Burma News Update No. 80 (r)

[HMarciniec@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Burma Project
Open Society Institute

Burma News Update No. 80
24 March 1999



UN: Human Rights Worsen
   
A United Nations special investigator announced that respect for 
human rights in Burma "is worsening and the repression of civil 
and political rights continues unabated." The Special Rapporteur 
on human rights in Burma, former Mauritius chief justice Rajsoomer
Lallah, reported violations to the U.N. Human Rights Commission 
including summary executions, arbitrary detentions and forced labour. 
Lallah's latest report, issued 15 March, stated that the military regime 
"continues to intimidate its citizens and prevents them from exercising 
their fundamental rights to freedom of association and expression by 
prosecuting persons for criminal and treason-related offences."

Geneva, "Reuters,:" 15 March



Suu Kyi's Ailing Husband Barred

Burmese military authorities have barred the ailing husband of 
democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from visiting Burma, 
despite repeated requests for a visa. Dr. Michael Aris is terminally 
ill in England with advanced prostate cancer. Requests by several 
Asian and Western governments to permit Dr. Aris to visit Rangoon 
have been rejected by the junta, which said in an official statement 
that Dr. Aris's visit could overburden Burma's limited medical facilities a
nd suggested that Daw Suu Kyi travel to England to see her husband. 
Burma's state-run media has repeatedly called for the deportation of 
Daw Suu Kyi, and democracy movement leaders believe that she 
will be denied re-entry to Burma if she leaves.

"Myanmar National Homepage," 21 March; and wire reports



Landmine Toll Rises

Bangladesh has demanded that Burma's military junta remove landmines 
planted along its border, which have taken a heavy toll on civilians and 
wildlife and are a "flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention." More than 
50 people have been killed and over 100 injured, many of them crippled 
permanently, since Burmese troops began laying landmines along the 
border in 1993. Victims include villagers, loggers and security forces, 
as well as 22 wild elephants. A survey by the paramilitary Bangladesh 
Rifles found that Burmese troops have mined a 34 mile stretch of the 
countries' common frontier. Hundreds of thousands of Burmese 
Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since 1992 to escape 
Burmese army attacks, and many remain in refugee camps there. 


Dhaka, "South China Morning Post," 16 March



Pipeline Protection

France's Total oil company has employed Western mercenaries and directly 
paid Burmese army commanders to ensure security of a pipeline project 
across southern Burma, a correspondent inside Burma reports. Total's 
partners are Burma's military regime and the American UNOCAL oil company. 
People interviewed said that the construction route is marked by destroyed 
villages, displaced populations, and village women forced into prostitution
by 
soldiers. A Thai official reports that Total and UNOCAL have supplied money,

fuel and vehicles to junta forces to assist offensives against guerrillas of
the 
Karen National Union, charges the oil companies deny. [Agence France 
Presse adds from Bangkok on 16 March that a member of a French 
parliamentary delegation that just visited the pipeline area and also met
with 
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon said that Daw Suu Kyi has 
restated her opposition to the pipeline project and foreign investment in
Burma 
at this time.]

"Le Nouvel Observateur (Paris)" 18-24 March



Power Price Hike
   
Large increases in consumer electricity prices are expected soon as 
residents of Burma's capital, Rangoon, and other cities face daily 
power cuts that often last from midday until late evening. The military 
regime can no longer afford heavy power rate subsidies as the country's 
economic crisis worsens, affected by Asia's financial turmoil and 
Western sanctions due to the junta's poor human rights record.

Rangoon, "Agence France Presse," 22 March



Jilted Lobbyists Jump Ship
   
Two Washington lobbying firms have dropped efforts to polish the 
international image of Burma's army junta after their bills went 
unpaid. Jefferson Waterman International said it had stopped working 
on Burma because of "non-payment," and Bain and Associates 
also said Burma is no longer a client. Jefferson Waterman's efforts 
under a $500,000 contract were led by former US assistant secretary 
of state for narcotics, Ann Wrobleski. Bain & Associates, headed 
by former TV reporter Jackson Bain, signed up for $250,000. The 
lobbyists offered journalists trips to Burma and reportedly help draft 
junta correspondence, including rebuttals to charges of human rights
violations.

Bangkok, "South China Morning Post," 17 March