The BurmaNet News: March 12, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: March 12, 1999
Issue #1226

Noted in Passing: "The US is punishing their own companies because if they
withdraw there is always someone else to fill the vacuum," - Thinn Maung,
Myanmar Investment Commission director (see AFP: CHIEF SAYS US SANCTIONS HURT
US FIRMS) 


HEADLINES:
==========
NLD: STATEMENT NO: 38 (3/99)  
BBC: OFFICIALS KILLED NEAR THAI BORDER 
BANGKOK POST: FOREIGN RADIO 'DESTRUCTIVE' 
MIC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A- 0831 (I) 
AFP: CHIEF SAYS US SANCTIONS HURT US FIRMS 
JOC: DECISION TO REMAIN NEUTRAL IN SUIT 
XINHUA: BUILT SHIP JOINS TRANSPORT SERVICES  
XINHUA: SIX NARCOTIC DRUG REFINERIES UNCOVERED 
ANNOUNCEMENT: VERMONT FREE BURMA DINNER 
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NLD: STATEMENT NO: 38(3/99)
5 March, 1999 

Contents of letter dated 23 February 1999 from the Chairman, National League
for Democracy to the Chairman of the Chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council is reproduced and published for the information of all.

" Subject- Illegal action by the authorities against a member of NLD
organising
committee and the unlawful harassment and obstructing to prevent the family
from earning an income.

1. U Kyaw San, NLD organising committee member for Prome Township was arrested
by the power-holding-authorities for distributing NLD Statement Number 4(1/99)
dated 6 January 1999, and our information is that they are planning to proceed
against him unjustly.

2. The Statements issued by the NLD are legitimate publications and as a legal
activity of a lawfully constituted organisation is permitted under the law. To
take action against a person for distribution of a legal publication is
extremely unjust, bullying, and browbeating behaviour. Therefore, we
emphatically ask for his immediate release.

3. More than that, U Kyaw San and his family members earn their livelihood by
fortune-telling in the Pagoda precincts. Since the 8 February, the place has
been shut down and their means of livelihood has been terminated. This illegal
action (arbitrarily depriving a person of his means of livelihood) against
family members who are not in any way connected with U Kyaw San's political
activity is harsh and inhuman. We have also heard that from the date of his
arrest (22 January 1999) to this date U Kyaw San has been denied permission to
have a bath and as a result is in a state of worry and depression.

4. We object and protest these inhuman and despicable behaviour and emphasise
the request to refrain from denying families the right to continue with their
legitimate means of livelihood. " 


Central Executive Committee National League for Democracy

Rangoon 5 March 1999

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BBC: BURMESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS KILLED NEAR THAI BORDER
9 March, 1999 

One of the main rebel groups in Burma, the Karen National Union, says thirteen
government officials have been killed in heavy fighting between the rebels and
government forces.

The joint general-secretary of the KNU, Pado Manh Sha, told the BBC that the
rebel forces captured thirteen Burmese immigration officials near the Thai
border late last month.

He said the rebels were taking the officials to KNU headquarters when they
were
attacked by Burmese army units and the thirteen were killed in the fighting
which ensued.

Pado Manh Sha denied reports that the KNU had executed the officials. The KNU
has been fighting for autonomy from successive Burmese governments for fifty
years.

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BANGKOK POST: FOREIGN RADIO 'DESTRUCTIVE'
11 March, 1999 

A commentary in the state controlled press yesterday described Western radio
stations as the tools of "neo-colonialists" out to destroy Burma.

The article published in the English language New Light of Myanmar said that
the British Broadcasting Corporation and the United States government
affiliated Voice of America and Radio Free Asia stations were biased and
lacked
objectivity.

It said Burmese people realised that they are "destructive tools" which are
used to install internal traitors and dissidents into power.

The Western media are disliked by the Burmese government because they often
highlight viewpoints critical of the military regime. The junta is shunned by
many Western nations because of its widespread human rights violations and
failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government.

The regime is particularly sensitive about the foreign radio stations, because
their reports are easily accessible to people inside Burma.

Official media in Burma are filled with propaganda reports and offer no
news of
the opposition or alternative viewpoints.

Yesterday's newspaper article singled out Washington-based Radio Free Asia
which was established with the specific goal of providing alternative
viewpoints to societies where there is no freedom of information

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MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE: INFORMATION SHEET N0. A-0831 (I)
11 March, 1999 from <OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx> 

[Information Sheets issued under the email addresses MYANPERSP@xxxxxxx and
OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx match those issued by the Directorate of Defence Services
Intelligence (DDSI) in Rangoon, and can be assumed to reflect official SPDC
opinion.]

(2) Health Ministry and WHO Co-sponsor Health Course

The Ministry of Health and WHO have co-sponsored the International Statistical
Classification of Diseases and Related Facts Problems Revision-10 Training
Course. It began in Uttara Hall of Karaweik Palace on 9 March. Trainees of the
nations of South Asia and South-East Asia are attending the course. The
aims of
the course are to develop data collection on health care programmes and to
enhance friendship among countries of the participating nations. The course
will also help improve data and facts at the hospitals and in drawing the
national health plan. Trainees of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and
Myanmar and observers are attending it. The two-week course will be conducted
till 19 March.

(3) Household Income and Expenditure Survey in Six Border Towns

Household Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by the Central Statistical
Organization, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, began at
a ceremony at Maungtaw District Peace and Development Council in Maungtaw,
Rakhine State, on 25 February. The survey was scheduled to be conducted
simultaneously in six border towns, namely, Tamu, Kawthoung, Muse, Kengtung,
Tachilek and Maungtaw, from 1 to 10 March to calculate the consumer price
index
and inflation rates.

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AFP: MYANMAR INVESTMENT CHIEF SAYS US SANCTIONS HURT US FIRMS 
6 March, 1999 

PHUKET, Thailand, March 6 (AFP) - Washington's investment sanctions against
Myanmar hurt US interests more than the Myanmar economy, a Yangon investment
official said Saturday. Investment Commission director Thinn Maung said more
than half of all foreign investment in Myanmar came from Southeast Asia and
the
US sanctions were having little impact. 

Despite the sanctions, US firms had consistently been among the top five
investors in Myanmar since 1988, he said. 

"The US is punishing their own companies because if they withdraw there is
always someone else to fill the vacuum," Thinn Maung told AFP. 

Washington maintains tough trade and investment restrictions against
Myanmar to
pressure the junta to improve its human rights record and begin a genuine
dialogue with its political opposition. 

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party under Aung San Suu
Kyi
won an easy victory in 1990 elections. The junta has never recognised the
result and has imprisoned almost 200 NLD MPs. 

Thinn Maung was a delegate at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Investment Area Council meeting here on Friday, which agreed to fast-track the
dismantling of barriers to foreign ownership. 

He said Myanmar already had one of the most liberalised investment policies in
the region, with 100 percent foreign ownership allowed in most sectors. 

Yangon also offered investment incentives such as tax holidays for three
years,
duty free imports of capital goods and raw materials for three years, 50
percent tax reduction on profits from exports and no limits to the employment
of foreign staff. 

Nevertheless, foreign investment had flattened off since the second half of
1998 because of the regional economic crisis, he said. 

Recent investment commitments by Japanese firms including Isuzu, Toshiba and
Suzuki indicated things might be about to change for the better, Thinn Maung
said. 

He said direct foreign investment in Myanmar since 1988 totalled 7.1 billion
dollars, with most coming from Singapore and the United Kingdom.

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JOURNAL OF COMMERCE: DECISION TO REMAIN NEUTRAL IN SUIT AGAINST MASSACHUSETTS
SANCTIONS
11 March, 1999 by Michael s. Lelyveld 

The decision to remain neutral in suit against Massachusetts sanctions became
evident as filing deadline passed.

BOSTON -- After fierce internal debate, the Clinton administration decided
this
week to stay out of a court fight between big business and Massachusetts over
the state's sanctions on Myanmar, formerly Burma.

The decision became apparent as a filing deadline passed Wednesday for briefs
supporting the National Foreign Trade Council in its federal appeals court
case
against the Massachusetts law that penalizes companies doing business in
Myanmar, which is under military rule.

Business won 1st round

The 580-member trade council has been leading a campaign to strike down dozens
of city and state sanctions as unconstitutional, starting with the
Massachusetts statute. The corporations won the first round in November,
when a
federal court in Boston ruled that the state's selective purchasing law
infringes on federal powers to conduct foreign policy.

With the state's appeal set to be heard in May, both sides have tried to roll
out their biggest guns. This week, the trade council unveiled a star-studded
list of supporters who filed friend-of-the-court briefs on its behalf.

Backing the NFTC are 10 members of Congress, including Sens. Rod Grams,
R-Minn., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind. A brief signed by former officials included
Alexander Haig and George Shultz, both former secretaries of state, as well as
past trade representatives William Brock, Clayton Yeutter and Carla Hills.

The National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and
the
American Petroleum Industry joined in supporting the NFTC.

The European Union also sided with the corporations this week, after filing a
precedent-setting brief in the lower court case last year. The EU recently
suspended a complaint against the sanctions in the World Trade Organization,
because the 1996 state contracting ban is technically not in effect pending
the
outcome of the appeal.

Government absent from list

But the most powerful player, the federal government, was absent from the
list,
despite active consideration last month of a plan to enter the case on the
side
of trade interests and its own constitutional powers.

"At the moment, we're not a party to the litigation and we're comfortable with
letting the courts decide the constitutional issues," said a State Department
official. The thought of joining the suit reportedly stirred intense
discomfort
within the administration.

"We hear there was considerable discussion about it. We're happy they decided
not to. We hope it's a final decision," said state Rep. Byron Rushing, the
Boston Democrat who wrote the selective purchasing law.

Albright notified

Human rights and labor groups have brought their own array of forces to the
sanctions fight. Briefs filed last month on behalf of Massachusetts included
support from 26 members of Congress and 11 states, led by New York and
California.

House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt has also written to Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, opposing an administration brief.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the debate within the administration on the
sanctions issue could not be resolved in time for the court's filing deadline.
A brief supporting the trade community's case would also have been
uncomfortably close to the State Department's annual human rights report,
which
condemned Myanmar last week, and a second report which blasted the country's
record in the war on drugs.

Officials also acknowledge some qualms at having to defend the Massachusetts
law before the WTO, while attacking it in a federal court. In the end, the
administration decided to sit it out.

"The feeling was that the points were already being made," an official said.
But he added that the administration has already made clear that the
Massachusetts sanctions have complicated efforts to arrive at a multilateral
policy toward Myanmar.

The issue is difficult on all sides because none of the parties wants to be
seen as defending the Myanmar dictatorship.

Constitutional principle

"The point we keep trying to make is that this does not have to do with Burma.
It's the constitutional principle," said Dan O'Flaherty, vice president of the
trade council.

Mr. O'Flaherty said the administration's decision to stay out of the case
could
change if the appeals court asks for the government's opinion on the
constitutional powers issue. Both Mr. Rushing and U.S. officials agree that
such a request could draw the administration in.

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XINHUA: PRC-BUILT SHIP JOINS BURMESE TRANSPORT SERVICES 
5 March, 1999 

Yangon, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A 12,000-ton Chinese-built ship has joined the
overseas and coastal shipping services of the state-run Myanmar [Burma] Five
Star Line (MFSL), bringing the total number of the line's fleet to 25. 

The M/V Kengtung multi-purpose marine vessel, which launched its maiden voyage
from Yangon Port Thursday, is the second of its kind built by the China
National Machinery Import and Export Corporation for the MFSL. 

The M/V Kengtung, built at Xingan Shipyard in China's Tianjin in line with the
Lloyd's class, arrived at Yangon Port on February 15. 

The vessel can carry 11,654 tons of cargo and can cruise up to 12,000 miles
(19,200 kilometers) without refueling at the speed of 14.7 nautical miles
(27.239 kilometers) per hour. 

The first Chinese-built ship for the MFSL, M/V Dawei, was launched last
October
and two other 440-seat passenger cargo coastal vessels are expected to be
completed later this year. 

According to official statistics, in the 1997-98 fiscal year, Myanmar has 358
powered barges and 342 non-powered ones operating in inland-water transport
services.

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XINHUA: SIX NARCOTIC DRUG REFINERIES UNCOVERED IN MYANMAR - SHAN STATE
9 March, 1999 

YANGON (March 10) XINHUA - The Myanmar authorities have uncovered a total of
six narcotic drug refineries this year.

These included the one jointly seized on March 5 by local intelligence unit,
army units and defense services intelligence unit in the ravine covered by
dense forests located six miles from Takkanine village in the northern Shan
state, official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday.

According to official statistics, a total of 21 opium refineries were
destroyed
in the country in 1998 by the authorities along with 403.8 kilos of heroin and
5,393.6 kilos of opium as well as 16.02 million stimulant drug tablets seized.

The statistics also showed that there were 61,236 hectares of poppy
cultivation
in the country in 1998 that would yield 665.28 tons of raw opium and could be
refined into 66.52 tons of heroin.

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ANNOUNCEMENT: VERMONT FREE BURMA DINNER
12 March, 1999 from: faye leone leone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE FREE BURMA COALITION announces its first annual Free Burma
Dinner

SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1999  6 P.M. Redfield Proctor Room Proctor Hall (upstairs)
Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT

TICKETS: $20 (?).  Call 802-443-6978 to reserve.

CO-SPONSORS: The Middlebury chapters of Amnesty International, Students for a
Free Tibet, and Rainforest Action Group, and the Middlebury College
Progressives.  Additional support from Vermont-Burma Alliance and American
University Free Burma Coalition.

PROGRAM: I. The brief film, _Aung San Suu Kyi_, by the National Democratic
Institute, to provide guests with an overview of the political situation in
Burma;

II. Dinner of Thai food prepared by Rarima Restaurant in Burlington, VT;

III. Three guest speakers:

*Professor David Napier, anthropologist of South Asia.

*State Representative David Zuckerman, to discuss recent legislation on Burma
issues, such as VT Burma Selective Purchasing Bill.

*Shwe Htee, Burmese refugee and former political prisoner in Burma. Currently
of Non-violence Empowerment Organization and Democratic Burmese Students'
Organization, in Ithaca, NY.  He was imprisoned after the student uprising in
Rangoon in 1988, and he considers himself lucky to have escaped the country
alive.

We are expecting people from all over Vermont, including members of the
Vermont-Burma Alliance in Burlington, students at School for International
Training (SIT) in Brattleboro, and students from Vermont Law School.

Our goal for the dinner is to increase awareness in our community (the college
and beyond) of Burma's current struggle.  Part of the tragedy is that because
Burma was a closed country for 26 years, news of the abuses and repressions
occurring there did not reach to the outside world, and as a result few people
are aware of the problems today.  Now, although reports of "Myanmar"'s drug
exportation and status as the world's worst human rights abuser, make
mainstream news regularly, most of us are still entirely in the dark about the
political background and the lived present.

Please join us this Saturday to learn more and enjoy great food.

****

The Free Burma Coalition is coordinating 9 simultaneous benefit dinners:

Atlanta - Boston - Los Angeles - Milwaukee - the Netherlands - New Zealand -
San Diego - Vermont - Washington D.C.

"Please use your liberty to promote ours." -- Aung San Suu Kyi

Faye Leone Middlebury College MC Box 4190 Middlebury, VT  05753 (802) 443-6978
leone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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