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The BurmaNet News: September 2, 199



------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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{{{ Breaking News -- Suu Kyi Appeals to Soldiers -- Ericsson Pulls Out of
Burma }}}

The BurmaNet News: September 2, 1998
Issue #1087

Noted in Passing: "Now, with the publication of this report, companies and
governments investing in the country -- many in projects with the army as
partners -- can no longer claim ignorance of the situation on the ground."
- Amnesty International, on the recent ILO Report on Forced Labour in
Myanmar (see AI: TIME TO END FORCED LABOUR) 

HEADLINES:
==========
SCMP: JOIN US, DISSIDENT IMPLORES SOLDIERS 
AFP: ASSK CAN SIT IN WITH JUNTA: PHILIPPINE SOURCE 
BKK POST: SUU KYI WARNED OF LEGISLATIVE MOVE 
AFP: THREE FOREIGN JOURNALISTS DETAINED IN MYANMAR 
XINHUA: MYANMAR NATIONAL CONVENTION TO MEET AGAIN 
ERICSSON: SUSPENDING BUSINESS WITH BURMA 
AI: TIME TO END FORCED LABOUR 
PD BURMA: A GENDERED PERSPECTIVE 
BKK POST: AQUINO DEDICATES AWARD TO BURMESE 
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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: JOIN US, DISSIDENT IMPLORES SOLDIERS 
2 September, 1998 by William Barnes

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has urged soldiers to break ranks with
their leaders and support the convening of parliament.

She used foreign radio broadcasts to ask "ordinary soldiers" over the
weekend to remember that they had a higher duty than merely to serve their
superiors.

Ms Aung San Suu Kyi reminded the military members of her audience that the
army was founded by her father, the independence hero Aung San, "to protect
the country, rather than to dominate politics".

The ruling junta is bound to see her speech, taped in Rangoon and
rebroadcast into the country, as highly provocative. Further antagonising
the generals will be her scheduled meetings today with foreign diplomats.

Her broadcast strikes at the heart of the ruling junta's power, which is
its control of a tight-knit military.

The army runs on fear, but rewards loyalty with perks not available to
civilians.

Nevertheless, there have been rumours that many middle-ranking officers are
unhappy over the country's continued slide into poverty.

Deserters who have reached the Thai border have reported that many units
have been forced to live off the land after their pay and rations did not
arrive.

Analysts point out that from the beginning of her involvement in the
opposition movement 10 years ago, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi has sought to remind
Burmese of the army's "democratic" roots.

Her frequent reminders that her father founded the modern Burmese military
are unlikely to endear her to the ruling generals, who remain loyal to
their octogenarian godfather, General Ne Win.

Yet Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) was clearly
favoured even in many military-dominated districts when it won the 1990
general election by a landslide.

[ ... ] 

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AFP: AUNG SAN SUU KYI CAN SIT IN DURING TALKS WITH JUNTA: PHILIPPINE SOURCE
1 September, 1998 

[Editor's Note:  BurmaNet was unable to gain any further confirmation on
this development in relations between Aung San Suu Kyi and the SPDC, and
whether "attendance" implies participation.]

MANILA, Sept 1 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be
allowed to sit in during talks between her National League for Democracy
and the country's ruling junta, Philippine diplomatic sources said here
Tuesday.

The sources quoted the Philippine embassy in Myanmar as saying the junta
had bowed to demands by the NLD that Aung San Suu Kyi should be allowed to
attend confidence-building talks.

However, the sources did not say when these talks would be held or what
issues would be been discussed.

On August 18, NLD chairman Aung Shwe met for nearly an hour with junta
intelligence chief Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, widely seen as number two
in the military heirarchy.

The ruling junta had extended such invitations for talks to the NLD but had
always specifically excluded party secretary general Aung San Suu Kyi and
other key members.

The NLD won the majority of the seats in a parliamentary election in 1990
but the ruling junta refused to hand over power. The NLD however has since
threatened to convene parliament in September despite government warnings
that such a move would be illegal.

The Philippines, which is a fellow member of ASEAN with Myanmar, has taken
an interest in political developments in that country and has been
monitoring developments there.

ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, also includes Brunei,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

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THE BANGKOK POST: SUU KYI WARNED ON LEGISLATIVE MOVE 
1 September, 1998 

Reuters

Rangoon -- Burma's military government warned yesterday the armed forces
would not stand idly by if the country's pro-democracy opposition tries to
stir up unrest.

Commentaries in state-controlled newspapers said it was impossible "at this
unsuitable time" to call a parliament.

National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told
supporters she would convene a "People's Parliament" in September in a
direct challenge to the military government's authority.

"If the party cannot call [parliament], what will it do next? Is the NLD
going to make instigations for an outbreak of civil strife?" a commentary
in the New Light of Myanmar asked. 

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AFP: THREE FOREIGN JOURNALISTS DETAINED IN MYANMAR 
1 September, 1998 

YANGON, Sept 1 (AFP) - Three foreign journalists were detained in the
Myanmar capital, Yangon, Tuesday as they prepared to interview opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, foreign diplomats said.

The three -- an Australian, a Canadian and a Japanese -- all believed to be
cameramen, were detained near the Nobel peace laureate's house by
intelligence agents, they added.

They were to be deported to Bangkok on a flight later Tuesday.

"They are just going to be deported," said one foreign diplomat.

"We'll be at the airport to make sure everything goes alright."

The Australian was believed to be a woman while the other two were men. The
Australian and Canadian were understood to be working for two international
media groups on a freelance basis. The employment status of the Japanese
was unclear. All three were travelling on tourist visas, the diplomats said.

Rising political tensions have focussed attention on Myanmar in recent
weeks and several foreign journalists travelling on tourist visas have been
briefly detained or questioned by security forces.

However junta officials have generally taken a tolerant line and a
spokesman said the journalists would be left alone but could not expect to
be allowed to return to Myanmar as they had been easily identified during
their trips.

Two other foreign journalists -- one French and one Italian -- were
deported last month.

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XINHUA (CHINA): MYANMAR NATIONAL CONVENTION TO MEET AGAIN 
1 September, 1998 

Myanmar national convention will meet again after the convention's
convening commission completes discussions on basic detailed guidelines
regarding separation of powers between the legislative, executive and
judiciary at different levels, Chief Justice U Aung Toe was quoted by
Tuesday's the New Light of Mas saying. However, no date was set for the
re-convening of the convention. The sessions of the national convention,
which began in January 1993 to lay down fundamental principles for drawing
up a new state constitution, have been in recess for two and a half years
since the last session ended in March 1996.

The convention has completed working out detailed principles for six
chapters out of 15 to be included in the new state constitution. The six
chapters are fundamental principles, structure of the state, head of state,
the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. U Aung Toe, who is also
chairman of the national convention convening work committee, said at a
recent meeting of the 19th work committee and general assembly of an
inter-parliamentary organization held in Kuala Lumpur that Myanmar is
making a step-by-step approach to develop the multi-party democratic
process domestically.

The convention has been attended by more than 500 delegates from eight
categories of the delegate groups including political parties, parliament
representatives-elect in the 1990 general election, national races,
peasants, workers, intelligentsia, state service personnel including the
military ones, and invited persons including turned-in armed groups.

In November 1995, all the delegates of the parliament representatives-elect
of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which won the 1990
general election, withdrew from the convention.

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ERICSSON: PRESS RELEASE ON SUSPENDING BUSINESS IN BURMA 
1 September, 1998 (see website:
http://www.ericsson.se/Eripress/19980901-0023.html) 

Ericsson suspends business with Burma

Ericsson today decided to suspend all business ties with Burma with
immediate effect. Current level of business is already negligible. The
decision is taken in the light of concerns expressed in the United States
which potentially could damage Ericsson.

Ericsson's 100,000 employees are active in more than 130 countries. Their
combined expertise in fixed and mobile networks, mobile phones and infocom
systems makes Ericsson a world-leading supplier in telecommunications.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Lars A StBlberg, Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations
Tel. +46 8 719 3162

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: TIME TO END FORCED LABOUR 
August, 1998 

News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
News Service 157/98

AI INDEX ASA: 16/22/98

MYANMAR: Time to end forced labour

Amnesty International today welcomed this week's hard hitting report by the
International Labour Organization (ILO) into forced labour in Myanmar. The
human rights organization called on the Burmese government to cease the
widespread ill-treatment of forced labourers, and urged governments and
companies investing in Myanmar [Burma] to ensure that their operations do
not lead to human rights violations.

"Amnesty International and other NGOs have for a long time campaigned
against the killings, ill-treatment and misery inflicted by the army's use
forced labour in Myanmar, " the organisation said.  "Now, with the
publication of this report, companies and governments investing in the
country -- many in projects with the army as partners -- can no longer
claim ignorance of the situation on the ground."

"The Directors of these companies must seriously examine their operations
in Myanmar to ensure that their presence is not contributing to human
rights violations. Consumers, shareholders, investment trusts and members
of the NGOs and the public will hold them to account for their actions."

The ILO formally established a Commission of Inquiry into forced labour in
Myanmar in June 1997, following a complaint by the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). This Commission of Inquiry,
which is the strongest legal action that an ILO member state can take,
found that government is in breach of ILO Convention 29 which forbids the
"exaction of labour under the menace of a penalty, from residents who (had)
not offered themselves voluntarily..."

Amnesty International has documented and reported on forced labour by the
tatmadaw (Burmese army) for more than 10 years, and interviewed hundreds of
victims of the practice.   As a result of the dramatic increase in the size
of the army over the last decade, hundreds of thousands of civilians have
been forced to work under very harsh conditions.

The majority of victims are from ethnic minorities, who make up one third
of the population in Myanmar.  They include the Karen, Mon, Shan, Rohingya,
Karenni, and Chin people, who have been rounded up as part of
counter-insurgency activities by the tatmadaw against armed opposition groups.

During these offensives, soldiers have seized thousands of villagers to act
as porters -- carrying weaponry, munitions and provisions for the army.
Hundreds have been either killed or left for dead if they try to escape or
cannot perform their duties due to old age or illness such as malaria.

As well as portering, the army forces civilians from all ethnic groups to
work on roads, dams, quarries, and railways throughout the country, all in
the name of "development" for the people.  Villagers of all ages, including
women and girls are forced to work long hours in sometimes dangerous
conditions without pay, adequate food or medical care.

Those unable to perform their duties to the satisfaction of the army face
beatings and deprival of food. Many have been killed or have died from
neglect and ill-treatment, and those who are forced to labour on a regular
basis cannot tend their farms or otherwise earn their living.

Amnesty International welcomed the report as being a very significant tool
for governments, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
trade unionists, and individuals around the world to use to raise awareness
of the dire human rights situation in Myanmar.

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PD BURMA: A GENDERED PERSPECTIVE 
25 August, 1998 

>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 2 on the
situation of women and children inside Burma appears here; the section on
Japanese policy appeared in yesterday's issue of The BurmaNet News,
September 1, 1998, #1086).  For more information on PD Burma, see The
BurmaNet News: August 27, 1998, Issue #1083.]

II.  The Situation of Women in Burma

I am deeply concerned that women and children are the targets of human
rights abuses in Burma.  I would like to emphasize the importance of
protecting these vulnerable people.

A.  Report by Mr. Lallah
In its resolution 1997/64, the UN Commission on Human Rights extended the
mandate of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Rajsooner Lallah, to include a
gender perspective when seeking and analysing information on Burma. His
report was submitted to the 54th session of the Commission on Human Rights.
 A resolution based on his report was adopted unanimously on 21 April 1998.
In his report, this paragraph describes the situation of women in rural areas:

1. In recent years, increasing numbers of women, including young girls and
the elderly, have been forced to work on infrastructure projects and to act
as porters in war zones. Such uncompensated forced labour continues despite
Myanmar's ratification of ILO Convention No. 29 Concerning Forced or
Compulsory Labour.  The Special Rapporteur has on several occasions
reported on the use of forced labour for various development and
infrastructure projects.  In these projects women are not spared forced
recruitment, even when they are pregnant or nursing their infants.  Those
who are too weak for the strenuous work have to hire another person or face
a fine.  On the work site, the forced labourers do not receive appropriate
medical treatment.  Further, they are reported to receive no remuneration
and have to provide their own food.  While away, the women cannot work on
their farms, which results in food shortages for the family.  On the work
site women, like men, risk exhaustion, accidents and lack of medical
treatment.  They are also victims of many other serious human rights
violations, such as beatings, rape and murder. 

2. The Special Rapporteur has on more than one occasion reported on forced
portering.  As porters women are more vulnerable than men, since they have
been reported to have been used as  

a) forced labour to work as porters; 
b) human shields; and 
c) entertainment for soldiers, which often ends in rape.

For instance, on 8 June 1997, SLORC troops from Murngpan allegedly arrested
17 villagers (10 men and 7 women) at Ter Hung village and forced them to
carry military supplies from Kaeng Twant area to Murngpan.  When they
reached Murngpan, the men were released while the women were detained.
During the night all the women were reportedly gang-raped before being
released the next morning. 

3.  The Special Rapporteur is concerned that real access to the justice
system by the victims is virtually non-existent.

B.  Gender based Strategy
We have been hearing thousands of similar reports from refugees who have
fled to Thailand.  These mass abuses are caused by the basic mentality of
the Tatmadaw (Burmese National Army).  I seriously regret that this
mentality was generated by the Japanese Army and transplanted to the
Burmese Army.  During World War II, when a Japanese soldier punched a
Burmese trainee, another Burmese trainee was surprised and wrote, "This
would never happen in Burma.  Unbelievable." Now, violence is common in the
Tatmadaw and it is believed that the violence itself is used as an
instrument for disciplining soldiers.  And this misunderstanding is
extended to villagers, making them victims of soldiers' violence.  It seems
there is no justice for soldiers but only violence from the colleagues and
supervisors. In this context, we need the SPDC to work towards and achieve
international standards.  But they have ignored every resolution by UN
organizations and every appeal made by its peoples or foreign organization.
But the Burmese military has one weak point.  They need to behave as men.
All over the world, the concept of masculinity was believed to be the
essence of the army.  The world now realises that this is an old-fashioned
idea, but in Burma, it still remains. There is ample evidence of this.  One
example is that there are no women among ministers or high ranking
officials in SPDC. Most of the former resolutions and appeals on Burma were
based on general human rights abuses.  They could not lead to results from
the generals.  I think the input of a gender perspective into our strategy
is a possibility to accelerate the democracy process, as other nations have
achieved their democracies with the participation of women. 

For this, I recommend the following: 
1. To study more the gender perspective in every aspect of human rights
abuses. 
2. Request that SPDC sign or ratify gender-related treaties. 
3. Encourage journalists to write articles related to women and children's
problems in Burma. 
4. Encourage international women's organizations to address problems in Burma.

C.  HIV/AIDS in Burma
In July 1996, the National AIDS Program of the Union of Myanmar submitted
papers to the 11th Conference on AIDS held in Vancouver.  The report states:

1. Drug use started to spread in 1988 
2. Survey conducted with UNDCP (United Nations Drug Control Programme)
shows that they studied 2,277 IDU (Injecting drug users) cases in treatment
units and 937 users in 33 prisons. 
3. Both bodies also researched 36 high and low risk townships.  The number
of drug addicts ranged from 1.7% to 25% of township populations.  Addicts
ages ranged from 12 to 77 years old, and 88-99% were male.

This report shows that HIV/AIDS is a great threat to Burma.  High risk
townships have as much as 1/4 of its population addicted to drugs.  This
means that there is more than one drug addict in each family. I received
another report issued by the Myanmar government which reports 54.5 to 74.3
% of drug addicts are HIV positive.  All of HIV/AIDS patients who are also
addicted to drugs are infected by shared syringes. HIV/AIDS can also spread
to women from men addicted to drugs.  Girls and women trafficked to
Thailand also often return to their home towns with serious HIV/AIDS
infections. Many infants have been born with HIV in Burma since 1988. In
spite of the efforts of doctors and workers of the Health Ministry,
generals are reluctant to implement preventative measures to alleviate this
terrible situation. Women in many households in Burma have to care for
HIV/AIDS patients without medical assistance. Generals have the ability to
build many skyscrapers in Rangoon and are able to equip their armies with
modern-day weapons.  But they have no ability to get rid of these many
social problems.  For other governments, it is not a difficult task.  What
they can do is to stop the sharing and reuse of syringes and stop the
trafficking in women.  In addition, they should screen donated blood. The
cost of these three measures would be equivalent to only one skyscraper or
one jet fighter.  There would not be any side effects for the economic
development of generals.

An international strategy to save women in Burma is to hold generals
responsible.  "You are not knights nor gentlemen, and you are not saving
your women and children." I recommend PD Burma to specify gender issues,
not only encourage the democratisation and dialogue process.
Psychologically, generals are very weak.  If all nations speak of generals
of Burma as not being knights because they are sexually abusing their women
and children, the generals must change their mentality to prove that they
are noble men. If generals implement even one measure to alleviate one
problem such as HIV/AIDS, it will automatically be one step towards
democratisation -- because one woman will be saved.

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THE BANGKOK POST: AQUINO DEDICATES AWARD TO BURMESE 
1 September, 1998 

AP

Manila - Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino yesterday dedicated a
prestigious Asian award she won to the Burmese people, citing their long
and bloody fight for freedom.

Mrs Aquino has been named winner of this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award for
International Understanding for helping topple strongman Ferdinand Marcos
in a nearly bloodless uprising in the Philippines in 1986.

The award, named for a Philippine president who died in a plane crash in
1957, is considered the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

Accepting the award last night, Mrs Aquino said that compared to the
Filipinos' 1986 triumph against Marcos' dictatorship, the Burmese people
were encountering more difficulties but were continuing the fight for
democracy.

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