The BurmaNet News: September 8, 199

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The BurmaNet News: September 8, 1998
Issue #1091

Noted in Passing: "It's a confirmation that the economy has reached a very
serious position." -- A Rangoon Diplomat

"The country is quite self-sufficient in terms of feeding its people, so in
terms of survival, I don't think shutting off by the World Bank will have
any meaningful result." -- Bernard Pe Win, CEO of Myanmar Investments
Holdings 

(see REUTERS: WORLD BANK ACTION PRESSURES MYANMAR GENERALS)

HEADLINES:
==========
AFP: MYANMAR AUTHORITIES ARREST 110 NLD MEMBERS
SCMP: BURMA STUDENT PROTESTS STRIKE AT HEART OF JUNTA 
REUTERS: WORLD BANK ACTION PRESSURES GENERALS 
THE NATION: OPPOSITION MISLEADING GIRLS, SAYS BURMA JUNTA 
BKK POST: MEETING TO BOOST TRADE WITH BURMA 
ANNOUNCEMENT: UK ANNUAL KAREN CONFERENCE 
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AFP: MYANMAR AUTHORITIES ARREST 110 NLD MEMBERS, OPPOSITION OFFICIALS SAY 
7 September, 1998 

YANGON, Sept 7 (AFP) - Myanmar's military authorities have arrested 110
members of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy
party, opposition officials said Monday.

The party said in a statement that some 50 of those arrested in various
parts of the country since Sunday were members of parliament elected in
1990 polls which the opposition won by a landslide.

The military refused to hand over power and has repeatedly rejected demands
by the NLD-led opposition that the 1990 parliament be convened.

Junta officials were not immediately available for comment. But observers
in Yangon said the arrests appeared to be a pre-emptive strike following
the NLD's announcement that it intends to convene parliament unilaterally
by the end of this month.

Political tensions have been rising since the NLD set an August 21 deadline
for the junta to convene parliament. After the deadline passed the
opposition vowed to convene parliament alone.

[From BBC -- According to residents in the capital, Rangoon, they are being
held together at the State Guest House.

A spokesman for the military government confirmed it had arrested NLD
members in what the authorities describe as "preventative detention" but
declined to give numbers.

He said they were detained for questioning over the NLD's vow to call a
"People's Parliament" this month.]

Meanwhile students have been holding a sit-in protest at a university
campus in Yangon.

Students at the Hlaing campus -- numbering between several hundred and
several thousand according to different estimates -- shouted
anti-government slogans during a peaceful protest Thursday night, witnesses
said earlier.

Authorities responded by formally closing the campus, which largely serves
as a preparatory school for other tertiary institutions.

Most of the protestors were from outside Yangon and were staying in
dormitories on the campus. Police locked the gates to the campus with some
1,000 students remaining inside.

Some 3,000 students protested at Hlaing on Wednesday last week while about
800 more gathered at the nearby Yangon Institute of Technology. Both
protests ended peacefully.

[Editor's Note: Some students -- about 100 -- continued to protest until
Monday, 7 September, the date set for exams to begin.  Others have
continued to participate in more subtle acts of defiance, such as
distributing flyers and leaflets.  One of the main demands was to postpone
the exams because of the short formal preparation time. (See SCMP article
to follow.)  About 10% of students boycotted the exams.]

The demonstrations were the biggest since unrest in 1996 when universities
were closed. 

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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: BURMA STUDENT PROTESTS STRIKE AT HEART OF JUNTA
7 September, 1998 by William Barnes 

The Burmese military must have suspected there would be trouble when it
invited students at the country's most prestigious universities to come to
Rangoon for crash courses.

There was. Hundreds of students last week staged the biggest protests
against the junta in nearly two years.

Witnesses said the protests were targeted at the regime's education
failures - for to criticise Burma's disastrous education policies is to
strike at the heart of the military's sense of priorities.

The demonstrators at the Rangoon Institute of Technology and, last month,
the University of Rangoon, were carrying on a tradition of opposition that
stretches back to the colonial era.

The British failed to provide a proper education for the people - most
Burmese learned to read and write at temple schools and private
institutions. But the few high schools and universities did succeed in
creating a highly articulate elite.

Aung San Suu Kyi's father, the independence hero Aung San, started his
political career as a student leader. But the post-independence army, lead
by General Ne Win, never could stomach the idea that any organisation was
beyond its control.

After General Ne Win overthrew the last civilian government in 1962, he
quickly turned his attention to dissent in the colleges.

On July 7 that year students at Rangoon University demonstrated against new
campus regulations. The response was ugly: massed army riflemen poured
gunfire into unarmed students.

In a final, deeply symbolic act of repression, the troops dynamited the
student union building, the traditional home of student opposition since
colonial days.

Over the past decade, the junta has kept most colleges closed most of the
time.

"When the time comes to rebuild an economy that has been shattered by the
military's incompetence, greed and control, it will be extraordinarily
difficult," said one veteran foreign resident in Rangoon. "Most Burmese
never get beyond primary school."

Since student demonstrations turned into huge nationwide protests in 1988,
the junta has been more afraid of opposition from the colleges than of
wrecking the education system.

The students protesting last week complained about plans to move much of
their campus outside the city.

They were also bitterly critical of the "crash courses" that, in a matter
of days, are supposed to equip students with the ability to sit final
exams. "These so-called refresher courses really reveal the authorities'
contempt for education," a foreign education expert said.

Teachers are made to attend special government courses for what one
participant described as "brainwashing".

When colleges are open, there are attempts to squeeze four-year bachelor of
arts or science courses into four months.

The military consumes about half the national budget, compared with the
five per cent spent on education. 

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REUTERS: WORLD BANK ACTION PRESSURES MYANMAR GENERALS 
7 September, 1998 by David Brunnstrom 

BANGKOK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling generals will find it even
more difficult to raise badly needed foreign funds after the World Bank
announced last week that it was cutting financial ties with the country,
analysts said on Monday.

The bank, one of the world's lenders of last resort, said on Friday it
would not consider giving Yangon any more money because it had defaulted on
repayments of past loans.

Diplomats and economists said the announcement was in a sense symbolic
since Myanmar has received no new assistance from international lending
institutions since its military rulers crushed a pro-democracy uprising in
1988.

But they said it was a loud alarm bell for foreign investors as it showed
Myanmar to be a considerable investment risk.

``Burma (Myanmar) had always kept up servicing its debt to the World Bank,
but recently it stopped doing so,'' said a diplomat in Yangon. ``It's a
confirmation that the economy has reached a very serious position.

``It doesn't send a good signal to any investors thinking of putting in
money here. If it's not even able to come up with the small amount of money
necessary to keep servicing its debt, that's a pretty worrying sign.''

Diplomats and economists say that despite rosy government figures, the
economy has stagnated in the past two years due to mismanagement,
corruption, infrastructure inadequacies and Asia's financial crisis.

The government faces a host of problems, including soaring inflation, a
plummeting currency and foreign reserves recently estimated as low as two
weeks of exports -- perhaps $100 million or less.

In a rare and severe step, the World Bank said it placed loans and credits
to the Myanmar government in ``nonaccrual'' status, meaning it would have
to clear arrears estimated at $14 million before even being considered for
new loans.

``There were a number of reasons, based on more political grounds, why the
bank couldn't have made loans,'' the diplomat said. ``But this is an
economic reason why it couldn't extend loans even if it wanted to.''

The bank did not make clear when Myanmar went into default, but a country
goes into non-accrual status if payment on any loan or credit is overdue by
more than six months.

``The effect will be that whatever is left of the government's
international creditworthiness will get much worse,'' said an economist in
Yangon. ``Even some of its Asian investors will be rather nervous about it.''

Myanmar has borrowed more than $700 million from the World Bank since 1956.
Other countries with protracted arrears include Iraq, Liberia and Syria.

A leading Myanmar businessman criticised the bank's decision.

``Cut-offs by multilateral institutions can only be negative,'' said
Bernard Pe Win, the chief executive officer of Myanmar Investments
Holdings, which has interests in hotels, tourism and real estate.

``I think they should be finding ways to engage the government,'' he told
Reuters.

The announcement came as the government has been facing mounting pressure
from the opposition National League for Democracy to recognise the results
of a general election the party won by a landslide eight years ago.

The NLD has put itself on collision course with the government by vowing to
call a parliament this month.

Pe Win said that if the bank's aim was to promote democracy, its move would
have little effect.

``The country is quite self-sufficient in terms of feeding its people, so
in terms of survival, I don't think shutting off by the World Bank will
have any meaningful result,'' he said.

``But one thing's sure, that if there's no foreign investment and if
foreign investment dwindles to nothing and foreign businesses are put under
pressure to the point some leave, the end result will be less democracy
than there is now,'' he said.

Pe Win said the economy was not in good shape but conditions were not as
grim as many news foreign news reports suggested, as there was a
substantial invisible economy. He said a repeat of the political unrest
seen 10 years ago was unlikely.

``I don't think we see imminent signs of disturbances like in 1988. There
is some talk and no doubt there is some tension, but it doesn't look like
it to me.''

The Myanmar government spokesman in a brief response to a Reuters query
said that Myanmar had not made any request for loans from the World Bank.

``Even if Myanmar repays her old debts, is the World Bank in a position to
resume loans? If not, why bother to put Myanmar in nonaccrual status,'' he
said in a statement.

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THE NATION: OPPOSITION MISLEADING GIRLS, SAYS BURMA JUNTA
7 September, 1998 

RANGOON - Burma's powerful head of military intelligence has accused
"traitors" in the opposition of trying to mislead young girls into opposing
the government and favouring the Western world, state newspapers reported
yesterday.

"Colonialists' cohorts" were "deliberately snaking accusations to tarnish
the dignity of Myanmar women", the New Light of Myanmar quoted Lt-Gen Khin
Nyunt as saying in speech on Saturday.

Khin Nyunt is officially No 3 in the military government but is considered
its most powerful figure. He was speaking at a prize-giving ceremony for
essays to commemorate Burmese Women's Day, which was inaugurated on July 3.

His speech was directed against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy (NLD), which has vowed to call a "People's
Parliament" this month.

"The traitors acting under the pretext of women's affairs for their party's
self-interest are beginning to commit foolish acts," Khin Nyunt said.

"Though they say they are working for human rights and women's affairs,
they are in fact misleading young girls with anti-government spirit and
disobedient character and persuading them to think highly of the West,
thereby weakening their determination to safeguard the race."

Since the NLD announced its plan to convene a Parliament, Khin Nyunt has
hardened the tone of his anti-opposition - rhetoric, accusing the party of
being in league with Western powers bent on recolonising the country.

In past attacks on the opposition in the state press, the government has
tried to fan traditional xenophobia by attacking Suu Kyi for marrying an
Englishman.

Khin Nyunt urged the "entire mass of Myanmar women to oppose the axe
handles who are trying to tarnish the dignity of Myanmar women among the
world's nations", the newspaper report said.

The government has warned the NLD could be outlawed if it tries to convene
Parliament.

[ ... ]

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THE BANGKOK POST: MEETING TO BOOST TRADE WITH BURMA 
7 September, 1998 by Supamart Kasem

A two-day official meeting on trade and investment between Thailand and
Burma will be kicked off in Bangkok tomorrow.

The meeting, aimed at boosting trade and investment and solving problems
hindering trade activities, will be held at Royal Princess Hotel, said a
source at the Commerce Ministry.

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supachai Panitchapakdi will
lead representatives from the government and private sectors to meet
Burma's delegation led by Trade and Commerce Minister Maj Gen Kyaw Than.

During the past five years, the trade volume of the two countries stood at
$441.54 million with Thailand mostly enjoying a trade surplus. Burma had a
trade surplus only in 1993 during which Thailand's export volume was $151
million against its import volume of $154.8 million, said the source.

During the past six months, the trade volume of the two countries was $204
million - a 31.8 percent drop on last year's trade.

Problems on border closure by local Burmese authorities without notifying
Thai officials in advance, a ban on some imported goods by the two
countries, inconvenient transportation routes and high charges of import
fees by Burmese customs officials would be high on agenda, said the source.

In another development, the Tak Chamber of Commerce has urged Myawaddy
authorities to temporarily open the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge at the
Burmese side on September 9 to facilitate the transport of goods and people
between the two countries.

Paniti Tungphati sent the letter to Myawaddy's 44th military unit commander
Col Ne Win, calling for the opening of the border.

Burma and Thailand initially agreed to open the bridge on September 9.
However, local Burmese authorities recently notified Thailand that they
wanted to postpone the opening of the bridge until September 17, citing
unreadiness as the reason. 

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ANNOUNCEMENT: UK ANNUAL KAREN CONFERENCE 
8 September, 1998 from rapps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Karen Relief and Development Fund (UK) and Karen Action Group (UK)

UK  ANNUAL  KAREN  CONFERENCE

Saturday, 12th September, 1998 - 10am to 5 pm (coffee at 9.30am) at St John
the Baptist Parish Church, Main Street, Grove, Near Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK.

Programme includes:
-  Talk from the leader of a NGO working in the refugee camps (he is a
Burmese Karen now living and working in Thailand)
-  Report on the work of KAG including their last visit to the refugee
camps in February, 1998
-  The Internet and how to get information (about Burma) from it. 
-  Report on the work of KRDF and their latest visit.
-  The future work of the two groups.
-  Approaching MP's, MEP's, companies, etc. about our concerns for the
Burmese people
-  The programme will end with a short time for prayer.

The cost is £5.00 which covers the cost of lunch, and other refreshments.

For more information email  -  rapps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Both KRDF and KAG are Christian based groups set up with the intention of
providing aid and support to the Karen people (whatever their faith).  We
are also concerned with all the people of Burma.

Everybody who has a concern for the Karen people, or would like to know
more, is welcome to come along to the conference (regardless of your
beliefs). 

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