slave labour was used in the construction of the
pipeline and that building had destroyed forests along the pipeline route.
The decision to stick with the controversial project is driven by Unocal's
"growth strategy" that "pursues integrated projects that connect energy
markets with known resources."
"We look at projects that offer opportunities to participate in either the
upstream or the downstream: Projects that lead from energy-hungry markets to
known but undeveloped resources, or projects that lead from the resource to
a burgeoning market," Mr Beach said in direct reference to Thailand and
Burma. (BP)
*******************************************************
KYODO: TOKYO ENVOY MEETS BURMESE GEN. KHIN NYUNT
June 12, 1997
Rangoon, June 12 Kyodo -- Japanese envoy Hiroshi Hirabayashi called on
Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC), at the Defense Ministry on Thursday afternoon and delivered
a message from Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, diplomatic sources
said.
Hirabayashi, head of the cabinet councillors' office on external
affairs, arrived in Rangoon on Wednesday night.
Earlier Thursday, Hirabayashi called on Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw at
the Foreign Ministry.
Details of the talks were not immediately known, but diplomatic
sources indicated they centered on Hashimoto's wish to revive Japan's
official development assistance (ODA) depending on improvements in the
process of democratization in Burma.
The Japanese government suspended its ODA in September 1988 after the
SLORC took power, but revived aid for ongoing projects in February 1989.
Hirabayashi will meet with Economic Development and National Planning
Minister Brig. Gen. David Abel on Friday before returning to Tokyo the same day.
*****************************************************
REUTER: EX-KHUN SA GUERRILLAS KILL 25 CIVILIANS IN AMBUSH
June 17, 1997
RANGOON, June 17 (Reuter) - Ten guerrillas of former opium warlord Khun Sa
killed 25 civilians and wounded another five late last week when they
ambushed a civilian convoy in eastern Shan state, Burma's defence ministry
said on Tuesday.
The ministry said in a statement the guerrillas, former members of Khun
Sa's Mong Tai Army, staged the ambush on June 13 near Tachileck, a major
trading post bordering Thailand.
No other details were immediately available. Khun Sa, an ethnic Chinese
Shan, led about 10,000 of his guerrillas and civilian followers to surrender
to the Burmese government in January 1996 after decades of fighting for
autonomy for the Shan state.
Diplomats said Khun Sa, who once controlled vast areas of the opium-growing
Golden Triangle, was currently permitted to live in luxury in Rangoon.
The Golden Triangle covers border areas of Burma, Thailand and Laos.
***************************************
BKK POST: TRAFFICKER SHOT DEAD BY THAI TROOPS
June 17, 1997
Cheevin Sattha, Subin Khuenkaew, Mae Hong son
Heroin worth B10 million seized
A member of a drug trafficking gang was shot dead in a clash with Thai
troops who seized eight kilogrammes of heroin worth more than 10 million
baht from them.
The clash took place at about 2.10 a.m. yesterday when a Border Patrol
Police unit spotted a band of armed men transporting drugs from a
heroin-producing factory in Lamhuay Doi Phakood in this province's Pai
district, about 4 km from the Thai-Burmese border.
The gang suddenly opened fire at the troops who immediately alerted the
336th BPP unit which then pounded the heroin-producing factory with
artillery fire.
The clash lasted about 30 minutes before the gang fled the scene, leaving
behind their dead accomplice.
BPP seized 22 bags of High-grade heroin weighing 8kg worth about 10 million
baht. Also found at the scene were an AK-47 assault rifle, a large quantity
of ammunition, medical supplies, three motorcycles, and a pick-up truck.
The raid followed an investigation by the provincial police after they were
tipped that a gang of Chinese Haw were transferring drugs from Ban Khai
Luang on the Burmese side near Ho Mong, the former stronghold of drug
warlord Khun Sa, to Lamhuay Doi Phakkood.
According to police, the heroin factory belonged to one of the sons of Li
Weng-ming, a drug suspect arrested last month.
Li Weng-ming, 50, an aide of Khun Sa, was arrested at Ban Phiang Luang in
Chiang Mai's Wiang Haeng district while about to flee the country, said
police. (BP)
*******************************************************
AP: INDIA'S NORTHEAST FLOODED BY HEROIN
June 16, 1997
Krishnan Guruswamy
IMPHAL, India (AP) -- Worried that heroin from neighboring Burma was
ruining the youth of India's remote northeast, separatist guerrillas began
enforcing their own anti-drug policy: If you use narcotics, expect a bullet in
the head.
Ronen, an 18-year-old addict who wouldn't give his last name, vividly
remembers when he got his first warning. It was a moonless night last
August. A militant knocked on his door and told him to stop using heroin.
Shaken, Ronen tried to switch to alcohol, but he gave up quickly and
went back to mainlining heroin. For weeks, he stayed shut up at home,
except for occasional nighttime meetings with a street dealer.
Then on Christmas, he partied with friends all night. Two days later,
three men with automatic rifles dragged him from his house.
``They told me, `This is your last warning.' Then suddenly, one man shot
me in the thigh,'' Ronen says.
He lay in bed a month while the wound healed. Without drugs, his body
shook violently, his head hurt. He was desperate for heroin. But he was
also scared of the rebels. His parents took him to the Kripa De-addiction
Center, one of two dozen such centers in Imphal, capital of Manipur state.
In the last five years, half of those who underwent the five-month
residential program have given up drugs, Hijam Dinesh, an official at
Kripa, said. The rest either died, disappeared or relapsed into drug abuse.
Police say they don't know how many addicts have been shot by the
region's powerful rebel movements.
Yet, the guerrillas' threats have not reduced addiction drastically.
Manipur, with 2 million people, has 50,000 addicts, said R.C. Bhattacharji,
narcotics commissioner at the Central Bureau of Narcotics.
The dense forests and rugged hills of Manipur are popular routes for
drug runners from the ``Golden Triangle'' -- the area at the intersection of
Burma, Laos and Thailand -- that grows 60 percent of the world's opium
poppies, the raw material for heroin and morphine. Most of the drugs are
destined for the United States and Europe.
Police admit they are incapable of stopping the trade, claiming they are
hindered by government apathy, inadequate staff, poor pay and lack of
money for informers. The Narcotics and Border Affairs Police has just 12
officers for Manipur. In one year, they seized only 2.2 pounds of eroin.
``We have five guns and one jeep. And we have to cover the entire state,''
said Officer A.S. Ramlung. ``What can I do?''
*************************************
BKK POST: 14,000 SPEED PILLS SEIZED
June 17, 1997
Border patrol police seized 14,000 amphetamine tablets from two Burmese men
in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district on Sunday after a brief gun battle.
Officers from the Border Patrol Police Unit 32 confiscated the speed pills
after a three-minute gunfight but failed to arrest the two suspects. The
suspects left the drug and a motorcycle behind before fleeing back into Burma.
The raid came after Deputy Commander of the Border Patrol Police Unit 32 Pol
Col Atthakitti Pholchob was tipped off that the drug would be smuggled in
from Burma's Tachilek border crossing. (BP)
*******************************************************
SLORC: MYANMAR NEWS RELEASE VOL.9 NO.11
June 12, 1997
[BurmaNet Note: abridged, see BurmaNet News issue 742 for Stephen Brookes?
article and comments]
Unsubstantiated Allegations related to Narcotics Control
A Globe and Mail editorial (June 5, 1997) stated ?This is a regime
that profits from drugs, prostitution and child labour? based on a previous
article published in the same paper by John Ralston Saul. However, it
failed to mention its own acknowledgment that John Ralston Saul?s
article was in fact a lecture delivered at a meeting of the ?Canadian
Friends of Burma? - a pro-dissident, pro-opposition political
organization that has never spoken or written a positive word about the
government of the Union of Myanmar. The negative political campaign
that this organization has been relentlessly waging for some years is
well-known and well-documented.
Any one with a conscience accepts that it is immoral and unjust to
resort to political mudslinging against any individual, leave alone a
sovereign country that has been waging a war against narcotics at great
cost (many soldiers losing lives and limbs) for several decades.
It is most unfortunate that the U.S. government and the media have
placed politics above people by politicizing this crucial issue of
international importance, and cutting off the financial resources that
it used to assist the effort. When this strategy, as expected,
backfired, it is obvious that the very strategists responsible are now
out on a witch-hunt to find scapegoats who may take the rap. The most
convenient target, once again, has to be the government of Myanmar
against whom the allegations of participating and encouraging the drug
trade have never been substantiated partly because the accusers
themselves know only too well that any exercise in search of the
?smoking gun?, could turn around like a boomerang
But truth can never remain suppressed for long, and serious experts
on the subject have begun to unearth the reality of the situation and are
now speaking out. An article in The Asia Times (by Stephen Brookes June
3, 1997) exemplify how political over-enthusiasm to discredit a
government have adversely affected the antidrug war that, in turn, will
ever be more harmful to the people of the developed countries where
governments are still unable to cope with the problem of
multi-billion-dollar drug market and their inability to prevent the
importation or utilization of narcotic drugs in their own societies.
[passage containing excepts from Brookes? article omitted]
At the end of excerpting the article, it is worthy of note that (1)
the poppy plant was introduced into northern Burma and adjacent parts of
India by the Colonial British in the nineteenth century to finance the
opium wars in China.
(2) The large-scale purification of opium to Heroin was introduced
into the Shan States by the American CIA in the late 1950s to clandestinely
finance the Kuomingtan troops that invaded parts of Myanmar with a view to
later staging attacks against the People?s Republic of China. Two U.S.
Ambassadors stationed in Yangon later resigned in protest when the heroin
trade was encouraged by the CIA without their knowledge.
The justification for sowing the seeds of the Heroin problem around
the Golden Triangle was that it was all part of the broader policy of
?Containment of Communism in Asia?.
Now, who pays the price ?
(We acknowledge with admiration Stephen Brookes, the columnist for his
professionalism and Barry Broman, the expert on asian drug trafficking,
for his courage and decency to speak out the reality in the face of
adversity in his own political environment)
************************************************
THE NATION: HOUSE PANEL ASKS PM TO CLARIFY POLICY ON
BORDER DISPUTE WITH BURMA
June 16, 1997
THE House Committee for Foreign Affairs will request a meeting with
Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh this week to clarify the
government's policy on resolving a Thai-Burmese territorial dispute.
In a press statement released yesterday, committee member Nopadol Pattama
said that the committee was concerned about a dispute over 100 rai of land
which led to Burma closing all border crossings opposite Mae Sot district in
Tak province last Thursday.
Nopadol said the House committee was concerned because the border closure
has resulted in tremendous losses for merchants who can no longer bring
their goods into Burma.
The committee, he said, wants the Foreign Ministry and other government
agencies to quickly negotiate with the Burmese junta for the re-opening of
the crossings and resolution of the dispute.
''It's time Thailand tells the Burmese frankly that both countries have to
take into consideration our mutual benefits in the long run," the Democrat
MP said.
He said that he is concerned with the attitude of Burma towards a country
that had supported its membership bid for the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean): ''Burma's admission into Asean also depends on Thai
support, so Burma should treat its friends in the same manner it would like
its friends to reciprocate. And Burma has international laws and obligations
it must abide by as well."
Nopadol said the government should explain to Burma's ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (Slorc) the burden Thailand has faced as a result
of the influx of hundreds of thousands of Burmese refugees and about one
million Burmese immigrants seeking employment.
He said the large immigrant and refugee presence has caused social and
health problems and threatened national security.
''Burma must show more responsibility for the problems [its refugees and
immigrants have caused]," Nopadol added.
Last month, the House committee submitted a letter to the Foreign
Ministry urging it to review the constructive engagement policy with
Burma and to delay the country's admission into Asean.
The letter stated that Asean members, and particularly Thailand, should
re-consider the grouping's non-interference policy because the political
turmoil within Burma and Slorc's suppression of the Burmese and ethnic
populations have had a direct impact on Thailand the only Asean country
that shares a common border with Burma.
During a seminar last week on Thai-Burmese relations in the 21st century
organised by the House subcommittee on Thai-Burmese relations,
opposition politicians, academics and human rights workers said that
Burma's admission into Asean will only toughen Burma's stance against
Thailand.
Asean's credibility in the eyes of the world community will be weakened by
the grouping's association with an illegitimate regime that refused to
recognise a landslide victory by the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) in the May 1990 general elections, seminar
participants said. (TN)
**************************************************
BKK POST: WHY THE NEED FOR SECRECY?
June 17, 1997
Editorial from Khao Sod
Energy gain may be the positive end result, but there is no transparency in
the Yadana gas pipeline project.
The Thai officials responsible concluded the deal with the Burmese
government secretly. They used "national security" as the pretext to shut
the eyes, ears and mouths of the public.
This method is no different from the conduct of the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (Slorc) in Burma.
Environmentalists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) opposed to the
project have been accused by government authorities of being obstinate and
being the stooge of foreign investors.
This smear campaign bears all the hallmarks of Cold War propaganda.
The truth is that the environmentalists are residents of Kanchanaburi who
will be affected directly by the laying of the gas pipeline. They have been
working continuously to protect the well-being of their homeland.
People like national artist Naowarat Pongpaiboon and former third army
region commander Gen Ruamsak Chaikomin are not only natives of Kanchanaburi,
they are members of Thai society. They have as much love for Thailand as
Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. They have vision and recognise the
country's long-term interests.
The government cannot shut their eyes, ears and mouths.
The problem here is not about patriotism or national interests. It is the
government's lack of transparency and sincerity in carrying out the project.
If Gen Chavalit is truly a representative of the Thai people, he must ensure
the project is implemented openly.(BP)
*******************************************************
THE NATION: NY MEDIA PANEL CRITICISES MONITOR
June 14, 1997 [abridged]
AFP, The Nation
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was
dismayed to learn of the government's recent creation of a news analysts
unit to closely monitor the press.
In a letter to Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the CPJ said that the
unit's establishment under the Interior Ministry is "disturbing". "We join
our colleagues in the Reporters Association of Thailand in expressing our
dismay at what appears to be an effort to monitor, and possibly restrict, a
long-standing tradition of press freedom in Thailand," the letter said.
The unit was opened by Interior Minister Snoh Theinthong last Wednesday
as the ailing economy has become the focus of negative news reports. Deputy
Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung will oversee the monitoring of both
domestic and foreign media.
Democrat MPs were extremely vocal yesterday in their criticism of the
move.
"Premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's government is following in the
footsteps of dictatorial regimes by doing this," said Thiwa Ngoenyuang
(Dem-Bangkok).
The prime minister, Thiwa said, "may have received his inspiration from
Burma, with which he has close ties". (TN)
*******************************************************
RANGOON KYEMON: "MAIDEN NEEM TREE, GROWING UNDER OLD CASSIA TREE, IS SO BITTER!"
June 11, 1997 [translated from Burmese]
by Maung Pyinnya Kyaw
A rat is a creature that ruins a house; a monkey is a creature that destroys
a forest; among birds, a crow is a creature that is destructive. Like these
destructive creatures, we have, in today's world, neo-colonialists who are
interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. Openly or
clandestinely, they are interfering in the internal affairs of other
countries using the pretext of democracy and human rights.
They engage in both subtle and open interference. They use three evil
methods of interference: indirect aggression, economic aggression, and
ideological aggression.
In employing direct provocation, they use their media--composed of
journals, magazines, radio, and television--to create instability inside a
country. In indirect provocation, they create their puppet spies as public
leaders and make them confront and undermine the prestige of the government
in power.
In political terms, these national traitors under the influence of
neo-colonialists are called agent provocateurs.
The neo-colonialists from abroad are using their lackeys and puppets
in their plot to destroy Myanmar [Burma]. Bogadaw [Englishman's wife] Daw
Suu Kyi's group is abetting the neo- colonialists to interfere in the
internal affairs of the country. Everybody knows about the way they have
engaged in vices such as subversion, creation of disturbances by spreading
rumors, and plots to create racial conflict and cause suspicion among
religions. These selfish elements, who are concerned only for the sole
purpose of obtaining power, attempted to create hardships and losses for
the country and the people. Out of envy, the national traitor Bogadaw
group tried to obstruct Myanmar's integration with ASEAN and urged people
not to invest in Myanmar. The American Government, which blindly believed
the words of these national traitors imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar
on 22 April.
However, major companies in the US protested the US sanctions on
Myanmar, and the US-ASEAN Business Council--which represents the top 400 US
companies--and the ASEAN member countries denounced the sanctions on Myanmar.
The US economic sanctions on Myanmar show that the United States does
not desire Myanmar's development and is trying to undermine the prospect of
ASEAN's becoming stronger with the admission of Myanmar, Laos, and
Cambodia. The ASEAN countries, being good friends, stood by Myanmar and
denounced the action taken by the US Government.
The US Government plans, should the Bogadaw group obtain power, are:
To turn Myanmar into a pro-West country;
To station troops from the West in Myanmar, which is strategically
located in Southeast Asia;
Such a foothold can enable them to more effectively encircle the
People's Republic of China.
That is why the US Government and the Bogadaw group have formed an
unholy alliance.
The depth of water can be estimated by looking at the length of the
lotus stems. In the present day world, the world-famous neo- colonialist
Ngapwagyi [Burmese character who is a big bully; here, a reference to the
United States] and his lackeys are both bitter-- bitter as a bitter gourd
growing on a [bitter] neem tree growing under a [bitter] cassia tree. They
are bitter in different ways, but both are bitter.
Those who engage in vices and do not desire the welfare of others will
surely suffer retribution for their mental, verbal, and physical trespasses.
*************************************************
ANNOUNCEMENT: HONORING AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S BIRTHDAY
June 17, 1997
Women of Burma Day in Honor of Aung San Suu Kyi's Birthday
On the birthday of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on June 19, we join our sisters in
Asia and Europe to celebrate her vision, courage, and determination to bring
about peace, human rights, and democracy to Burma. To the peoples of Burma,
she is the beacon of hope, and to the world, she has come to symbolize
non-violent struggle against ruthless oppression.
To mark the occasion, we dedicate her birthday as Women of Burma Day to
honor all the women who have sacrificed and fought for their families,
communities, and country in the face of aggression and abuse by the Burmese
military regime. We also celebrate their courage, resilience, and
commitment to bring peace to Burma.
On this day we, who enjoy the freedom, speak out to the world for those who
have been imprisoned for their political beliefs, and for those who have
escaped military offensives and found refuge in neighboring
countries. We also stand up for those who have sought safety and
economic security outside Burma, only to find themselves sold into
prostitution, or struggling to make a living in factories, plantations,
and construction sites, working in fear of extortion, arrest, and violence.
We, the women of Burma in the United States, appeal to the American people
to join us in our struggle to raise our voices for the whole world to hear,
and to end all injustices,
- applaud the effort already taken by the Government of the United States
to impose sanctions on new investment in Burma, and appeal for continued
pressure for democratic change;
- call on the world's governments to implement the resolutions passed by
the United Nations General Assembly for the past six successive years to
restore human rights and democracy in Burma;
- urge the G-7 nations to reaffirm the resolution unanimously adopted by
tune 12 which expresses its strong support for Burma's non-violent
democracy movement;
- remind the ASEAN to recognize that true constructive engagement
requires dialogue with both the democratic forces in Burma and the ruling
junta; and
- call on the Representatives of the United States Congress to support
local initiatives for selective purchasing campaigns, and to discourage
local governments m contracting out to companies that have invested with
the Burmese military regime.
Contact: Yuzana Khin (410-467-8097), Khin Ohmar (202-828-0110), and Hnin
Hnin Pyne (301-217-9517).
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Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the National League for Democracy
(Liberated Area) Burma cordially invite you to
WOMEN OF BURMA DAY
in honor of the birthday of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
19 June 1997
10:00 - 11:30 AM
2255 Rayburn Building
C Street & Independence Avenue
Congress of the United States of America
Washington, D.C. 20515
____________________________________________________________
Schedule of Events
1000-1010 Congressman Tom Lantos Welcome Address 1010-1030 Congresswoman
Nancy Pelosi Key Note Speaker
1030-1040 Dr. Sein Win - Prime Minister NCGUB Aung San Suu Kyi -a
reflection
1040-1050 Video Aung San Suu Kyi
1050-1130 Women's Panelist Khin Aye,Yuzana, Hnin Hnin, Ohmar
1130+ Burmese Song/Burmese Dancing
1200-1300 Lunch with panelist
1300+ Women of Burma lobby Congress
***************************************************
BURMA-UN SERVICE OFFICE: LETTER TO NYC TEAK RETAILER
June 16, 1997
6/16/97
Owner/Manager
Danish Designs
319 E. 53rd Street
New York, NY 10017
Dear Sir,
As Representative for UN Affairs of the National Coalition Government of
the Union of Burma and Executive Director of Rainforest Relief, we are
requesting that you cease selling Teak that has originated in Burma since
1962 in any and all of your stores, unless that Teak carries the label of an
independent certifier accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Since 1962, when a military coup supplanted the democratically elected
government of Burma, illegitimate leaders have been oppressing the people
of Burma and committing large-scale human rights abuses as well as
selling off the natural heritage of the country.
General elections were held by the current regime in 1990. The National
League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, won 82% of the parliamentary seats. However,
the military refused to yield power, nullified the elections and proceeded
to arrest many of the NLD leaders, some of whom are still in prison today.
Logging of Teak in Burma has accelerated dramatically since the military
takeover, especially since 1988 when a new set of generals took power.
There is no enforcement of sustainable forest management and Burma has
one of the highest rates of deforestation in the region.
Additionally, all the income from the sale of Teak and other hardwoods
goes directly to the government which uses this money to buy more
weapons to further oppress the people. Especially oppressed are the ethnic
minorities, some of whom are currently at the receiving end of a military
offensive designed to wipe out their quest for democracy and self-
determination.
Since Thailand instituted a ban on logging within its borders and
Cambodia followed, Teak being sold by Thailand, Singapore, China and
India is almost assuredly originating in Burma. Hundreds of trucks of
hardwood logs stream out of Burma destined for processing in Thailand,
China or Singapore. Much of this ends up as furniture in the U.S. and
Europe.
The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (the
democratically elected government in exile) and Rainforest Relief
consider that all Teak logged from public lands within Burma by the
illegitimate military government as having been stolen from the people
of Burma.
We respectfully request that you immediately cease your sale of any
Teak that has originated from Burma since 1962. If you cannot cease
your sales of this material immediately, please let us know within the
next two weeks of a date by which you intend to do so, since we have
targeted Teak re-sellers for further actions should we not hear from
them within that time.
Thank you for your consideration of this highly important matter.
Sincerely,
Dr. Thuang Htun, Representative for UN Affairs
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)
Tim Keating, Executive Director
Rainforest Relief
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