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The BurmaNet News - 21-22 February,



------------------------------ BurmaNet -----------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News, 21-22 February, 1998
Issue #940

HEADLINES:
==========
SCMP: GUERRILLA GENERAL SEEKS TO NEGOTIATE
THE NATION: AUTHORITIES TO REPATRIATE 12,000 KAREN
BKK POST: SO MUCH FOR BURMESE TOURISM
BKK POST: CHUAN WANTS LOGGING TALKS WITH BURMA
THE NATION: LOGGING MAFIA RULES IN MAE HONG SON
THE NATION: STILL WAITING FOR LIBERTY IN THIS LAND OF
THE NATION: BURMESE AUTHOR DIES

Features:
THE JAPAN TIMES: A PATTERN OF UNPRINCIPLED POLICY
THE FDL-AP QUARTERLY: CRUELTY AND COURAGE - ASIA'S
THE ADELAIDE VOICES: MOVING TOWARDS HUMAN RIGHTS

Human Rights Special:
TACDB: EXPLOITATION OF BURMESE MIGRANT WORKERS BY
PLEE FROM MAEYA THA REFUGEE CAMP
CCN INSIDE NEWS: MADE-IN-CHINA LANDMINES ALONG INDIA-
THE GOVERNMENT OF KARENNI: SITUATION REPORT
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SCMP: GUERRILLA GENERAL SEEKS TO NEGOTIATE
20 February, 1998

REUTERS in Thukyakwee -- The ageing leader of the rebel Karen 
National Union (KNU) is seeking new peace talks with military rulers 
to end a 50-year war for an autonomous ethnic Karen state.

Amid flagging morale, desertions and mutiny, self-styled General Bo 
Mya said on Wednesday he was ready to negotiate.

"I hope I will have an opportunity to go to Yangon [Rangoon] again 
soon," the 71-year-old rebel said in unusually conciliatory tones.

He has not set foot in the capital for nearly half a century.

He said he had received information from Rangoon that the country's 
military junta was willing to hold another round of peace talks.

"Some positive signs of peace efforts are emerging," Bo Mya said from
the country's border with western Thailand.

"I was informed that the State Peace and Development Council has to 
clear some internal problems first before they will begin talks with us.

"With ongoing international pressure, I hope the military Government 
willsoon come to hold peace talks with us."

However, Bo Mya added he would continue his group's armed struggle 
for Karen autonomy until its demands were met.

Several rounds of peace talks between the military junta and the rebels 
Have failed in the past because the Government has insisted the guerrillas 
put down their arms before talks started.

But the junta also wants to end the expensive and debilitating military
stand-offs with ethnic groups such as the KNU.

The KNU is one of the few rebel groups still fighting the junta as 17 
others have reached peace agreements.

The KNU, founded in 1948, is one of the oldest active guerrilla groups in
the world. At its peak it had 25,000 fighters and received support from 
sympathisers in the West.

But the KNU now has only about 10,000 guerrillas.

More than 100,000 ethnic Karens, either family members or followers of 
the KNU who fled the fighting, have lived in sprawling camps on the 
Thai-Burmese border since 1984.

Bo Mya appealed to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations to apply pressure on Burma, admitted to the grouping last year, 
to discuss peace.

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

THE NATION: AUTHORITIES TO REPATRIATE 12,000 KAREN REFUGEES NEXT MONTH
20 February, 1998

REUTERS, MAE HONG SON -- Thailand plans to repatriate 12,000 
Karen refugees from its northwestern border to Burma next month 
after reaching an agreement with Burmese authorities, a Thai military 
source said. 

The refugees had refused to be moved from camps in Sobngae
village in Mae Hong Son province to another new camp  in the
province, the source said.

"We have talked with the Myanmar  [Burmese] authorities and they
have  agreed and said they are ready to receive them back. Our
plan is to repatriate them from March 1 to 7." the source said.

There are a total of about 30,000 Karen refugees now in Mae Hong
Son province] and the 12,000 are part of that group.

There are another 70,000 Karen refugees living in neighbouring
Tak province.

Since 1984, Thailand has housed a total of about 100,000 Karen
refugees, who have fled fighting in Burma between government
troops and guerrillas of the rebel Karen National Union (KNU),
which is fighting Rangoon for an autonomous state.

Thai authorities suspect that some of the Karen refugees may be
involved in illegal logging in the forested provinces and the
subject has become a major political issue in Thailand now.

The leader of the  KNU, General Bo Mya, denied on Wednesday
that the refugees were involved in illegal logging. 

"Karen refugees do not get involved in any logging businesses.
But Thai authorities themselves are conspiring with the loggers
to chop down trees inside Thailand," he said.
     
They then run them down the Salween River and send it back to 
Thailand,  making it look like the timber was cut inside Myanmar
[Burma]," he said.

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

BKK POST: SO MUCH FOR BURMESE TOURISM
21February, 1998

AFP -- Rangoon-Burmese authorities have revoked the operating 
licences of the, bulk of the country's private tour companies for
allegedly engaging in unauthorised activities, the state-owned
press said yesterday.

In all, 135 tour companies were found guilty of irregularities,
including doing businesses other than arranging travel and tours.

"These companies ... not only failed to make monthly reports as 
required, but also have kept away from official meetings for long
periods of time without any kind of explanation," the ruling
military junta said.

"Visit Myanmar Year", in 1996, turned hundreds of residential
homes into guest-houses and hotels almost overnight, hoping to
earn foreign exchange from a tourist boom. Today s they remain
mostly vacant.

Military authorities have blamed democracy activist Aung San Suu
Kyi for sabotaging their efforts to cash in on a tourist bonanza by 
calling for tourists to keep away from the country.

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

BKK POST: CHUAN WANTS LOGGING TALKS WITH BURMA
20 February, 1998 [abridged]
by Bhanravee Tansubhapol & Temsak Trisophon

MINISTRY ALSO URGED TO DISCUSS KARENS

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has instructed the Foreign Ministry
to raise illegal logging at the Salween Wildlife Sanctuary with the 
Burmese government, ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul said
yesterday.

According to Mr Kobsak, the prime minister recently instructed
the ministry to find out whether Burmese authorities were aware
the wood from the sanctuary was transported to the Burmese side
for despatch back into Thailand. 
     
Mr Chuan also instructed the ministry to negotiate for relocation
further inside Burma of Karens encamped near the border, who are
said to have been involved in illegal logging activities, he
added.

The ministry is to liaise with foreign non-government organisations
which are in touch with the Karens to dissuade them from such activities.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra is expected to
raise the issue when he visits Burma next month, the spokesman
said. To this end, M.R. Sukhumbhand  yesterday instructed the
East  Asian Department and the Thai embassy in Rangoon to prepare
Thailand's position for the discussions.

Mr Kobsak acknowledged the Salween illegal logging was an
internal affair of Thailand. However, he said, talks are needed
with the Burmese government because the incident involved the use
of Burmese territory and nationals.

The prime minister is also trying to prevent a recurrence of the
incident he said.

Meanwhile, logging companies are asking the Interior Ministry to
open four Thai-Burmese border passes in Mae Hong Son province
temporarily for them to "import" logs into Thailand, but the
minister is rejecting them.

A ministry source identified the firms as B&P Goodrich,
Phonphana, Songkhroh Sahai Ruamrob, and

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

THE NATION: LOGGING MAFIA RULES IN MAE HONG SON
20 February, 1998

For several years now, Thailand has suffered from a collective
blindness to the rampant illegal logging in the Salween
conservation areas. Suddenly, the exposure of an attempted Bt5
million bribe seems to have opened the public's eyes.

It is about time. At least 13,000 logs have been confiscated from
the area, and who knows how many thousands more were ferried
across the Salween, stamped by Burmese authorities and then-
"exported" to Thailand, where they were allowed to pass through
customs and be picked up by Thai logging firms.

Everyone knew what was going on - the scheme has been
well-documented in the press - and everyone knew who was behind
it. But it was allowed to continue because the authorities who
had the power to stop it either did not care or were reaping the
benefits of such illegal activities. Meanwhile, lesser officials
who might have blown the whistle were either murdered or
threatened into remaining silent.

The destruction of Thai forests is only part of the story here.
For far too long now, the logging mafia has ruled Mae Hong Son
with a brutal hand, bribing all manner of officials to look the
other way and gunning down anyone who stands in its way.

What is more, several years ago, the godfather behind the Salween 
scheme essentially instigated a war between the Slorc and the Karenni
National Progressive Party, a minority group which had signed a 
ceasefire with Burma's ruling military junta, by illicitly importing logs
from Burma's Kayah State.

Hopefully, the political storm brewing over the attempted bribe
will not prevent this logging tycoon - one of the most vicious
thugs in Thailand - from finally being brought to justice, along
with his political and military backers.

But that should not be the end of the story. Even if the Salween
log poaching scheme is finally shut down, a new one will simply
take its place unless there is serious institutional reform.

This illegal logging scheme could not have occurred without the
complicity of law enforcers and all the Interior Ministry
officials who allowed the logs to be "imported". The Interior
Ministry repeatedly refused calls to close the checkpoints and
even increased the number of licences for log importing companies
last year.

The Salween scandal also demonstrates once again that the Royal
Forestry Department (RFD) is hopelessly corrupt.

If Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai is serious about wanting to
protect Thailand's forests, then he must finally see to it that
the conservation agencies are moved out of the RFD once and for
all. Our forests will never be protected so long as they remain
in the clutches of a bureaucracy which produces leaders like
deputy director general Prawat Thanadka, the man caught holding
the bribe money.

It is also time to take a close look at the Forest Industry
Organisation (FIO). Senate Speaker Meechai Ruchupan was
absolutely correct in his accusation that this state enterprise
essentially launders illegally cut logs, thereby providing an
insidious incentive for yet more log poaching.

Ideally, trees cut down in conservation areas either illegally or
to make way for development projects - should be allowed to
degrade in the forest, where they will be naturally "recycled",
but they would probably just be stolen. If the logs are to be
sold, however, then the money should be used to support forest
conservation, not the FIO.

The state enterprise should instead be privatised. Of course, it
stands little chance of surviving on its own, but so be it. Our
economy and our forests can no longer afford to serve as a
welfare fund for a bunch of ageing bureaucrats.

With every logging scandal, there come loud calls to protect the
forest. But once the usual political points are scored, the calls
go unanswered, and the logging continues. Will this time be any
different? 

********************************************************* 
                                                                 
THE NATION: STILL WAITING FOR LIBERTY IN THIS LAND OF THE FREE
20 February, 1998
Letter to the Editor

We are Burmese students who love democracy so much that we fled
to Thailand in order to struggle for democracy in our country. We are 
recognised by the UN High Commission for Refugees as refugees, but 
were arrested for illegal entry.

On Jan 12, 1993, we peacefully demonstrated in front of the Burmese 
Embassy to condemn the State Law and Restoration Council (Slorc) 
for the sham National Convention. But we were arrested and detained
in the Special Detention Centre for eight months.

During the Asean meeting last July, our Burmese comrades were
arrested for demonstrating  peacefully outside the Burmese Embassy. 
They are still being held at the detention centre. They will soon be 
handed over to a safe area and are likely to be put under house arrest.

That's why we would like to ask the Thai government: What is
democracy? Where is liberty, justice, human rights and the values
of humanity?

Saw Pai Htoo Chit
Independent Karen National Students' Organisation

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

THE NATION: BURMESE AUTHOR DIES
20 February, 1998

REUTERS, RANGOON -- One of Burma's most renowned and 
admired authors, Mya Than Tint, died on Wednesday at Rangoon  
General Hospital of a brain haemorrhage, family members said. 
He was 69.

The author and translator spent many days in jail for his communist 
views and was once deported to the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

He wrote many novels, short stories, poems and essays on various
subjects. But he also translated a number of classic and modern novels 
from English into the Burmese language under nine different pen 
names. Among the masterpieces he rendered into the Burmese were;
"Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and "War and Peace" by 
Leo Tolstoy. He also translated some modern novels such as "Beyond Love" 
and "City of Joy" by Dominique Lapierre.
     
Many of his own novels were local best sellers and he won Burma's
top "National Literary Award" five times.  

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

THE JAPAN TIMES: A PATTERN OF UNPRINCIPLED POLICY MAKING
7 February, 1998 [abridged]
by Bernard Krisher , Special to The Japan Times

Kim Dae Jung's election as the new president of South Korea dramatizes 
the desire of people everywhere to be governed under a liberal democracy
despite the claim of Asian leaders that democracy in the region must be 
based on "Asian values."

A freedom fighter who-like Nelson Mandela-traveled the long road from 
death row to the presidential mansion, Kim never abandoned his principles. 
As a result he endured two assassination attempts, was jailed, confined to 
house arrest, kidnapped by KCIA thugs in Japan and spent more than five 
years in exile. Now he has finally been rewarded by Korean voters for 
bringing them the democracy they cherish. Kim said recently that if the 
rulers of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia had provided citizens with a 
liberal democracy, an open-market economy and guaranteed transparency, 
the close secret ties between politicians, banks and businessmen could 
never have developed and economies would not have collapsed.

Kim's victory further underscores Japan's unprincipled foreign policy, 
which is motivated by self-serving economic goals at the expense of 
moral values. Beyond that, it confirms Japan's failure as potential 
regional leader, capable of inspiring Asian countries to build the kind 
of open societies that would prevent economic crises of the kind they 
face today. 

The pattern is a familiar one. The Foreign Ministry has consistently 
Tended to support questionable regimes for the sake of its economic interests.

Japan was the first to recognize Hanoi because it wished to establish a
stronger economic base in Vietnam, and it has never seriously criticized
China's human rights violations. It is active in Myanmar, where its
businessmen maintain warm ties with the ruling junta that continues to 
place Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi-who gained more than 80 percent of 
the vote in 1990-under periodic house arrest. Furthermore, Japan maintains 
much closer ties with Libya, Iraq and Iran than do the other democratic,
industrialized countries. Japan also moved quickly to embrace Cambodia's 
Prime Minister Hun Sen, while refusing to meet First Prime Minister Norodom
Ranariddh, who was popularly elected but later deposed in a coup led by 
Hun Sen.

Japan has rejected only North Korea, where it has little to gain
economically. Until recently, Japan has stood alone while its rice 
surpluses grew by leaps and bounds, reluctant to provide emergency 
food  to stem a famine that particularly harms children and the elderly.

This kind of policy follows a pattern of unprincipled action that goes
back to World War II. During the war a very courageous Japanese 
diplomat named Sempo Sugihara was stationed in Lithuania. There Sugihara
stamped the passports of thousands of Jews fleeing Hitler's concentration
camps, which allowed them passage through Japan to 
a haven in Curacao.

Yet the rigid Foreign Ministry never forgave Sugihara for violating its
inhumane rules against issuing such visas, and he was dismissed in 
disgrace from the foreign service after the war.

Sugihara was eventually honored, 50 years after the deed, but unfortunately 
not before his death. His widow had to accept on his behalf the award for 
one of the most humanitarian individual acts in recent Japanese history. 
It was another tragic example of the Foreign Ministry always doing too 
little, too late.

[Bernard Krisher has worked in Japan for more than 30 years as a 
journalist. He is the publisher of The Cambodia Daily, where this article
first appeared.]

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

THE FDL-AP QUARTERLY: CRUELTY AND COURAGE - ASIA'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
Winter 1998, vol. 3 no. 4 [excerpts]
by Chee Soon Juan

Much has been written about Asian leaders who have led their countries in an 
age of unprecedented economic progress. The general ascent of the economic
powerhouses starting with Northeast Asia and later spreading to the
Southeast Asian nations have enabled authoritarian regimes to legitimize
their abuses 
of power and challenge the basic tenets of democracy. Many of these leaders 
have claimed that democracy is not suited for the Asian way of life and is, 
in fact, detrimental to economic growth. By virtue of their being in positions
of power and control, their views are widely promulgated.

But lest one forgets, there are also Asian leaders who have, not only
espoused the principles of freedom and democracy for their countries, 
but paid for their beliefs with life and limb. Their stories have not been 
as widely told. Some of these democratic fighters have succeeded and some 
have not. Some are still in the midst of their struggles. But whatever fate 
has dealt them, they have all left an indelible mark in the history of Asia
which must be recorded. Their titanic battles with their often capriciously
cruel governments must stand as a testimony to Asia's struggle for freedom.
Below are some key leaders of democracy in Asia.

Burma. Perhaps the most celebrated Asian democrat at present times, Aung San 
Suu Kyi is the brightest hope yet for the Burmese people who have been pinned 
down by a corrupt and brutal military dictatorship for decades. When the 
National League for Democracy, led by Suu Kyi, won the 1990 general elections
by a landslide margin, the military generals quickly seized the reins of
power 
and refused a handover of government. Scores of elected members of parliament
and pro-democracy activists were arrested and imprisoned; some were banished 
and an untold number murdered. Suu Kyi was promptly put under house arrest 
where she remains today. Being the most potent symbol of democratic resistance
in Burma and indeed Asia she has become the most watched Asian leader. Her
struggle is far from over and her personal safety is constantly hanging in 
the balance as an increasingly nervous dictatorship ponders how to deal with 
her.

But rather than despair, these leaders continue to bring hope to Asia.
Through the dark years of relentless and brutal persecution by their own
governments, they have kept faith with their peoples and, more importantly,
their beliefs - beliefs that democracy has a history and a future in Asia 

[Dr. Chee Soon Juan is the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic
Party] 

Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific Quarterly

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

THE ADELAIDE VOICES: MOVING TOWARDS HUMAN RIGHTS
Feb/March, 1998
by Dr U Ne Oo

In Massachusetts, USA, a Burma activist campaigns for selective purchasing
legislation; in the Northern Territory of Australia, the supporters for an
Independent East Timor launch a photo-exhibition; somewhere in the world, 
members of Amnesty hold a candlelight vigil for prisoners of conscience,
and Indigenous land-rights advocates in Australia address public rallies.

These phenomena are known as 'new social movements' or simply 'movements'.
These movements are the people's struggle for greater respect for human 
rights in the respective countries.

(FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES)
There can be no geographical boundary to such movements, especially when
sophisticated communication technologies are now available: a movement can
be intra-national as well as international.

Though the new social movements may in general be defined in broader social 
and political contexts, common elements among these movements can clearly be 
seen. Firstly, they seek to redress the fundamental social and political
injustices for which an existing political order cannot adequately provide 
a solution.

In Burma, the existing military led one party rule cannot accommodate 
the democratic aspirations of Burmese people. In East Timor, the 
sovereignty of its state is not recognized by Indonesian authorities. 
In Australia, the rights of the Indigenous population are not properly 
provided for in the Constitution: these are the types of root causes of 
the conflict between authorities in power and the people's movements.

One other element shared by all movements is the transcending nature 
of participant groups. In contrast to other social phenomena, such as
interest groups, the participants in a movement are not necessarily 
confined to a particular section of the community. Communities from 
a broad spectrum of society participate in such social movements.

A movement can enjoy broader support bases because it seeks to address 
obvious injustices that are affronts to the human conscience. The Burma 
democracy movement for example, as with its counterparts, enjoys the 
support of many of the social and political organizations across the globe.

(THE UNITY OF THE MOVEMENT)
A stark contrast between a formal political institution, such as a political 
party or trade union, and a movement, is in defining unity. Because the
participating individuals and organizations transcend social strata as well 
as geographical boundaries, it is impossible to unify a movement in a
normal sense.

Since movements are built upon the voluntary participation of flexible, 
non-authoritarian and autonomous organizations, they may not necessarily 
find a hierarchical form of leadership to set agendas for the movement.

Furthermore, it is rather counter-productive (often impossible) to regulate 
the agendas of a movement. The unity of a movement, therefore, can only be 
defined by the participants' principal objectives.

The exception to this argument is Amnesty International (AI). The overall
agendas of AI's campaigns are set by its Secretariat in London. However,
because of the fundamental nature of AI's objectives, and the voluntary
participation by members from almost every society throughout the globe,
that organization may be considered as a movement.

Although unity in the normal sense may not be possible in a movement, the
participating organizations and individuals can still achieve co-ordination
between them. On achieving such co-ordination, the diversity of strategies 
by autonomous organizations will translate into the strength of the movement.

(OVERCOMING THE ODDS)
The entities which movements seek to confront are usually the established
institutions, such as governments, power groups or corporate interests. In
confronting its opponents, the movement will have advantages as well as 
short-comings.

When mobilising public opinion in a campaign, the movement generally is
much slower than its opponents. However, once it is mobilised, a popular
movement 
can often wield considerably more influence on public opinion than that of
its opponents.

For example, the news media monopolized by a government or an interest
group may be quicker to put out their version of a dispute. However, the
public in general may be more receptive to the 'grassroots' communications.
In this way, the movement may have the advantage.

A grassroots organization may often feel weak if one compares it directly
with 
its opponent in terms of total resources. However, the movement in a broader 
sense is not necessarily disadvantaged by this in a campaign. For example, 
the Burma democracy campaign features in the international media, and on
the Internet where the junta is simply outnumbered by many of the movement's 
voluntary supporters. Thus the best practice is to encourage all
participants within the movement to put forward their best
available time and efforts.

For those who are seriously engaging in a struggle it is often necessary to 
remain in the position of the underdog and prepare to put up a long fight. 
Because a movement, like a human being, has its limitation on resource and 
energy, it is good practice to choose carefully the action to be engaged in.

The leaderships of a movement may not necessarily strike down every move of
its opponent: such practice can easily exhaust the movement's energy. The
leadership must always focus on the principal objectives and must engage
selectively in a series of campaigns.

The international movements should not rely principally on the normal media
to build up a campaign. The normal media can help the cause, especially
when mobilising local grassroots support.

However, the normal media is of only limited use in the long term since
the focus of the movement and the news media are quite different. For
example,  when reporting the situation of a group of refugees, a normal
newspaper or television report may only focus on more sensational aspects,
such as extreme violence or egregious living conditions, that may
necessarily provoke the public to a quick response.

The movement may, however, need more factual reports with information such
as the total number of refugees, conditions of food and sanitation at the
camp site and various matters relating to protection of refugees. The best
solution is for grassroots support groups to set up their own communication
networks, such as newsletters or Internet mailing-lists.

One striking thing about social movements is that they cannot be suppressed
totally: as long as injustice exists there will be people's struggles to 
overcome it. In the longer-run, however, people's power is always greater 
and will finally win the struggle.

(CURRENT SITUATION IN BURMA)
The present military junta in Burma seized state power in 1988 after 
violently suppressing the popular democracy movement. An election was 
held in May 1990, in which the opposition party, the National League 
for Democracy, won an 82 per cent majority.

The military junta then refused to transfer state power and now 
continuously harasses, intimidates and unlawfully detains the members 
of the NLD.

Since the seizure of state power, the junta exercises all legislative, 
executive and judicial powers. Many decrees (laws) made by the ruling junta
are rendering violations of human rights legitimate, according to the UN 
Human Rights Special Rapporteur. (For example, the junta made a decree in 
1996 to criminalise anyone discussing the Constitution of Burma. This law 
has prevented the elected representatives from freely discussing and drafting
a constitution.)

Since 1991, the UN General Assembly has been consistently putting pressure 
on the junta to respect the result of the 1990 election. At the time of 
preparing this article, a representative of the UN Secretary-General is 
visiting Burma to broker a dialogue between the junta and National League 
for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi (the winner of the 1991 Nobel peace 
prize). The military junta, since 1966, has not allowed the Human Rights 
Special Rapporteur to visit Burma.

[Dr U Ne Oo is a Burmese refugee and human rights advocate now living 
in exile in Australia]

["The Adelaide Voices" is an activist news journal published every two
months. Copies of AV can be ordered from The Editor, Adelaide Voices Inc.,
P.O.Box 6042, Halifax Street, SA 5000, Australia. Yearly subscription for
6-issues is AUD10.00 including postage. Lets give supports to our good
friends at the AV. --- Regards, U Ne Oo.] 

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

HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIAL:

TACDB: EXPLOITATION OF BURMESE MIGRANT WORKERS BY THEIR BROKERS AND AGENTS
IN MAHACHAI
10 February, 1998

Situation Report (ref: BU.MAH.0002 25/5/97)

Introduction
A seafood manufacturing factory in Mahachai, Samutsakhon Province, Thailand,
at which hundreds of Burmese nationals are currently employed, recruits 
workers by 'word of mouth' amongst the Burmese migrant community there as 
well as requesting workers be directly procured from inside Burma. The 
management has in the past provided security and protection measures for 
Burmese migrant employees. Some workers interviewed by the author of this
situation report have related that the  company does not have any financial 
or other relationship with brokers who traffick Burmese nationals illegally 
across the Thai-Burma border. This however is not the case for the majority 
of companies and businesses employing larger numbers of Burmese workers in 
the area, who often pay 'brokers' or 'agents' to fill orders for workers 
during peak manufacturing times. 

For the purposes of this short report, a broker or agent is someone who
operates a profitable (and highly illegal) business by procuring and
recruiting women and men inside Burma, illegally transporting them 
over the Thai-Burma border, to place them in pre-arranged employment, 
or to deliver them to a pre-arranged destination where it is easy for 
Burmese nationals to obtain employment. Burmese nationals using 
brokers to arrive to Thailand often do not know where they will be 
working in exact detail and often have no form of contract or agreement
with the broker. A broker operating in the Mahachai area will be either
Thai, Burman or Mon (ethnic Burmese) in origin and sometimes will 
also have some sort of financial relationship with ferry owners who 
operate businesses out of Mahachai port.

Many Burmese nationals seeking employment opportunities in Thailand 
do not have the money to pay their transportation and illegal border 
crossing fees up front. They will often make a verbal aggreement, or in 
some cases, sign a document resembling a vague contract, that leaves
them in a position of debt bondage to that broker or agent. In most cases,
the debt is for amounts of money that take a long time for poorer, rural 
Burmese nationals to pay back, especially as the reason why they have come 
to Thailand is to save money for their families in Burma. It is very 
difficult, for example, for a 13 year old, non-Burmese speaking, Mon girl,
who is attempting to supplement the small income of her family of seven
in Burma, to repay a debt of 8,000 Baht while she earns a daily wage of 
145 Baht. 

In most cases the debt increases along the journey from their village 
to their place of employment. Sometimes debts are increased after they 
have arrived. Some brokers maintain direct contact with Burmese migrant 
employees, although they have no arrangement or agreement with the 
employers or their representatives. Brokers who have transported illegal
Burmese to Thailand will frequent workers dormitories to harass, threaten
and in some cases beating them, for not making the required payments, 
although repayment details have never been specifically agreed upon. 
Some brokers have been known to procure young Burmese girls for work in 
the sex industry by offering them more money and greater freedoms that 
they don't actually end up enjoying. Some brokers have opened their own
dormitories in the Mahachai region where they house migrant workers from 
Burma. It is much easier for the brokers to maintain control over the 
workers, both finacially and individually in such cirmumstances, and to 
arrange for their sale to the shipping and sex industries if they cannot 
honour their debts.

This short  report outlines some of the exploitations Burmese migrant
workers are facing in the Mahachai area of Thailand. For obvious reasons, 
real names and exact locations cannot be used and circumstances must be
referred to in broad terms. 

Situation 1.
An Arakanese man named "Myo Khaing", who is married to a Thai national, 
owns and operates a food shop and a women's dormitory for Burmese migrant
workers in Mahachai. Most of the women staying here are Mon and are 
employed at the many factories in the surrounding areas. "Myo Khaing" 
pressures the young women living under his roof to remain in the 
dormitory when they are not working as risk of arrest is high, even 
though many workers are registered and need not fear arrest from Thai 
police. He also keeps the workers savings for safe keeping. The level of 
control that this agent has over workers is worrying. He is controlling 
the type of information the women are recieiving about what their rights 
are as either illegal or registered migrant workers in Thailand most of 
which is incorrect and only serves to keep the workers tied to the broker.
It is, unfortunately, a common situation for Burmese migrant workers to
find themselves in, especially in Mahachai. 

"Myo Khaing" is becoming renowned in the area for procuring workers for
local brothels, not just from his own dorimitory. Many Burmese migrant
worker men frequent brothels in the area, so owners have been keen to
recruit younger Burmese women to service this client base. One young 
Burmese woman who had been employed by Thai Union P.C. Ltd. was persuaded
to leave her job and work in the local sex industry after being told that 
she could earn more money. The first time she enaged in sex work she earnt 
1,500 Baht in one evening.  She has not earned the same money since. Other 
women who share her dormitory are very concerned about the presence of 
agents on the site, especially considering there are quite a few young 
Burmese girls living there, who are being harassed by the brokers who 
brought them to Thailand to pay off their transportation debts. These 
debts are for most Burmese, very large amounts of money. One 13 year 
old girl, "Ma Soe", is currently in debt to her broker for over 8,000 
Baht (around 50,000 Burmese Kyat) and was earning only 145 Baht per day.
Such young women are highly vulnerable to the promises off greater 
wages given by brokers like "Myo Khaing".

Situation 2
A group of eight Burmese nationals from a small village very close to
Moulemein in Burma arrived in Thailand via a broker or agent over one 
month ago. The group, comprised of seven young women and one young man,
were familair with each other in there home village. An agent, 
called "Banyar" came to their village to procure workers. A concerned 
older friend called "Daw Pan Sein" and the village headman became 
concerned about this group and ended up negotiating a contract between 
them and "Banyar". The contract detailed that each person incurred a 
debt of 12,000 Baht to this brokerpayable within one year upon their 
arrival in Mahachai. "Daw Pan Sein" remained very worried about the 
group and decided to send her daugther to Thailand to look for them. 
Her daugther, "Ma Mee Nge", has made the journey between Burma and 
Thailand upon many occassions and was given enough gold to cover the 
debts of the group. 

The group, including "Ma Mee Nge",  made the journey to Thailand via
Three Pagodas Pass where a pick-up truck met them and delivered them 
to a temple in the Mahachai. They did not know where they were and at 
no stage were informed of what was going to happen to them. A monk told
"Ma Mee Nge" that she had to leave the group to change the gold she had 
brought into Thai baht. She left and didn't return, at which time the 
group started to worry about her. They were moved to another 'safe place' 
where they were introduced to another Mon man called "Chin". The group 
overheard the monk trying to sell the group to this man, but didn't see
him give any money to the monk. The group stayed with "Chin" for a while 
and obtained employment at the Thai Union P.C. Ltd two weeks later. 
"Chin" told the group that "Ma Mee Nge" had fled the area with the 
money and her Thai lover and they now had to pay money to him. They 
were unclear as to why they should pay this man in particular, when 
"Ma Mee Nge" had already gone to change enough gold to pay the agents 
fees for their transportation.  

Around the same time the young man from the group was given a job working 
on the ships at Mahachai port and was forced to stay away from the women.
Unfortunatley, the young man was the one who had been charged with keeping 
the contract that they had signed in their home village. "Chin" told the 
women that he had already paid 45,000 Baht to the monk who had brought 
them to him and theat they must repay this debt to him. "Chin" threatened 
the group, saying that if they didn't sign a new contract with him that 
they would not be able to see their friend working on the ships, again. 

After a further two weeks "Chin" again approached the women about the 
matter of their so-called 'debt' and they were brought to meet with him 
and "Ma Mee Nge" to make a new contract. "Ma Mee Nge" was very distraught 
during this meeting and told the women in Mon, that if they didn't sign 
the new contract, that they would be in danger. "Chin" forced "Ma Mee Nge" 
to sign, at which time they too had to sign. The women are still working
at the Thai Union factories and "Chin" comes regularly to threaten them.
A Burmese man who has been acting as a translator between Thai managment 
and Burmese workers at this factory has become involved in their situation
by taking their safety concerns to the managers. It remains to be seen 
whether the factory owner will be able to settle the situaiton thus 
ensuring the safety of the group.

[The Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB)is a Thai-based 
non-government organisation that works to increase the Thai population's
understanding of real situation inside Burma and the situation for Burmese
people in Thailand.]

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PLEE FROM MAEYA THA REFUGEE CAMP
16 February, 1998

As residents of Maeya Tha refugee camp, we are humbly requesting that 
you help safeguard ours lives. We have lived here for three years, and, 
despite false allegations against us, have always lived in harmony with 
the Thai citizens of the area and have never been the cause of harm to 
the people or environment around us. We are grateful that we have been 
allowed to settle here and are disappointed that we are now being told to 
leave.

We feel that we are being made scapegoats for problems on the border, 
such as the illegal cutting of teak and the smuggling of drugs. We urge
the authorities to desist from blaming us and to seek out the real 
culprits. We are poor and humble people, but understand the need to care 
for the natural environment. We do not want to move to a new area with 
will require us to clear more land and cut more bamboo in order to build 
our shelters.

We also ask that we be given legal status as refugee in accordance with 
the UN convention. We request that the government of Thailand help to 
protect our Human Rights. We are frightened of moving to the new camp, 
at Mae Ramoo,with has in the past been attacked by troops allied to the 
Burmese government. While the at Maeya Tha is close to the border, it 
is protected by the Salween river, and never been threatened by military
attacks. The new camp also lacks bamboo which we need in order to 
build houses. We are afraid for our health if we have insufficient 
shelter, especially at this time when nights are very cold. Another 
concern is the interruption of our children's education. Here we have 
built schools and organized classes. These will not be easy to quickly 
replace.

We humbly ask that you allow us to remain in this place, which circumstances 
have caused us to make our home. We hope to be able to return to our 
homeland in the future, and in the meantime, we must ask for the hospitality
of the Thai King, his government and his people.

Please consider our request, 
Yours sincerely,
The people of Maeya Tha

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CCN INSIDE NEWS: MADE-IN-CHINA LANDMINES ALONG INDIA-BURMA BORDER
5 February, 1998

As a report came to Delhi that hundreds of poor refugees from Araken State 
and southern Chin Hills were in grave condition, the Committee for Araken 
Refugee for Relief and Welfare (CARRW) raised available funds among Burmese
activists. Then Soe Win was assigned to bring medicine and a few hundred 
rupees to the refugees. He left Delhi on 21-7-97 and donated all he brought
to the poor refugees. Many had died of malnutrition and infectious diseases. 
No NGO gets access to them.

Being a pro-democracy activist, Soe Win tried to gather as much information 
as he could before he came back to Delhi. He and three refugees tried to 
exhume two dead bodies who died of landmine explosion. He took pictures of 
the live landmines. The pictures clearly showed "0" and Chinese letters.
The villagers told him many men, women and animals have died of landmines.
Two 
types of made-in-China landmines are planted along India-Burma border. 
One is 8"x 6" and one is 3"x 4".. Some are planted as close as 20 feet 
from the border. Mines are placed on the path, which is used by the 
villagers from Long-ka-du, Naron-taung, and Pyi-tet of Palatwa Township. 
Soe Win took a picture of a landmine close to border pillar #7 near Mareik-wa,
on the Thamin range. Chinese mines kill neither external enemy nor 
arm-resistant groups. But civilians are killed.

While they were gathering border information, he and his colleagues
were arrested by Assam Rifle in August. His camera, film reels and all
belongings were seized. The useful pictures, interview notes, and all
except a pair of trousers and a shirt were never returned. They all were
detained and interrogated in Saiha, southern Mizoram where two 
Burmese MPs and NLD members were held in custody for three days 
in 1990.

His friends reported to UNHCR because he is a recognized refugee of UNHCR 
Delhi office and refugee number is BU-58. But till he and his three friends
release he did not meet the lawyer hired by UNHCR. An appeal letter of Burmese
MP to the Chief Minister of Mizoram could not help much. A sial worker, who
traveled to help Araken refugees, was jailed for 4 months.

A part of the true stories he noted revealed porterage and forced labor
rampant in Araken State. Four Burmese porters who were ordered to carry
mines ran away and are seeking shelter in southern Mizoram secretly. They
told him how they were ordered to carry and to plant the mines. One of the
pictures showed how the rice from India was carried on a raft along the
Kalatchaung, a derivative of Kaladan River. Mizo people sell the rice,
which they bought from government fair-price shop. The businessmen
exported the rice into Burma, as the rice shortage is serious in Burma.
The rice bought in Mizoram was 900 kyats per basket or 8 cups. It will
become double in Araken State.

One of his interview notes said Burmese army forced the villagers to carry
cane and sesame from the border to Kyauktaw. Till last year the farmers
were ordered to sell 1 basket of sesame per acre to the government. This
year, they are ordered to sell all they produced at low price of 140 Kyats
per basket. These are carried to the army headquarters at Kyauktaw where
the price went up considerably. So this clearly shows that Burma army is
using forced labor for their business. The army units in that area are
Infantry 378-374-336-237-377-376 and Light Infantry 354.

NCGUB Communication Center, New Delhi (CCN)
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THE GOVERNMENT OF KARENNI: SITUATION REPORT
11 February, 1998

Dec. 30, 1997
SPDC troops of IB No. 26 arrived at Daw Mu Say village, Soe Moe township 
on Dec 4, 1997 and took villagers properties such as below:
one betel box (10%), 1silver bracelet (5%) 30,000 kyats currency, 190
baskets of paddy, 21 baskets of rice, 28 cooking pots, 11 knifes, 7
mattocks, 7 hoes and 2 sarongs.

Jan 25, 1998
Loi Kaw Central Prison authority issued order on Jan 20, 1998 to all
prisoner family to take completely necessity items and costs of prisoner
such foods, water, fuel, electricity, prison uniforms and broom every month.
Moreover, having paid 100 kyats for permission to see prisoner.

An order said that it shall be affect to all other local prison after
deadline of Jan 20, 1998 and any prisoner must be provided their labor in
military projects.

Jan 30, 1998
Loi Kaw regional central command ordered to all their local military
commander that in all village locating under their control areas must be
form village militia forces with village young men over the age of 15 years
for them village security and peace or to be a member of KNPA (a group
created by Slorc with former KNPP soldiers in Nov, 1996). If any of young
men refused to join those groups must be serve as porter for Slorc military
in necessary.

Thus, some young men trying to escape to several areas as traders else
seeing no choice. They have to keep living under tightening restriction as
well as having to get traveling permission paper from local militia forces
commander for their trips.

Jan 26, 1998
SPDC troops IB No. 72 led by Maj. Aung Zaw Oo stationed at Palong village 
forcibly villagers to produce limes and charcoals every day for SPDC troops 
to be raise their own military funds. Each family having to bring 36 inches 
long firewood about 50 and carrying 3 tubs of water to military base every
day.

Jan 26, 1998
Htee Sakar based SPDC troops of IB No. 54 commander ordered to all village 
headmen in regions to take responsibility for their troops daily rations and 
some villages having to bring their own planks for military camp
construction without value to military camp.

Jan 29, 1998
Lawpita base SPDC troops of IB No. 54 commander ordered village headmen of 
Won Koo village and Law Lar Lee village that each family must be carrying
336 litres water to their Loi Kalan military base every day. Those
villagers have 
to walk 2 furlong far distance from their village. Moreover, all villages 
locating in Mar Tawku region have received the order to make fence for
water pipeline security of Lawpita electricity power station. Each person
having to
make 90 feets-long fence for that water pipeline protection.

Ministry of Public Relations and Information Karenni

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