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The BurmaNet News: August 17, 1998



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

The BurmaNet News: August 17, 1998
Issue #1075

HEADLINES:
===========
THE NATION: FIRM SUU KYI, MILITARY LOCKED IN WAR OF WILLS
THE NATION: US STUDENTS HEAD HOME AFTER BURMA EXPULSION
THE NATION: EVERYTHING IN SUPPORT OF ACTIVISM
BKK POST: ROADSIDE STANDOFF SCENE RECORDED
BKK POST: ASEAN MAY YET HAVE TO LEAN ON RANGOON
BKK POST: BURMESE PEOPLE DESERVE BETTER
****************************************************************

THE NATION: FIRM SUU KYI, MILITARY LOCKED IN WAR OF WILLS

17 August, 1998

Reuters

RANGOON -- Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's military rulers were locked in a
war of wills on the fifth day of a roadside stand-off yesterday as the
government faced more international pressure for political reform.

Prevented from driving to see supporters, Suu Kyi and three companions
refused again to return to Rangoon and so remained stuck in a minivan on a
bridge in west Burma, showing to the world their lack of freedom of
movement, sources close to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) said.

Photographs obtained late on Saturday showed the grey minivan at the
entrance to the small wooden bridge on a country road, next to a yellow
beach umbrella, white plastic table and two garden chairs, all gifts from
the government.

The van, sliding side door open but curtains drawn, was close to a thatched
hut at what appeared to be a checkpoint. 

The still pictures showed no sign of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, her
two drivers or senior NLD member U Hla Pe, who were stopped at the bridge
on Wednesday.

However, government and NLD sources said the group was still inside the van
and refusing to budge.

Suu Kyi had set out to visit Pathein township, 190 kilometres west of
Rangoon, but had only reached Anyarsu, 32 km southwest of the capital, when
she was stopped.

The trip was a repeat of one that led to a six-day standoff last month and
was forcibly ended by the military on July 29.

The latest stand-off is designed to focus world attention on an NLD demand
that the government convene by Aug 21 a parliament of members elected at
polls in 1990, diplomats said.

The NLD won that election by an overwhelming margin, but the result was
ignored by the military.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in Washington on Friday a
"moment of truth" was approaching for Burma's military government and it
was vital to push for democratic dialogue in the coming days.

She backed Suu Kyi's defiance of travel restrictions.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is again today asserting her basic right to move freely
in her own country, and she is calling for the parliament the Burmese
people elected eight years ago to convene by Aug 21," Albright said.

Australia also called over the weekend on Burma to open up and bring in
democratic reforms. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told a radio station
late on Saturday that Burma was not a country with freedom of expression or
freedom of speech in the way most people in the region would understand it.

"The onus [is] ... on the Burmese authorities to start reforming their
political systems and catch up with the rest of the region and the rest of
the world in the latter part of the 20th century," he said.

However, the military has ignored pressure from abroad and ridiculed the
NLD's ultimatum and the group's latest roadside protest, sending them gifts
and promising "every effort to ensure their comfort and safety".

It says Suu Kyi can remain in Anyarsu "as long as conditions remain safe"
but cannot be allowed to go to Pathein as this would mean travelling in a
dangerous part of the country.

On Friday the government sent Suu Kyi the beach umbrella, table, chairs and
"journals to help Ms Suu Kyi pass the time".

The government said in a statement yesterday it had also sent cakes and
drinks for Suu Kyi and her companions.

"In addition to the amenities and entertainment provided by the government
to Ms Suu Kyi in helping her pass the time comfortably, government
officials provided imported cakes, cookies and soft drinks this morning,"
it said.

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

THE NATION: US STUDENTS HEAD HOME AFTER BURMA EXPULSION

17 August, 1998

Associated Press

FOUR American students deported from Burma for distributing pro-democracy
leaflets were on their way back to the United States yesterday, voicing
continued commitment to the fight for human rights in the military-ruled
country.

Michele Keegan, Sapna Chhatpar, Nisha Anand, and Anjanette Hamilton, all
students at American University in Washington, DC, boarded a flight in
Bangkok shortly after noon that was to take them to the United States.

They, along with two other Americans, three Indonesians, three Malaysians,
three Thais, two Filipinos and an Australian, belong to activist groups
opposed to military rule in Burma. Their action on Aug 9 was meant to mark
the 10th anniversary of an uprising against military rule.

Inside Burma meanwhile opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi continued for a
fifth day her own standoff with the junta, remaining in her parked van 32
kilometres west of the capital, Rangoon. The authorities stopped her there
on her way to meeting members of her political party.

There was no independent way to obtain information about her condition.

The government, which apparently kept her from receiving provisions during
a similar six-day sit-in last month, claims to have supplied her with all
amenities this time, including a cassette player and music tapes by Madonna
and Michael Jackson.

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

THE NATION: EVERYTHING IN SUPPORT OF ACTIVISM

17 August, 1998

THE NATION profiles the three Thai activists who were detained by the
Burmese junta and subsequently expelled.

Rangsit University political scientist Charan Disthapichai is no stranger
to political activism. Born in Phatthalung province, 51-year-old Charan
grew up and studied in his home town until entering high school. 

His first experience of life in Bangkok was as a freshman at Kasetsart
University. His dislike of the Sotus (Seniority Order Tradition Unity and
Spirit) system, so entrenched in the university at the time, led him to
eventually transfer to Thammasat University. It was there, as a student of
political science, that Charan cofounded "Sapha na Dome", an intellectual
group which played a leading role in student politics prior to the October
1973 uprising.

By October 1976, when the brutal crack-down on students took place at
Thammasat University, Charan was a member of the Socialist Party of
Thailand. He was also among the demonstrators at Thammasat University.

During the crack-down, Charan hid in one of the university buildings. After
six days in hiding, without food or water, Charan could ignore his thirst
no longer. He was captured by the military while looking for water and
imprisoned in a secret place and tortured for several weeks before being
handed over to the Royal Thai Police Department's Special Branch Bureau,
were he was subsequently placed in solitary confinement.

After enduring six months of solitary confinement, Charan managed to escape.

Seeing no hope in justice under the law, he fled into the jungle of Nan
province and joined the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT).

Three years later, even before the Cold War ended, Charan headed back home.
He won a scholarship to further his studies in political science at the
University of Paris. By 1989 he was back in Thailand and has since become a
lecturer at Rangsit University. But he is more than just a lecturer, as the
fires of political activism still burn within him, fuelled by his acute
sense of justice, human rights and democracy.

Charan has always been active in political movements and vocal in
denouncing human-rights violations. Charan was also the first to compile a
history of the French Revolution in Thai, in detail and from the people's
perspective. The work first appeared in a local newspaper and was later
published as a book.

In 1976, the same year that Charan was arrested, Chanakarn Pandermwongse
was born. Growing up with a mother who was a student activist at
Ramkhamhaeng University, Chanakarn naturally developed keen insight into
and strong empathy for the poor. 

During her years at Satree Absornsawan, an all-female school, Chanakarn
joined the Youth Training Programme, an active NGO which aims to foster
social activism among students. It was her first experience with social
activism and helped shape her future.

Chanakarn is a bright student with a natural predilection for academia. She
was able to skip her final year of high school and go straight into
university. She is in her last year in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at
Thammasat University.

Although Chanakarn is a former under-secretary of the Student Federation of
Thailand and very much involved with the Forum of the Poor, it was the
Burmese junta which presented an even greater challenge in her life.

Sawad Uppahard might still have been a low-profile northeastern villager if
it was not for the Land Allocation for the Poor Project, also known as kor
jor gor, which was launched in 1991.

Sawad, 37, who hails from Khon Kaen's Si Chomphu district, is the owner of
10 rai of land that was seized by the government and allocated in plots to
other villagers who had been evicted when their forest land was earmarked
for a national development project.

Realising that the government's seizure of the land he legally owned was
unfair, Sawad vowed to take action. The government eventually returned his
land, but that was not enough for Sawad, who has since become a much-needed
"voice for the voiceless", protecting villagers' rights and championing
their various causes.

"As human beings, [villagers] have the same lights as town-dwellers. We
must defend these rights and demand equal recognition in the eyes of
government," he often tells his colleagues.

In 1997 Sawad served in the Forum of the Poor as an adviser from the
northeast. Because of his strong belief in human rights, he decided to join
the multinational peacemaking team in supporting the pro-democracy movement
in Burma. He is married and has two young daughters.

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

BKK POST: ROADSIDE STANDOFF SCENE RECORDED

17 August, 1998

Defiance maintained on 'bridge' to freedom

Rangoon, Reuters

Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's military rulers were locked in a war of wills
on the fifth day of a roadside standoff yesterday as the government raced
more international pressure for political reform.

Prevented from driving to see supporters, Mrs Suu Kyi and three companions
refused again to return to Rangoon and so remained stuck in a minivan on a
bridge in west Burma, showing to the world their lack of freedom of
movement, sources close to Mrs Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
(NLD) said.

Photographs obtained by Reuters late on Saturday showed the grey minivan at
the entrance to the small wooden bridge on a country road, next to a yellow
beach umbrella, white plastic table and two garden chairs -- all gifts from
the government.

The van, sliding side door open but curtains drawn, was close to a thatched
hut at what appeared to be a checkpoint.

The still pictures showed no sign of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, her
two drivers or senior NLD member U Hla Pe, who were stopped at the bridge
on Wednesday.

But government and NLD sources said the group was still inside the van, and
refusing to budge.

Mrs Suu Kyi had set out to visit Pathein township, 190 kilometres west of
Rangoon but had only reached Anyarsu, 32 km southwest of the capital, when
she was stopped.

The trip was a repeat of one that led to a six-day standoff last month and
was forcibly ended by the military on July 29.

The latest standoff is designed to focus world attention on an NLD demand
that the government convene by August 21 a parliament of members elected at
polls in 1990, diplomats say.

The NLD won that election by an overwhelming margin but the result was
ignored by the military.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in Washington on Friday a
"moment of truth" was approaching for Burma's military government and, it
was vital to push for democratic dialogue in the coming days.

She backed Mrs Suu Kyi's defiance of travel restrictions.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is again today asserting her basic right to move freely
in her own country and she is calling for the parliament the Burmese people
elected eight years ago to convene by August 2 1," Mrs Albright said.

Australia also called over the weekend on Burma to open up. Foreign,
Minister Alexander Downer said Burma was not a country with freedom of
expression, freedom of speech, in the way most people in the region would
understand it.

"The onus [is] ... on the Burmese, authorities to start reforming their
political systems and catch up with the rest of the region and the rest of
the world in the latter part of the 20th century," he said.

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

BKK POST: ASEAN MAY YET HAVE TO LEAN ON RANGOON

17 August, 1998

ANALYSTS SAY FINANCIAL CRISIS, POLITICAL WOES COULD TURN TIDE OF FAVOUR
AGAINST THE JUNTA. 

REUTERS

The political tension in Burma is unlikely to do much to  change the
uncritical attitude of most Southeast Asian states toward Rangoon's
military government.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned recently of an increasing
risk of social "explosion" in Burma, but most of its neighbours prefer
instead to avert their gaze, overlook claims of widespread human rights
abuse and focus on investments there.

Yet if Burma's economy continues to deteriorate with the Asian economic
crisis, and if the conflict between the ruling generals and opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi intensifies, the region may gradually harden its
stance, analysts say.

Asian countries are among the biggest foreign investors in Burma and this
gives them both political leverage and a strong reason to promote stability
in the country.

Since opening the economy to foreign investment in 1988, the Burmese
government has approved over 300 projects worth about $7 billion (294
billion baht) in foreign investment, according to data from Burma's
Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development.

Singapore is the largest foreign investor, with a proposed investment of
$1.4 billion (59 billion baht) for 65 projects, one of which is an arms
factory, according to Jane's Defence Weekly.

Thailand and Malaysia are the third and fourth biggest investors after
Britain, Burmese government figures show.

"Their investments there have given them a stake in Myanmar and therefore
they could put pressure on the government to mend its ways," said Ishtiaq
Hossain, senior lecturer in political science at the National University of
Singapore.

Human rights group Amnesty said recently the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations' policy of constructive engagement with Burma had failed to improve
the human rights situation in the country.

But diplomats say there has been a slight and discernible shift in the
attitude of one or two Asian nations recently as political pressure has
built up inside Burma.

Part of the change may be put down to a brilliant publicity campaign run by
Mrs Suu Kyi, who uses every means at her disposal to embarrass the government.

Pressure on the government was also stepped up last week by 18
pro-democracy activists who entered Burma as tourists and then gave out
leaflets in Rangoon calling on people to remember a massacre of opposition
supporters 10 years ago.

Their detention, conviction and eventual deportation on Saturday sparked a
chorus of condemnation from around the world and calls for change in Burma.

Most significantly Japan called Burma's treatment of Mrs Suu Kyi "very
deplorable" and joined seven other nations calling for dialogue.

"The Japanese position does appear to have hardened," said one Asean
diplomat, who declined to be identified.

"It has moved closer to that of the United States and this could have an
impact on the attitude of Asean," the diplomat said.

Thailand has been outspoken as well. At an Asean meeting two weeks ago,
Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan proposed the grouping hange its policy
on Burma to "flexible engagement" from "constructive engagement".

Although he was backed by the Philippines, the change was strongly ,opposed
by Singapore and Malaysia who cited Asean's traditional policy of
non-interference in others' affairs.

But an alliance of Washington and Tokyo could just tip the policy against
Rangoon if the economic argument is right.

Burma's economy is suffering from years of near isolation and its kyat
currency hit a record low of 384 to the dollar on Thursday from 300 early
this year and an official rate of six.

"Relations between the government and the opposition have a powerful impact
on the market as it can cause immediate panic among dealers and traders,"
one currency dealer in Rangoon said.

Economic growth is also at risk as recession bites into its neighbours.

A recent Asian Development Bank report said growth prospects depended on
further economic liberalisation. This is only likely to come with political
change, analyst say.

"If the economic situation gets much worse, and we know it is in trouble,
then I think there will be pressure for change," said Mr. Hossain. "But
otherwise I don't see why the Myanmar leaders should listen to their Asean
counterparts."

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

BKK POST: BURMESE PEOPLE DESERVE BETTER

17 August, 1998

Letter to the Editor

Burma is illustrating to serious human rights and democracy advocates that
too many governments in this part of the world are willing to pay lip
service to democracy, but not to uphold it.

Thailand, for one, has a hands-off position vis-a-vis Burma's continued
harassment and near-imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi, and its militant
refusal to permit democracy to spread in Burma. Rangoon correctly perceives
that Thailand and other Asean nations will do little to thwart its
intransigence.

Thailand has previously and blatantly illustrated how much weight democracy
has versus the military with the ugly May Uprising that left, scores killed
and missing. Having seen how Thai police treat adolescents, I shudder to
consider what Burmese authorities are capable of. They have declared
themselves insular, and as anti-West as the Afghan Taleban. With a
political orientation such as this, can we really hope for democratic
change in Burma? 

The arrest and detention of political rights activists in Burma brings
vital issues to the forefront of Asean hegemony, not least of which is when
governments consider it inns their interest to speak up for democracy. When
sacrifices by influential figures become too great to bear, and loss of
power to those who should have it is imminent, virulent attacks against
"outside" and "external" forces are launched and the police and military
are brought in to "restore order".

Asean nations need to begin calling a spade a spade and insist on a minimal
level of human rights and democratic processes in their dealings with one
another as well as with the outside world.

Unfortunately, when you call a spade a spade, the spade sometimes doesn't
appreciate it and relations become sour. But the alternative, where
innocent and expectant citizens fighting for freedom are hounded,
imprisoned and even killed for their views and actions, is hardly worth
protecting in Asean or elsewhere.

The Burmese authorities need to be replaced. Pro-democracy activists in
Burma seem to be the most credible alternative, and for Thai authorities to
continue their support of the existing repressive Burmese government is
uncomfortably similar to the rationale used in Tiananmen and during the May
Uprising here in Thailand.

Frank G. Anderson 
Nakhon Ratchasima.
****************************************************************