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The BurmaNet News, September 24, 19 (r)
- Subject: The BurmaNet News, September 24, 19 (r)
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 22:16:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: September 24, 1997
Issue #827
Noted in Passing:
Do not buy the rice from Kabaw valley, it is not rice, it is our blood,
sweat and lives. Do not buy the rice, do not buy our blood.
--A prisoner forced to labour in the rice fields
[ABSL: FORCED LABOUR IN KABAW VALLEY]
HEADLINES:
==========
AP: NE WIN'S IN INDONESIA
BKK POST: PETRONAS TO ACQUIRE STAKE IN BURMESE GAS
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: REPORT SUMMARY - ROHINGYAS
ABSL: FORCED LABOUR IN KABAW VALLEY
WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: NEW LOBBYIST
BKK POST: ILLEGAL TEAK WOOD SEIZED IN NORTH
NATION: PTT SCRUTINISES GAS PROJECT DUE TO FISCAL TURMOIL
UPDATE: MASSACHUSETTS BURMA LAW
IMAGES ASIA: VIDEOS AND REPORTS AVAILABLE
BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
AP: NE WIN'S IN INDONESIA
September 23, 1997
(AP) - Making his first public appearance in eight years, Burma's former
military dictator Ne Win shook hands and hugged Indonesia's President
Suharto when the two old friends met for dinner Tuesday night.
Ne Win ruled Burma with an iron hand for 26 years after overthrowing a
democratically elected government in 1962.
Many Burmese believe the 86-year-old Ne Win still exercises control over
Burma's present military government, the State Law and Order Restoration
Council, which succeeded him in September 1988, gunning down more than 3,000
pro-democracy protesters in the process.
Ne Win flew in from Rangoon on an Indonesian executive jet Tuesday afternoon
for a brief private visit.
``We Indonesians are highly appreciative of your dedication and services in
bringing understanding to our two nations and people,'' Suharto said through
a translator at Jakarta's presidential palace.
Suharto, a former army general who came to power after he crushed an abortive
communist coup in 1965, has known Ne Win for about three decades. Ne Win
looked frail and pale as he walked beside the Indonesian leader.
Suharto praised his guest for helping Burma to join the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations this year - a move opposed by Western countries
critical of Burma's poor human rights record.
Indonesian officials said Ne Win is to visit the grave of Suharto's wife Tien
in the city of Solo on Wednesday then fly on to Singapore for a routine
medical checkup Thursday.
Critics say during his years in power, Ne Win drove resource-rich Burma into
poverty with an isolationist policy. On July 23, 1988, he stepped down in the
midst of a nationwide democracy uprising that saw the emergence of Nobel
Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi as its leader.
In his final public speech, he warned the demonstrators that ``when the army
shoots, it shoots to hit.''
Chroniclers of the uprising have written that Suu Kyi was placed under six
years of house arrest after she publicly criticized Ne Win by name.
*****************************************
BKK POST: PETRONAS TO ACQUIRE STAKE IN BURMESE GAS PROJECT
September 23, 1997
Kuala Lumpur, DPA
Premier takes over entire Texaco stake
Malaysia's state oil firm, Petronas, said yesterday it is taking up a 36.4%
stake in Burma's Yetagun gas project from Britain's Premier 011 Plc.
Petronas Carigali, the oil firm's exploration arm, has signed conditional
agreements with Premier Petroleum Myanmar Ltd to acquire the stake in the
project 9 s Blocks M-12, M-13 and M-14, and in a pipeline that will deliver
the gas to Thailand.
Premier Petroleum Myanmar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Oil, is
taking over the entire stake of US-based Texaco Inc in the Yetagun gas
project and in the Block M-10 field.
Premier will also assume operator ship of the project. Texaco was reported
to have a 40% stake in Yetagun.
Petronas Carigali will also take up a 42.4% interest in Block M-10 from
Premier, a company statement said. Block M-10 is an exploration block with
promising geological prospects.
The statement said the Yetagun acquisitions mark Petronas' return to
upstream activities in Burma and is in line with the oil company's expansion
programme in Asia.
It relinquished exploration rights to an onshore project in Burma several
years ago, in a venture with Japan's Idemitsu Co, after tests showed the
project was not viable.
News reports have said Texaco wanted to sell off its stake in Yetagun,
following Washington's decision to impose sanctions on new US investments in
military-ruled Burma.
Although the sanctions will apply only to new investments and not to
existing projects like the Yetagun field, Texaco had been talking with
Petronas as well as Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina and Thai energy and
mining group Ban Pu Plc.
The Yetagun gas fields were discovered in 1991 off the Gulf of Martaban and
have estimated reserves of 1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and about 48
million barrels of condensate.
Production is set to start in late 1999 at an initial rate of 200 million
standard cubic feet per day. Other partners in the consortium operation the
Yetagun project are Japan's Nippon Oil and Thailand's PTT Exploration and
Production Plc.
*****************************************************
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: REPORT SUMMARY - ROHINGYAS
September 1997
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
MYANMAR/BANGLADESH: ROHINGYAS - THE SEARCH FOR SAFETY
SEPTEMBER 1997, SUMMARY OF REPORT
AI INDEX: ASA 13/07/97
Thousands of Burmese Muslims from the Rakhine (Arakan) State in Myanmar,
known as Rohingyas, have fled into southeastern Bangladesh during the first
half of 1997. Unlike more than 250,000 Rohingya refugees who came to
Bangladesh in 1991 and 1992, these new arrivals are largely living in local
villages rather than in designated refugee camps. The Government of
Bangladesh has not permitted the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) to interview these people, asserting that they are all
economic migrants. Amnesty International is aware of reports that some of
the new arrivals have stated that they have left Myanmar solely because of
economic hardship. However, it is concerned that others are in fact people
fleeing serious human rights violations in Myanmar, and therefore would be
in need of protection. Indeed, it should be noted that the distinction
between economic hardship and violations of civil and political rights is
not necessarily a clear one; for example, many of the Rohingyas have been
unable to make a living due to continuing unpaid forced labour in Rakhine
state. Given the grave human rights situation in Myanmar, it is impossible
to state in a blanket fashion that Rohingyas are only fleeing economic
hardship and therefore are not worthy of protection.
Rohingya refugees who arrived in Bangladesh in 1991 and 1992 fled massive
human rights violations in the Rakhine State, including extrajudicial
executions, torture, forced labour and portering. The range and extent of
these abuses constituted widespread repression of the Rohingyas by the
Burmese security forces, resulting in unprecedented numbers of refugees
fleeing the country. Although the human rights situation in the Rakhine
State has marginally improved, forced labour, portering and forcible
relocations under harsh conditions continue to be reported. Such practices
are common throughout Myanmar, but members of ethnic minorities such as the
Rohingyas are particularly vulnerable. Amnesty International has received
reliable reports from eye-witnesses who have recently observed forced
labour of civilians in the Rakhine State. According to witnesses Rohingyas
and other ethnic minorities including the Arakanese and Mro, were forced to
work on roads and bridges by the Burmese security forces in December 1996
and during the first half of 1997. The border patrol police in Myanmar,
known as Na Sa Ka, were reportedly one of the security forces responsible
for seizing them as labourers.
The long-term human rights crisis in Myanmar has meant that tens of
thousands of refugees from various ethnic minorities have fled to
neighbouring countries, primarily Bangladesh and Thailand. Such massive
outflows have created an enormous burden for these tow countries, who are
under pressure to provide safe havens for these people with very limited
resources themselves. Bangladesh needs international support to ensure that
refugees are given protection and an appropriate level of treatment. Mass
flights of refugees are an international responsibility; countries that
happen to be the nearest point of safety should not be left alone to bear
that responsibility. The refugee burdens Bangladesh and Thailand face make
it even more imperative for the international community, including both
governments and intergovernmental organizations such as the EU, to increase
pressure on the SLORC to clean up its human rights record.
The new arrivals joined some 21,800 Rohingyas living in camps in
Bangladesh, the remainder of over 250,000 refugees who had fled in the
early 1990s. Since then tens of thousands of Rohingyas have been
repatriated, although various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have
expressed concern that the repatriation operation has gone forward without
a fundamental improvement in the human rights situation in Myanmar, and
have questioned whether the repatriation of many of these refugees was
truly voluntary.
The SLORC has reportedly agreed to accept only 7,500 of the remaining
21,800 Rohingyas. UNHCR has requested the Bangladeshi authorities to allow
the remaining 14,000 Rohingyas to settle in Bangladesh. The repatriation
process stopped in April 1997, but on 20 and 22 July 1997 the Bangladeshi
security forces forcibly returned 399 Rohingyas from Kutapalong and
Nayapara camps. After protests from UNHCR, who had been denied access to
the refugees, the Government of Bangladesh agreed not to return any
Rohingyas against their will. However the government stated at the same
time that none of the Rohingya refugees would be allowed to remain in
Bangladesh permanently.
This report summarizes a 7-page document (2,913 words), MYANMAR/BANGLADESH
ROHINGYAS - THE SEARCH FOR SAFETY (AI Index: ASA 13/07/97) issued by
Amnesty International in SEPTEMBER 1997. Anyone wishing further details or
to take action on this issue should consult the full document.
(AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT,
1 EASTON STREET, LONDON WC1X 8DJ, UNITED KINGDOM)
************************************
ABSL: FORCED LABOUR IN KABAW VALLEY
September 22, 1997
Prison Labour Camp.
====================
The military junta established prison labour camps elsewhere in our
country; many convicts were sent to these camps to contribute their free
slave labour. Among these notorious prison camps, the most notorious
are the quarry mines in Kyaikhto in Mon State and Htonebo in Mandalay
division. Also the camp near the Indo-Burma border is becoming notorious for
harsh labour, persecution and cruelty.
Kabaw Valley Camp.
Under the guise of Kabaw Valley Development Project, the prison labour
force is being used in land reclamation, road building, prison labour
camp construction and city planning. Moreover, forced donations from
people, unpaid use of cattle and farm implements, and forced labour are
rampant in this area.
In these camps, the main work sites are earth work, quarry, road building,
farm land, plantation and building construction. The labourers work full
time without holiday there. There are more than 1,000 convicts in Yarzagyo,
Wetshu, Myothit and Tanan camps along the Kabaw valley. One more new
camp is under construction since 1996 between Mawlaiklay and Indaing,
expected to be completed in 1999. In this work site 400 persons are
being used and the construction project is in full swing.
Sending to Camps.
Firstly, selected convicts from all over the country were sent to Monywa
Prison in Sagaing Division. Among these, most were between the ages of
20 and 30, criminals and drug addicts. A few are over 50-60 years old.
They were fettered in Mandalay and Monywa prisons. (Fettering written
separately
in more detail) They were sent to camps from there by river boats and
in 200 persons a batch. On the upper deck, they were placed in rows and
columns. Everyone can imagine their plight during the journey, in a sitting
position throughout the journey and packed tightly like sardines. They
were not allowed to stand nor to lie, overlapping thigh to thigh,
hurting the rib
bones each other. Due to ignorance and unbearable pain, one man who was
over 50 years old stood and was subsequently beaten on the head and
suffered skull crack. Even worse, they were not allowed to go to the
toilet, and were given a plastic bag instead. Daily two meals were served
in the morning, packed in plastic bags. The food was rotten in the evening
and no one could
eat it.
At Kalaywa jetty, they embarked and were put onto trucks, similarly in
a sitting position. The trucks have no roofing, so the prisoners were
sitting in 10 rows, 50 persons per truck, travelled for two nights. They
were not allowed to move nor get off for pain relief throughout the journey.
After arriving at the camp, they were herded into the camp. Some could not
move due to the long and painful journey and were beaten and forced to run.
Then they were sent to their respective work sites. Immediately the
next day they had to start to work, ignoring poor health and handicap, all
of the prisoners were treated alike. Emergency reinforcements are sent
there from Mandalay, Lashio and Monywa prisons when there are deaths in camps.
Harsh Labour
Harsh labour in farm work, earth work, land reclamation road building,
construction and plantation. But there are no commute or remission in
return as a reward. Work hours are from 6 AM, to 6 PM from 11 AM to 1 PM is
lunch break. No excuse for sick and injuries. One day, Maung Maung Chit,
age 26, mingled with the sick persons in morning roll call. (One who wanted
to get medical leave had to bribe the prison officials). The prison warden
and overseer kicked him and forced him to work that day. On that day
he worked farm work and died the next day due to torture, poor health and poor
work conditions.
As sayings goes, truth is stranger than fiction, there was inhumane work,
beyond imagination the plough was pulled by four persons, one person rode
on the plough guarded by two wardens on each side. In this way the
fields were ploughed due to lack of modern farm equipment and implements
like tractor.
Each morning, after breakfast gruel, the prisoners were herded in fetters
after a tractor ridden by prison wardens, went ting-a-ling. Grueling work
in mud and swamp all the day, no drinking water, no shed for having meal.
There are many death in camps and fleeing from camp at the risk of their lives.
An escaped youth, age 28 explained their anguished agony in an interview.
"We decided to flee from these camps, otherwise we would die in these
appalling work conditions", he said.
In 1995, a rice field Labour camp was awarded first prize for high yield,
but no prisoners were awarded cash rewards of in any kind for their slave
Labour. A youth said in resentment, "Do not buy the rice from Kabaw
valley, it is
not rice, it is our blood, sweat and lives. Do not buy the rice, do not buy
our blood." Though they produced paddy, beans, grams and mustard
abundantly, they were given only very low ration. One prisoner was
severely beaten and
kicked for his petty crime of stealing and eating a fistful of beans.
Living conditions and nutrition
The prisoners were kept in 2 barracks in 500 x 500 yards surrounded by
double barbed wire guarded by armed security. 500 persons slept in row on
the long double sleep berth face to face. They did not remove the fetters
during the night and the prisoners had to hold their fetters in the night to
make sure they did not make any sound. Anyone who made a ting-a-ling
sound could be punished. Almost all suffered beriberi due to the
malnutrition. They picked and ate wild vegetables to enhance their nutrition,
consequently suffered from dysentery and diarrhoea. Malaria is also rampant
in this area due to unhygienic drinking water and lack of mosquito net.
Some drug addicts contracted the HIV virus.
Hospitalization in time is the exception and rare chance for prisoners.
Very lucky prisoners were sent to Mintha and Tamu hospital by cart. But
many died in hospital due to lack of medicine, lack of attention from
overworked medical personnel and their late arrival. From 1997 January to
July, 48 persons died in Mintha hospital. Of which, 13 persons died of AIDS.
There were more deaths in the rainy season. In 1995, over 100 persons in
a month, this caused a panic in all of the camps when the news spread.
If the prisoner died in camp, according to the prison manual and
regulations, a death report, post mortem report and medical report are
required. To avoid the troublesome workload and responsibility some dead
bodies were sent to
hospital with glucose intravenous set attached, when they arrived at the
hospital, they could easily say "the patient brought certificate from
the medical officer.
Prison authorities kept all the clothes and personal items on their
arrival. They were only permitted the set of clothes they were wearing.
"We have no spare dress to change into, our clothes are torn to pieces
and we call it "Tarzan" dress. We wear these ragged clothes all the
time." One prisoner said. Prison dress was issued only on the VIP
for inspection and was taken back after that.
The prison authorities do not inform the prisoners' relatives when they
died. The authorities simply buried the dead bodies in the shallow grave.
It is not surprising the prisoners tried to escape from the hell, full
of torture, terror,
malnutrition and poor medical care. Unlucky prisoners who were rearrested
fell into a worse hell. There is a standing order to shoot without
challenge and warning at the attempted escapees. Some were brought back
and beaten severely by the fellow prisoners. Some were beaten by
collaborator-prisoners and sent to hospital in dying condition.
There are many cases of prison death of the unsuccessful escapees. In
1996 July four prisoners went berserk and beat a warden by hoe and ran
away. But unfortunately they were rearrested by the prison guards and
beaten to death. Unsurprisingly, no action was taken against prison
authorities for their inhumane and brutal crimes. Another incident took
place in 1995 June. Maung Lay, aged 20, and 3 other fisherman convicts ran
away from camp and rearrested and tortured. Three prisoners died instantly
of severe injuries. But, when Maung Lay did not die though he was beaten
severely for a long time, impatient prison guards smashed his private
parts with a brick and put him to death.
"Many are crippled and handicapped upon completion of their serving terms.
I can walk for only a few minutes, always suffer from arthritis", one
former prisoner said showing his scars. This is mostly due to their
hard labour and
constant wearing of fetters.
When the death rate increased in the camp, the remaining prisoners had
to make up for the lost labour force and their work load increased. Fresh
reinforcements used to arrive at the camp from Mandalay, Lashio and Monywa
prisons within a month. "There are always 200 or more prisoners in the
camp", one prisoner said. (There is always a 7 to 8 escapee rate per month).
To be free from their heavy work load, fetters and torture, some prisoners
bribed the prison officials to be admitted to the hospital and take rest.
The price varies from 300 to 500 kyats from time to time. Those who
can not pay, including the real sick and crippled prisoners had to make up
their work load besides their own heavy work.
On 24th July 1997, Lt. Gen Mya Thin, SLORC's Home Minister said officially
that the prison labour should be used in construction work to a full
extent in a routine departmental co-ordination meeting. This is the death
warrant from the hell angel for all prisoners in the camps, which may put
them to death definitely.
We should do something for the deplorable and unsung agony of the prisoners
in Kabaw Valley. They should be granted lawful prisoner rights, humane
treatment and protection by law.
News and Information Bureau All Burma Students League
+=====================================+
| A B S L |
+-------------------------------------+
| All Burma Students League |
| 3, Krishna Menon Marg |
| New Delhi - 110011 |
| Ph : 91-11-3017172/3016035 |
| Fx : 91-11-3793397 |
| Email : shar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |
+=====================================+
*********************************************
WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: NEW LOBBYIST
September 22, 1997
by Heidi Przybyla
International Business
IMAGE IS EVERYTHING. Bain and Associates of Alexandria is embarking on a
mission to polish the tarnished reputation of Myanmar, the largest country
in Southeast Asia.
This past April, the U.S. government slapped trade sanctions on Myanmar,
formerly known as Burma, citing human rights violations. A real estate and
manufacturing company in Myanmar subsequently hired Bain and Associates,
which specializes in media relations, marketing and crisis management, to
tell the international press about the country's business climate, culture
and opportunities.
"The U.S. is using the country as a whipping boy," said Jackson Bain,
president and co-owner of Bain and Associates.
The U.S. government has come under fire for renewing most favored nation
trading status with China, despite the country's well-documented human
rights violations. While revoking China's trading status would be a risky
move on many counts, Bain said, "beating up on Myanmar" may pacify the U.S.
public.
Bain said Myanmar, which has 45 million residents, is five to 10 years from
forming a democratic constitution "that will lead to real democracy for all
its people." He said the new sanctions will be impediments to the growth of
Myanmar's economy and, ultimately, to the emerging democracy.
Bain declined to release the value of the one-year contract.
Bain and Associates has 12 clients, including the Biotechnology Industry
Association and the American Public Transit Association. It also has done
work for various foreign companies.
Heidi Przybyla can be reached at (703) 816-0337 or by fax at (703) 875-2231.
Send e-mail to hprzybyla@xxxxxxxxxxx
===========================
Bain and Associates 703-549-9592
**********************************************
BKK POST: ILLEGAL TEAK WOOD SEIZED IN NORTH
September 23, 1997
Mae Hong Son - A combined team of police officers and forestry officials
seized 300 pieces of illegally-processed teak wood worth about 100,000 baht
from the Salween River yesterday.
The seized logs, left there by an unknown party on Friday, were about to be
sent to Burma for the necessary stamp of clearance before being sent back to
Thai merchants.
Two Burmese timber firms and a Mae Sot-based Thai company are reportedly
engaged in the illegal activity. They have hired members of the renegade
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army to fell trees in the Salween wildlife
sanctuary and send them to Burma to be stamped with the seal legitimising
their felling before being returned to Thailand.
*****************************************************
THE NATION: PTT SCRUTINISES GAS PROJECTS DUE TO FISCAL TURMOIL
September 23, 1997
AP-Dow Jones
SINGAPORE Thailand is studying plans to increase imports of natural gas
from neighbouring Burma in line with its review of a number of natural gas
import proposals, Viset Choopiban, president of Petroleum Authority of
Thailand unit PTT International, said yesterday.
The recent economic crisis in Thailand has forced state-owned PTT to review
the feasibility of a number of petrochemical and natural gas projects,
including a plan to import liquefied natural gas from Oman and also to pipe
natural gas from Indonesia's giant Natuna field.
Additional natural gas sourced from Burma's Yadana and Yetagun fields, in
which PTT affiliate PTT Exploration and Production has a 25.5 per cent and a
14.1 per cent stake respectively, may now prove more economical as a result of
a pipeline already under construction and due for completion next year, Viset
said. He added that PTTEP was also looking at potential supply from the
Vietnam-Thai border area, thought to be rich in gas.
"We have to utilise our [nearby] sources first," Viset said. He added that
these existing projects could yield additional natural gas imports more
quickly than other projects under consideration.
Thailand has already agreed to import about 750 million cubic feet a day of
natural gas from the two Burmese fields to fuel the 4,600 megawatt power
plants owned by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).
Viset was speaking at a private briefing ahead of the start of the 13th Asia
Pacific Petroleum Conference in Singapore.
Regarding the planned privatisation of PTT, which the Thai government has
requested be speeded up, Viset said, "PTT will still be a [single] integrated
company after privatisation ... the synergy of gas, oil [and other sectors]
would be good for PTT in the long run."
PTT has been studying privatisation plans for the last two years, and that
study should be completed "very soon", Viset said. Previously PTT indicated
the study should be finished in late September or early October.
Viset estimated that PTT had working capital of US$671.8 million as of June
before the de facto devaluation of the baht. He valued PTT assets at $4
billion with a turnover of $5 billion.
Although Viset conceded PTT has been affected by the baht depreciation, he
said nevertheless it has been "maintaining a satisfactory financial
performance and a strong marketing position". He added that exchange rate
fluctuations are "automatically adjusted at retail".
PTT pays for its crude oil imports, amounting to 200,000 barrels a day, in US
dollars, but relies on baht revenue for domestic sales.
Previously a net importer of refined products, Thailand became a net exporter
of most refined products only last year with the start up of two new
refineries; Rayong Refinery Co, with a 145,000 b/d capacity, and Star
Petroleum Refining Co, with 150,000 b/d.
PTT exports of refined products from local refineries were 2.3 million barrels
in the first half of 1997, while exports of liquefied petroleum gas from gas
separation plants amounted to 200,000 tonnes, Viset said. Exports of natural
petrol and condensate amounted to 2.4 million barrels while those from
petrochemicals reached 71,000 tonnes in the first half of the year.
Viset said PTT would be looking to diversify its crude oil supply to include
crudes from West Africa and the Yemen within "one or two years" as crude
production in East Asia declines.
He said such diversification of supply would be in line with Thailand's goal
to reduce production of high-sulphur diesel, and may be sought through term
contracts. Separately, Viset said Thai refining margins had been negatively
impacted by the rising cost of its dollar-denominated crude imports and
simultaneous weakening in the value of its oil product sales.
***********************************************
UPDATE: MASSACHUSETTS BURMA LAW
September 23, 1997
A bipartisan group of US Representatives have moved an amendment in
Congress that would help support the Massachusetts Burma selective
purchasing law.
It is expected that the amendment will be moved AND voted on in Congress on
Wednesday, September 24.
BACKGROUND
Six Members of Congress (Sanders, Rohrabacher, Stearns, Defazio, Ney, Brown
and Dellums) plan to move an amendment to Commerce-State-Justice
Appropriations Bill that would help defend state and local laws from the
World Trade Organization.
The amendment cuts $1 million from the US Commerce Department budget. The
amendment reallocates the $1 million to the US Trade Representative's
office (USTR) "for the express purpose of better equipping [the USTR] to
identify and defend current national, state, local, tribal, territorial or
DC laws adversely affected by international trade and investment agreements."
This amendment puts additional explicit pressure on the USTR to defend the
Massachusetts Burma selective purchasing law from the challenge by the
European Commission and the Japanese government at the World Trade
Organization. Modeled on a previous South Africa anti-apartheid law, the
Massachusetts Burma law effectively bars state agencies from buying goods
or services from companies that do business in Burma.
If this amendment is successfully attached to the Appropriations bill in
the House of Representatives, the action will move to the Senate where, it
is hoped, a similar amendment will be moved.
For more information contact:
Simon Billenness
* for the New England Burma Roundtable *
Franklin Research & Development
711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 423-6655 x225
(617) 482 6179 fax
sbillenness@xxxxxxxx
**********************************
IMAGES ASIA: VIDEOS AND REPORTS AVAILABLE
September 19, 1997
sitthi@xxxxxxxxxxxx
I M A G E S A S I A
Materials Available from Images Asia:
VIDEOS*
1. No Childhood at All ($20.00 US dollar/500 Thai baht); This documentary
explores the human rights abuses perpetrated against children in Burma.
Footage smuggled out of the country includes the student demonstrations of
December 6,1996. This is combined with chilling testimonies from former
child soldiers, painting a shocking picture of conditions for children in
Burma today.
2. Caught in the Crossfire ($20.00 US dollar/500 Thai baht); A stirring
documentary about the abuses of women at the hands of SLORC.
3. BURMA: December, 1996 Student Demonstrations ($20.00 US/500 Thai baht);
Footage smuggled out of the country showing the 1996 student demonstrations
in Rangoon.
* All videos available on either PAL/VHS and NTSC/VHS Formats - please specify.
REPORTS/PUBLICATIONS:
1. No Where to Go (English language) ($4.00 US/100 Thai baht); Report on the
consequences of the 1997 SLORC offensive against the Duplaya District (KNU
Sixth Brigade), Karen State, Burma.
2. No Childhood at AII (English language) ($4.00 US/100 Thai baht); Report
on the use of child soldiers and related human rights abuses of children in
Burma.
3. Migrating with Hope (English language) ($4.00 US/100 Thai baht); Report
concerned with the migration of Burmese women into the Thai sex industry.
4. The situation of Muslims in Burma (English language) ($4.00 US/100 Thai
baht); Report on the Muslim/Buddhist disturbances in Burma in early, 1997.
POSTCARDS:
1. Sets of 8, B/W ($3.00 US/70 Thai baht) - Images Asia: Postcards from Burma
2. Sets of 9, Colour ($2.00 US/SO Thai baht) - Images Asia: Postcards from
the Burmese Border
POSTERS:
One set of three 14 ½ x 22 B & W posters ($6.00 US dollars/150 Thai baht);
They include:
1. A portrait of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, with the caption, There will be
change because all the military have are guns.
2. A picture of a child performing hard labour with the caption: Burma: The
Golden Land, The Golden Lie!
In Burma over two million people are being forced to build a tourist
industry... Many of them are children...
3. A picture of a SLORC military policeman barring the photographer's entry:
Burma: The Golden Lie.
Including a comparison of SLORC military spending figures and health
spending figures.
Order from Images Asia, P.O. Box 2, Prasingha PO, Chiang Mai 50200,
Thailand, with a check made out to Images Asia/Thai Farmers Bank, including
shipping costs.
(Overseas shipping ? videos $10.00 US
Postcards/reports $5.00)
Bulk orders of 10 or more sets of postcards, psoters, and reports receive a
10% discount of the total.
Contact Images Asia direct by e-mail: <sitthi@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
*************************************
BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST
BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different topics
related to Burma. If you have questions on any of the following subjects,
please direct email to the following volunteer coordinators, who will either
answer your question or try to put you in contact with someone who can:
Campus activism: zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boycott campaigns: ai268@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission: brelief@xxxxxxx
Chin history/culture: [volunteer temporarily away]
Fonts: tom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
High School Activism: [volunteer needed]
History of Burma: zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
International Affairs: Julien Moe: moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Karen history/culture: Karen Historical Society:
102113.2571@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Naga history/culture: Wungram Shishak:
z954001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Burma-India border Aung San Myint:
aungsan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pali literature: "Palmleaf": c/o burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
Pipeline Campaign freeburma@xxxxxxx
Resettlement info: refugee_help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rakhaing (Arakan) history/culture
Kyaw Tha Hla:thisthis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rohingya culture volunteer needed
Shan history/culture: Sao Hpa Han: burma@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Teak Boycott Tim Keating: relief@xxxxxxx
Total - France Dawn Star: cd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tourism campaigns: bagp@xxxxxxxxxx "Attn. S.Sutcliffe"
volunteering: refugee_help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
World Wide Web: FreeBurma@xxxxxxxxx
Geographical Contacts:
Massachusetts simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage]
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FREE BURMA WEB PAGES:
http://FreeBurma.org
This single page serves only as an easy to remember URL and departure
point to resources promoting the establishment of democracy in Burma.
Please write to FreeBurma@xxxxxxxxx to add a site or for further
information." - Glen, system administrator
FREE BURMA COALITION:
to get involved in the Free Burma Coalition, send a message to:
zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
or visit their homepage, accessible through: http:// FreeBurma.org
There is also an e-mail list-server especially for Free Burma activists
BURMANET SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION:
The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma.
Articles from newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wire
services and the Internet as well as original material are published.
It is produced with the support of the Burma Information Group
(B.I.G) and the Research Department of the ABSDF. We are also
grateful to many other friends around the world who send us articles
to post.
The BurmaNet News is e-mailed directly to subscribers and is
also distributed via the soc.culture.burma and seasia-l mailing lists.
For a free subscription to the BurmaNet News:
send a message to: majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx
a. For the BurmaNet News only:
in the message, type: subscribe burmanews-l
b. For the BurmaNet News and 4-5 other messages a day:
in the message, type: subscribe burmanet-l
(NOTE: all lower case letters, last letter is a lower case "L", not the
numeral one).
Letters to the editor, comments or contributions of articles should be
sent to the editor at: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
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