The BurmaNet News: August 5, 1998

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 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: August 5, 1998
Issue #1064

HEADLINES:
==========
SCMP: OPPOSITION POLITICIANS STAGE SIT-IN 
THE NATION: SUU KYI VOWS TO CONTINUE PUSH FOR TALKS
BBC: BURMESE THREATEN CRACKDOWN 
THE NATION: BURMA MUST HEED UN CHARTER 
THE EDMONTON JOURNAL: SUU KYI KEEPS HOPE BURNING 
SCMP: JAPAN KEY TO PRESSING RANGOON FOR DIALOGUE 
AFP: SIX NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS URGE MYANMAR 
BKK POST: AMPHETAMINES CLAIM MORE TEENAGERS 
ANNOUNCEMENT: UNDHR PLEDGE -- 50TH ANNIVERSARY
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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: OPPOSITION POLITICIANS STAGE SIT-IN 
5 August, 1998 

More than 50 opposition politicians staged a sit-in demonstration yesterday
to protest against the junta's restrictions on entering Aung San Suu Kyi's
compound, opposition sources in Rangoon said.

The peaceful protest, staged at one of the checkpoints near Ms Aung San Suu
Kyi's compound, was called off last night but was scheduled to resume
today. "Such demonstrations will go on all week," said a National League
for Democracy source. 

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THE NATION: SUU KYI VOWS TO CONTINUE PUSH FOR TALKS WITH MILITARY
5 August, 1998 

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NOBEL laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is recovering from her roadside stand-off
with the military regime in Burma and has vowed to keep pushing for
dialogue, but official newspapers yesterday threatened her with annihilation.

US Charge d'affaires Kent Weideman, the top US envoy in Burma, said in a
memo circulated to diplomats that he had visited Suu Kyi on Sunday and been
allowed entry to her home after only "minimal delays" from security forces.

The memo said Suu Kyi, 53, was "recuperating well from her encounter and
indicated that she intended to continue to assert her rights in order to
achieve her objective of dialogue with the government".

Weideman said he had visited without prior warning to establish the right
of diplomats to see her when they wanted. He communicated with Suu Kyi, who
remained in the private quarters of her home, through an intermediary while
he stayed in a reception area.

Suu Kyi "indicated to me that she would welcome the visit of other
diplomatic missions to firmly establish the right of diplomats to meet with
her", the memo said.

The Associated Press was shown a copy of the memo by a diplomat. The US
Embassy confirmed its authenticity.

State-controlled newspapers ran an opinion piece yesterday saying that Suu
Kyi was conspiring with Western media and unspecified countries, though US
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's statement last week that Burma was
headed for civil unrest was noted.

"It is obvious that she is trying to instigate unrest and cause internal
instability to create the recurrence of an anarchistic uprising for the
second time," said the article, believed to reflect the views of at least
part of the government.

"Any external and internal danger threatening the establishment of a
peaceful and prosperous state will be annihilated," it said.

The government of Burma was intensely criticised by the United States, the
European Union and many other countries for last week's stand-off with Suu
Kyi on a road outside Rangoon.

The government, which seldom allows her to leave her home and never lets
her outside the capital, stopped her car and refused to allow her to travel
to another city, Bessein, to meet party supporters. She spurned orders to
go back home.

After six days when neither side budged and Suu Kyi was running low on food
and water, authorities ejected her driver and two fellow passengers, held
her down and drove her back to Rangoon, her National League for Democracy
party has said. 

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BBC: BURMESE THREATEN CRACKDOWN 
4 August, 1998 by Simon Ingram 

The Burmese military authorities say they will destroy any attempts by the
opposition to stage demonstrations or other protests to mark the
anniversary later this week of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

State controlled newspapers accuse the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi,
of trying to instigate unrest, one paper saying that any threat to the
state would be annihilated.

While continuing to maintain an iron grip over the country, Burma's
military government is plainly concerned at the possibility of serious
unrest during the politically tense weeks that lie ahead.

This Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of the 1988 student uprising which
the army put down amid extensive bloodshed.

The state-run media accuses Miss Suu Kyi of working with foreign powers in
an attempt to destabilise the country, both to commemorate the uprising and
to press her demand for the convening later this month of the Burmese
Parliament chosen in elections in 1990.

Those elections, won convincingly by Miss Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy, were subsequently ignored by the military.

Armed troops

Security has been tightened around the capital, with heavily armed troops
posted on major road intersections.

Much depends on the stamina and ingenuity of Miss Suu Kyi herself in
maintaining the heightened state of tension and the pressure on the regime.

For now, the 53-year-old opposition leader is recovering from dehydration
and a fever brought on by her grueling six-day stand-off with the
authorities on a road outside Rangoon, which ended last Wednesday when
soldiers forcibly returned her to her home in the capital.

She has pledged to make further attempts to meet her supporters around the
country, but the army now seems most unlikely to allow that.

The government has warned her against trying any more of what it terms
dangerous publicity stunts. 

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THE NATION: BURMA MUST HEED UN CHARTER 
5 August, 1998 by Josef Silverstein 

IT IS TIME FOR ASEAN TO IDENTIFY WITH THE PRINCIPALS AND PURPOSES OF THE UN
CHARTER TO TELL BURMA TO HAND OVER THE REINS TO THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTFUL
REPRESENTATIVES, WRITES JOSEF SILVERSTEIN.

The spokespersons for the military junta in Burma have built their defence
against any inquiry about human rights and democracy in Burma by citing
Article 2.7 of the UN Charter and refuse to be drawn into any debate or
discussion about what Slorc/SPDC does or does not do inside its borders.

By seizing upon the principle -- nations "shall not intervene in the
domestic jurisdiction of any state and shall not require the members to
submit such matters to settlement" -- to the exclusion of all others, they
distort the Charter they pledged to honour and uphold in its totality when
Burma joined the United Nations in 1948 and was an original signer of the
Declaration of Human Rights.

The Preamble of the UN Charter sets the tone for the rest of the document
by noting that the "Peoples of the United Nations determined .... to
reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the
human person, in the equal rights of men and women and nations large and
small .... have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims".

The first Chapter, Purposes and Principles, establishes as one of the
fundamental purposes of the treaty, the achievement of co-operation by all
states in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural,
or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect of
human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to
race, sex, language or religion. (Article 13). This purpose is so important
that it is repeated in Article 55, where the Charter uses the word, shall,
in ordering the UN to promote universal respect for and observance of the
fundamental freedoms enunciated in the article.

Further, the Charter gives the General Assembly power to discuss any
question brought before it (Article 11.4) and authority to "initiate
studies and make recommendations for the purposes of assisting in the
realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all...." (Article
13.b) The treaty also grants to the Economic and Social Council the right
to create commissions for the promotion of human rights (Article 68) and to
make studies, reports and recommendations (Article 62.2).

Nowhere does the Charter say that Burma is exempt or beyond the scrutiny,
inquiry or concern of the members or organs of the United Nations.

Since 1989, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), created by the Economic
and Social Council, has been seized by the issue of human rights violations
in Burma; beginning in 1991, and every year there-after, it has issued
strong reports and called upon Slorc/SPDC to alter its behaviour and
respond to its recommendations. Because of the seriousness of the charges
brought against Burma, the Commission named three different rapporters to
make inquires and has published their reports. Thus far, Burma has admitted
the first two and continues to deny entry to the third.

The General Assembly, too, has been seized by the issue of human rights
violations in Burma and it, too, has issued strong resolutions with
Slorc/SPDC members; but, thus far, his efforts have been no more successful
than those of the CHR and the UNGA. The history of the UN's concern for
human rights is clear and its members continue to look for ways to persuade
members to change and punish those who defy the world body. Just a month
ago, representatives to the world body met in Rome to create a new
international criminal court which could have jurisdiction over the actions
of states or individuals who order or are involved in flagrant or
systematic violations of human rights in a country.

The Charter does not erect a wall around a state and exclude the UN and its
members from using their eyes, ears and voices to learn about, report and
call attention to violations of human fights anywhere in the world. Neither
does the Charter provide for a member to select which item in the treaty it
will honour and which it will not. Burma did not take exception to the
language of the Charter when it signed the treaty and therefore it is
obligated, along with all other member states to honour all of its provisions.

Finally, it should be noted that regional agreements cannot standout
against the Charter. Regional groupings are recognized by the UN Treaty.
Article 52 declares that regional groupings are proper in matters 'relation
to the maintenance of international peace and security .... provided that
such arrangements or agencies and their activities are consistent with the
Purposes and Principles of the United Nations. "But regional grouping do
not supersede or impair the rights and power of the Security Council on
matters which might lead to international friction or give rise to a
dispute. Also, any member of the UN may bring a dispute or a situation to
the attention of the Security Council or General Assembly, regardless, of
their location and the existence of a regional grouping.

In the light of the discussion just concluded in Manila between Asean
members and between them and their international dialogue partners, it is
clear that, Burma's position is untenable; it is unsupported by the UN
Charter and it is time for Asean to stand with the rest of the world. Last
year, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, raised questions
about the validity of "constructive engagement" as proper approach to Burma
and Cambodia; this year, the Foreign Minister of Thailand and the
Philippines spoke out more strongly along the same line.

It is time for Asean, as a regional grouping, to identify with the
Principles and Purposes of the UN Charter and make clear to its newest
member that it cannot hide either within or behind the organisation of
Southeast nations; that it must end human rights violations, honour the
1990 election in Burma and transfer power to the people's representatives.

JOSEF SILVERSTEIN IS PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF RUTGERS UNIVERSITY.

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THE EDMONTON JOURNAL: SUU KYI KEEPS HOPE BURNING IN BURMA 
4 August, 1998 

Editorial

If it were not for *Aung San Suu Kyi,* we would never hear about Burma. The
suppression of democracy and free speech, the torture of prisoners, the
forced labour could all be happily ignored. It is a small country a long
way away after all.

Suu Kyi forces us, at least once in a while, to pay attention. Her
continued high profile embarrasses democratic governments into imposing
sanctions, or at least into giving stern lectures to Burma's foreign
affairs minister.

Suu Kyi is not just another faceless victim of this regime, which ranks
with the worst in the world. She is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the wife of
an Oxford University Scholar, the daughter of a national hero of Burma. A
decade ago, she gave up home, family and security in England to lead the
fight for democracy in Burma.

Since then she has suffered six years of house arrest, years of not seeing
her husband and sons, daily harassment from the authorities. She has also
rallied Burmese to the causes of democracy: her National League for
Democracy party won an estimated 80% of votes in the 1990 general election,
a result ignored by the generals who run Burma.

In the past week, Suu Kyi has again drawn headlines as she had yet another
dangerous confrontation with Burma's military junta. For six days she sat
in a car, with government security forces barring her way to a meeting with
supporters. Finally, her health failing and her doctors clearly worried,
she was forced to return home.

It is likely no coincidence that this standoff happened while Burma's
foreign affairs minister was meeting his counterparts at the annual summit
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila. What better way of
shaming the diplomats of the region for their failure to put meaningful
pressure on the Burmese dictators?

A cynic might question what Suu Kyi has accomplished for her decade of
resistance, since the junta is still in power.

What she has done is kept hope alive, given the Burmese people an inspiring
leader in the fight for democracy and kept pressure on the junta to make
changes.

No doubt, if they thought they could get away with it, the generals would
have put a bullet in her head years ago. That they haven't is a measure of
the potency of the democratic movement in Burma and the junta's fear that
it could get out of hand.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been told by the junta she can leave Burma at any
time, so long as she promises to stay out of politics. That she hasn't,
that she has chosen to dedicate her life to this non-violent struggle, is a
measure of her courage and commitment.

Dictators always look unassailable, right up until the day they topple and
disappear. When they topple in Burma and they will, some day, they will be
blaming Suu Kyi FOR THEIR FALL.

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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: JAPAN KEY TO PRESSING RANGOON FOR DIALOGUE 
5 August, 1998 by William Barnes in Bangkok 

The United States and other Western nations must enlist Japan's support if
they really want to turn the screws of international pressure on Burma's
struggling military dictatorship, observers and diplomats said yesterday.

Tokyo has recently appeared to be edging towards breaking its ban on aid to
the regime.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said last week that increased
international pressure was the best way of persuading the regime to talk to
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The fear among the regime's critics is that Japanese help could save the
regime from having to appease potential donors by talking to the opposition.

"Japan has been a real friend to this regime. I think its attitude could
have a very important influence on how the [Burmese] generals try to
wriggle out of the mess they are in," said a Bangkok-based diplomat.

The doyen of academic Burma-watchers in the US, Professor Josef
Silverstein, said: "Japan is the key in all of this. It is the donor of
record now."

Japan, in common with most other countries, cut off aid after the massacre
of pro-democracy demonstrators 10 years ago this week.

Since then, it has claimed that it supports only humanitarian projects like
poverty reduction and health care in Burma.

Japan caused consternation among pro-democracy activists earlier this year
when it stretched the meaning of "humanitarian" assistance to cover
financing repairs to Rangoon airport.

Successive administrations in Tokyo have generally followed the US in
urging the regime to open talks with Ms Aung San Suu Kyi.

But behind the diplomacy a vigorous business lobby has repeatedly demanded
that the Government stop kowtowing to America and pump some money into the
country.

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AFP: SIX NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS URGE MYANMAR TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY 
4 August, 1998 

STOCKHOLM, Aug 4 (AFP) - Six Nobel prize winners on Tuesday urged Myanmar's
military leaders to restore democracy in an appeal published ahead of the
10th anniversary of a pro-democracy uprising which reportedly left 3,000 dead.

The Nobel laureates called on the junta to engage in "constructive
dialogue" with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who they said was a
virtual prisoner under the regime.

They pressed the authorities to "restore all democratic liberties, release
political prisoners unconditionally and open negotiations on a programme
and a timetable for the transition to democracy."

The appeal was released by the International Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance (IDEA) at its headquarters in Stockholm.

The Nobel prize winners expressed their solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi --
a Nobel peace prize winner in 1991 -- who remained in her car in a tense
six-day stand-off with the authorities last week when she was prevented
from visiting provincial party officials.

It was the third time she had been stopped trying to leave the capital in
three weeks.

The signatories to the appeal, which was co-ordinated by IDEA, are Nobel
peace prize winners Lech Walesa (Poland, 1983), Desmond Tutu (South Africa,
1984), Oscar Arias Sanchez (Costa Rica, 1987), Jose Ramos-Horta (East
Timor, 1987) as well as Nobel literature winners Nadine Gordimer (South
Africa) and Derek Walcott (Saint Lucia).

IDEA hopes the appeal will attract international attention to the
"exceptional tragedy" in Myanmar as part of "a growing wave of public
support for the democratisation of Southeast Asia."

Aung San Suu Kyi plans to organise a ceremony on August 8 to commemorate
the bloody clampdown on a pro-democracy uprising in 1988.

Her party, the National League for Democracy, won elections in 1990 but the
ruling junta has refused to hand over power.

Troops have been stationed at strategic junctions around the capital,
Yangon, in the past few days in a bid to smother possible dissent ahead of
Saturday's anniversary.

Another sensitive date is August 21, when the NLD has said the junta must
convene parliament or face unspecified consequences.

The US, Australian and New Zealand embassies on Friday asked for United
Nations intervention to force the isolated country's military leaders into
a genuine dialogue with its democratically elected government.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan plans to send assistant secretary general
for political affairs Alvaro de Soto to Myanmar in September or October.

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THE BANGKOK POST: AMPHETAMINES CLAIM MORE TEENAGERS 
4 August, 1998 by Ampa Santimatanedol

Burma identified as main source of pills

Drug addiction among teenagers has surged in the past five years, with
amphetamines making greater gains, says the Narcotics Control Board.

About 157,400 people were charged with drug offences in 1997 against
113,500 in 1993. Of those charged last year, 73,880 were involved in
amphetamines, up from 24,600 in 1993.

More than half were teenagers and children. In terms of addiction
treatment, teenagers formed the biggest client group, accounting for half
of the 38,895 last year.

The board said the client base for amphetamines had expanded from truck
drivers, prostitutes and night workers, who use the drug to extend their
endurance, to teenagers who take it for kicks. The former group tended to
take the drug in pill form while youngsters smoke it for a faster high.

Over the past five years, said the board, 80 percent of people seeking help
for amphetamine addiction were new to the drug.

Tracing the spread of the amphetamine market, the board pointed to
large-scale production and an efficient distribution system in which
addicts turned traffickers.

Amphetamine production used to centre on the Central Plains, said the
board. More than a decade ago officials suppressed 88 major production
bases in more than 20 provinces.

In 1994, production began in neighbouring countries, especially Burma,
which accounts for more than 100 million pills smuggled into Thailand
annually, said the board.

Distribution was strong because influential groups joined forces with
officials in the provinces and exploited connections with politicians.

Heroin remains a threat even though it is outpaced by amphetamines, said
the board. As many as 300,000 heroin addicts have joined treatment
programmes in the past six years.

According to the board, the number of heroin cases fell from 33,865 in 1995
to 30,097 in 1996 and 15,558 in 1997 while those involving amphetamines
jumped from 16,544 in 1995 to 38,837 in 1996 and 66,225 in 1997.

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ANNOUNCEMENT: UNDHR PLEDGE -- 50TH ANNIVERSARY 
4 August, 1998 from <abs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, Amnesty International is collecting signatures for a pledge to
support this very important United Nations declaration. Amnesty already has
3 million signatures (real and virtual) world wide, and wants 8 million
(which would be 1% of the world's population). The UN Secretary General has
already agreed to be present either in person or live by satellite, if he
has to be in New York, to receive the pledge as a tangible statement of the
people of the world's commitment to an international agenda of human rights.

The most simple way to add your name to the pledge is to:
 **  Send an email to udhr50th@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 **  Put YOUR NAME in the SUBJECT and the following text in the message:
     "I .............. support the rights and freedoms in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights for all people, everywhere."
 **  Forward this message to as many people as you can.

For further information, contact the SA branch of Amnesty International at
<saaia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Free Burma Coalition, Australia
Working for the:  National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma,
Federation of Trade Unions, Burma, Australia Burma Council
PO Box 2024, Queanbeyan  NSW  2620
Ph: +61-2-6297-7734  Fax: +61-2-6297-7773

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