The BurmaNet News: August 16, 1998

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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: August 16, 1998
Issue #1074

HEADLINES:
===========
BKK POST: JUNTA TO FREE ACTIVISTS IN TURNAROUND
BKK POST: TIDE OF HISTORY IS WITH NATION
BKK POST: FAMILIES VOW TO FIGHT ON
BKK POST: BURMA REFUSES TO RECEIVE UN EMISSARY
BKK POST: ENVOYS TO VISIT WORKERS
THE NATION: HAPPY LANDING FOR 18 ACTIVISTS
BKK POST: JUNTA MUST DO MORE, WORLD LEADERS SAY
BKK POST: MIXED TREATMENT
BKK POST: MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT REACTION SLAMMED
ANNOUNCEMENT: NLD MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT DIES IN PRISON
**************************************************************

BKK POST: JUNTA TO FREE ACTIVISTS IN TURNAROUND

15 August, 1998 

BHANRAVEE TANSUBHAPOL

DETAINEES SENTENCED TO FIVE  YEARS' JAIL

The Burmese government yesterday agreed to deport 18 foreign activists
after sentencing them to five years' imprisonment with hard labour for
inciting unrest.

The 18 are expected to be deported today as Burmese law calls for the
deportation to take place within 24 hours after the decision, Foreign
Ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul quoted a Burmese official as saying.

US Congressman Charles Smith was set to meet the activists on their
expected arrival in Bangkok this morning, sources said.

The Northern District Court at the infamous Insein prison sentenced the 18
to five years' imprisonment with hard labour under the 1950 Emergency Act
which provides for penalties ranging from five to 20 years.

The turnaround came after a Malayysian appealed the sentence o behalf of
all 18 activists, Mr Kobsak quoted Thai ambassador to Burma Pensak Chalarak
as saying.

The eighteen activists, including three Thais, three Malaysians, three
Indonesians, two Filipinos, one Australian and six Americans, were arrested
in Rangoon on Sunday while distributing leaflets expressing support for the
pro-democracy movement launched in Burma 10 years ago.

Quoting the Thai ambassador's report, Mr Kobsak said Burma's Home Affairs
Ministry and immigration authorities agreed to deport the 18 on three
conditions:

* They must not return to engage in political activities in Burma

* They must not cause unrest in Burma

* They would have the five years added to a future sentence if
they should violate Burmese law again.

Speaking shortly after the outcome was known, Thai Foreign Minister Surin
Pitsuwan said he was happy for the activists and their relatives.

Mr Kobsak thanked the Burmese government for "responding to the sentiments
of the Thai people and the international community by proceeding according
to the law".

Mr Surin had expressed confidence the issue would be resolved soon.

"This is a sensitive issue and one that has drawn international attention,"
Mr Surin said.

"I think they [Burmese authorities] understand that the longer the
situation lingers, the more they will face pressure. I also communicated to
the Burmese side that the quickest resolution is the best." he added.

"Justice delayed is justice denied, so we are trying to impress this very
well-known principle to everybody involved," he said. 

Speaking to reporters after meeting the relates, Mr Surin said all Asean
foreign ministers had conveyed to fellow-member Burma the suggestion that
an early solution to the case would be the best for all concerned.

Earlier yesterday, Thai Army spokesman Major-General Pongthep Theppratheep
said Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, secretary general of Burma's ruling
junta, during a telephone conversation with Army Chief General Chettha
Thanajaro, had pledged the early release of the three Thais.

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

BKK POST: TIDE OF HISTORY IS WITH NATION

15 August, 1998
LONDON, AFP

REGIME PROVIDES UMBRELLA FOR STANDOFF

Burma's opposition leader Au San Suu Kyi is confident of eventually
overcoming her country's military regime and believes "the tide of history
is with us," she said an interview broadcast yesterday.

Speaking to BBC radio last St day, before her car was blocked security
forces as she tried to meet members of her National League for Democracy
(NLD), Mrs Suu Kyi said: "I don't believe in sitting and hoping, we have to
work for it.

"I am confident that we will achieve democracy because the tide of history
is with us."

Mrs Suu Kyi yesterday entered the third day of her stand-off with security
forces on a rural highway-the fourth such protest in a month.

She is now in almost the same spot about 25 kilometres outside the capital
Rangoon where she held a six-d protest last month, but this time she is in
a mini-van rather than a sedan and has brought extra supplies.

Her previous six-day standoff en ed when the junta forcibly drove her home
on July 29.

Burma's military rulers said yesterday they had provided a beach umbrella
and other items to ensure the comfort of Mrs Suu Kyi in her road standoff
with the authorities.

In her BBC interview, Mrs Suu Kyi said: "The situation of the country is
such that the military regime can really do nothing for the country and the
people know that change is necessary.

"We've always been confident that we will achieve our goal eventually,
it's a matter of time. The sooner the better of course because, the longer
it takes, the more suffering there is."

The NLD say the government is infringing their human rights by preventing
them from travelling.

The government says it cannot allow Mrs Suu Kyi and her companions to
endanger themselves by travelling in the western part of Burma which it
says is violent.

"Ms Suu Kyi, U Hla Pe and their two chauffeurs continued to rest in a
camping vehicle near Anyarsu village outside Yangon today, while the
government of Myanmar made every effort to ensure their comfort and
safety," the government said in a statement.

It said Mrs Suu Kyi could stay in Anyarsu "as long as conditions remain
safe" and would be free to travel to Pathein, her destination on Wednesday,
when security conditions permitted.

"The government has provided an ambulance exclusively for their use. There
are not many ambulances in Burma, however, and the government hopes that
Mrs Suu Kyi and her companions will return home soon, so that the ambulance
and medical staff may be put back to use helping the truly needy."

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

BKK POST: FAMILIES VOW TO FIGHT ON

15 August, 1998

NUSSARA SAWATSAWANG
BHANRAVEE TANSUBHAPOL

Several relatives of 18 foreign activists detained in Rangoon vowed
yesterday to stay in Bangkok and fight for their release, prior to reports
of their conviction and likely deportation.

Wiping away tears, Eva Sana, mother of Ellene from the Philippines, told a
press conference: "I will not leave until I go home with my daughter."

"We will stay until they are released," added another Filipina, Cynthia
Resuena, wife of Ponciano.

The two joined four other relatives at a press conference in Bangkok that
began shortly after the 18 activists were put on trial in Rangoon.

Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan later met the relatives and remarked
that an early end to the judicial process would be the best guarantee of
justice for all concerned.

The 18 activists-including three Thais, six Americans, three Malaysians,
three Indonesians, two Filipinos and an Australian- were arrested in
Rangoon while handing out business-card-size leaflets in support of the
pro-democracy movement.

The four other relatives present at the press conference included Kusuma
Pandermvongse, mother of Chanakan of the Student Federation of Thailand,
Chong Ah Pok, father of Chong Kok Wei from Malaysia, Benyo Nikodemos,
brother of Christian Evert from Indonesia, and Greg Vicary, brother of
Alison from Australia.

Sister Cres Lucero, head of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines,
and Kua Kia Soong,  head of the Malaysian human rights group Suaram also
joined the call for the unconditional release of the activists. The
relatives and the NGO workers maintained that the activists acted merely in
sympathy and support for the Burmese people.

"They have done nothing wrong. Let them come home and let them be with
their family," said Mr Vicary, adding that any prolonging of the activists'
detention would merely inflate the pro-democracy movement.

Mrs Kusuma reaffirmed support for her daughter's activity as well as
expressing concern for her health. She said a heightening of tension may
well worsen Ms Chanakarn's thyroid problem. 

Mr Nicodemos from Indonesia warned the military junta against resisting the
Burmese people's demand for democracy, citing the fall of Indonesian
president Suharto in May.

"I think that the Burmese government should learn from the experience of
Indonesia. It should realise the reality now that the demand of democracy
is rising around the world," he said.

Kua Kia Soong of Malaysia's Suaram expressed disappointment with the
lukewarm attitude of the Malaysian government towards the activists' plight.

At the same press conference, Chris Smith, a US Republican Representative
from New Jersey and chairman of the House Representative sub-committee on
international operations and human rights, emphasised the American people's
concern with the arrest of the activists.

"Every hour that goes by, the anger of the American people is increasing.
They will join forces and unite with the democratic people of the rest of
world to put pressure on the Myanmar government," he said. Mr Smith also
urged the ruling junta to engage in a dialogue with Mrs Suu Kyi.
     
The congressman later met with - Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand
Paribatra and solicited help to secure an entry visa into Burma.
M.R.Sukhumbhand said Thai officials would talk with the Burmese embassy but
emphasised that the final decision rested with the Burmese.
     
**************************************************************

BKK POST: BURMA REFUSES TO RECEIVE UN EMISSARY

15 August, 1998

REUTERS   
     
United Nations-Burma has rebuffed a request by UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan to receive a special emissary to discuss "current developments," a UN
spokesman said on Thursday.
     
"The response from the prime minister was polite, but stated that there was
no reason for such a rush to visit," UN spokesman Juan Carlos Brandt said.
     
Prime Minister General Than Shwe added that the dialogue that the
secretary-general and the Burmese government had maintained since 1994
could continue when Burma's foreign minister was in New York next month for
the UN General Assembly.
     
"The secretary-general is  disappointed by the response,"Mr Brandt said.
     
**************************************************************   
     
BKK POST: ENVOYS TO VISIT WORKERS

15 August, 1998

The Burmese government on Wednesday gave the green light for the Thai
embassy in Rangoon and relatives to visit 40 Thai workers arrested in early
1997, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul said yesterday.

The 40 workers, from the northern Thai province of Phrae, were arrested
while cutting teak trees near the northeastern Burmese province of Kengtung.

They were subsequently put on trial and each sentenced to 15 years in
jail-five for illegal entry, and ten for illegal logging. They are believed
to being held in the Kengtung area.

The permission for relatives and the Thai embassy in Rangoon to visit them
was granted four months after Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra
made the request.

Burmese authorities asked for the names of relatives and the dates they
intend to visit, Mr Kobsak noted.

Currently, about 100 Thais are being held in Burmese jails, many of them
fishermen.

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

THE NATION: HAPPY LANDING FOR 18 ACTIVISTS

16 August, 1998

AGENCIES

UPBEAT: ORGANISERS PLAN MORE FORAYS INTO BURMA.

INSISTING their motives were pure and bursting with emotional relief,
eighteen foreign activists, including three Thais, arrived at Bangkok
International Airport yesterday following their deportation from Rangoon
after being sentenced to five-year prison terms by a Burmese court for
distributing leaflets in support of the democracy movement.

"We admitted [to the court] what we did but pleaded not guilty," Charan
Dithapichai, a Thai activist and lecturer in political science at Rangsit
University, told the press conference yesterday morning after arriving in
Bangkok along with the other activists.

"We were not guilty. We only joined the Burmese people in celebrating the
10th anniversary of an uprising for democracy, and we spread our goodwill
message which caused no harm," he said.

Most of the activists said that the Burmese government had eventually
released them due to international pressure by their respective governments
and democratic movements.

In welcoming the release of the activists, White House spokesman Mike
McCurry said this ought to serve as a reminder that there was an absence of
protection of basic human rights in Burma. 

The 18 - six Americans, three Thais, three Malaysians, three Indonesians,
two Filipinos and an Australian - were greeted with garlands of yellow
jasmine and pink roses on their arrival in Bangkok, where they were
welcomed by about 200 cheering fellow activists, supporters, relatives and
reporters.

"Of course I'm very happy," screamed Ellene Sana, 36, a social activist
from the Philippines. "I didn't want to stay there any longer."

A banner hung in the airport's VIP lounge reading: "Welcome Home, Democracy
Heroes."

But in a faxed statement to a foreign news agency yesterday, a spokesman
for the Burmese junta said that the government felt that "these misguided
youths were exploited" by anti-government groups "to perform subversive
activities and become sacrificial lambs for them". 
     
The Thai government sent a low-key representative to the airport yesterday.
Ongart Klampaiboon, secretary to Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan, was sent
in an attempt to avoid being seen as supporting the democracy activists'
actions. 

The  activists appeared tired on their arrival but more firmly wedded  than
ever to the cause of democracy in Burma.

"If we have at least advanced the fight for human rights and democracy and
made people's lives better in Burma, it has been worth it," said Malaysian
activist Chong KokWei. He added  that he was glad he had been to Burma.

The activists were picked up by police in Rangoon last Sunday after
distributing thousands of pro-democracy leaflets which coincided with the
10th anniversary of a nationwide uprising against military rule.
     
They were convicted in a one-day trial on Friday of violating the Emergency
Provisions Act, dating from 1950, and were sentenced to five years' hard
labour.

However, in a dramatic turnaround the court suspended the sentences on
condition they were deported.

Charan admitted that he and colleagues had been aware that they might have
broken a law. "We did not expect the outcome of our action to be this
serious," the veteran Thai activist conceded.

"We were given everything we possibly wanted. We were given rooms with fans
and air conditioning. We were given all the food we needed," -Sapna
Chattpar, 21, one of four students from the American University in
Washington said.

Australian activist Alison Vicary told a news conference that before the
group's arrest they had asked people in Rangoon whether they supported the
military regime.  "They said: 'No, we don't, but we are scared,"' she said.

At the Bai Sri welcoming ceremony organised at Thammasart University by
Bangkok-based Forum Asia, Thai student activist Chanakarn Pandermwongse,
who was among the 18, said she had little hope for forseeable changes in
Burma since the junta were holding firmly on to power.

None of the activists, 10 men and eight women, said they had plans to
return to Burma, but the organisation that sent them there, the Alternative
Asean Network on Burma, promised another venture in the near future.

"When we are free to do so, we are going to go back and distribute this
goodwill message again, very soon, I hope," said coordinator Debbie Stothard.

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

BKK POST: JUNTA MUST DO MORE, WORLD LEADERS SAY

16 August, 1998

AGENCIES

International condemnation off the ruling Burmese junta ha continued,
despite its decision to immediately deport 18 foreign activists sentenced
to jail terms on Friday.

The United States on Friday welcomed Burma's decision to expel the six US
activists in the group, but said their arrest was just one example of the
junta's abuses.

White House spokesman Michael McCurry said while the US was "pleased" by
the release of the activists, the whole incident was "a failure of the
Burmese government to allow freedom of expression which underscores all the
points that we have made privately and publicly".

Seeking Japanese support for her campaign to get the junta and its critics
talking, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said efforts to promote
dialogue in Burma had reached a "moment of truth".

Mrs Albright pointed to the situation of opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, who yesterday remained locked in a roadside confrontation with
authorities for a fourth day, after she tried to travel outside the capital
to meet with supporters.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is again asserting her basic right to move freely in her
country," Mrs Albright said at the outset of a meeting in Washington with
visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.

"This is a moment of truth in our effort to promote dialogue in Burma, an
effort we need to intensify in coming days," she said.

Also highlighting Mrs Suu Kyi's treatment, German Foreign Minister Klaus
Kinkel on Friday said the junta was "again trampling human rights and
democracy" by blocking her movements.

"The generals will be held responsible for the health" of Mrs Suu Kyi, he
said in a statement.

"I urge the Yangon government: put an end to your policy of repression
which, for years, has shown contempt for human rights and ruined your
country. Put an end to your international isolation," Mr Kinkel said.

Mrs Albright noted Mrs Suu Kyi had called for the convening on August 21 of
opposition MPs elected in 1990. They have been barred from taking their
seats by the country's military leaders. 

Analysts are watching that date closely, noting food shortages in parts of
the country could foment unrest.

Mr Kinkel appealed to the junta to recognise the Mrs Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy's election win and to "hold dialogue with the
democratic opposition, including with Aung San Suu Kyi and the
representatives of ethnic minorities".

He also urged the military regime "to revoke its refusal to talk" with
former United Nations general assembly president Razali Ismail, proposed as
a special UN envoy to Rangoon.  

The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) protested on
Friday against the sentencing of 18 foreign activists, saying the later
decision to expel them did not excuse the verdict.

The arrests of the foreign activists "could obviously be considered as
contrary to international human rights standards," it said in a statement.

"The FIDH considers that the charges levelled against them are unacceptable
and invalid. The FIDH also questions the legal process leading to their
condemnation and seriously doubts that the 18 defendants were granted a
fair trial," it said.

Meanwhile, the Philippine ambassador to Rangoon warned the foreign
activists had been threatened with even sterner punishment if they tried to
repeat their action.

Sonia Brady was quoted in a report as saying, "if they were to return to
Myanmar in the future and violate their laws, they would serve not only the
sentence that would be imposed upon them but also the sentence condoned" on
Friday. Two Filipinos were among 18 foreign activists.

Ms Brady said the detainees had argued they were "not aware of the customs
of the country and did not intend to come for the purpose of inciting
unrest. They also said they did not mean any harm by distributing leaflets."

Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon welcomed the release of the
Filipinos.

He said: "We are gratified that Myanmar took positive action with respect
to this case and we hope that similar positive action could be taken with
respect to other pressing matters. 

Observers said this was an apparent reference to the junta's efforts to
prevent Mrs Suu Kyi from meeting her followers. 

***************************************************************** 
                                                   
BKK POST: MIXED TREATMENT 

16 August, 1998

REUTERS

WE STAYED WITH RATS RUNNING ABOUT: THAIS

The 18 human rights activists deported from Burma to Thailand yesterday
gave starkly different accounts of their treatment by the Rangoon police.

One American activist said the six US citizens were treated like royalty
with every need catered for.

But a Thai activist said his group of three were treated harshly in the
first four days of detention in police headquarters before all 18 were
united at a state guest house.

"We were treated like kings and queens," Sapna Chhatpar, one of six US
activists, said at Don Muang airport. "We were given everything that we
could possibly have wanted. We were kept in police headquarters with fans,
air-conditioning, food and anything we could possibly want."

The Americans were split by sex and had to sleep on the floor of their
rooms in the first night but were later given beds. 

But Sawat Uppahad, an activist with the Forum of the Poor, said the three
Thais had to sleep on the dirty floor of an almost bare room in the same
building and were not even given a mat to lie on at night.

"We were separated by nationality at first and put into different rooms.
There were rats running about our room and we were watched 24 hours a day
by police," he said. "There was no running water, nothing to read, no books
and they wouldn't give me a newspaper."

Most of the activists said they had been ready to be punished by the
government if they were caught but did not think they would be.

"We have not been beaten up, we have not been physically tortured or
anything, but we were not allowed to contact our embassies," US activist
Tyler Giannini told Reuters.

"They never told us anything the whole time we were there. We did not know
we were being charged until we went on trial," he said.

"What is horrible is that we could leave after six days but people in Burma
that perhaps commit the exact same crime could be sentenced for life or
could be killed," Sapna Chhatpar said.

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

BKK POST: MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT REACTION SLAMMED

16 August, 1998

AFP  

Kuala Lumpur-A Malaysian human rights group has slammed the country's
foreign ministry for its attitude towards three local activists among those
arrested in Burma.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia chided Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who
reportedly said he found it "difficult to sympathise with Malaysians who go
to other countries and consciously create trouble or break the laws".

"This statement is most callous and irresponsible," the group's
spokesperson Kua Kia Soong said.

"It stands out in direct contrast to the caring,  positive and proactive
attitude exhibited by the foreign ministries of all the other countries
whose nationals were victims of the Burmese government's actions," he said.

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: NLD MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT DIES IN PRISON

August 14, 1998 from <lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

National League for Democracy (NLD) representative U Saw Win, who
was elected to parliament in the 1990 election, died on August 7
from unknown reasons in Thayawaddy Prison, 200 kilometres north
of Rangoon. 

U Saw Win (a.k.a. U Kyaw Zaw Lin) was from Htilin Township in
Chin State and was 61 years old. He was arrested in 1991 for
allegedly failing to transport logs in time while working on the
construction of the Rangoon-Thanlyin Bridge. He was given ten
years imprisonment under the Public Property Protection Act and
an additional one-year imprisonment under Section 5(j) of the
1950 Emergency Provision Act.

U Saw Win's body was cremated in secret by military authorities
two days after his death on August 9, without the knowledge or
presence of his family. 

U Saw Win is the third NLD Member of Parliament to die in prison.
U Tin Maung Win (Rangoon Division) died in 1991 and U Hla Than
(Rangoon Division) died in 1996. U Saw Win's death also comes six
months after the death in prison of Rangoon NLD Organising
Committee member U Thein Tin. 

U Saw Win's son, Sa Lai Yaw Aung (a.k.a. Aung Aung Min), a
Central Committee member of the ABSDF, said his father worked
tirelessly for democracy and human rights in Burma.

"I'm very sad I wasn't able to see my father one last time and
listen to what he would have to say to me. I'm also sad I wasn't
able to attend his funeral," he said. "Although its is probable
more people will die or be killed under the military regime, I
hope my father will be the last one to give his life for
democracy in Burma," he added.

The ABSDF strongly condemns Burma's military regime for the
deaths in custody of political prisoners, and demands the
authorities allow the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) access to prisons across the country.

"The ABSDF is deeply shocked at the news of U Saw Win's untimely
death, and we demand to know the circumstances surrounding his
death," said Aung Naing Oo, ABSDF Foreign Affairs Secretary. "U
Saw Win's death is a great loss to the struggle of democracy and
human rights in Burma," he added.

The Election Commission dismissed U Saw Win as a Member of
Parliament on 12 December 1991. The military regime twice
promised to release U Saw Win from prison, once in 1992 and again
in 1995, but they failed to do so. U Saw Win graduated in Science
from Rangoon University and in 1965 began working as a newspaper
journalist. He later became an Assistant Editor at the Botahtaung
newspaper and also worked for a government publishing house.

All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF)

For further information please call 01 654 4984, 01 253 9082.
*****************************************************************