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BURMANET NEWS: Wednesday, August 12



                           THE BURMANET NEWS
Wednesday, August 12, 1998                              Issue #1070
 [[[[Breaking news---U.S. oil giant Arco pulls out of Burma]]]]

-------------------
The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma.

BurmaNet News website		Links to more news on Burma
http://burma.net/news/		http://www.soros.org/burma/linkread.html
(Under construction)

-------------------
Headlines
-------------------
BURMANET: ECONOMIC COLLAPSE INCREASING ODDS OF BLOW-UP
ARCO: ARCO TO END EXPLORATION PROGRAM OFFSHORE MYANMAR
JAPAN TIMES: JAPAN EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER SUU KYI
AFP: MYANMAR JUNTA BLASTS FOREIGN ACTIVISTS, BUT OFFERS CONSULAR ACCESS
BANGKOK POST: CHETTHA ACTS TO SECURE RELEASE OF THREE THAIS
GERMAN PRESS AGENCY: PHILIPPINE OFFICIALS SAID ASEAN CONSULTING ON
                     ARRESTS IN MYANMAR
AFP: INDONESIAN ACTIVISTS PROTEST ARRESTS OF COLLEAGUES, FOREIGNERS
     IN MYANMAR
AFP: DETAINED ACTIVISTS IN MYANMAR COULD BE SENTENCED TO DEPORTATION
     AT TRIAL
AFP: PHILIPPINE ENVOY GRANTED ACCESS TO DETAINED FILIPINOS IN MYANMAR
THE REGIME: "AREA SECURITY BEING PROVIDED"
ABSDF/ONSOB/ABBESU/BSC:JOINT-STATEMENT ON ARREST OF 18 ACTIVISTS ON A
      MISSION OF GOODWILL
AFP: MYANMAR REPORTS QUAKE

*****************************
BURMANET: ECONOMIC COLLAPSE INCREASING ODDS OF BLOW-UP
August 13, 1998

The announcement a few hours ago that U.S. oil giant Arco is pulling out of
Burma is one more sign that the country's economy is both closing and
collapsing.  The economic collapse is a driving force behind confrontations
between the regime and the N.L.D., and within the regime.  In this report,
we try to explain some of what is going on behind the scenes as Burma races
towards an August 21 deadline to convene the parliament and U.S. Secretary
of State Albright warns of an impending "explosion."

---
Arco's announcement that it was abandoning its rights to develop offshore
blocks of natural gas in Burma's Andaman Sea is only one of a number of
major projects that has fallen victim to Burma's economic collapse and
political impasse.

Another major foreign investment in Burma that was been quietly shelved late
last month was the $800 million "three-in-one" project which was to have
been built by Total, Unocal and Mitsui.  The project would have built a $300
million gas pipeline up from the Yadana pipeline to fuel a a $200 million
fertilizer plant and a $300 million electrical generating plant.  The gas
was to have come from the regime's share of the Yadana field gas with the
government and its three partners sharing construction costs.

Because of its hard currency crisis, the regime in early July asked its
partners on the three-in-one project to delay construction even though
engineers and equipment were already on the ground to start work.  In a bid
to salvage the project, Total sought to arrange new loans with Paris
bankers, and arranged for a delegation from Burma, including one
cabinet-level officer, to enter France last month in violation of at least
the spirit of European Union sanctions forbidding entry to regime officials.
In the end, it was not enough and the project was "indefinitely" postponed.
Sources say that the postponement is permanent.

Signs of economic collapse are not limited to the oil and gas sector.  The
regime has ceased publishing its bi-monthly economic statistics and is
blocking publication of an International Monetary Fund report on the
economy.  This is more than the regime's usual aversion to the free flow of
information.  Without any basic data on what is happening in the economy,
foreign investors simply won't invest.  By ceasing to report on the economy,
the regime is telling the foreign investment community that they no longer
are welcome.  The regime is sending a similar message in its state press, is
increasingly xenophobic.

The foreign business community is getting the new message loud and clear.  A
large percentage of the expatriate business community has either left or is
planning to.  Enrollment at the International School is down dramatically
because the foreign businessmen who used to send their children there are
leaving.  Perhaps the best barometer of the business climate may be the
moving companies, where sources say they are moving seven foreigners out of
Burma for every one coming in.

The chill in the foreign investment climate is being felt in the political
climate as well.  Many of the regime's friends in recent years have been the
countries most interested in investing in Burma; Japan, Thailand, Singapore,
Malaysian and Indonesia.  If the regime is no longer interested in foreign
investments, their "friends"are likely to lose interest in protecting Burma
from international pressure.  The recent move by Thailand to drop its "speak
no evil" policy of not criticizing the regime is one sign that Burma's
former friends are, like the expat community, giving up on Burma.

The arrests of 18 foreigners for distributing leaflets in Rangoon only
compounds the regime's problems.  There is no love lost between the United
States and Burma so criticism for holding the six Americans may be par for
the course.  But by holding on to Indonesians, Malaysians Filipinos and
Thais, the regime is pushed into a confrontation with four of its fellow
A.S.E.A.N. countries who, until recently, were seen as the junta's ticket to
legitimacy.

If the regime's response to the economic collapse is in fact, to go back
into the self-imposed isolation of the Ne Win era (1962-1988), they are
taking a large risk-that the high-ranking officers who benefited from the
their virtual monopoly on access foreign business deals will march in lock
step if it means leaving behind the lifestyle they've recently come to
enjoy.  In addition to the perennial rumors of a rift between the hard-line
army generals under Maung Aye and the supposedly more conciliatory military
intelligence chief Khin Nyunt, there is at least one tangible signs that all
is not well within the ranks.  In its July 22 edition, Jane's Defence
Weekly, reported the crash of an Burmese airforce jet, killing the pilot.
Sources at Mingaladon airport confirm the pilot's death, but add that the
aircraft didn't crash-it exploded.  The regime, which blamed a similar
bombing last year that killed Gen. Tin Oo's daughter on Karen National Union
rebels AND the exiled democracy activists in Japan, said nothing this time.

(To be continued in the next issue)


*****************************
ARCO: ARCO TO END EXPLORATION PROGRAM OFFSHORE MYANMAR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 11, 1998

LOS ANGELES --- ARCO (NYSE: ARC) announced today that it will not renew its
remaining exploration lease offshore Myanmar upon the anniversary date of
the lease in October.

ARCO Executive Vice President Ken Thompson, who supervises ARCO's worldwide
exploration program, said the decision was made in light of new investment
priorities resulting from the recent acquisition of Union Texas Petroleum
(UTP) and partnership with Triton Energy Limited in a major Asian gas
project.

Production Sharing Contracts for blocks M-7 and M-9 were signed in 1995 and
1996. Two wells have been drilled on M-9, none on M-7. ARCO elected not to
renew its option on M-7 in June.

"Although one of the two wells drilled on M-9 was a gas discovery, the scope
of this play does not warrant our continued participation," said Thompson.
The anniversary date for Block M-9 is October 26.
                                               # # #

For information, (ARCO Media)  Albert Greenstein (213) 486-3384
                 or e-mail to arconews@xxxxxxxx

*****************************
JAPAN TIMES: JAPAN EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER SUU KYI
August 11,1998


Eight major countries including Japan expressed concern over the treatment
of prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi by Myanmar's military government,
Foreign Ministry spokesman Sadaaki Numata said Tuesday.

The other countries are: Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, South
Korea and the United States. The eight countries' ambassadors to Myanmar
also called for dialogue between the two parties.

The ambassadors planned to jointly convey the message to the military
government but were unable to arrange appointments, Numata said.
Confrontations between Suu Kyi and the military government have been
escalating ever since the government began restricting her travel.

The situation in Myanmar has been tense since late June, when Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy set a deadline of Aug. 21 to convene the 1990
Parliament. The NLD overwhelmingly won the 1990 general election, but the
ruling generals have not allowed the Parliament to convene.


*****************************
AFP: MYANMAR JUNTA BLASTS FOREIGN ACTIVISTS, BUT OFFERS CONSULAR ACCESS
Tue 11 Aug 98 - 04:50 GMT

YANGON, Aug 11 (AFP) - Myanmar's Tuesday accused a group of 18 foreign
activists detained here of being "agents saboteur" who were trying to
incite riots and bloodshed.

"On the face of it, the distribution of subversive literature is tantamount
to incitement to riot, with street violence (and) bloodshed," an editorial
in the New Light of Myanmar daily said.
A news story covering the arrests in the same paper was headlined: "Agents
saboteur caught in the act of inciting social unrest."
The activists were rounded up Sunday and accused of inciting unrest in the
military state amid escalating political tensions by handing out pamphlets
promoting human rights and democracy.

They are to stand trial, a junta spokesman said Monday, adding their
offences were being taken seriously and that they must be made an example of
to deter others.

Diplomats whose nationals were among those detained said they had been
denied consular access and that they had received no formal notification
they would be charged.

The announcement that the 18 would stand trial came in a Burmese language
statement shortly after a junta spokesman told journalists and diplomats at
separate briefings that no decision had been made whether to press charges
or simply deport the 18.

The detainees were six US nationals, three Thais, three Malaysians, three
Indonesians, two Filipinos and one Australian, the junta said. Ten were male
and eight female.

The Thai foreign ministry has identified its nationals as Jaran Ditapichai,
52, a lecturer at Bangkok's Rangsit University, Sawas Upahat, 37, of the
non-government organisation Forum of the Poor, and Chanakan Phandemwong, 22,
a student at Thammasat University in Bangkok.

The Australian was identified as Alison Vicary, 35, and was believed to be
an academic in Sydney. Details of the others were not immediately
available.

They are being held at two separate police installations.
The US state department Monday voiced deep concern at Myanmar's rebuff to US
officials seeking access to the six detained US nationals.

"By now we would expect to have access through our consular officials,"
added the department in a statement issued in Washington.
US officials have repeatedly sought and been denied contact with the six, it
said.

"We are deeply concerned by the government's unwillingness to follow normal
consular procedure. Furthermore, we have not been formally informed of the
specific allegations against the Americans that led to their arrest," it
said.

"We understand they are detained under suspicion of distributing
pamphlets," it said, adding that this "seems to be consistent with the
government's repression of all forms of freedom of expression."
However, a junta spokesman Tuesday said consular access was available to all
the concerned embassies. He would not comment on the possible outcome of the
case against the 18, who could be charged under three separate laws allowing
for hefty prison terms.

"The legal process is underway and (it) will be premature to give comment on
the outcome at this moment," he added in a statement.
"In the meantime, consular access is available to concerning embassies at
formal request."

The group was handing out pamphlets in Yangon promoting human rights and
democracy and urging people to remember the 10th anniversary last Saturday
of a bloody military crack-down on pro-democracy demonstrators which left
thousands dead, according to unofficial tolls.
It also comes amid heightened political tensions in the lead-up to an
August 21 deadline set by the leading National League for Democracy (NLD)
for the junta to convene parliament or face unspecified consequences.

The NLD-led opposition won 1990 polls by a landslide but the junta has
refused to relinquish power.


*****************************
GERMAN PRESS AGENCY: PHILIPPINE OFFICIALS SAID ASEAN CONSULTING ON
                     ARRESTS IN MYANMAR

August 11, 1998, Tuesday,  BC Cycle

21:39 Central European Time

DATELINE: Manila

BODY: =

    Foreign officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
have started consultations on a possible unified stand against the detention
of 18 foreigners charged with inciting unrest in Myanmar, a Philippine
official said Tuesday.

    Foreign Undersecretary Lauro Baja said the Philippines, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Thailand were already discussing an ASEAN approach to the
problem even as Myanmar authorities allowed Philippine embassy officials
access to two detained Filipinos.

    "It is still subject to consultations if there will be an ASEAN
approach," Baja said. "But it will carry a numerical weight if we do that."

      Philippine Ambassador to Myanmar Sonia Brady said she was granted
consular access to Ellene Sana and Protacio Resuena, held with six
Americans, three Thais, three Malaysians, three Indonesians and an
Australian, at a guest house at the police headquarters in Yangon.

    The access was granted only after Brady sent a note to Myanmar's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Baja met with Ambassador U San Thein in
Manila. Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon also said the Philippines would
have filed a diplomatic protest if Myanmar authorities refused the demand.

    "I am not about to engage in gunboat diplomacy," Siazon said. "They have
two of my nationals."

    In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman James Foley said that
American embassy officials have been granted consular access to the six
Americans who were arrested. Foley said the six were apparently being
treated well, and have not been formally charged with any crime.

    Foley said the United States is demanding the release of the Americans.

    The activists traveled to Yangon to give solidarity messages to the
people of Myanmar on the 10th anniversary of the August 8, 1988 crackdown on
a nationwide uprising against military rule that killed as many as 3,000
people.

    Merci Ferrer, coordinator of a Philippine group promoting Democracy in
Myanmar, said the leaflets distributed read: "We are your friends around the
world. We have not forgotten you. We support your hopes for human rights and
democracy. 8/8/88 don't forget. Don't give up."

    Ferrer, along with human rights activists and relatives of the two
Filipino prisoners, picketed Myanmar's embassy in the financial district of
Makati, but the demonstrators failed to seek a meeting with any officials.

    The embassy closed its doors when representatives of the protesters
tried to enter.

    Myanmar was admitted into ASEAN last July despite criticism from
international human rights groups and Western governments. ASEAN expressed
hopes membership would convince the military junta to implement reforms.

    However, ASEAN admitted last month there has been no progress in
restoring democracy in Myanmar or in improving its dismal human rights
situation one year later. The organizaiton said it wants to see the
reconciliation process accelerated.



*****************************
BANGKOK POST: CHETTHA ACTS TO SECURE RELEASE OF THREE THAIS
11.8.98/BANGKOK POST
WASSANA NANUAM
BHANRAVEE TANSUBHAPOL

ARMY CHIEF TO MAKE PLEA TO KHIN NYUNT

The army chief is to contact the Burmese regime about the release
of three Thais arrested on Sunday.

Gen Chettha Thanajaro had asked the Burmese embassy for details
of the  Thais, arrested in Rangoon while distributing pamphlets
on the 10th anniversary of the 8-8-88 slaughter of demonstrators
in Burma.

The army chief would personally ask Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary
general of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, to
release them.

Gen Chettha was said to be uncomfortable as he had just urged
Burma to release some villagers from Tak. It was improper, he
felt, for foreigners to interfere in Burmese politics.

"We should not do such a thing which is regarded as an
infringement of Burma's sovereignty," he said, expressing concern
at Saturday's demonstration at the Burmese embassy.

Rallies in Thailand were nothing unusual and the government could
not prevent them so long as they were peaceful, he said.

The Foreign Ministry has called for the release of the Thais but
has stressed Thailand did not support the involvement of its
nationals in political activities abroad.

The Thais are Jaran Ditapichai, 51, a Rangsit University lecturer
and member of the Union for Civil Liberties, Sawat Uppahad, 37,
of the Forum of the Poor, and Chanakan Phumdoemvong, 22, of the
Student Federation of Thailand.

The Thais, arrested with 15 other foreigners, had not been
charged formally but had been accused by the junta of "attempting
to incite unrest and destabilising the prevailing peace and
tranquillity the country is enjoying".

Ambassador Pensak Chararak and five other envoys, whose nationals
had been arrested, were awaiting a response from Burmese
authorities to their request for visiting rights.

The ambassadors attended a 40 minute briefing given by Lt-Col Hla
Min, of the Office of Strategic Studies, who said the activists
were arrested at the Bogyoke Aung San market, on Kaba Aye Pagoda
road, the junction of the Shwe Dagon Pagoda road and Bogyoke
road, Theingyi Zay (market), Downtown Mosque, and the Shwe Dagon
Pagoda.

Naming the Alternative Asean Network-on Burma, the Union for
Civil Liberties (Thailand), Initiative for International
Dialogue, and International Organisation of Democracy for Burma
as backers, the Burmese spokesman- said it was "very
unfortunate"" these groups were "bent on creating unrest".

Burmese people, he said, were "not obsessed with politics ...
they do not see freedom solely in terms of the right to vote
periodically and demonstrate and express political views
publicly".

In Bangkok, six NGOs submitted a letter to Surin Pitsuwan,
foreign minister urging him  to apply all means to secure their
unconditional release.

The six groups are Forum Asia, the Campaign Committee for
Democracy in Burma, the Campaign Committee for Democracy, Student
Union of Thailand, Friends of People and Assembly of the Poor.

They also called on the minister to cooperate with other
countries to secure the unconditional release of political
prisoners in Burma, as well as tripartite talks between the
junta, Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, and a
representative of ethnic minorities.

Sukhumbhand Paribatra, deputy foreign minister, said he would
have discouraged the sending of NGO members to Burma because
political movement in a neighbouring country was improper.

The Burmese embassy said screening of Thais applying for visas
had been  tightened as a result of the arrests. Instead of
getting their visas approved in one day, Thais may have to wait
for seven days if they are suspected to have political motives.

The embassy would send bio-data of suspect applicants to the
Intelligence Service in Rangoon for checking before considering
their applications, the sources explained.


*****************************
AFP: INDONESIAN ACTIVISTS PROTEST ARRESTS OF COLLEAGUES, FOREIGNERS IN
MYANMAR
Tue 11 Aug 98 - 04:41 GMT

JAKARTA, Aug 11 (AFP) - A group of some 20 Indonesian activists Tuesday
picketted the Myanmar embassy here to demand the release of 18 activists,
including three Indonesians, arrested by the military junta in Yangon.

Two of the arrested Indonesian activists were from the Pijar pro-democracy
group.

The activists condemned the arrests and shouted demands for Yangon to
release the detainees, arrested in Yangon Monday, and respect freedom of
expression.

They also waved banners reading "Release all political detainees," and "Halt
the demilitarizatrion of Burma," before dispersing peacefully.

The Myanmar junta Monday arrested the 18 foreign activists for distributing
pro-opposition leaflets ahead of the anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy
uprising in the country.

On Monday, the junta said in a statement in Yangon that the 18 would face
trial for allegedly seeking to incite unrest.
The detainees were six US nationals, three Thais, three Malaysians, three
Indonesians, two Filipinos, and one Australian, the junta said. Ten of them
were men and eight were women.

The three Indonesians were identified as Pijar activists Suleiman Heikal and
Christian Evert, and Fajri, of Indonesia's Alliance of Independent
Journalists, the Republika daily said.



*****************************
AFP: THAI RIGHTS GROUPS CALLS FOR RELEASE OF FOREIGNERS DETAINED IN MYANMAR
Tue 11 Aug 98 - 09:23 GMT

BANGKOK, Aug 11 (AFP) - A Thai rights group called Tuesday for the
unconditional release of all 18 foreigners detained in Myanmar for handing
out pro-democracy leaflets.

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, representing several
smaller non-governmental organisations and student bodies, also demanded
that Myanmar's junta respect international treaties on human rights and
guarantee the detainees' safety.

The Thai government should become more involved by protesting the
"innocence" of three Thais who were among those detained in Yangon on
Sunday, it said in a statement.

"The Thai government should confirm with the Burmese government and the
international community that all 18 people, particularly the three Thais,
are innocent," it added.

"What they have done was based on humanitarian and democratic principles
which Thailand and other countries uphold."

The detainees were six US nationals, three Thais, three Malaysians, three
Indonesians, two Filipinos and one Australian, the junta said earlier,
adding 10 were male and eight female.

They were being held at two police facilities at Yangon, facing charges for
allegedly trying to incite civil unrest by handing out the leaflets
promoting democracy and human rights.

*****************************
AFP: DETAINED ACTIVISTS IN MYANMAR COULD BE SENTENCED TO DEPORTATION AT
TRIAL
Tue 11 Aug 98 - 07:40 GMT

YANGON, Aug 11 (AFP) - Eighteen foreign activists detained in Myanmar for
allegedly attempting to incite unrest will be tried on criminal charges but
may simply be sentenced to deportation, a defence ministry source said
Tuesday.

The government was committed to following established legal process and
bringing them before the courts, he added.

"When we say necessary action, we mean legal action," the source said.
"And we must go through process of law. They will have to go to court to be
sentenced. They would still have to be charged and tried and sentenced, even
if they are only deported."

A junta spokesman said officials were still trying to decide what action to
take against the detainees, who comprise six US nationals, three Thais,
three Malaysians, three Indonesians, two Filipinos and one Australian. Ten
are male and eight female and they are being held at two Yangon police
installations, the junta said earlier.

"The ministry of home affairs is working together with the legal
departments and will come up with a legal point of view," the spokesman
added.

"Based on that, a decision will be made. At the present moment, the
concerned departments are working together to be able to present the legal
aspect of the case to the relevant officials," he said.


*****************************
AFP: PHILIPPINE ENVOY GRANTED ACCESS TO DETAINED FILIPINOS IN MYANMAR
Tue 11 Aug 98 - 10:50 GMT

MANILA, Aug 11 (AFP) - Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon on
Tuesday sharply denounced Myanmar for refusing access to two Filipinos
detained in Yangon, warning Manila would file a diplomatic protest if this
was not granted.

Foreign Undersecretary Lauro Baja at the same time summoned Myanmar's envoy
to Manila, San Thein, to demand an explanation why Philippine Ambassador to
Yangon Sonia Brady has been denied access to the Filipinos.
Filipino human rights activists picketed the Myanmar embassy here,
condemning the arrests and demanding the release of their colleagues.
The Filipinos were among 18 foreigners, including Americans, Malaysians,
Indonesians, Thais and an Australian, who were arrested Sunday in Yangon
for handing out leaflets supporting democracy and respect for human rights.

"If they continue to deny us consular access, we will protest," Siazon told
journalists.

"I'm not about to engage in gunboat diplomacy (but) they have two of my
nationals," said Siazon, a vocal advocate of a policy to openly criticize
fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on
issues that affect the region.

Baja bluntly told the Myanmarese ambassador that: "We want them (Myanmar
authorities) to grant access to the embassy, whether they are charged or
not, detained or not, or held in questioning."

He was apparently reacting to claims by Myanmar officials the foreigners
were merely being held for questioning but not under detention.
In a telephone call to the foreign department here late Tuesday, Brady said
she has been granted access to the Filipinos for 8:30 p.m. (1400 GMT).

Baja said the Philippines was consulting with other ASEAN members to draw up
a common approach on Myanmar, which was admitted to the grouop last year
despite opposition from the United States and other major powers. "It is
still subject to consultation if there will be an ASEAN approach. It will
carry numerical weight if we do that," Baja said.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The group has been allergic to making
public comments on the internal affairs of members.
During a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Manila last month, Siazon
and Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan strongly advocated a policy shift
in favor of more open criticism which sparked vigorous opposition from the
seven other members.

Philippine President Joseph Estrada on Tuesday ordered the foreign
department to "extend all assistance" to two Filipinos being detained in
Myanmar.

"We will extend to them all assistance due to every distressed Filipino
abroad. We must help them because they are our fellow Filipinos," Estrada
said.


*****************************
THE REGIME: "AREA SECURITY BEING PROVIDED"

Text of INFORMATION SHEET    N0.A-0553( I/L)                        11th
August 1998

Area Security Being Provided

The Government of Myanmar has provided, Ms. Su Kyi, at her request,  trained
security personnel since July, 1995. The team was provided free of charge,
and all their expenses paid by the government. They have successfully kept
Ms. Su Kyi's home safe.

		The government was surprised at Ms. Su Kyi's sudden request on August 6,
and she provided no explanation.  However, the government is happy to comply
with her request and the security team within the compound has been removed
on August 7, 1998.

		The government would like to point out that Ms. Su Kyi being a prominent
citizen of Myanmar as well as the daughter of modern Myanmar National Hero
General Aung San, Ms. Su Kyi will always be provided with all necessary
security and protection, while at the same time the government will fulfil
its obligation and responsibility for the welfare of all its citizens.

		At present the government is fulfilling its responsibility to the citizens
living at the University Avenue by providing an area security to maintain
the calm and peaceful conditions that Yangon now enjoys.
		To the regret of the security officials the NLD released a press statement
on August 10 stating that Ms. Su Kyi feels her movements and activities has
been restricted and that she is virtually under house restriction again.
	The government was surprised by the NLD's press statement and found it
difficult to understand since August 8 after the removal of the security
team Ms. Su Kyi has been going out of her compound almost daily and has been
receiving foreign diplomats at her residence as well.  Moreover, up to this
day during a very short period of time well over (300) people has visited
her compound while some of them stayed overnight. There is no government
restriction on her movement as long as  security conditions permit.




*****************************
ABSDF/ONSOB/ABBESU/BSC:JOINT-STATEMENT ON ARREST OF 18 ACTIVISTS ON A
MISSION OF GOODWILL

Media Release
Date: August 10, 1998

An International team, consisting of activists from six countries was
arrested in Burma for attempting to show their support for Burmese people in
their search for democracy and Human Rights.

We are really honoured by this act of multinational co-operation in the
struggle for human rights, and respect the sacrifice of these people for the
freedom of others. We are also grateful for their show of support to and
solidarity with the oppressed people of Burma.

We denounce the SPDC for arresting these activists who were acting only out
of goodwill for Burmese people. The fact that the Burmese military has gone
to the extent of detaining these people and preventing them from leaving
Burma as planned for such a harmless show of solidarity serves to once again
highlight the paranoia of the dictatorship.

In consideration of the inhuman treatment faced by detainees in Burma, we
are very concerned for the welfare of these activists. We call on the SPDC
to: -

1. Immediately release these activists.

2. Immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners.


All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF)
Overseas National Students of Burma (ONSOB)
All Burma Basic Education Students' Union (ABBESU)
Burmese Students Association (Burmese Students Center)


*****************************
AFP: MYANMAR REPORTS QUAKE
Tue 11 Aug 98 - 16:28 GMT

BANGKOK, Aug 11 (AFP) - Myanmar's meteorological department reported late
Tuesday that it had registered a strong earthquake measuring 6.3 on the
Richter scale northeast of its capital, state-run television said.

The television quoted the department as saying the tremor was registered at
4:24 p.m. (0949 GMT) with an epicenter about 998 miles (1,600 kilometers)
northeast of Yangon.

The report did not mention casualties or damage.

A quake measuring six on the Richter scale can cause severe damage in a
built up and populated area.



###