The BurmaNet News: September 1, 199

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------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: September 1, 1998
Issue #1086

HEADLINES:
==========
SCMP: DEFIANT JUNTA WARNS IT WILL NOT BE OVERTHROWN 
AWSJ: A COORDINATED APPROACH TO BURMA 
DVB: PROTESTS IN CHIN STATE, BORDER TRADE CLOSED 
PD BURMA: THE JAPANESE ROLE IN BURMA'S DEMOCRATIZATION
XINHUA: YUNNAN TO EXPORT POWER PLANT EQUIPMENT 
XINHUA: TRADE MARKET UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON BORDER 
AFP: CONFUSED HANDLING SPARKS CONSPIRACY THEORIES 
NLM: GLOBE-GIRDLING AVIATOR RECOUNTS EXPERIENCE 
BKK POST: ONE DAY ON A ROAD OF LANDMINES
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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: DEFIANT JUNTA WARNS IT WILL NOT BE OVERTHROWN
1 September, 1998 

ASSOCIATED PRESS in Rangoon 

The military regime declared yesterday that the opposition led by Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi could not rule the country without a partnership
with the armed forces.

The army, which has ruled Burma since 1962, would not tolerate any attempt
by Ms Aung San Suu Kyi to instigate civil unrest to bring about an end to
military government, commentaries in official newspapers warned.

The warnings come amid a renewed campaign by Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy to put pressure on the Government to allow a
parliament elected in 1990 to convene.

The opposition overwhelmingly won the election, but the military - known as
the Tatmadaw - refused to relinquish power.

"It is not the right time to convene a parliament. If the parliament cannot
be convened, will the NLD incite civil strife with the assistance of alien
nations?" the commentaries said.

"Will the Tatmadaw tolerate such attempts? It should not be forgotten that
the welfare of the people is the most important thing," they said.

"The public is inseparable from the Tatmadaw and so is the Government from
the Tatmadaw."

The commentaries claimed that Burma's people regarded Ms Aung San Suu Kyi,
53, as a troublemaker and urged her to change her "negative attitude".

The Government has occasionally met other party officials, but steadfastly
refuses to speak to Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, viewing her as a tool of Western
powers whom they feel are bent on re-colonising Burma.

Diplomats briefed by the Government last week expressed scepticism that
recent meetings were a stepping-stone to a real dialogue, noting that
threats of prison and a ban of the NLD were made. 

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ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL: A COORDINATED APPROACH TO BURMA
29 August, 1998 by Mike Jendrzejczyk 

As the confrontation continues between the democratic opposition and the
military government in Burma, it is time for the international community to
reassess its approach for bringing about change. Neither engagement nor
isolation has produced fundamental human rights improvements in Burma since
the military grabbed power in 1988. A new multilateral policy is urgently
needed.

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, set Aug. 21
as the ' deadline for convening the parliament elected in May 1990.

The government predictably ignored her demands, and she has ended her
roadside protest. But the stand-off continues. The NLD has announced it
will convene a "people's parliament," with the prospect of further mass
arrests of NLD members and others. The military, meanwhile, has attacked
Ms. Suu Kyi in the press while holding "confidence building" talks with
other senior NLD officials. Street demonstrations in Rangoon earlier this
week, quickly broken up by riot police, have heightened tensions and raised
the stakes on both sides.

The internal situation is more grim than ever. Burma holds an estimated
1,300 political prisoners in its jails. Draconian regulations and laws have
made it legally impossible for any form of civil society to emerge. There
are over one million internally displaced persons, mainly in ethnic
minority areas. The public health and education sectors have all but
collapsed, with the average per capita spending on health in 1996 a mere
$0.50 per annum. The universities, closed for over three years from June
1988 to May 1991, and from December 1991 to May 1992, were shut down again
after student demonstrations in December 1996 and have yet to reopen.

The massive use of forced labor has only increased with the collapse of the
economy and of neighboring Asian economies that attracted Burmese migrant
workers. And a program of forced relocations of ethnic minority villages
for purposes of "internal security" has helped fuel the exodus of refugees.
Some 200,000 refugees have fled to Thailand, Bangladesh, India and China.

What can be done? A coordinated strategy is needed that brings together the
interests of Burma's regional neighbors, seeking to promote change mainly
through quiet persuasion, and the Western governments that have relied on
sanctions as a source of pressure. The member states of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, and the Western donors should develop a
roadmap. It should spell out how concrete steps toward the ending of forced
labor, release of political prisoners, restoration of basic civil rights,
and international access to border areas could lead to the phased lifting
of sanctions currently in place, and the gradual resumption of normal
political and economic ties between Burma and the major industrialized
countries. Meanwhile, it would be premature to lift sanctions until such
steps are taken.

Any effective strategy also must involve China. Beijing is Rangoon's major
trading partner and arms supplier, but it is increasingly worried about the
prospering drug trade and explosion of AIDS on its southern border.
Improved relations between China, the U.S. and the European Union provide
an opening to work with Beijing.

But for any new strategy to succeed, the West must admit that, unlike Japan
or the Asean countries, it knows little about the nature and ideology of
the Burmese armed forces, the various actors in the military leadership,
and the tensions within this consensus-driven government. The armed ethnic
minority groups -- producers of most of the world's heroin supply -- are
even less well understood.

Better communication is essential. The Clinton administration should now
consider sending a U.S. ambassador to Rangoon; there has been no ambassador
posted there since the aftermath of the 1988 coup. Asean diplomats and the
Japanese government should also continue their efforts to engage both the
military and the democratic opposition.

The member states of the United Nations must admit their failure to move
beyond ritualistic passage of resolutions condemning Burma. Each year since
1990, the General Assembly and the U.N. Commission on Human Rights have
adopted motions calling on the Burmese military to enact reforms. Though
the resolutions have gotten tougher every year, Burma has become only more
resistant to implementing them, seeing little cost to ignoring the U.N.'s
appeals and no benefits to be gained by heeding them. These resolutions
would be far more effective if they were seen by all parties as the basis
for establishing the benchmarks for Burma's acceptance back into the
international fold. The September meeting of the U.N. General Assembly
provides an opportunity for the key parties interested in Burma --
including China -- to discuss a coordinated approach.

Among the U.N.'s benchmarks should be the lifting of severe restrictions on
freedom of expression and assembly; the easing of censorship on the media;
and ending arbitrary detentions and trials held in secrecy without legal
representation. The recent show trial of 18 overseas activists was
extraordinary, with foreign media and diplomats granted full access. In
general, there is a total absence of due process in Burma.

Access to prisons by international humanitarian organizations should be
another key benchmark. On Aug. 7, an elected NLD member of parliament, U
Saw Win, reportedly died in Thayawaddy prison north of Rangoon. Torture and
ill-treatment in detention have been endemic since 1988.

On Aug 19, the International Labor Organization released its report on
forced labor in Burma following a year-long inquiry. It said the practice
is "widespread and systematic" with "total disregard for the human dignity,
safety and health and basic needs of the people." The government should be
pushed to make good faith efforts to implement the ILO's recommendations
and invite the ILO to send in a team to verify compliance. This would be a
positive signal both to the U.N. and to foreign investors, worried about
being tainted by Burma's practice of using conscripted, unpaid labor to
build the country's infrastructure.

Perhaps the confrontation in Burma can mark a turning point if the broader
international community seizes the initiative. But without a new policy,
there is little hope that the next 10 years in Burma will be any better
than the last.

MR JENDRZEJCZYK IS THE WASHINGTON DIRECTOR AT HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ASIA. 

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DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA: PROTESTS IN CHIN STATE, BURMA-INDIA BORDER TRADE
CLOSED
26 August, 1998 by Thet Naing

[Original in Burmese]

Dear listeners.  Anti-SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] pamphlets
have been spreading in Haka and other towns in Chin State and small
protests were held yesterday. It has been learned that SPDC has also closed
the India-Burma border today.  DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma]
correspondent Thet Naing reports from New Delhi providing the details.

[Begin Thet Naing recording]  The NLD [National League for Democracy] party
led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has issued an ultimatum to the SPDC Government
to convene parliament by 21 August 1998.  Students, monks, and the people
have staged anti-SPDC protests by various means in Rangoon and Mandalay,
two large cities, and other scattered places in Rangoon because the SPDC
Government failed to comply with the NLD demand.  It has been learned that
such protests also occurred in towns in the Chin State.

Anti-SPDC posters were posted on school walls and other prominent places in
Haka, the capital of Chin State.  Moreover, students were urged and
encouraged to participate in anti-SPDC protests.  It was also learned that
students were forming groups and distributing anti-SPDC, anti-government
slogans and pamphlets.

At about the same time, SPDC Defense Services personnel station near the
India-Burma border were said to be laying mines along the border. Peoples'
Assembly Delegate-elect U Hla Pe [from Pyawbwe Township Constituency-2]
said it is believed the SPDC LIR [Light Infantry Regiment] No. 50,
stationed near the border, is responsible for laying the mines.  U Hla Pe
also said these actions were meant to regulate the movements of expatriate
Burmese students and the democratic forces, and to monitor the actions of
the Chin National Front [CNF].  On 23 August, an SPDC mine killed one
(horse) and wounded two persons.  It has been learned that three successive
explosions were heard near Aik Wan Village in Chin State. It is learned
that the SPDC authorities have now closed the India-Burma trade route.
[end recording] 

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

PD BURMA: THE JAPANESE ROLE IN BURMA'S DEMOCRATISATION PROCESS 
25 August, 1998 by Yasuko Takemura 

>From the International Network of Political Leaders Promoting Democracy in
Burma (PD Burma) Annual meeting in Bangkok, August 1998

25 August 1998 Tokyo
Yasuko Takemura
Member, House of Councillors
Chairperson, Committee on General Affairs
Member, PD Burma

In this report, I would like to focus on the different possibilities for
Japanese policy towards Burma and also examine the situation of women and
children inside Burma who are the most vulnerable people under the
iron-fist rule of the military junta.  [Editor's Note: Part 1 on Japanese
policy towards Burma appears here; the section on the situation of women
and children inside Burma will appear in a forthcoming issue of The
BurmaNet News.  For more information on PD Burma, see The BurmaNet News:
August 27, 1998, Issue #1083.]

I.  Japanese ODA

The analysis of the resumption of yen loans for Burma by the Japanese
government is often reported by Japanese media.  The yen loans are not to
be resumed until the military junta shows visible progress towards
democracy.  This was the clear policy of the Hashimoto cabinet and the
newly built Obuchi cabinet will continue this policy with the appointment
of former vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Masahiko
Komura, as the new Foreign Minister. There have, however, been many demands
from pro-democracy activists to stop ODA to Burma.  Let me outline the
types of Japanese ODA given to Burma.

A.  Aid for Rangoon Nurses College The first visible change toward
democracy was observed in the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest
in July 1995.  The Japanese government welcomed this event and decided to
grant aid as a token of its approval. This was the 1.625 billion yen (US$13
million) in aid for the Rangoon Nurses College. According to the evaluation
report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Feb.1998, the aim of
this grant was to double the capacity for students from 560 to about 1000
due to a lack of nurses in Burma, and to fund expansion of classrooms,
dormitories, and the purchase of educational materials. The report adds
that: The opening ceremony of the new classrooms and dormitory was held in
June 1997.  The facilities are well used.  The granted materials have been
checked everyday.  There has been no problem in their maintenance and
administration.  The counterpart is preparing masters and doctorate
courses. Japan is planning to send experts to this school.

After this grant was reported, Aung San Suu Kyi strongly urged that funding
for the college be stopped, as it served only the elite. At the end of
1997, "Burma Today No. 50" quoted an article from the South China Morning
Post as follows:

(B   A former Burmese health minister who mistreated wounded protesters
during a 1988 uprising died after a hospital refused to admit him because
he had not money,  exiled students said Dec 13.  The ABSDF said Htun Wai
was struck by a hit-and-run driver on August 11 in Rangoon. The students
said Htun Wai was taken to a local hospital but was refused treatment as
there were no family members with him to guarantee medical bills, and
hospital staff did not recognise the former minister.  "In  Burma today,
health care is only available for known VIPs and those who can pay," the
students said. Since 1988, Burma's military government has steadily reduced
spending on health care and education, while increasing military spending
from about 25% of the budget to more than 50%.  Diplomats have said many
hospitals suffer from a lack of medicine.  (South China Morning Post)

I had a chance to see a doctor working in the Myanmar Ministry of Health
after the Japanese grant aid to the Rangoon Nurses College was reported.
According to him, the welfare policy is under the administration of the
National Health Committee under the guidance of the SLORC.  The Ministry of
Health also functions under this Committee.  The Ministry has five
Departments and 8 Divisions, but the problem is that all the Divisions are
suffering from lack of medical equipment, testing equipment, and all kinds
of medication.  Also, the officials working in each Division are receiving
incredibly low salaries, the average monthly salary being only 3000 Kyat
(US$10).  Even in an LDC country, this amount is close to nothing.  This is
the reason why corruption is common in Burma.

Medical treatment and welfare services are limited to Rangoon, Mandalay,
and the capitals of each state.  They all lack syringes and medicine.  I
think that aid from Japan can contribute to training nurses to study at the
masters and doctorate levels, but without the appropriate salary and
medical equipment, how can they serve their people?

The Japanese government should study the overall welfare situation
including conditions of welfare workers in Burma. It is for this reason
that I think the large grant for the Rangoon Nurses College from Japan can
only contribute to an isolated medical facility which ordinary people in
Burma cannot access.  What Aung San Suu Kyi said is very realistic
considering the welfare conditions in Burma.

B.  Agricultural aid in 1994
Just before the release of Suu Kyi in March 1995, the Japanese government
agreed to a contract of 1 billion yen (US$ 8 million) for agricultural aid
which is outlined below. 

i. Equipment, fertilisers--Items were supplied by four corporations, C.
Itoh Co., Ltd., ; Sumitomo Corporation; Mitsui & Co., Ltd.; and Mitsubishi
Corporation. Fertilisers:  urea, phosphatic calcium, and potassium
chloride. Agricultural equipment:  tractors, cultivators, pumps, and
sprinklers, etc. 

ii. Distribution of the granted materials Destinations:  Shan State, Kayah
State, Kachin State, Sagaing Division, Chin State, Rakhine State.
Distribution:  After items reached Yangon Port, the Foreign Ministry
transported them to the local agricultural divisions one by one.  Then
local officers distributed them to individual farmers.

iii. Evaluation by Japanese and Myanmar authorities Japan granted aid
equivalent to 1 billion yen (US$8 million) for purchasing fertilisers and
agricultural equipment for Myanmar in fiscal year 1994 (official contract
exchange was 22 March 1994).  The aim of this grant was 
  1) to improve the quality of life for ethnic minority peoples on in the
border regions; and 
  2) to contribute to alternative crops which would replace narcotics. The
project was evaluated as follows: 
    a) Food production effect (evaluated by Japanese embassy) The Japanese
Embassy in Myanmar researched this project from the end of 1996 to the
beginning of 1997.  In the ethnic regions where materials had been
distributed, crop production such as rice, wheat, maize, and beans had
increased by 10-70%.  The development of ethnic communities is one of the
priorities of Myanmar.  This project was well appreciated by residents. The
Myanmar government has made a strong request for continued aid. 
    b) Food Production effect (evaluated by Myanmar government) A
comparison was made of the rainy season production of 1994 and 1996.
Production increased 7.7% (from 4.39 million tons to 4.73 million tons) in
the targeted areas of the 32 townships across 6 states.  In other areas,
production decreased 1.3% (from 10 million tons to 9.86 million tons). 
    c) Eradication of narcotics (Report by Myanmar government) In Mong Hlah
(sp?) district, located in the southern part of the "Golden Triangle" where
fertilisers and agricultural equipment were distributed, 2,726 acres of
poppy had been cultivated in 1994.  In this area, conversion of poppy
cultivation into alternatives was successful.  In April 1997, the
government invited dignitaries, including foreign diplomats, to celebrate
the "Opium free zone." Kaw Khang (sp?)district of Shan State had the worst
poppy cultivation area in Myanmar.  But after this area was targeted by our
project, the cultivation area has decreased from 13.788 acres in 1994 to
10,341 acres in 1997 (25% decrease), and the amount of poppy production was
reduced to 50 tons.

C.  New Food Production Aid in Fiscal Year 1998

1) The plan was adopted at a cabinet meeting.  Contracts will be made in
the near future. 

2)  Content of the grant:  Agricultural equipment (tractors and threshing
machines), and funds for purchase of fertiliser. 

3) Bids and execution date Bids will be made after contracts are exchanged.

I know many activists who are reporting the relationship between the
military junta and narcotics or money laundering in third countries.
Without substantive evidence, it is dangerous to accept these ideas.  The
government of Burma emphasizes its lack of funding to eradicate narcotics,
but also claims it will continue to fight narcotics even without help from
the international community. What we should do first of all is to watch
very carefully all efforts by the military government to eradicate
narcotics.  Regarding the agricultural aid from Japan basically the concept
of the programme is superior.  But we need to observe and evaluate more of
the details of this project such as what follows:

  1) Are tractors, cultivators, and sprinklers appropriate for local
farmers who have no access to substantial income?  The machines require
gasoline and electricity.   Are farmers able to purchase such energy
resources themselves, or are village level soldiers providing those
resources for them? 
  2) Are lower level officials able to distribute fertilisers with monthly
salaries of less than 3,000 Kyat? 
  3) Are remote area officers distributing equipment without disturbance
from village level battalions operating under the "Four cut strategy?"

I think both evaluation by our embassy and the government of Burma lacks
details of handling the materials and distribution system. The Japanese
Ministry of Foreign Affairs should clearly report the points that I
mentioned above.  Until they can report a thorough evaluation, I recommend
that MOFA should not grant further agricultural aid which has already been
planned for this fiscal year.

D.  Grassroots Grants
In addition to the types of aid above, Japan also provides small amounts of
grassroots grants.  The amount of each project ranges from 2 million yen
(US$14,000) to 10 million yen (US$70,000).  These grassroots grants are
approved under the policy of humanitarian basic needs. In 1997, grassroots
grants were given for/to: 

1. Manual pumps / Pegu YMCA (4 million yen) 
2. Agricultural training / OISCA International (7.2 million yen) 
3. Construction of a clinic / Chin Baptist Association (2.3 million yen) 
4. Rice mill / OISCA International (5.3 million yen)
5. Construction of a bridge / Pakhan Gyi (sp?)Education Evolution Council
(2.3 million yen)
6. Sonic Scanner for maternity ward / Myanmar Maternity Welfare Association
(9.6 million yen) 
7. Improvement of Education and Medicine / Border Development Association
(8.4 million yen) 
8. Water supply and income supplement / Border Development Association (6.6
million yen) 
9. Medical equipment/Islam Charity Hospital (5.8 million yen) 
10. Expansion of clinic/Myanmar Nurses Association (4.3 million yen)

E.  Positive effects of Japanese aid.

We have to observe both the positive and negative sides of Japanese ODA
policy.  Our MOFA officials have explained their policy as "the north  wind
and the sun."  It means only a relationship based on good-will can solve
the problem, not the use of a cold north wind. Refusing to grant visas to
high ranking officials of the military junta by the US and EU nations
narrowed the ties between their counterparts. But Japan still has good-will
ties with the junta and can promote the importance of democratisation to
them face to face. Japanese policy is similar to that of the "bench mark
policy" of Australia.  Australia has recognized Suu Kyi's release as the
first "mark on the bench."   After her release, however, the junta has not
shown any progress towards democratisation.  It seems the bench is empty
now. The approach by the Australian government is very reasonable and
rational but it is difficult for Asian dictators to accept, since it feels
as if they are marked by their teachers during democracy lessons. The
Japanese attitude is more acceptable to dictators than western approaches
because it is not rational nor critical.  I think our Japanese approach is
akin to the approach used for high-jackers.  Japan always tries to show
their affirmation even if progress is far beyond that of international
requests. Results of this Japanese attitude lead the military junta to
listen to the voices of Japanese officials.  Every time they meet military
officials our representatives have asked repeatedly that they make certain
progress towards democracy. Recently, the Japanese government decided to
grant grassroots assistance for refugees in Thailand through BBC (Burma
Border Consortium).  Since this is a request by a Japanese NGO, People's
Forum on Burma, it shows that the Japanese government has started to take a
wider approach towards Burma. Of course there are also Japanese investors
who are supporting the military's human rights abuses.  But the number of
investors from the United States and the EU is far more than those from Japan.

F.  Cooperation between Japan and other Nations
Prime Minister Obuchi appointed Masahiko Komura as Foreign Minister. This
indicates the will of the new cabinet to continue policies of the former
cabinet.  In spite of the existence of many military junta supporters in
the Liberal Democratic Party, the Cabinet has a policy to support UN
resolutions. This is a good chance to make an international framework for
the democratisation process in Burma.  I think Japan is a very useful
nation for our strategy and for fulfilling our goals. In this context,
besides ASEAN meetings, we need to exchange policy ideas at bilateral
levels.  This can be done between Australia and Japan which have similar
attitudes towards Burma.  Both countries could help each other to develop a
common strategy for the international community. Japan is very isolated
from the view point of information.  Especially in regard to the
information on Burma, we are far behind Australia. With other areas of
common interest with human rights problems, such as East Timor and
Cambodia, both countries could build up a series of human rights meetings
which would help to disseminate information and ideas on human rights in
both nations.  Bilateral meetings could also help to build strategies of
each government.  Australia and Japan is just one example.  I hope PD Burma
members can find more effective ways, as my opinion is just one idea.

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XINHUA (CHINA): YUNNAN TO EXPORT POWER PLANT EQUIPMENT TO BURMA 
22 August, 1998 

Kunming, 22 August (Xinhua) -- In the coming five years, Yunnan will export
$250 million's worth of mechanical products, electrical products, and
technologies to Burma for building the Banlang Power Station, the biggest
hydropower station in Burma.  The two sides sign an agreement on
cooperation a few days ago.

According to sources concerned, this is China's biggest trade cooperation
project with Burma, and even with Southeast Asia as a whole. The
cooperation has been carried out in the form of an export credit.  The
Yunnan Provincial Machines and Equipment Import and Export Company will
provide Burma with a large and complete set of equipment, construction
machines, power station design, and construction guidance needed for the
construction of the power station.

The Banglang Power Station is located in the Mandalay area in central
Burma.  Its installed capacity is 280,000 kw.  The total investment in it
is $600 million.  It is the biggest hydropower project planned by Burma.
The power station will mainly be used for generating electricity, but it
will also be used for irrigation and flood-prevention.

Although Southeast Asia is still faced with a grim financial situation,
Yunnan Province still put forward at a meeting on opening up to the outside
world held at the beginning of this year that it will continue to expand
exchange and cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia. Yunnan Province
is close to Vietnam, Laos, and Burma, and has a boundary of more than 4,000
km.  It is China's base and window to countries in Southeast Asia.

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

XINHUA (CHINA): TRADE MARKET UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON MYANMAR BORDER 
26 August, 1998 

Kunming, August 26  (Xinhua)  -- A new border-trade market nearly
one-square-kilometer in size is now under construction on the Sino-Myanmar
border in Yunnan province.

The "border trade fair garden," as it is called, is part of the Jiegao
Border Trade Experimental Area.  Jiegao of Ruili City is the largest trade
and tourist port of entry on the Sino-Myanmar border, handling 57 percent
of Yunnan's border trade and an annual tourist flow of three million people.

The construction of the market will be financed by local governments and
residents and investors from other parts of China and abroad. The market is
designed to draw business among non-state-owned enterprises, operators of
local ethnic groups, and laid-off workers from state enterprises and
provide them with a variety of preferential tax terms.

Since the announcement of the founding of the zone was made in 1985, it has
attracted 450 million yuan (54.21 million US dollars) in actual investment.

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

AFP: CONFUSED HANDLING OF MYANMAR PLANE CRASH SPARKS CONSPIRACY THEORIES 
31 August, 1998

A Myanmar passenger jet plunged into a mountainside, killing all on board.
Or did it? And how many were on board anyway? 

Analysts highlight the confusion over the apparent air disaster as another
example of spin doctors from the isolated state at play, saying their
handling of the saga was either conspiratorial or simply incompetent.

Officials confirmed only Saturday that the Myanmar Airways Fokker-27 had
crashed, five days after it went missing in bad weather during a scheduled
domestic flight. But even that announcement, carried in the official New
Light of Myanmar daily, conceded only that it was "probable" there were no
survivors and did not indicate how many had been on board the aircraft.
Airline officials had variously said there were 36 or 39 passengers and
crew, all of them Myanmar nationals. Aviation sources in Yangon said most
of the passengers were military officers and their families.

"It's really been a complete shambles," said one western diplomat in the
Myanmar capital.

"From the day it went missing until now they have failed to tell us what
the true situation is. God help us if an international carrier comes down
here with lots of people on board."

Airline officials Monday said the flight from Yangon to the northeastern
town of Tachilek had simply gone missing after being ordered to divert to
another airport because of poor visibility. The pilot had been told to land
at the Myanmar town of Heho or the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, rather
than Tachilek, in Shan state, within the "Golden Triangle" opium-growing area.

The officials claimed the following day that the plane had landed safely at
an airport in neighbouring Laos and that all on board were safe. Then they
said it had in fact landed in a field in Laos, but that everyone was safe.
A flurry of contradictory reports followed before confirmation came Friday,
from Thai military officials who had helped search for the plane, that the
aircraft had crashed within Myanmar and that all on board were dead.

The confusion has sparked a range of conspiracy theories, from it being an
attempted cover-up to protect the already shaky reputation of Myanmar's
carriers and shield its fledgling tourism industry, to talk of bombs and
hijackings.

"I don't think many people really believe it was an attack of some kind,"
said another foreign diplomat in Yangon.

"But I could buy the cover-up theory. A crash certainly doesn't help the
reputation of the airline or the country, as other countries have found
out. But how could they seriously believe they could cover up the loss of a
plane and all those people? It was pretty badly bungled."

Other diplomats said the saga was more likely the result of disorganisation
and incompetence on the part of some officials in an impoverished country
whose bureaucracy is not known for its efficiency.

"Everything moves pretty slowly here, so it's not surprising they were so
slow in responding to a plane crash," added one.

"Perhaps the airline really did believe it had landed in Laos, though you
have to wonder who told them that originally. If it wasn't the pilot -- who
obviously wasn't speaking at that time -- then it should have been Lao
officials, or maybe the Thais. But I don't think they would just make it up.

"Unless, of course, we are talking about two different planes -- one that
crashed and one that didn't. Anything is possible in Burma."

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

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: GLOBE-GIRDLING AVIATOR RECOUNTS EXPERIENCE 
28 August, 1998 

YANGON, 28 Aug -Thomas Claytor, an American who is trying to fly round the
world in a small plane met reporters and recounted his experience at the
Strand Hotel this after-noon.

He said he set out from America to fly round the world in a Cessana-180 on
2 December 1990 and is trying to be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

He added he will recount his experience when he arrives back home.

He said he arrived Yangon via Dhaka, Bangladesh, at 4.30 pm on 27 August
and as soon as he arrived Myanmar, he had a complete peace of mind and he
felt confident on seeing smiling Myanmar people.

He noted that he also found Yangon clean and beautiful and girdled in an
atmosphere of peace and pleasantness.

He added he is now 35 and expressed his thanks for having the opportunity
to recount his experience

He then replied to queries raised by reporters.

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THE BANGKOK POST: ONE DAY ON A ROAD OF LANDMINES 
30 August, 1997 by Supradit Kanwanich 

PERSPECTIVE

DEMINING MISSION: THERE ARE STILL PLENTY OF ACTIVE LANDMINES ALONG THE
THAI-BURMESE BORDER IN MAE HONG SON.

Although the landmines laid by Burmese insurgents or soldiers have been
cleared, there still are landmines that remain a threat to forestry
officials in charge of confiscating illegally cut logs along the
Thai-Burmese border in Mae Hong Son.

All forestry officials there know that one misstep could bring instant
death- or a missing limb - as the fate of three dead villagers, two pulped
horses, and a severely injured army captain attest.

In mid August, an army demining team was asked to help transport 4,000
confiscated teak logs through a Thai-Burmese pass in Mae Hong Son's Pang Ma
Pha district. Two months ago, a military report said the route was seeded
with 26 antipersonnel landmines.

Danger pass: The report specified that the mines were planted along a
mountain ridge called "Chong Harn Ded Pass" in Pang Ma Pha district which
demarcates Thailand and Burma.

This trail connects to Ho Mong, the former stronghold of notorious drug
warlord, Khun Sa, who surrendered to the Burmese military in 1996. The
trail is a frequent route for the Burmese armed insurgent groups and
soldiers as well as for Thai and Burmese farmers.

Between 1988 and 1994, more than 30 Thai companies were granted logging
concessions in Burma, around areas opposite Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae
Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan and Ranong
provinces.

The pass was one of over 10 passes points that was opened to allow the
transportation of logs from Burma into Thailand.

However, in 1994, the Burmese government banned all logging concessions to
Thai companies. Since then, many teak logs remain on Burmese soil, the
target of  several Thai and Burmese gangs who smuggled the logs into Thailand.

Discovered by a military patrol unit in July this year, the pile of teak
wood was stockpiled about 300 metres from the landmine area. The teakwood
planks carried a market value of 150,000 baht. The patrol who reported it
to the Mae Hong ~ Son provincial forestry office were sent to retrieve the
wood.

Planted horror: The landmines are said to have been planted by Burmese
troops with a base about one kilometre away from the pass.

About 50 Burmese troops from the 99th Infantry Battalion reportedly came
inside the border Ban Mai Kai Luang village north of Tambon Na Poopom of
Pang Ma Pha district early this May to dig trenches and heavy weapon
positions.

The Burmese troops attempted to hunt for a Shan rebel leader believed
hiding in the holding area but later withdrew, following a Thai military
protest.

When he received the report about a big pile of wood planks near the Chong
Harn Ded Pass, Mae Hong Son provincial forestry office chief, Kaipetch
Pansomboon sent the forestry team to the area.

However, when the team arrived, no one would approach the teak pile. A
bamboo fence near the teakwood bore a danger sign. The word "danger-" was
written in Thai, Burmese and English.

Such signs are used to tell the locals that there are mines ahead.

Troops to action: Mr Kaipetch then requested the 7th Infantry Regiment Task
Force from Mae Sariang district to help demine the area.

In early August, a two-man demining team from the 4th Engineering Battalion
at Nakhon Sawan was dispatched to Pang Ma Pha district. So far, they have
retrieved 48 Burmese made antipersonnel mines in Pang Ma Pha district.

On August 12, two army deminers set off from Tambon Pa Ma Pha to Tambon Na
Poopom with a squad of infantrymen and about 30 forestry officials as well
as some workers from the Forest Industry Organisation. They travelled in
four-wheel-drive army vehicles through the pouring rain.

The first 20 kilometres of muddy and slippery dirt road was followed by
four frail handmade bridges, and then Ban Thong-the village nearest the
border-came to view.

The road to Chong Harn Ded Pass is about three kilometres uphill, a rugged
road for logging trucks. Three of the five trucks were stuck. Two with
chained wheels made the climb. A tree fell across the dirt road. By the
time they removed the tree, it was dusk.

They returned the next day, this time with chain wheels. The vehicles
parked about 300 metres away from the suspected land mine area and the army
deminers went to work.

With one holding a sharp knife in one hand and another with a headphone
linked to a detecting device on the other hand, the deminers slowly worked
their way through the area.

In 30 minutes, both declared the immediate areas surrounding the teak
planks safe. They found no active mines.

The deminers continued their search further up the trail, but found
nothing. The 4,000 planks of teak were finally moved to Baan Thong.

The army deminers cleared the area, the infantrymen provided security, the
forestry officials confiscated the lumber, and Forestry Industry
Organisation workers will later auction the lumber and increase state revenue.

Mission accomplished.

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