The BurmaNet News: April 21, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: April 21, 1999
Issue #1255

Noted in Passing: "Only people power can bring down our repressive rulers"
- Min Ko Naing (1988) see THE IRRAWADDY: MIN KO NAING, "CONQUEROR OF KINGS" 

HEADLINES:
==========
SCMP: CHRONICLES OF PAST USED TO BOLSTER JUNTA 
REUTERS: MYANMAR HITS AT "BULLYING OF YUGOSLAVIA" 
THE IRRAWADDY: MIN KO NAING, "CONQUEROR OF KINGS" 
THE IRRAWADDY: HEROES NEVER DIE 
ASIAWEEK: DEADLY NEGLECT 
ASIAWEEK: TO STAY OR NOT TO STAY? 
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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: CHRONICLES OF PAST USED TO BOLSTER JUNTA OF PRESENT
21 April, 1999 by Greg Torode 

If you want to find out what an organisation is really thinking, find out
what it tells itself.

Burma's military regime confidently talks about moving towards a
multi-party democracy and an open-market economy, but the military museum
in Rangoon tells a different story.

This grandiose, multi-story building is stuffed with the machines of
control and symbols of power dressed up in myths of conquest.

Take one small example from many. On the third floor is a lively exhibit
portraying the battle of Nga Suang Gyan, when a force of Kublai Khan's
Tartar cavalry defeated King Narathihapate in 1277.

The fight -- witnessed by Venetian traveller Marco Polo -- was the
beginning of the end for the ancient Burmese kingdom of Pagan. The capital
was abandoned six years later.

The tough Tartar horsemen defeated a much bigger Burmese army equipped with
many formidable war elephants.

The Burmese chronicles refer to Narathihapate as "the king who ran away
from the Chinese". The message does not need spelling out: Burma must be
strong and united to fend off its enemies.

This is a military museum, so loving displays of burnished artillery,
famous victories and uniformed mannequins are to be expected.

So too perhaps are words such as "command and control" that run like a
mantra through myriad displays of military might and expertise.

Blatant chauvinism should probably not come as a surprise either -- see the
choice presentation of a paunchy, greedy Westerner, complete with gaudy tie.

The bearded horror's glowing see-through stomach enables onlookers to see
the Burmese valuables he has eaten.

A crowd of kneeling Burmese puppets represent the loathsome toadies who
kow-tow to foreigners.

As the exhibits demonstrate, the military also claims the right to dictate
operations in virtually every facet of life.

Little model towns show how the regime promotes hotel and bridge building.

On the top floor -- in the Ministry of Agriculture area -- there are three
glowing portraits of leaders lecturing admiring peasants.

First the independence hero Aung San in 1947, then the dictator Ne Win in
1963, and finally, in noticeably brighter colours, the current Prime
Minister, General Than Shwe, in 1994.

The "wise" leaders explain; the rest follow. If the message of the museum
is any guide this is a regime not only reluctant to release its grip on
power, it is a regime that feels it would betray the country by doing so.

This many-layered, meticulously constructed paeon of praise for military
rule serves mainly as a temple for believers. 

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REUTERS: MYANMAR HITS AT WEST'S "BULLYING" IN YUGOSLAVIA
21 April, 1999 

YANGON, April 21 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government has accused "big
neocolonialist countries" of bullying smaller nations in apparent reference
to NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia.

"At present, some big neocolonialist countries with their greater financial
and firepower are bullying small nations," said Lieutenant-General Khin
Nyunt, the chief of military intelligence and a senior member of the ruling
military council.

He said the action violated principles of the U.N. charter and
international law.

Khin Nyunt made the comments in a speech to teachers on Tuesday in Yangon.

"These big countries are violating human rights by interfering and
dominating the internal affairs of other nations and committing acts that
insult the sovereignty of these small nations," he said.

"It means they are unfairly bulling the weaker nations without any sympathy."

Myanmar has poor relations with the United States and European countries
involved in the NATO action in Yugoslavia.

Both Washington and the European Union have imposed sanctions on the
military government because of its human rights record.

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Aung San
Suu Kyi and human rights groups have accused the government of detaining
hundreds of NLD members without trial and of curbing political activity in
the country. 

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THE IRRAWADDY: MIN KO NAING, "CONQUEROR OF KINGS" 
March, 1999 

VOL7 NO 3

The 23rd of March marked the tenth anniversary of Min Ko Naing's arrest for
his part in the pro-democracy uprisings of 1988. A decade later, his
country seems no closer to freedom, but his example remains an inspiration
to a nation still determined to conquer its corrupt "kings".

Of all the leaders who emerged during the heady days of Burma's
pro-democracy uprisings in 1988, Min Ko Naing, the "Conqueror of Kings,"
stands out as perhaps the most heroic. Min Ko Naing is the nom de guerre of
Paw Oo Htun, who was born in Rangoon in 1962, the year his country's
fledgling democracy fell to the dictatorship of General Ne Win. Now, after
a decade in prison for his role in instilling a sense of political
responsibility in a people long accustomed to oppression, his name still
expresses courage, commitment and hope.

The formative years of Min Ko Naing's political consciousness coincided
with the final years of Ne Win's direct control over Burma. As a popular,
artistically gifted student at the Rangoon Arts and Science University
(RASU), he was an active member of the arts club, where he enjoyed reading,
writing poems and drawing cartoons, especially satirical ones. But as Moe
Thee Zun, a close friend and fellow activist, recalled, "Our conversations
went beyond the usual topics of poems and cartoons, and we began to talk
about politics and the country's future."

In a country where student unions were banned by law, Min Ko Naing and his
friends were forced to discuss their political views in secrecy. As the
first signs of serious public unrest in Burma began to appear in 1985, the
year Ne Win's Burmese Socialist Program Party demonetized the 100-kyat
note, Min Ko Naing and his close colleagues secretly established an
underground student union in anticipation of a political uprising.

Min Ko Naing's creative character provided him with the means to express
his views publicly through participation in than gyat, a traditional
contest held during the Burmese New Year in April. This contest involves
the performance of songs and plays by colorfully dressed troupes.
Traditionally, the performers parodied those in power, but under Ne Win,
direct criticism of the government was forbidden. When Min Ko Naing and his
friends started their own troupe in 1985, however, they attempted to revive
the original spirit of than gyat. Calling themselves "Goat Mouth and
All-Seeing Eye," they made jokes at the expense of Ne Win's regime and
highlighted the lack of freedom and democracy in Burma, as well as the
corruption among its officials.

Min Ko Naing's Than Gyat troupe proved to be very popular with its
audiences of ordinary Burmese. It also attracted the attention of the
dreaded Military Intelligence Services (MIS), whose agents were seen
following them one night after a performance. But convinced that the time
would soon be ripe for political change, Min Ko Naing and his friends
pursued their study of the country's deteriorating political, social and
economic conditions, and planned to start a political movement in the near
future. They managed to conceal these activities from the watchful eyes of
the MIS until 1988.

THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT IN 1988

Dissatisfaction with Ne Win's regime came to a head in March 1988, when
university students in Rangoon started protesting against the government's
brutal killing of some students from the Rangoon Institute of Technology
(RIT).

On March 16, 1988, about 3,000 students came to listen to "a thin,
dark-skinned young man with curly hair, a slight moustache and beard (who)
was giving anti-government speeches at Taung Ngu dormitory in the RASU
campus," recalled another prominent activist. "That was Min Ko Naing."

Min Ko Naing called on students to speak out against the government's
mistreatment. He also told them about the history of student movements in
Burma, and the role they played in national politics, something the
military government tried to play down in their textbooks. It was Min Ko
Naing's first public speech.

The students then marched to the Convocation Hall where Min Ko Naing and
other student leaders gave more speeches. He told his audience about the
fate of earlier students' movements that had challenged the present regime:
"Our brothers in the past sacrificed to topple this military dictatorship
but their demands were only met with violence, bullets and killing."

When the speeches had ended, the students left the RASU campus to join a
small demonstration at RIT. They soon found themselves facing a barricade
of barbed wire manned by dozens of soldiers on the Prome Road.

Confronted with this show of force, Min Ko Naing asked the students to sing
the national anthem and salute Burma's independence heroes, including Gen
Aung San, founder of the Burmese Army. Then they shouted, "The peoples'
soldiers are our soldiers."

Min Ko Naing and two other students then went to negotiate with the army
officer in charge. Stressing the importance of good relations between the
army and the people, he asked the officer to let them pass. The officer
refused, insisting that he had to follow orders from his superiors, but Min
Ko Naing's words seemed to have had some effect. After hearing him speak
the soldiers lowered their guns and the tension eased.

Suddenly, however, hundreds of riot police rushed in from behind and,
without warning, started beating the students. Some tried to escape their
attackers by fleeing to nearby Inya Lake, where many drowned. Those who
couldn't escape were severely beaten and taken to Insein prison.

After this, the government closed down the universities and colleges. Min
Ko Naing and his fellow student activists went into hiding to continue
their activities. When the universities and colleges were re-opened in
June, the activists immediately began distributing anti-government leaflets
urging students to join the student movement. News of young students being
tortured in Insein prison spread all over the country, but on the campuses,
the protests continued and the student movement was gaining momentum.

On June 12, 1988, a crowd of students formed on the RASU campus to look at
copies of a poster drawn by Min Ko Naing which depicted a girl being beaten
by soldiers near Inya Lake. The caption below the drawing said: "Don't
forget March 16th. If we are cowed into submission and fail to rise up this
time, then the country will be ruled by even more repressive rulers in the
future." Several students were moved to speak out, demanding the release of
student activists and the reinstatement of students who had been expelled
from universities for political reasons. Within a week the government
closed all universities and colleges again.

To everyone's surprise, Ne Win stepped down the following month. His loyal
supporter, Gen Sein Lwin, replaced him as president of Burma, and student
activists were released from prison. However, as Sein Lwin was widely
disliked, fresh protests broke out in cities and provincial towns. A day
after the detained students were set free, on July 8, Min Ko Naing and his
fellow students issued a statement saying "we shouldn't be swayed by the
release of our fellow students. We will continue to fight." It was on this
occasion, in fact, that Paw Oo Tun officially became known as Min Ko Naing,
"Conqueror of Kings."

The statement was also significant for another reason. It had been issued
under the name of the All Burma Federation of Students' Unions (ABFSU), an
organization that had played an important role in the struggle against
colonial rule. Many of its early leaders were later recognized as
independence heroes and statesmen, but when Ne Win came into power in 1962,
he brutally repressed the organization and had the historic Students' Union
building demolished. The re-emergence of the ABFSU was undoubtedly seen as
a formidable challenge to the Ne Win government.

8-8-88

The ABFSU released a series of statements signed by Min Ko Naing in the
following weeks. By far the most important was the one calling for a
general strike on August 8, the date that would always be remembered as the
start of the 8-8-88 pro-democracy movement.

On August 8, 1988, despite the heavy presence of troops, intimidation and
threats, thousands of people took to the streets. Anti-government
demonstrations broke out simultaneously in towns and cities all over the
country.

In Rangoon, workers, monks, and students marched to the center of the city
to join the protests. In the afternoon, a large crowd gathered to listen to
Min Ko Naing give a speech in front of the US embassy.

"We, the people of Burma, have had to live without human dignity for 26
years under an oppressive rule. We must end dictatorial rule in our
country. Only people power can bring down our repressive rulers," he told
the crowd.

He concluded his speech by saying, "If we want to enjoy the same rights as
people in other countries, we have to be disciplined, united and brave
enough to stand up to the dictators. Let's express our sufferings and
demands. Nothing is going to stop us from achieving peace and justice in
our country."

That night, the army opened fire on demonstrators gathered in front of
Rangoon's City Hall. Hundreds of people were gunned down. Troops were given
the same orders in the provinces, where hundreds more died.

The violence continued the next day, as crowds from around Rangoon
converged to form huge masses of humanity demanding change. Once again, the
soldiers opened fire, killing hundreds of peaceful demonstrators.

On August 23, Min Ko Naing spoke to a large audience in front of Rangoon
General Hospital, site of many recent killings. He was joined by Moe Thee
Zun and Tin Oo, a former defense minister, who would later become a
chairman of the NLD. Once again, Min Ko Naing called on people to be strong:

"World history has shown that people with strong spirit, unity, courage and
discipline can bring down authoritarian governments. We believe in people
power. Without your participation, we can achieve nothing."

On August 26, Min Ko Naing and other activists arranged for students in
Rangoon to listen to Aung San Suu Kyi's first public speech. Several
hundred thousand people went to Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma's most famous
sacred shrine, to hear her speak.

On August 28, Burma's first student congress in 26 years was held on the
RASU campus.  Thousands of students, veteran politicians and former student
activists from the 1960s came to celebrate the official re-establishment of
the ABFSU, with Min Ko Naing as its leader. Prominent leaders, including
Aung San Suu Kyi, sent congratulatory messages.

At the students' conference, Min Ko Naing read one of his poems, entitled
"Faith," in which he promised that he would be faithful and committed to
the people's struggle, which he regarded as a fight for the truth. He took
an oath that out of respect for those who had died before him, he would
continue the fight until democracy and human rights were restored. When he
finished, the crowd applauded ecstatically.

At that time, transportation and communication had come to a complete halt,
and the MIS was trying to create anarchy by releasing criminals from the
prisons. The various pro-democracy groups that had begun to form organizing
centers around government buildings such as police stations, schools, and
universities dealt with this situation in a very orderly manner. They
distributed rice to those in need and provided small amounts of money to
the poor and to released prisoners to prevent looting. When mobs gathered
to attack looters or suspected informers, members of the ABFSU always
arrived to calm down and disperse the crowd. The ABFSU also reorganized
communications and transportation and encouraged people to form local
security teams together with monks and other respectable people.

ARREST BY THE SLORC

On September 4, Min Ko Naing met with US congressman Stephen J. Solarz, who
was visiting Burma to meet with top political leaders in order to assess
the situation. Min Ko Naing told Solarz that the military had not responded
to the people's demand for an interim government, and that whether the
situation became explosive or not depended on the military.

On September 18, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was
formed following another bloody crackdown. A curfew was imposed and
gatherings of more than five people were declared illegal. However, the
junta promised that it would only stay in power until multi-party elections
could be held.

Min Ko Naing did not dare show himself in public for several months. Then,
in December 1988, Daw Khin Kyi, the mother of Aung San Suu Kyi, passed away
and about 200,000 people gathered to pay their last respects. Despite the
dignified solemnity of the occasion, military trucks appeared on the Prome
Road to block the procession following Daw Khin Kyi's coffin. Then Min Ko
Naing suddenly appeared in the middle of the crowd, and appealed to the
troops to let the people pass. Finally, the troops withdrew.

Min Ko Naing's last public speech was given exactly one year after his
first, on March 16, 1989. Thousands had gathered in the compound of Aung
San Suu Kyi's house to mark the first anniversary of the student massacre
that ignited nationwide protests. Min Ko Naing's speech criticized Ne Win
and the junta for that massacre and all the others that were to follow in
1988.

On March 23, 1989, Min Ko Naing was arrested, amidst tightened security
throughout Rangoon in anticipation of protests to mark Armed Forces Day on
March 27. It was an important signal to other leaders that nobody was safe
from arrest and imprisonment.  Within days, Aung San Suu Kyi and several
others were also arrested.

Min Ko Naing was charged under section 5(j) of the 1950 Emergency
Provisions Act for having delivered anti-government speeches and agitating
unrest. For this, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in solitary
confinement. While other political prisoners have received amnesties and
are allowed to stay in group cells and receive regular family visits, Min
Ko Naing has been kept isolated and without any reduction of his sentence.

IN PRISON

There are doubts about how well Min Ko Naing has been holding up in prison.
There have been confirmed reports of torture, but according to UN Human
Rights Investigator Yozo Yokota, who was permitted to meet Min Ko Naing in
1995 after repeated requests, the student leader was nervous and thin but
otherwise in good health. An earlier visit by US congressman Bill
Richardson, in February 1994, was also encouraging. Through the
congressman, he conveyed a simple message to his friends: "Don't give up."
A year later, fellow prisoner Win Htein, Aung San Suu Kyi's personal
assistant, reported when he was released that Min Ko Naing's fighting
spirit was still strong.

More recent reports have stated that he is suffering from a gastric ulcer.
His friends are also increasingly concerned that his incredibly long period
of solitary confinement must be taking a toll on his state of mind.

While Min Ko Naing's fate is uncertain, and his destiny as a "conqueror of
kings" remains unfulfilled, his importance as an inspiration to others who
continue the fight to bring democracy to Burma is beyond doubt.

In a rare interview with Asiaweek magazine in 1988, Min Ko Naing said:
"I'll never die. Physically I might be dead, but many more Min Ko Naings
will appear to take my place. As you know, Min Ko Naing can only conquer a
bad king. If the ruler is good, we will carry him on our shoulders." 	

(Based on reports by The Nation, Asiaweek and ABSDF Information Services.)

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THE IRRAWADDY: HEROES NEVER DIE 
March, 1999 by Moe Thee Zun 

VOL7 NO3 - MARCH 1999

The most important thing about Min Ko Naing is his morals and courage. I
have always admired his courage.

When we were very young, Min Ko Naing's parents did not like him to hang
out with me. They worried that I would "destroy" him. My parents thought
the same thing of him. So we could not meet in front of our parents. But we
always managed to meet each other.

We had our own signal. Min Ko Naing would make a cross with charcoal at an
electricity pole, which is sitting in front of his house. That meant he was
not at home.

If he was there, he would just make a check mark. Then I knew he was there,
and I would wait nearby. When he saw me, he would come out and we would
meet. We used this signal until the 1988 democracy uprisings.

Our parents should have been worried. When we were young, I showed him how
to smoke, and in return, he taught me how to swim. As we got older, we
began to read more books and learn more about politics. Later we started
having serious and critical discussions on the political situation and that
made our parents really worry.

Once my father angrily said, "Do you think our house is a rebel
headquarters?" At that time, we were holding informal meetings and
discussions on politics.

Now my friend is serving a 20-year sentence in prison, and I have also
given a death sentence in absentia.

Min Ko Naing does not work for himself, but for the people, which is why he
is a real hero. I think of my friend more and more whenever I see those who
are power hungry and cowards holding titles and are in high positions.

But I'm sure that his spirit is still strong, and he will continue to stand
up against the military dictatorship in Burma. But I'm worried about his
health condition.

But heroes never die.

By Moe Thee Zun, Deputy Chairman of the All Burma Students' Democratic
Front [ABSDF]. Moe Thee Zun fled to the border in 1989 and joined the
"Students Army."

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ASIAWEEK: DEADLY NEGLECT 
23 April, 1999 

THE CRISIS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO TEMPER ASIA'S FIGHT AGAINST AIDS

Consider it a sign of the times. Nowadays, Mechai Viravaidya -- known as
Asia's "Mr. Condom" for his pioneering AIDS-awareness crusade -- no longer
spends most of his time preaching public health and safe sex. Instead, the
former Thai minister is busy restructuring the state-owned Krung Thai Bank,
doubtless a worthy task. While his Population and Community Development
Association continues its important work, Mechai's leadership at the front
lines of the fight to prevent AIDS has been deeply missed.

All the more so now that United Nations experts have concluded that the
Crisis is aggravating the AIDS epidemic in Asia. In a report, they note
dramatic rises in HIV infections in the region. There are some 1.2 million
new cases each year, of which 58% are people under 25. About 7.2 million
Asians have either HIV or full-blown AIDS, including 5 million in India and
about a million in Thailand. Says UN AIDS program chief Peter Piot:
"Children and young people in Asia face enormous hurdles today, growing up
in a circumstance of shrinking economies and expanding risks from AIDS."

Piot reports that the average age of infection is falling, particularly
among females. One reason: Amid the economic hard times, more girls are
being forced into prostitution at a younger age to support their families.
Take Thailand. Before the Crisis, it had achieved a measure of success in
promoting safe sexual practices, which led to lower infection rates. But
that good work may be undone. Tighter budgets have put a stop to
high-profile preventive campaigns. The urgency of economic reconstruction
has taken public-health education down a few rungs in the government's list
of priorities.

The AIDS threat in Asia is not yet as dire as it is in sub-Saharan Africa,
where 20% of 16-year-old girls are HIV-positive in some nations. But let
the guard down for a year or two, and serious damage will be done. The
economic turmoil has spawned other crises, from unemployment and lower
living standards to ethnic strife and plain stress. Certainly, repairing
the economy is a priority. But leaders must not neglect other problems,
AIDS least of all. Failure to keep up prevention campaigns could cost
millions of lives.

Even so, officials in some nations steadfastly cling to their blinkers.
"Myanmar does not have a sex industry and the number of drug users compared
to other countries is much less," the ruling junta in Yangon declared last
week. "It's hard to understand how the HIV-AIDS epidemic could spread from
Myanmar into neighboring countries as alleged by certain quarters." The UN
had pinpointed Myanmar as an HIV danger zone, alleging that the military
regime was largely ignoring the problem. Piot says the country, with a
population of 48 million, has 440,000 HIV or AIDS cases. "We need to
convince the government," he says, "that this is a matter not only
involving the people, but of national security."

Indeed, it is no less than war. This is no time to save face. Asian
governments -- rich and poor -- must press the battle. If resources are
scarce, then call for reinforcements. There are more than enough agencies
and countries willing to help. The worst thing would be to pretend all is
well and do nothing -- hoping the problem will go away somehow. It won't.

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ASIAWEEK: TO STAY OR NOT TO STAY? 
23 April, 1999 

Under discussion at Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: the notion that
perhaps Thailand is being held back by its membership in ASEAN, and that
the regional grouping may have outlived its usefulness. The issue has been
raised internally at the higher levels of the ministry and, while
withdrawal is not exactly seen as an option, it has become at least a
talking point.

The feeling is that association with dictatorial regimes like those in
Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam does nothing to enhance the Thai profile in
places like North America and Europe. Policymakers working for Foreign
Minister Surin Pitsuwan (see NEWSMAKERS, page 16) are wondering just what
practical benefit the country is getting from its ASEAN membership and
whether the minuses outweigh the pluses. Don't expect Bangkok to bid ASEAN
adieu, but the fact that the discussions are underway reflects the growing
disenchantment with the organization.

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