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The BurmaNet News: January 27, 1999



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

The BurmaNet News: January 27, 1999
Issue #1194

Noted in Passing: "The underlying thing is of course the human rights
situation
in Myanmar and this creates a serious problem. Human rights is very high on
the
agenda." - Ambassador Hermann Erath (see AFP: EU SEEKS HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE
WITH MYANMAR: GERMAN AMBASSADOR)

Editors Note: In yesterdays edition the article entitled "US PULLS AWAY FROM
NLD TO SHORE UP STABILITY" is not from Time magazine, it is from an
intelligence source called STRATFOR.  Sorry for any confusion this error may
have caused. 

HEADLINES:
==========
AFP: JUNTA STEPS UP PROPAGANDA OFFENSIVE 
REUTERS: MYANMAR ARRESTS DISSIDENTS, OPPOSITION  
ABSDF: OUTRAGE BEAKS OUT IN PEGU 
BBC: INSIDE BURMA WITH THE KAREN 
AFP: EU SEEKS HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE WITH MYANMAR 
THE NATION: EU CAN FORCE ASEAN TO BE FIRM 
XINHUA: MYANMAR PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT THAILAND 
BKK POST: POLICE SEEK MILITARY HELP 
REUTERS: ELEPHANTS LATEST REFUGEES OF FIGHTING 
ANNC: HANDBOOK ON INTERNET AND HUMAN RIGHTS  
****************************************************************

AFP: MYANMAR'S JUNTA STEPS UP PROPAGANDA OFFENSIVE AGAINST OPPOSITION
24 January, 1999 

YANGON, Jan 24 (AFP) - Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition has accused Myanmar's 
government of forcing tens of thousands of voters to withdraw support from one
of its MPs in a new twist in their long political battle.

Voters turned up to cancel out their votes for National League for Democracy
(NLD) member of parliament Than Tun at three mass rallies in central Myanmar
last week, each attended by 20,000 people, state television reported.

The voters, who cast ballots for the MP when the NLD swept 1990 general
elections, said he was no longer trusted and denounced his party for calling
for a meeting of parliament.

NLD vice-chairman Tin Ooo said here at the weekend that the cancellation of
votes for Than Tun "is really coercion by the military authorities forcing the
general public to do their bidding."

"There was no legal basis to this move, because existing election laws do not
include any provisions for such a measure," he said.

Thousands of people have taken part in mass rallies in the past in Myanmar to
denounce Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, but this is the first time
an MP has seen support withdrawn.

The government, which foreign nations and human rights groups claim is guilty
of massive human rights abuses, refused to relinquish power after the NLD's
landslide victory in 1990.

In recent months it has carried out a countrywide campaign of arrests against
the party, which foreign diplomats say is designed to crush its capacity to
function.

Thousands of party members have resigned following spells in government "guest
houses" proof, according to the NLD of coercion by military intelligence.

"Petitioning for the removal of candidates seems to be a further tightening of
the screw on the NLD," said a political analyst here.

"They may have singled out Than Thun because in recent speeches he was
critical
of the military," he said.

Than Tun is a member of the NLD's 10-member "representative committee" formed
last September to implement the party's decision to convene the parliament.

Party officials said he was continuing with his duties at NLD party
headquarters in Yangon.

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

Reuters: Myanmar Arrests Dissidents, Opposition Activists
24 January, 1999 

YANGON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Myanmar has arrested members of the main opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD) and an exiled anti-government group for
allegedly inciting student riots in November and December 1998, the official
Myanmar News Agency (MNA) reported on Sunday.

The agency did not say how many people had been arrested, but it published
photographs of 11 persons said to be held by the country's military rulers.

It identified the exiled group as the People's Defence Force (PDF), formed in
1990, and based along the Thai border.

"The authorities concerned have exposed the case of the anti-government
elements who dropped and distributed instigative pamphlets in the toilets of
the Institute of Medicine 2, on buses and at bus stops and public parks...
during November and December 1998," the news agency said.

During November and December of last year some students at medical colleges in
Yangon were reported to have staged anti-government protests, although the
protests did not spread and were contained by the authorities.

The NLD, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has long been at loggerheads
with the ruling State Peace and Development Council over demands for
democratic
reform and human rights.

The agency said an organiser of the PDF, Khin Soe, was detained while carrying
pamphlets on December 22 1998. At the same time a number of NLD members were
also picked up allegedly doing the same thing, including two other league
members, Zaw Win and Win Kywe, also of Yay township. The PDF had collaborated
with the armed rebel Karen National Union (KNU) group based along the border
with Thailand, the agency added. The KNU is fighting the military
government in
its quest for an independent Karen state in Myanmar.

The news agency reported that legal action would be taken against those held
for what it called creating public confusion and disturbing the peace.

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

ABSDF: PEOPLE'S OUTRAGE BREAKS OUT IN PEGU 
26 January, 1999 

A car incident, which resulted in the death of a schoolgirl, led to public
outrage in Pegu, one of the major cities in the closest distance with Rangoon,
on January 15, 1999. On that day around 12:15 p.m., a military truck from LIB
77, which ran a red light in speed, struck two schoolgirls riding a bike on
their way to home from school, in front of Dawoo Supermarket. This crash
killed
Ma Phyu Phyu, eighteen-year-old tenth grade student, on the spot with severe
wounds and caused her friend serious injury. 

Since the incident occurred during the dismissal of high school no. 3, the
military truck was not able to run away among the crowd. Furious people and
students rooted in the agony of suppression were fueled by the scene and
transformed their pain into anger. The crowd threw stones at the truck and
wrecked the truck immediately. Even though police and military intelligence
personals from no. 3 branch arrived on the scene, they were not able to
control
the situation due to the increasing crowd. Almost all the students from no. 4
high school also joined the scene and protested against the military regime.
There was also an uprising, in which SPDC fake monks tried to instigate
religious clash between Buddhists and Muslims but failed, during November
1998.
On the other hand, Pegu is one of areas with the highest desertion rate in
military units. Familiarity of units with local people cause serious concerns
for the SPDC authority to crash these frequent uprisings by violence because
potential disobedience of units could expend the protests. 

Ma Phyu Phyu's funeral was held on January 17 at Phong Daw Oo cemetery. Around
three thousand people, including students, workers and teachers attended the
funeral and silently protest for the death of Ma Phyu. Consequently, civil
obedience action and spray paint protests have been launched in high schools,
streets, on the wall of buildings in Pegu City. The students denounced the
brutal oppression of the military. Stickers and spray paint reveal the
following demands of people:

- No military government
- No unjust laws 
- Release arrested students 
- Hold parliament immediately

The MI personals are now threatening Ma Phy's parents not to spread her
photographs and meet with any guests in inquiry. On the other hand, according
to the militaries ineffective remedy, the MI is in search for those previously
involved in the movements to detain. Right now the SPDC authority in Pegu
has a
new job erasing spray paint protests in the streets every morning.

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

BBC: INSIDE BURMA WITH THE KAREN
23 January, 1999 by Simon Ingram

The refugee camps have even been attacked by Burmese troops

Simon Ingram reports on the fight for independence by the Karen people of
Burma
On the jungle border between Thailand and Burma, tens of thousands of refugees
belonging to the ethnic Karen minority are nervously awaiting another dry
season offensive by the Burmese army. SImon Ingram reports from Burma where
the
army has razed villages to the ground It is 50 years since leaders of the
Karen
took up arms against the government in Rangoon to press their demands for a
homeland of their own.

The forces of the Karen National Union have suffered serious military setbacks
in recent years, but the nationalist struggle - one the world has often
overlooked - shows no sign of exhaustion.

Entering the real Burma

There is a drought looming in the forested hills that line Thailand's western
border.

The rice paddies are cracked and parched. Most of the teak saplings have lost
their leaves. So meagre were the rains that fell here in what should have been
the wet season that the river Moie, dividing Thai from Burmese territory, has
slowed to a sedate trickle.

Entering Burma by crossing the river may be an unorthodox route, but the
authorities in Rangoon leave foreign journalists with little choice.

The few reporters allowed into the country do so under strict conditions that
would certainly preclude access to the border areas we were hoping to learn
more about.

At the top of the river bank we found an encampment of fragile bamboos hacks
where about 4,000 people had settled, and more were arriving all the time.

Homes razed to the ground

These people had brought next to nothing with them, so hastily had they fled
their home villages. An old woman described how her family had heard shooting
in the woods beside their home, and realised that army troops were closing in.

The displaced Karen ethnic minority find their villages burned to the
ground We
gathered up the children and ran, she said. Next morning, one of the men
ventured back to see what had become of the village. He found it had been

razed to the ground.


The scorched-earth tactics of the Burmese army against the various ethnic
minorities living in the east of the country are nothing new. But this year,
there is compelling evidence that the campaign against the 7 million Karens is
being waged with particular viciousness.

Village after village is burned down, crops and livestock are destroyed or
stolen. Those people who do not escape are used as forced labour, or made to
serve as human mine detectors, walking in front of the advancing Burmese
troops.

Stories of rape are becoming increasingly common. The chilling phrase "ethnic
cleansing" is one that human rights monitors based along the border are using
with growing regularity.

Kevin Heppner of the Karen Human Rights Group says: "They just can't survive
any more. They can't work their fields any more and they're also terrified of
being shot on sight in their fields which often happens, or shot for fleeing
forced labour, so they have no choice but to run."

Rangoon losing its grip

In spite of its annual offensives, Rangoon's grip over the Karen border
regions
is less than total.

The Karen National Liberation Army claims its guerilla tactics are working
well
The rebel forces of the Karen National Union have lost most of their
territory,
but senior officers claim their guerrilla tactics are inflicting significant
and regular losses on the Burmese troops.

But the claim is hard to verify in a conflict which splutters on virtually
unnoticed by the outside world, and whose very existence the Burmese
authorities routinely deny.

On the evening of my visit to the riverside refugee camp, the news on Myanmar
(Burmese) television showed a uniformed and smiling official bearing the
sinister title of Secretary Number One being greeted by respectful
residents of
some provincial town.

The ruling State Peace and Development Council likes to talk about its
drive to
achieve national reconciliation - but nothing that could ever be construed as
ethnic cleansing.

British debt to the Karen people

In a remote jungle clearing, we waited under the watchful eye of several Karen
fighters carrying M16 rifles for our meeting with the KNU's veteran president,
Bo Mya.

Symbolically he had chosen to meet us inside Burmese - or as he would have
it -
Karen territory.

The general looked tired - as well he might. For 20 years, he has led his
people's armed struggle against Rangoon.

He had 12,000 men under his command, he said, ready to fight and die for the
cause. You British should be doing more to help us, he added, with an accusing
glance.

The Karen people sided with Britain against the Japanese in WWII, he went on.
But you forgot our sacrifice and handed power to the Burmans in Rangoon.

What the Karen see as the betrayal they suffered at the hands of Burma's
former
colonial masters has become a persistent stain on the national consciousness.

In the crowded refugee camps inside Thailand - themselves the target of armed
attacks over the years - a different, more hopeful consciousness flourishes.

The camp elders produced a troupe of children in white national costumes to
perform traditional Karen dances for us. As I watched their graceful

movements, it occurred to me that many of the dancers probably knew nothing
except a life in exile.

Fifty years after the Karen took up arms against Rangoon, there is no telling
when - or if - their struggle for a secure homeland will be finally
accomplished.

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

AFP: EU SEEKS HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE WITH MYANMAR: GERMAN AMBASSADOR
25 January, 1999 

BANGKOK, Jan 25 (AFP) - The EU hopes to open a human rights dialogue with
Myanmar despite a diplomatic row which scuttled talks between European and
ASEAN officials here this week, Germany's ambassador to Thailand said Monday. 
Ambassador Hermann Erath said human rights would be on a par with the Asian
economic crisis when foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Berlin in March.

Erath said Myanmar's human rights record was an "underlying problem" in
relations between the EU and ASEAN which could only be resolved through open
discussions.

"What we are looking for is a preparedness from Myanmar to talk about these
issues with us," he told AFP.

"We want them to sit at the table and we want them to discuss this issue with
us and we want more confidential discussions at the fringes of the
conference."

A dispute over relations with Myanmar's military junta has caused an 18-month
rift between the EU and ASEAN.

A meeting between ASEAN and European officials due to take place here Monday
has been indefinitely postponed over the EU's suggestion that Myanmar's
representative sit behind a plaque marked "ASEAN -- New Member."

It would have been the first formal contact since Myanmar was brought into
ASEAN in 1997, against the wishes of both the EU and the United States.

Erath said the Bangkok meeting was of a "technical" nature and its
postponement
would not effect ministerial meetings scheduled for Berlin on March 29 and 30.

"But of course the underlying problems with Myanmar will also be there at the
ministerial meetings," he said.

"The underlying thing is of course the human rights situation in Myanmar and
this creates a serious problem. Human rights is very high on the agenda."

The EU, along with the United States, maintains tough sanctions against the
junta in Yangon, which has refused to recognise the results of a 1990 election
won in a landslide by the opposition National League for Democracy party.

All senior Myanmar officials are currently banned from entering Europe and the
EU has refused to accept Myanmar as a member of the European Community-ASEAN
(ASEM) Joint Committee.

ASEAN argues that this stance fails to recognise the importance of solidarity
between its members.

"We recognise ASEAN unity and we have been fostering that," Erath said.

"We (the EU) were the model of that. At the same time in Europe we have
certain
ideals and principles and this is also a model for ASEAN."

Germany took the six-month presidency of the European Union at the start of
this year.

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

THE NATION: EU CAN FORCE ASEAN TO BE FIRM WITH BURMA
26 January, 1999

There is more than meets the eye to last week's postponement of the Asean-EU
joint commission meeting. It clearly manifests the great divide between Asean
and the European Union, its oldest dialogue partner, on Burma.

Thailand, as a coordinator of Asean-EU relations, has been trying since
November 1997 to convene the much-awaited meeting. Foreign Minister Surin
Pitsuwan has held talks with the representatives of the EU, Asean and, of
course, Burma in order to strike a deal.

The modality of Burma's participation at the meeting was agreed upon at the
Asean foreign ministers meeting in Manila last year. Burma, as part of the
Asean delegation, would be a passive participant at the meeting. But the EU
Commission subsequently argued that Burma, along with Laos, must be
labelled as
a new member of Asean. This last-minute hitch has stalled the meeting
indefinitely.

Both sides said, obviously out of diplomatic necessity, that it was a problem
of protocol. It was not. Essentially, it is a problem about Burma. And it's
about a Burma that continues to be an international pariah that does not
respect human rights, and does give a hoot about its ties with Asean. These
are
the reasons why the meeting could not take place.

Without the joint commission meeting, the pressure on Asean to be firmer with
Burma will certainly increase. For one thing, the Asean members, especially
Indonesia and Thailand, would like to have access to the EU fund. Other
countries which have been affected by the financial turmoil such as the
Philippines, Vietnam and Laos would also like to tap the fund. This they
cannot
do as long as the meeting is postponed.

So the ball is now in Asean's court. The message is clear -- there must be
sufficient changes in the political landscape in Burma or the meeting could be
further postponed. More than Asean would like to admit, the grouping has
failed
to affect positive changes in Burma in the past two years -- something which
their leaders used to boast about. And while the political repression
continues
in Burma, it would be hard for the EU to soften its position.

As the new EU president, Germany would like to see the joint meeting go ahead.
Back in 1994, Germany was credited for having improved Asean-EU relations,
which have since deteriorated because of differences over Burma and East
Timor.
However, objections from other leading EU members on Burma appear to be
insurmountable.

New Foreign Minister Joseph Fischer from the Green Party has yet to make known
his country's position regarding Asia, especially on Burma. In the absence of
such views, he is likely to continue the work of his predecessor, Klaus
Kinkel,
who spearheaded the EU's new strategy toward Asia.

Since the Chilton Park meeting, there has not been any progress on the
political front. Indeed, the Burmese junta leaders have increased pressure on
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and even tried to expel her from the
country.

With the current economic crisis, the EU has a much more influential voice in
its bilateral relations with Asean. Asean used to dictate the direction of
Asean-EU relations as it offered a huge market for EU products. Not any more.

To effect serious changes in Burma, the EU feels it must maintain its
policies.
Thus it cannot lift the visa sanction against Burmese government officials. At
the upcoming Asean EU Ministerial Meeting in Berlin -- to be held at the
end of
March -- Burmese representatives will not be welcomed. Only when Asean members
truly understand and feel the full effects of the cost of supporting Burma
will
the grouping be able to apply peer pressure on its errant member.

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

XINHUA: MYANMAR PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT THAILAND
25 January, 1999 

BANGKOK (Jan. 25) XINHUA - Myanmar Prime Minister Than Shwe is scheduled to
visit Thailand next month for talks with his Thai counterpart Chuan Leekpai on
bilateral relations, government sources confirmed on Monday. 

The Myanmar leader is to come here at the end of next month in response to
Thailand's invitation, said the sources. 

The talks will focus on measures to reduce tension on the Andaman Sea and on
enhanced cooperation to tackle the growing drug problems, which has long
been a
major political issue for the two countries, according to press reports. 

Border trade and maritime conflicts are expected to be discussed at separate
meetings. 

Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan is expected to discuss with his Myanmar
counterpart U Win Aung a series of alleged maritime intrusions and clashes, in
which both countries have suffered fatalities. 

They will seek peaceful means to settle the problems and prevent future
clashes, said the sources, requesting anonymity. 

In December last year, an armed vessel which carried no national
identification
flag, attacked a Thai naval vessel and killed two Thai naval officers. 

In less than a month, on January 12, a Thai Navy ship, which was patrolling
the
Andaman Sea off the Ranong coast, was involved in crossfire with a modified
armed fishing vessel, again displaying no flag. Press reports said the two
armed vessels involving in crossfire with Thai Navy ships were from Myanmar. 

However, Myanmar claimed that the Thai Navy had attacked its official vessel. 
The Myanmar Foreign Ministry immediately summoned Thai ambassador Pensak
Chalarak. 

Thailand claimed that the incidents occurred inside Thai territorial waters
and
summoned Myanmar ambassador U Hla Maung last Monday. 

The two countries have agreed to establish a hotline and cooperate with joint
patrols to prevent future conflicts. 

Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said earlier that governors of border
provinces should develop better understanding to reduce tension. 

He warned Thai fishermen against intruding into Myanmar territorial waters,
and
said they should always hoist the Thai flag when at sea.

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

BANGKOK POST: POLICE SEEK MILITARY HELP
24 January, 1999 by Anucha Charoenpo  

The military has been asked to help the immigration police arrest illegal
immigrant workers and stem the influx of alien job seekers from Burma.

Pol Lt-Gen Chidchai Wannasathit, head of the Immigration Bureau, said that he
would request the military to tell its border units to help stem the tide of
illegal immigrants.

The campaign would primarily target Burmese immigrants.

Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla District has been found to be a major entry point of
illegal immigrants from Burma, he said.

Military assistance is being requested mainly because the immigration police
simply does not have enough manpower to deal with the influx.

Discussions would be held with military base commanders in Kanchanaburi,
Chiang
Rai, Chanthaburi, Songkhla and Nong Khai provinces in the hope of obtaining
long-term cooperation from them.

The immigration police have found widespread use of illegal immigrant workers
in Bangkok, Tak, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi,
Ranong, Chiang Rai and some northeasthern border provinces.

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

REUTERS: ELEPHANTS LATEST REFUGEES OF MYANMAR FIGHTING
26 January, 1999 

BANGKOK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Sporadic jungle fighting in Myanmar has created a
new type of refugee -- a herd of nearly 100 elephants which have fled into
neighbouring Thailand.

Villagers spotted the herd of 97 wild elephants last week in Kui Buri district
of Thailand's western province of Prachuab Khiri Khan bordering Myanmar.

Theeraphol Prachuabmoh, the headman of Ngajkham village about 25 km (15 miles)
from the frontier, told Reuters that a small herd of wild elephants had been
living in jungle areas between the village and the border for years.

But since last year, when Myanmar troops pushed ethnic Karen guerrillas up to
the borderline, the herd had swollen in size and the elephants were unwilling
to return to Myanmar.

"The area was quiet for most of the past decade, but since Myanmar troops
drove
the Karen back and stationed themselves right on the border we started having
frightened elephants running into my village," he said.

"Myanmar troops pulled out from the border several months ago but the
elephants
seem to want to stay on in Thailand for good," he said.

"Maybe they like the taste of the pineapples here."

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: HANDBOOK ON INTERNET AND HUMAN RIGHTS AVAILABLE
19 January, 1999 from communique@xxxxxxxx

A new handbook about using the Internet for human rights activists and
organisations is now available on-line from the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS) Advanced Science and Human Rights Program,
reports Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems (HURIDOCS).
"Getting
Online for Human Rights: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers About Using
the
Internet in Human Rights Work" by Stephen A. Hansen is available on the
Internet at
<http://shr.aaas.org/online/cover.htm>http://shr.aaas.org/online/cover.htm,
with
automatic online translation available from English into French, Spanish,
German, Italian and Portuguese. The publication "addresses questions on how to
apply Internet technology to human rights research, such as search engine
strategies and webbots, accessing materials on the Web with only e-mail,
Internet security issues, and communications (electronic conferences, e-mail,
listservs, newsgroups, etc.," says HURIDOCS, and also contains tips on
maintaining the security of sensitive information.

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