The BurmaNet News: February 24, 199

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Subject: The BurmaNet News: February 24, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: February 24, 1999
Issue #1214

Noted in Passing: "If we are in a state of quietness why do they (SPDC) lay
so much oppression on us?" - U Tin Oo [see REUTERS: INTERVIEW - MYANMAR'S
NLD SAYS IT'S ALIVE AND WELL] 

HEADLINES:
==========
REUTERS: MYANMAR'S NLD SAYS IT'S ALIVE AND WELL 
TV MYANMAR: NEW INDUSTRY-1 DEPUTY MINISTER 
XINHUA: STATE-OWNED HOTELS TO BE PRIVATIZED 
AP: MYANMAR CINEMAS SEEK SALVATION 
THE NATION: BURMA REGIME BRINGS SHAME ON THAILAND 
BKK POST: WESTERN STATES MAKE NO SECRET OF DISTASTE
THE HINDU: CHINA, THAILAND TO COOPERATE ON SECURITY 
ANNC: "FOCUS ON THE CORPORATION" LIST SERVER 
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REUTERS: INTERVIEW - MYANMAR'S NLD SAYS IT'S ALIVE AND WELL 
23 February, 1999 by Rajan Moses 

YANGON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Myanmar's opposition National League for
Democracy is alive and well despite government repression and harassment of
the party and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a top NLD leader said.

"We are oppressed and suppressed (by the military). Many of our NLD members
have been arrested or detained. But let me tell the world that we are alive
and well," NLD vice chairman U Tin Oo told Reuters in a rare interview late
on Monday.

Tin Oo sought to dispel the notion that the party's recent lowered
international profile was a sign that it was weakening, blaming it instead
on tough government restrictions.

The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has cut off
international telephone contact with NLD leaders such as Suu Kyi and Tin Oo
to prevent them stating their case to foreign media.

"Even though they cut our telephones and our connections, we have our
messengers or non-government organisations working secretly with us to get
messages out or receive them," Tin Oo said.

The military-dominated SPDC has held hundreds of NLD members, including
about 150 party members elected to parliament in the 1990 general election,
which the NLD swept but the result of which was not recognised by the
government.

The country's military rulers, who came to power in a bloody coup in
September 1988, have also curbed Suu Kyi's movements and the NLD's
political activities.

The military and the NLD have been at political loggerheads ever since the
1990 poll result and Suu Kyi's subsequent house arrest of nearly six years.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner was released from detention in mid-1995.

The party official said that besides the 1,000 to 2,000 political prisoners
held by the military, 150 NLD MPs were still in detention and steadfastly
sticking to their political beliefs and affiliation.

Tin Oo said, however, that about 20 to 30 NLD MPs had since left the party
or resigned from their posts due to coercion and emotional blackmail
directed at them and their families by the government. The SPDC claims that
those detained are being held in government guest houses for consultations.


Tin Oo also moved to dispel the notion that a lull in moves by the NLD and
Suu Kyi to lock horns directly with the SPDC meant the opposition may be
holding secret talks behind the scenes with the government to make
political headway.

"We have no secret talks with the government. When we deal with anybody or
the SPDC we will do it openly and let the people know," he said.

"We are not quiet. Aung San Suu Kyi is not quiet. She is waiting for a
right time. If we are in a state of quietness why do they (SPDC) lay so
much oppression on us?" he asked.

Although the government had made it hard for the NLD to launch fresh
political manoeuvres, Suu Kyi and party leaders were meeting members and
supporters on a daily basis at the Yangon NLD headquarters to plan strategy
and work towards fostering greater democracy, Tin Oo said.

For the NLD, the convening of a "People's Parliament" of elected
representatives from the 1990 polls would remain the party's top priority,
he added.

The SPDC has rejected the NLD proposal to convene the parliament and says
any future parliament must be based on a new national constitution that is
being formulated by a National Convention of government-appointed delegates.

But the convention has not met for nearly three years.

"The People's Parliament is most important. They must honour the result of
the 1990 election. Everything must go through parliament," he said.

The NLD has even set up a panel to prepare for the convening of parliament,
much to the chagrin of the SPDC.

"The economic, political and social conditions are not in a good shape. The
people want civilian rule restored," Tin Oo said.

Asked what was the NLD's message to the world given the current curbs it
was operating under, Tin Oo said:

"Our NLD and democracy activists are trying their best to struggle and do
their utmost to restore our legitimate right of democracy and human rights.
Please give us some sort of moral encouragement in your own way." 

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

TV MYANMAR NETWORK: NEW INDUSTRY-1 DEPUTY MINISTER
18 February, 1999 

[TV Myanmar is the SPDC-run television network in Burma.]

Notification No. 15/99 of the State Peace and Development Council

The State Peace and Development Council [SPDC] of the Union of Myanmar
[Burma] has appointed Brig. Gen. Than Tun, deputy minister of Industry-1,
as deputy minister of Progress of Border Areas and National Races and
Development Affairs. [Signed] Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary-1, SPDC. 
  
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XINHUA: STATE-OWNED HOTELS TO BE PRIVATIZED 
19 February, 1999 

YANGON (Feb. 19) XINHUA - A total of three state-owned hotels in the
country's northern Shan state will be privatized for continuous business
operation as part of Myanmar's privatization scheme, according to the
Privatization Commission (PC) Friday.

The hotels to be leased through competitive bidding are Kalaw, Innlay and
Pindaya hotels.

There are now 523 hotels in Myanmar, according to available figures.

In January, the PC announced privatization of 68 other state-owned economic
enterprises (SEE), which include four factories, seven rice mills and 57
cinemas.


According to official statistics, a total of 134 state-owned cinemas and
more than two dozens saw mills have so far been privatized in Myanmar. Some
42 factories and two livestock breeding farms have also been designated
earlier to be sold through competitive bidding.

Myanmar has, since January 1995, been implementing a privatization plan for
its SEEs, aimed at transforming them into effective business organizations.

The first phase of the scheme covers 51 SEEs including processing and
manufacturing factories, livestock breeding farms and cinemas, and is being
implemented in various forms -- auctioning and leasing out the enterprises
or establishing joint ventures with local and foreign investors.

In a significant move to accelerate the privatization of heavy industries,
Myanmar transferred to local private entrepreneurs the Ywama Steel Mill
last September, the biggest state-run enterprise leased out since the
privatization plan began.

It is reported that the first-phase privatization of all small-scale SEEs
has been completed and the second phase which deals with about 1, 760
medium- and large-scale SEEs is underway. 

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS: MYANMAR CINEMAS SEEK SALVATION 
19 February, 1999 by Aye Aye Win 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A night at the movies in Myanmar isn't exactly
escapism.

Rats and roaches compete for bits of food under the wooden seats, scuttling
over the sandaled feet of moviegoers too intent on making out blurry images
on the screen to pay them much mind.

The smell of urine from the lavatories wafts into the theater, but none of
overhead fans that could clear the hot, sticky air work -- or if they do,
they're shut off to save money.

Viewers crunching potato chips and sunflower seeds, who would be merely
annoying in a better cinema, make it impossible to understand the dialogue
playing over the antique sound system.

The films? A typical one, a 7-year-old romance titled ``Love in a New
Style,'' with local stars Kyaw Thu and Soe Myat Thuzar, had a happy ending
that almost never arrived when the much-screened copy jammed three times in
the 40-year-old projector.

Cinemas in Myanmar, also known as Burma, were taken over by the military
government in 1968 and run under then-fashionable socialist policies by
municipal authorities.

Nowadays, the theaters that aren't in ruins are gross dumps. But a handful
have been transferred into private hands and have renovated, giving crowds
a good show in clean, comfortable surroundings.

``No matter what, there's nothing like watching a good movie at a theater
on a big screen,'' said film buff Khin Marlar, 25, emerging from a rundown
theater on the capital's outskirts. ``But it will be good if more cinema
halls are transferred to entrepreneurs.''

That's happening as the present military government, which has abandoned
socialism and gradually opened the economy over the past decade, tries to
get out of the movie business.

Authorities recently announced that 57 cinemas, mostly on the outskirts of
Yangon or in the provinces, would be opened to bidding by private
entrepreneurs, with opening bids sought between $6,000 and $28,000.


Three decades ago, Myanmar's 400 movie theaters were popular public places
to seek diversion. The better ones in Yangon were cooled by
air-conditioning -- a rarity in much of Southeast Asia at the time -- and
well-maintained with fashionable sofa settees.

Now, besides the ravages of nationalization, surviving cinemas suffer from
problems known to theaters everywhere -- competition from television, and
the popularity of videos.

Myanmar filmmakers used to produce around 80 movies a year. Now, they turn
out about a dozen. One problem is the shortage of foreign currency needed
to purchase expensive imported film stock.

The shortage of foreign exchange also makes it impossible for the
government to import foreign movies from the United States, Hong Kong and
even India. Most cinemas still in business are running at a loss, almost
empty.

On the other hand, cinemas leased to private firms are thriving.

``Despite the popularity of videos, movies remain the best mode of
entertainment,'' declared Zaw Min, the head of Mingalar Co., currently
operating three cinemas in Yangon and two in Mandalay.

Before entering the business, Zaw Min visited cinemas in neighboring
countries to get a grasp of the modern entertainment business.

``The condition of the state-owned cinema halls was miserable,'' said Zaw
Min, sipping Chinese tea. ``Hair-stuffed seats were irreparably damaged,
projectors were too old, paint was peeling off and the ceilings were
riddled with termite holes.''

It took up to six months to renovate the old cinemas. He imported new
projectors from Hong Kong and Singapore, installed Dolby sound and modern
lighting, and set up a generator to help the show go on during frequent
municipal power cuts.

Now, he's got queues of customers stretching into the streets, though the
ticket prices -- equivalent to about 25 cents to 50 cents -- are much
higher than the 7 cents to 15 cents at the old cinemas.

Instead of low-budget local fare, they can see ``Titanic'' or James Bond
films or the latest Jackie Chan offering.

``Local movies with popular actors and actresses are still a big market,''
Zaw Min said. ``People of different age groups watch Myanmar films, while
audiences of Western films are mostly from the educated classes.''

But Zaw Min is not showing much interest in the new privatization, which
focuses mostly on Yangon's outskirts.

Outside the capital, Zaw Min says, his prices are too high and cinemas just
can't compete with video parlors, where customers pay as little as 1.5
cents for a spot on a bench to watch a video, often in someone's home.

Aung Min, a manual laborer who could expect to bring home 55 cents on a
good day, says there's no contest.

``I'd never go to a cinema,'' Aung Min said. ``There's a video parlor right
near my home, and it's a lot better value.''

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

THE NATION: BURMA REGIME BRINGS SHAME ON THAILAND 
23 February, 1999 

Letter to the Editor

Than Shwe, since your Burmese military regime grabbed power we have heard
numerous accounts of your oppression, persecution and extreme human rights
violations against the people of Burma.


The National League for Democracy won the 1990 elections, but your
military junta has totally ignored the result of the elections. Instead,
your army has attempted to hang on to power shamelessly, making the lives
of the people of Burma miserable by all means and allowing drug warlords to
operate freely inside Burma with the alleged collaboration of your army.

The political and economic instability and unrest that you have created in
your country has created many problems for we Thai people and Thailand.

The Burmese people have become landless and have to seek refuge with us in
Thailand. And more Burmese workers are being forced to become migrant
workers in Thailand.

The trafficking of people, especially women and children, has increased and
this has created well-organised networks which have consequently increased
corruption and the abuse of power among government officials in relevant
agencies, especially the police force and immigration.

Our public health has been endangered by the increasing population of
migrants/refugees whose health has been deteriorating long before they
came, due to your total negligence of basic public health care.

On top of all the turmoil you have created in our land, your actions have
tarnished the image of Thailand in the international community and have
affected our international relations.

We had expected you would behave as a civilised government treating its own
people well and would act with enough common sense to talk to opposition
groups including Aung San Suu Kyi if you became an Asean member.

But you have really disappointed us. Since your membership in Asean, there
has been estrangement/disagreement among the members and with other
international bodies.

We have experienced discomfort and unhappiness, embarrassment, even shame
because of the association with your regime, which has no respect for any
human rights.

Your membership has brought our regional economy down. Your existence in
the region has affected efforts to achieve regional economic rehabilitation.

Your army's alleged involvement in the drug business and allegedly taking a
share of drug profits have hampered drug suppression activities at the
border areas and in the region.

As a good neighbour, our government has always defended you, helped you,
but as Thai citizens we think you don't deserve our hospitality.

You are not welcome in Thailand as you have no intention of stepping down
to transfer power to the people of Burma or to have peace in Burma. You
have never attempted to control your army, which is shamefully lacking in
principle.

Signed, A very disturbed and unhappy host (in) Chiang Mai

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

THE BANGKOK POST: WESTERN STATES MAKE NO SECRET OF THEIR DISTASTE FOR THE
REGIME 
23 February, 1999 by George Min Swe 

COMMENT/DEALING WITH BURMA

The United States has refused to join the Interpol anti-narcotics meeting
planned for Rangoon for Feb. 23-26, and it has been joined by Britain,
France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Germany.

Also. the European Union has insisted on excluding representatives of the
Burmese military junta from the Asean-EU Ministerial Meeting tentatively
set for Berlin next month.


On both counts, the United States and the European nations are quite
correct. I thank them on behalf of the people of Burma and all nations on
earth who uphold liberty as an unalienable right of all human beings.

The self-dubbed State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) regime has no
right or mandate to represent the people of Burma at any international
meeting, much less to host the Interpol anti-narcotics meeting in Rangoon.

It is completely ridiculous that a regime famous for drug-trafficking is
hosting an international meeting to discuss drug eradication.

It is beyond any rational being's imagination why an international meeting
would be held in Rangoon where drug barons like Lo Hsing Han and Khun Sa,
who has been indicted for drug running by a US court, are honorary
residents under the aegis of Rangoon's military governing body, and where a
large number of leading drug-trafficking hoodlums hold sway with their
narco-dollars, as cited by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright while
on a visit to Australia recently after calling on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in
Rangoon.

Given the circumstances, the US' refusal to go to Rangoon should come as no
surprise. The United States is smart enough to realise the SPDC is trying
to give a false impression of its drug suppression efforts by hosting the
meeting.

It is also understandable that those countries which have sided with the
United States in boycotting the circus in Rangoon feel that it is just a
farce and a sham with the intention of fooling the international community,
and with the obvious aim of enticing the international community to dig
deep into its pockets for the hard currency so badly needed by the illegal
regime in Rangoon.

The SPDC has shown no obvious intention of curbing its drug-running habits.

As for the EUs insistence on excluding the Rangoon military regime from
participating in the Asean-EU Ministerial Meeting in Berlin next month, I
have nothing to say other than: "Thank you."

I would like to offer a word of caution to the Interpol secretary-general,
Raymond Kendall of Britain, to think twice and write letters only after
separating fact from fiction whenever and wherever the SPDC is concerned.

The European Union is composed of democratic countries which honour liberty
and the rule of law as the very basis of their existence. Moreover, they
are governed by elected representatives who have the mandate of the people
to shape their lives and destiny.

Contrary to all norms of human decency, the SPDC military junta in Rangoon
is an illegal ruling body which seized power, with much bloodshed, by armed
might and then reneged on its promise to hand over power to those elected
in the 1990 poll who won overwhelmingly (392 of the 450 sets): the National
League for Democracy (NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The SPDCs record on human rights abuses and atrocities is, more or less, on
a par with those of the likes of Hitler and Stalin of yore, and today's Pol
Pot of Cambodia, to mention a few-not to mention its drug-running infamy,
one of the leading drug traffickers in the world.


In spite of its lacklustre image, the [Asean] countries headed by
Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines have welcomed the pariah regime in
their midst -- obviously with an eye to skinning the country down to its
bones -- despite the international hue and cry and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's
repeated calls for restraint on this matter.

It surprised no one that Asean's constructive engagement or whatever,
cooked up to exploit Burma, has come to nothing for the people of Burma and
democracy. All it has done is line the pockets of the SPDC elite and their
cronies in Burma, and, doubtless, add to the coffers of the Asean nations
involved.

[George Min Swe is the New Era Journal newspaper.]

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

THE HINDU DAILY: CHINA, THAILAND TO COOPERATE ON SECURITY 
23 February, 1999 by P.S. Suryanarayana/ Singapore 

In a path-breaking diplomatic move, Thailand, a traditional ally of the
U.S. in South-East Asia, and China have evolved a "Plan of Action for the
21st century" on the critical question of "security cooperation through
confidence building measures" for "comprehensive, stable and sustained
development of Sino-Thai bilateral relations." This document was signed
recently in Bangkok by the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr. Tang
Jiaxuan, and his Thai counterpart, Mr. Surin Pitsuwan.

China and Thailand, it was said, "have realised that the trend towards a
multipolar world is gaining momentum" and that "it is the pressing call of
our times ... to establish a new, peaceful, stable, equitable and rational
international political and economic order." Their bilateral accent on the
trend towards "a mulitpolar world" is quite extraordinary, given Bangkok's
equation with Washington.

The U.S. itself is at present pursuing a policy of constructive
"engagement" with China for a realpolitik detente, according to senior
Western diplomats in South East-Asia. To this extent, Bangkok's move may
not be seen as upsetting the American strategy to contain communist China.

For China, the strategic importance of Thailand pertains to its diplomatic
activism in regard to the internal situations in both Myanmar and Cambodia,
two States where Beijing evinces strategic interest. Relevant to Beijing's
overall strategic calculus is also Bangkok's ongoing effort to build
bridges with India under the framework of the BIMSTEC (Bangladesh-
India-Myanmar-Sri Lanka-Thailand economic cooperation).

For Thailand, which does not have a territorial-sovereignty dispute with
China unlike the Philippines and a few others over the Spratlys, the move
can reinforce its own quest for a relatively unique regional status on the
basis of its geostrategic interest in China as well as India.

The centrepiece of the `Plan of Action' is that the two sides "agree" to
take their ties to "a new stage of development" on the basis of their
"common interests" and their "friendly relations" that had been maintained
for over two decades so far.

On the sensitive issue of "security cooperation," it was stated that the
relevant CBMs would include "strengthened consultations between their
military personnel and diplomatic officials on security issues, exchange
between the two militaries of each other's experience in humanitarian
rescue and assistance and disaster reduction, and exchanges of military
science and technology as well as information of all kinds."


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