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The BurmaNet News: September 6, 199



Subject: The BurmaNet News: September 6, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: September 6, 1999
Issue #1352

HEADLINES:
==========
ASIAN AGE: JUNTA IMPOSES CURFEW ON PARTS OF RANGOON 
REUTERS: ICRC HAS VISITED 18,000 PRISONERS IN MYANMAR 
FEER: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS 
XINHUA: MYANMAR PRODUCES 1 MIL BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL 
AP: MYANMAR DENIES IMPOSING CURFEW 
BKK POST: JUNTA ASKS MILITARY TO BLOCK RETURN 
SHAN: DRUG REHABILITATION CENTER TORN DOWN BY JUNTA 
NATION: GOVT WATCHES NEW BORDER PROBLEMS WITH UNEASE 
AP: ASIA AND THE MEANING OF THE NUMBER "9" 
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THE ASIAN AGE: JUNTA IMPOSES CURFEW ON PARTS OF RANGOON 
3 September, 1999 

Rangoon, Sept 2: City authorities have started to impose curfews on parts
of Rangoon in anticipation of civil unrest this month, residents said on
Thursday.

Ward authorities in new Dagon town, a northern suburb of Rangoon, announced
an 11 pm curfew over loudspeakers on Wednesday evening and warned people to
report arrivals of guests to the local ward police and development council
office.

Residents were warned that a failure to obey the curfew or to report the
arrival of guests could result in prison up to 15 years.

At least one youth who broke the curfew on Wednesday night was detained and
interrogated, but later released, ward residents said. The tightening of
security precedes the September 9, 1999 deadline when Burma dissidents from
abroad have called on the people to stage an uprising against Rangoon's
unpopular military junta.

Although claiming that the call for unrest has no popular support inside
Burma, the junta has been tightening its security in the capital in recent
days.

Military lorries have been seen patrolling the streets of Rangoon,
high-school students are being checked before and after entering their
classrooms and now curfews have been declared at night, according to the
residents of Rangoon 

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REUTERS: ICRC HAS VISITED 18,000 PRISONERS IN MYANMAR
3 September, 1999 

GENEVA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) said on Friday it had registered 18,000 prisoners in Myanmar,
including 600 security detainees, since beginning prison visits in the
Asian country last May.

In a statement, the humanitarian agency said its delegates had visited nine
places of detention including Insein Prison near the capital Yangon, which
is believed to be the country's largest, and three places of administrative
internment.

Visits included a complete inspection of each facility with access to all
detainees and private interviews with security inmates who are allowed to
write messages to their families.

The ICRC did not say how many of the security detainees were members of the
National League for Democracy, the main opposition party led by Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The NLD accuses the military government of cracking down on pro-democracy
campaigners and holding 1,000 political prisoners. The government denies it
is holding any political prisoners.

``The ICRC and the country's authorities have agreed that delegates would
be able to return on a regular basis to all of the places visited,'' the
statement said. ``The programme will gradually be extended to all detention
facilities in Myanmar.''

The delegates met authorities at each jail and made recommendations on the
situation they had observed. Confidential written reports were given to
Myanmar authorities, the ICRC said. 

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FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS 
9 September, 1999 

Recent visitors to Rangoon and Mandalay have noticed an unusually large
number of provocatively dressed young women working in the scores of hotels
built in 1996 during "Visit Burma Year." 

Few foreigners visit the country, so the near-empty hotels have turned to
other means of making money. The government requires all hotel employees to
belong to the Union Solidarity and Development Association, the military's
mass organization. This may mean that the world's oldest profession has
found a new sponsor in Burma -- the government. 

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

XINHUA: MYANMAR PRODUCES 1 MILLION BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL 
2 September, 1999 

YANGON (Sept. 3) XINHUA - Myanmar produced a total of 1.108 million barrels
of crude oil in the first four months of this year, a reduction of 60,000
barrels as compared with the same period of last year. 

According to the latest data published by the country's Central Statistical
Organization, the output of natural gas was 563 million cubic-meters during
the period, a drop of 29 million cubic-meters as compared with the
corresponding period of last year. 

Up to the end of April this year, foreign investment in the oil and gas
sector coming from Australia, Britain, France, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand
and the United States had reached 2.3 billion U.S. dollars in 46 projects,
accounting for 32.39 percent of the 7.108 billion dollars' total foreign
investment. 

Until now, Myanmar's crude oil and petroleum products are still
self-insufficient and the country has to import 280,000 to 300,000 tons of
crude oil and 100,000 to 150,000 tons of diesel oil annually, the official
statistics show.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS: MYANMAR DENIES IMPOSING CURFEW 
3 September, 1999 

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar's military government denied reports
Friday that a curfew had been imposed in Karen State to prevent a mass
uprising that dissidents have called for Sept. 9.

A spokesman for the military government, on customary condition of
anonymity, said in a fax to The Associated Press that there had been no
``unusual security precautions'' taken in the capital, Yangon, or in any
other towns or cities.

But the All Burma Students Democratic Front, composed of former students
who fled to Thailand when anti-government protests were crushed in 1988,
reported that an overnight curfew had been imposed in four towns in the
southeastern state on the Thai border.

The Karens are the largest ethnic minority in Myanmar, also known as Burma,
and have waged a half-century rebellion against the government.

The dissidents also claimed that about 500 people nationwide, including 120
in Yangon, have been detained to preempt the revolt, which has been called
for 9-9-99, a date seen as auspicious in this numerology-obsessed country.

There is little sign, however, that ordinary people are ready to go into
the streets to face the army's guns.

The government spokesman called the arrest figures ``ridiculous.''

The government has acknowledged arresting about 40 people, including James
Mawdsley, 26, who holds British and Australian citizenship. He was
sentenced to 17 years imprisonment after being arrested in northeastern
Myanmar this week carrying anti-government pamphlets.

Mawdsley had made two previous one-man protest trips to Myanmar. The first
time he was deported. Last year, he served three months of a five-year
prison term before being released on condition that he never return.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: JUNTA ASKS MILITARY TO BLOCK RETURN OF WORKERS FOR 9-9-99 
4 September, 1999 

Curfew imposed and capital reinforced

Rangoon has asked the Thai military to bar thousands of its workers
employed in Mae Sot from returning to the country between Sept 2 and 9.

The move was aimed at preventing the workers from taking part in an
anti-government uprising called by Burmese exiles for Sept 9, 1999 -- the
so-called four nines day.

Military authorities in Myawaddy had sent a letter to their Thai
counterparts urging the temporary ban on the return of the workers, sources
said.

The letter, dated Sept 2, was signed by Lt-Col Tin Ngwe, commander of a
Burmese military base in Myawaddy.

Mae Sot chamber of commerce data shows that about 100,000 Burmese work in
130 factories in the town.

An army source said the Burmese military "asked us to tell employers in Mae
Sot not to allow Burmese workers to take holidays or return home during
that period".

Separately, the National Council of the Union of Burma said the junta had
tightened security nationwide.

Seven Burmese military officers and two soldiers were arrested in Papun
township in eastern Karen state on Aug 27 for circulating pro-democracy
posters, the group said.

The War Office in Rangoon has ordered commanders to call troops from
Rangoon unless on duty and to recall all officers presently there to their
units, it said.

"Restrictions have also been imposed on relatives of military personnel as
well. They have been prohibited from wearing anything yellow, the colour of
the democracy movement," it said. Meanwhile, a merchant said Rangoon had
also imposed a nationwide curfew. Khampoon Hongsa, a Thai-Mon who travels
regularly between Sangkhla Buri district in Kanchanaburi and Pan-an, Burma,
said the curfew was from 6pm to 6am.

A border source in Mae Hong Son said all towns in Shan state have been
under curfew since Aug 28, and a joint military operation involving Burma's
510th rapid deployment battalion and Muser volunteers was under way against
minority groups, especially the Shan State Army. The drive was being
concentrated along the 100km border from Ban Khai Luang, opposite Pang Ma
Pha district, Mae Hong Son, to Ban Mae Or Luang, opposite Muang district.

Burmese troops have also told 1,500 Shan residents of Ho Mong they will be
shot if they break the curfew.

Measures have been stepped up to check people coming in and leaving Ho
Mong, the former stronghold of drug warlord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army.

According to a source, who claimed to be an intelligence officer of the New
Mon [State] Party, Rangoon has ordered military units in northern Burma to
reinforce security forces in Rangoon and at Thai-Burmese border crossings.

About 5,000 soldiers would be posted around Rangoon while 25,000 others
would be sent to guard the border crossings, the source added.

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

SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS: DRUG REHABILITATION CENTER TORN DOWN BY JUNTA 
31 August, 1999 

A drug rehabilitation center newly set up by villagers in northern Shan
State was destroyed by the Burmese authorities two days ago, reported a
source from Lashio.

The center was set up in Say-khun village, Hardhin tract, Namkham Township
following a meeting of villagers from three villages, Hardhin, Nawngking
and Saykhun just recently, said the source. "But on 29 August, a group of
soldiers, police and government officials led by Maj. Win Nay Soe of IB 23
came to the village and tore down the center buildings.  There were 33 of
them who came. They took back with them the grass-roofings and bamboo".

The group reportedly spent the night at the village, where they held a
rowdy party drinking beer and Lipo, for which the villagers had to pay
collectively. "The party cost us 27,000 kyats. They also lifted three
chickens on their way back," said one villager. Before leaving, U Sein Po,
the township police officer, the village headmen was threatened with
imprisonment in Arakan State if they ever tried set up rehabilitation
centers without official permission, reported the source who was present at
the scene.

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

THE NATION: GOVERNMENT WATCHES NEW BORDER PROBLEMS WITH UNEASE 
5 September, 1999 by Don Pathan 

The growing menace of drugs and the power of the United Wa State Army have
Thai authorities worried, writes Don Pathan of The Nation.

TA THON, Chiang Mai - Economic sanction for political gain has long been a
popular measure among governments, despite the fact such moves are not
always successful.

Nevertheless, the Thai government has decided to experiment with it by
cutting off a land-link with an unwanted neighbour who has occupied an area
just on the other side to the northern border for the past decade.

With the recent closure of a border pass leading to an area controlled by
the United Wa State Army (UWSA), one of the world's largest armed drug
trafficking groups, the government is hoping that massive infrastructure
development by the UWSA will be disrupted and its freewheeling narcotic
activities will be contained.

For decades, Thai authorities have turned a blind eye to the illicit
activities in the eastern region of Burma's Shan State until drug abuse
became a national problem. More than 250,000 Thais are estimated to be
addicted to metahmphetamine (yaa baa) and nearly the same numbers are
hooked on heroin, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute.
Just about every sector of society is up in arms over this dangerous
development.

Indeed, resources have been drained to contain the flow of opium and heroin
into the country and some are calling for immediate action against the Wa.

But given the complexity of the problem, swift action may not be the
answer. The very presence of the Wa army on the doorstep of the Kingdom is
testimony to the lack of political will among security agencies to impose
preventive measures on what was seen years ago as an escalating problem.

Instead, business dealings with the Wa have gone on -- as national security
took a back seat to the interests of a few in the private sector. 

Security officials say the controversial Son Ton Du checkpoint, which
opened last year after local businessmen lobbied, the National Security
Council, has enhanced the business link between Thai merchants and the
UWSA. The pass was allowed to open despite the fact that contractors and
workers would be paid with drug money.

It is estimated that 2,000 Thai nationals working the Wa-controlled area in
Shan State, though some say the figure could be higher. They are building
everything from hydro-power dams to school, hospitals and even a casino. 

A road linking the town to the UWSA's major stronghold in Panghsang on the
Burma-China border is progressing accordingly, while a loop from Mong Hsat,
some 70 kilometers from Mong Yawn, to the commercial town of Tachilek is
expected to be completed by the end of this year. The entire route from
Mong Yawn to Panghsang is about 500 kilometers (see map). Once completed,
the route is expected to enhance the UWSA's grip to the region.

One Thai sub-contractor building a UWSA-financed road said he likes dealing
with them because there is no bureaucratic red tape. "They'll pay you on
the spot upon completing each kilometer - with cash," he said.

Everything went well until six months ago when authorities found nine Thai
villagers form nearby Fang district beaten to death with their hands tied
behind their backs.

Their bodies were scattered along the Thai-Burmese border. The culprits
were alleged to be3 members of the gruesome murders were the result of a
drug-deal gone wrong, while others insist the victims were innocent
villagers out on a hunting trip.

Suspicion over government official involvement surfaced when a leading
suspect an ethnic Chinese businessman, better known as Ah-loo Sae-mah, was
gunned down by two men immediately after meeting a senior police officer in
an attempt to clear his name.

All fingers pointed to Mong Yawn, a southern stronghold of the UWSA, about
20 kilometres from the Son Thon Doo checkpoint, inside Shan State. 

Local media played up the stories and the military and police came out in
force. A curfew was imposed on a number of districts in Chiang Mai and
Chiang Rai, and Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai visited the checkpoint. 

The pressure was on the central government to do something. Closing the
border seemed a logical move. 

For Thai nationals who have business dealings with the Wa, the closure of
the pass meant that alternative routes would have to be found. The call for
a pass in nearby Baan San Maket in Chiang Rai was quickly shot down. 

Thai border officials said exporters have turned to the Mae Sai-Tachilek
border crossing in Chiang Rai to transport their goods to Mong Yawn, while
a number of Thai workers have begun to use the Kok River to travel back and
forth to their work sites. 

During a recent visit by The Nation to the border, the manager of a Thai
construction company was seen in a bitter argument with Thai soldiers
guarding the Kok River route. They were refusing to let him cross the
border with an electric rice cooker. 

Because the pass is unofficial, a young army officer said, only basic
household goods from the local market were allowed to be transported. 

For the manager, the explanation did not hold water. All he knows is that
his men are tired and hungry from work which they cannot get in their own
country. 

''The government has very little consideration for its small-time private
sector,'' the angry manager roared without directing his comments to
anybody in particular. 

An irritated army sergeant shouted back: ''Aren't you at all concerned
about the nation's security? And the drug problem?'' Realising he was in a
no-win situation, the manager backed down and went on his way. The rice
cooker stayed behind, a symbol of the aura of uncertainty for Thai workers
and contractors in Shan State. 

Though the merchant was upset at not being able to take the rice cooker
with him, his frustration has more to do with the fact that his project
will become more expensive now that he has to find a new route for his
shipments of supplies. 

He estimated the cost of the road project will increase by 15 per cent to
about Bt85,000 per kilometre because of the closure of the Baan Son Ton Doo
pass. 

Another Thai businessman, who asked not to be named, accused Thai
authorities of a cop-out by demonizing the Wa army and the ethnic group as
a whole. Drug trafficking has always been the work of warlords with
cooperation from government officials on both sides of the border, he said. 

Maj Gen Chamlong Phothong, the 3rd Army Region's chief-of-staff, defended
the authority's decision to close the pass as an attempt to curb the
group's money-laundering activities. 

Millions of methamphetamines produced cheaply by the UWSA flood Thailand on
a weekly basis and the money is channeled out of the country through the
very route that the drugs entered, Chamlong said. 

In 1996, about US$600 million in unexplained foreign inflow was discovered
in Burma's shabby economy. Much of this, said Burma watchers, came from
drug money made possible by the tactical alliance between the numerous
narcotic groups and the military government in Rangoon. 

''We're very concerned with what's going on over there,'' said a young army
officer standing on a bunker overlooking the Wa hills just on the other
side of the border. ''If the Wa get too strong, it would be very difficult
for us to contain them.''

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ASSOCIATED PRESS: ASIA AND THE MEANING OF THE NUMBER "9" 
3 September, 1999 by Shihoko Goto 

TOKYO (AP) -- In Japan, nine is bad. Usually. In China, it's good. Most of
the time. In Myanmar next week, it could spell trouble.

For computer specialists around the world, the string of nines on the
calendar next Thursday -- Sept. 9, 1999 -- is being watched as a potential
Y2K-style bug that could prompt some older programs to shut down
automatically.

But for many Asians, computers are hardly the concern. It's luck -- or the
potential lack of it.

Four Nines Day, 9-9-99, presents a bit of a paradox for the superstitious
in Asia.

Nine, pronounced "ku" in Japanese, is a homonym with the word for pain and
suffering, and is thus a very inauspicious number, especially at hospitals.

"Patients feel uncomfortable in rooms that end with the unlucky numbers,"
said Kenichi Muto, a spokesman for St. Luke's Hospital in central Tokyo.

So St. Luke's, one of the most modern hospitals in Japan, doesn't have a
single room for patients that ends with a nine, or for that matter, with a
four (a homonym in Japanese for death) or a 13.

But despite the bad cache of a nine by itself, many superstitious Japanese
appear to see a string of nines as lucky -- and businesses are rushing to
cash in.

Japan Travel Bureau, the country's largest travel agency, is offering a
package tour on Thursday to commemorate the date. The package, limited to
99 people, includes airfare to New York or Orlando for 99,999 yen (about
$909).

"It's a great deal, and we've had a lot of interest," said Tsuyoshi Kurata,
manager of corporate communications at JTB. He said both tours have sold out.

Many Japanese couples are also planning to get married on Sept. 9,
according to Marie Sakurai, an editor at Zeksy, a popular bridal magazine.

"It's a unique date, and it's really not seen as a bad date at all. Far
from it," she said.

Sakurai added that a similar, but bigger, nuptial rush occurred Aug. 8,
1996, which was the year Heisei 8 -- or the eighth year of the reign of the
Heisei emperor, according to the traditional Japanese calendar. The string
of eights was seen as lucky since eight on its side is the symbol for
infinity.

In China, Sept. 9 is also seen as a good day for love. Or for remembering
the death of Mao Tse-tung, who died on Sept. 9, 1976.

The love connection in Chinese derives from the fact that nine, "jiu," has
a homonym meaning long, and is considered auspicious for couples wanting to
stay together a long time. To send a woman 99 roses on Sept. 9 would be a
tender sign of affection.

But not this year.

Next Thursday falls within the inauspicious "ghost month," which is
traditionally believed to be a time when dead ancestors return to the world
of the living for an annual visit. Sept. 9 isn't always part of ghost month
because the month's observation is based on the lunar calendar.

Despite offers of better services and more luxuriously decorated dining
rooms, all except a few superstition-snubbing foreigners in Taiwan will shy
away from getting married on Sept. 9, Taipei hotel officials said.

"No one would risk having their marriage harmed by any inauspicious
elements," said Liang Su-chia, a manager of Hotel Grand Hyatt. Business at
restaurants is also expected to be slow.

In Myanmar, meanwhile, rumors are brewing that activists might be plotting
a Four Nine Day uprising.

Sixteen pro-democracy activists have been detained there for fear they will
demonstrate against the ruling military regime on Sept. 9.

The National League for Democracy said those detained included nine of its
members and has expressed concern there would be more arrests. Myanmar
exiles in Bangkok began a protest outside the Myanmar Embassy on Wednesday
linked to the date.

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