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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

April 25, 2000

Issue # 1517



NOTED IN PASSING:

"We want the freedom to joke." 

Lu Maw, a Burmese comedien.  (See CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: BURMESE 
COMIC PUTS CONFLICT WITH GOVERNMENT ON STAGE)



	
*Inside Burma


DVB: OPPOSITION RADIO REPORTS DISCONTENT AMONG MONKS 

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: BURMESE COMIC PUTS CONFLICT WITH 
GOVERNMENT ON STAGE 

SHAN: WA RELOCATIONS SETTING OFF SPECULATIONS

SHAN: DRUG PRICES IN APRIL: HEROIN UP, OPIUM DOWN
			
BANGKOK POST: CHEAP ECSTASY MAKING INROADS

KHRG: PAPUN AND NYAUNGLEBIN DISTRICTS:  VILLAGERS FLEE AS SPDC TROOPS 
RESUME BURNING AND LANDMINING OF VILLAGES

THE IRRAWADDY: ASSASSINS IN THE RANKS



*International

BANGKOK POST: TOWN UNDER KAREN THREAT

THE NATION: RATCHABURI GAS USE TO BE BOOSTED


			
*Opinion/Editorials


SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL: DRAFT RESOLUTION ON BURMA

*Other

UPCOMING TALK--RECENT IMPRESSIONS OF BURMA (MYANMAR)


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
	

DVB: OPPOSITION RADIO REPORTS DISCONTENT AMONG MONKS 


Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1245 gmt 23 Apr 
00 

Translation by BBC


Text of report by Burmese opposition radio on 23rd April 

There has been discontent among Buddhist monks following restrictions 
placed on the movement of the Venerable Pegu Kyakhatwaing abbot, 
Amarapura Mahagandhayon abbot, and Sagaing Shwehintha abbot and 
threats made to their followers by the military intelligence. The 
abbots had issued, calling for an urgent dialogue between the SPDC 
[State Peace and Development Council] and the National League for 
Democracy. 

The monks are further infuriated by the SPDC authorities who allowed 
only the abbots selected by them to attend the recent Tripitaka 
[Buddhist scripture] Selection Convocation. The SPDC recently 
dismissed a relative of the Pegu Kyakhatwaing Abbot working at the 
Ministry of Religious Affairs in March. The SPDC is also threatening 
the lay supporters of the Burmese monasteries in England which 
support the pro-democracy movement. The widespread discontent among 
the Buddhist monks have resulted in the wide circulation of a leaflet 
called the Peace Appeal and appeals to the people issued by the 
Buddhist Monks Union in major towns such as Rangoon, Mandalay, 
Sagaing, Magwe, Bassein, Pegu, Minbu, Pakokku, and Moulmein. 


____________________________________________________


CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: BURMESE COMIC PUTS CONFLICT WITH 
GOVERNMENT ON STAGE 


Moira MacDonald, Special to The Christian Science Monitor 

MANDALAY, BURMA 


His relatives were jailed for joking about the military regime, but 
Lu Maw keeps their cases alive at his theater. 




The visitor could be forgiven for missing Mandalay's theater 
district. There's no glitzy neon or marquees, and on this night, 
there are barely any lights at all, thanks to the nearly daily 
blackouts in this Burmese city of 800,000. But at the Moustache 
Brothers' theater, the show goes on. 

Since early 1996, the footlights have burned for the return of the 
troupe's leader, comedian Par Par Lay, and fellow comic and cousin Lu 
Zaw. That was the year the pair were arrested for doing what they did 
best - making people laugh. At an Independence Day party hosted by 
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the two told jokes comparing 
government co-operative workers with thieves. The military government 
saw nothing funny about it and handed them seven-year prison 
sentences for spreading "false news, knowing beforehand that it is 
untrue." 

"Now I'm holding the fort," remaining Moustache Brother Lu Maw 
cheerfully tells tonight's theatergoers - about a half-dozen foreign 
tourists. 

Effectively blacklisted from taking the show on the road, the way 
most troupes earn their living, Mr. Lu Maw and his family now rely on 
the tourist trade. But that support has taken on an extra dimension - 
the tourists have become an important publicity tool in a campaign to 
free the two jailed comics and keep them safe from harm while they 
remain in prison. 

Along with offerings of Burmese cheroot cigarettes and Chinese tea 
comes a brief rundown of the Moustache Brothers' case and an appeal 
for patrons to tell others about it. It's not talking politics, says 
Lu Maw, which is against the law, it's just giving information on the 
public record. 

"Every day I'm playing with fire, I know - I'm skating on thin ice," 
Lu Maw says later, displaying his penchant for colloquial English 
even as he struggles with fluency. "Knowing I can do something for my 
brother gives me strength and keeps me laughing. But when [the 
audience goes] home I feel sad." 

After the welcome Lu Maw plunges into an explanation of a-nyeint pwe, 
a contemporary yet traditional Burmese theater form mixing dance, 
music, opera, drama, and slapstick humor that usually takes topics 
from everyday life. Behind him hang troupe photos and dozens of 
Burmese marionettes for sale, along with a somewhat obscured photo of 
Aung San Suu Kyi, known as 'The Lady' among Burmese people. 

"Any villages where there's hot news, we pick it up and use it," says 
Lu Maw. Government officials have warned the troupe against telling 
political jokes, but in Burma, also known as Myanmar, "you can't 
avoid talking about politics when you talk about daily life," adds Lu 
Maw. 

Long a pariah among nations when it comes to human rights, Burma's 
military regime was again condemned at the recently concluded annual 
meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights, with the 53-nation body 
criticizing "the continuing pattern of gross and systematic 
violations of human rights." But there are signs that in the 
Moustache Brothers case, publicity may be working. In January prison 
officials increased the frequency of family visits to deliver food 
parcels to Par Par Lay at his prison in Myitkina, from once every two 
months to once every two weeks. No family had been allowed to visit 
Lu Zaw. Then, in March, the International Red Cross reported both 
prisoners were allowed to see their family members face to face for 
the first time in four years. 

For now, Lu Maw says all he can do is stay on the stage and wait for 
his fellow showmen's release. "We are artists and we are different 
from ordinary people," he says. "We want the freedom to joke." 



____________________________________________________



SHAN: WA RELOCATIONS SETTING OFF SPECULATIONS


25 April 2000

No: 4 - 11

Ever since reports of 50,000 Wa families being moved down from the 
Chinese border in the north to the Thai border in the south hit the 
headlines, speculations have been abound as to the reasons behind 
this unprecedented 
move.

The relocations had totally caught many Burma watchers "with their 
pants down." Before that many were expectantly watching for 
the "eventual" showdown between the warlike Was and the Rangoon junta 
that had been adamantly insisting that the former retreated to their 
universally 
recognized Wa land north of Kengtung.

The enthusiasm with which the Burmese military had cooperated with 
the Was in the forced removal of half of their total population 
naturally dumbfounded most people.

Both had also confused many by the announcement that they were doing 
it for the sake of drug eradication. "We know that there was 
something fishy about the whole thing," one said. "It was frustrating 
therefore not to be able to 
point out what's behind all this."

Laoyi, 68, one of the new resettlers, told S.H.A.N., "Nothing was 
spoken about drug eradication. They told us the trans-Salween areas 
were historically ours and we needed to reclaim them. And that the 
soil was richer than the barren hills in the north. They said they 
were planning to bring down 500,000 families. So we moved down here 
with our families although we hated to leave our homes and fields."

S.H.A.N. questioned him whether he was sure he got his 
figure . . "500,000 families" ... right. He replied, "That was what 
the officials told us."

(N.B. S.H.A.N. received a report last year about Was applying for the 
two townships i.e. Mongton and Monghsat to be incorporated into 
Waland.)

A ceasefire group officer saw the move as benefiting both the Was and 
the Burmese military:

"For the Was, they are not only setting up a new country for 
themselves but are also moving to a place that enjoys easier and 
shorter access to the drug markets."

"As for Rangoon," he said, "it is part of its proxy war against 
Thailand - -  a war through drugs and Was. They are also neutralizing 
the Wa potential to resist them when the time comes for them to 
subdue the Was. Moreover, through the Was' occupation of the lands in 
the south, they hope to create racial tensions between the Was and 
Lahus and Shans, who have already been living there for hundreds of 
years."

An old Burma hand from Thailand, however, saw differently. He said it 
was part of the plan to get rid those who opposed Chinese influence 
in the Wa hierarchy. Also he believed the Chinese were happy to 
uproot poppy farmers away from their border. Mostly, "I think it was 
part of the Chinese strategy to make Burma a Chinese province," he 
said.

On the other hand, the events are seen by him as "a silver lining in 
the  black cloud," "a blessing in disguise," to use his own words.

"The Thais are toughening up their stance against the regime," he 
said.  "Both the Americans and Australians are also watching it with 
concern."

In the meanwhile, the Was have marked out Namhoo-Naihseng, Napakao 
and Mawkzali in Mongton township for further resettlements reported 
our correspondent from Chiangdao, opposite Mongton.

Shan Herald Agency for News








____________________________________________________



SHAN: DRUG PRICES IN APRIL: HEROIN UP, OPIUM DOWN

24 April 2000

No: 4 - 9

Drugs

The price of heroin has risen while opium, its market invaded by new 
harvests, has taken a plunge, reported S.H.A.N. correspondent from 
Chiangmai.

According to the price list, heroin is up to B. 310,000 per block 
(700 gram) from B. 281,000 in March in Nakawngmu, the biggest drug 
market in Monghsat District, eastern Shan State. Opium, meanwhile, 
has gone down from B. 30,000 per viss to B. 25,000. This was because 
of the new harvest that flooded the market.

Methamphetamine, on the other hand, is down to 10 baht per pill.

Monghsat boasted at least 5 drug markets, all under Wa and Lahu 
groups that pay kickbacks to the local Burmese authorities, said 
sources.

N.B. Attached is the price list provided by S.H.A.N.'s correspondent.
Place Township  Heroin 	Methamphetamine Opium

1.Nakawngmu (Lahu), Mongton, 	B. 310,000, B. 10, B. 25,000
2.Hoparng-Hoyawd (Wa), Mongton B. 305,000, B. 9, B. 23,000 
3. Nawngpayen (Chinese),Mongton, B. 306,000, B.8,B. 23,500
4. Wanhoong (Wa), Monghsat, B. 308,000, B. 9-10, B. 24,000 
5. Mongtaw-Monghta, Mongton, 	n.a., 	n.a., 	n.a.

____________________________________________________


BANGKOK POST: CHEAP ECSTASY MAKING INROADS

Red Wa's low grade pills cost much less
Wassana Nanuam 
The Red Wa Army is producing cheap ecstasy pills for release on the 
Thai market to compete against superior European contraband.

Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol Somboonsap, assistant police chief, said the 
rebel army has designed its own formula of ecstasy pills to 
substitute for metham-phetamines, the demand for which is expected to 
reach saturation point at some point in the future.

Although the Wa-made ecstasy is of lower grade than the European 
brands, it would make strong inroads into the drug market through 
price undercutting, said the assistant police chief at a youth anti-
drug camp organised by the Army yesterday. 

Pol Lt-Gen Noppadol said a Wa-made ecstasy tablet costs between 200-
300 baht, almost three times cheaper than the ones smuggled into the 
country from Europe.

He said the cheaper Wa version has already reached the Thai market.

A lot of rebel production bases for methamphetamine pills have also 
been moved from the northern border to the Thai-Cambodian and Thai-
Laotian borders, he said.

Students were now considered the main target group instead of 
workers, he said, and the pills were being largely sold to well-
performing pupils to create the false impression that the drug helps 
users excel academically.

He said the youngest known addicts were as little as five years old, 
living in the community of drug traders.

According to a recent Abac poll, students in 40,000 schools 
nationwide had a history of drug abuse.

This year, the authorities have so far seized 70 million speed pills 
compared to the 44 million pills that were netted last year.

A source said Surachai Ngern-thongfu, or "Bang Ron", was said to be 
hiding under the protection of the Red Wa army.

The big-time drug fugitive has reportedly been assisting the rebels 
in drug trafficking through his network of dealers.

Bangkok Post (April 25, 2000)


KHRG: PAPUN AND NYAUNGLEBIN DISTRICTS:  VILLAGERS FLEE AS SPDC TROOPS 
RESUME BURNING AND LANDMINING OF VILLAGES

[Edited]

KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
INFORMATION UPDATE
April 25, 2000     /     KHRG #2000-U1

Villagers from Dweh Loh township, just southwest of the town of 
Papun, have begun fleeing the area in large numbers after SPDC troops 
burned and then landmined at least 9 of their villages in March 2000, 
at the same time that villagers throughout the region have been 
fleeing in increasing numbers from increased SPDC militarisation and 
forced labour.

Villagers from the 9 burned villages in the hills above the SPDC 
garrison village of Meh Way told KHRG that SPDC columns entered their 
area at harvest time in November 1999, causing all of them to flee 
into hiding in the forests to avoid forced labour and forced 
relocation.  While they made forays from their hiding places to try 
to retrieve rice and belongings and salvage some of the harvest from 
their fields when they could, the SPDC columns began landmining the 
pathways around their home villages...

The people of other villages in Dweh Loh township are also fleeing, 
telling KHRG that they can not bear the increasing burden of forced 
labour demanded by SPDC Army camps, building barracks and fences, 
building and maintaining roads, cutting and hauling bamboo and 
firewood, standing sentry along vehicle roads and going as porters.  
According to a KNU source, there are now a total of 38 different SPDC 
Battalions active in the three townships of Papun District, and all 
of them demand forced labour from the villagers.  For example, the 
K'Dter Dtee camp alone of Infantry Battalion #308 demands all of the 
above types of forced labour from everyone in Pah Lo, Daw Thu Klah, 
Baw Kyaw Leh, Noh Paw Tee, Taw Klaw Kee, and Meh Baw Kee villages in 
Dweh Loh township.  People still living in their villages also 
complain that every time an SPDC column comes to their village their 
livestock, money and valuables are stolen. Villagers are also fleeing 
Bu Tho township, southeast of Papun town, saying that they are being 
used as forced porters and for other forms of forced labour, 
including along the road under construction from Saw Bweh Der to 
Kyauk Nyat.

SPDC troops in the region have been working on several military 
access roads, sometimes using bulldozers under heavy guard but more 
often using the forced labour of villagers.  The road from Kyauk Kyi 
to the Thai border at Saw Hta is now finished but must be rebuilt 
after every rainy season; a branch off of this road is also being 
built from Pwa Ghaw to Ler Mu Plaw, with plans to extend it northward 
to Bu Sah Kee in Toungoo District.  Forced labour is also ongoing on 
a road from Papun to Pah Heh, Saw Bweh Der and Kyauk Nyat, with the 
last section still not finished, and there are reports of plans for 
additional roads from Shwegyin to Papun and from Papun District to 
Pah Saung in southern Karenni (Kayah) State.

In Dweh Loh and Bu Tho townships it is estimated that half of the 
population remain in their villages suffering from forced labour, 
extortion and looting, while the other half are living in hiding in 
the forests.  However, in Lu Thaw township north of Papun virtually 
the entire population is in hiding in the forest.  This is the area 
hardest hit by the SPDC campaign to destroy all remote villages in 
Papun District which began in 1997, resulting in orders to relocate 
over 100 villages and the unprovoked burning and complete destruction 
of close to 200 villages [see "Wholesale Destruction" (KHRG #98-01, 
February and April 1998), and KHRG Photo Set 97B].  Since that time, 
villagers throughout all of Lu Thaw township and part of Nyaunglebin 
District to the west have been living in hiding in the forests, 
trying to survive by growing small patches of crops and fleeing 
higher into the hills whenever SPDC patrols come near.  Whenever 
sighted by SPDC patrols they are either shot on sight or captured as 
porters (KHRG documented 62 killings of this nature which occurred in 
the region between March 1997 and January 1998, not including many 
who were shot but managed to escape).  The past 3 months has seen a 
greater number of people fleeing the Lu Thaw area as well, due to 
starvation and the increasing presence of SPDC troops.  KNU sources 
report that not only have the number of battalions increased 
throughout Papun District to a total of 38, but they have been much 
more active in hunting out villagers since December 1999.

Just to the west in Nyaunglebin District conditions are similar in 
the hills.  In the plains near the Sittaung River, new refugees 
report that the Sa Thon Lon `Guerrilla Retaliation' execution squads 
continue to operate.  These special squads were hand-picked by the 
SPDC in 1998 and operate by executing anyone and everyone suspected 
of any present or past contact with the Karen opposition forces, 
however minor this contact may have been.  [For further details 
see "Death Squads and Displacement" (KHRG #99-04, May 24, 1999).]  
The units executed dozens of people, usually brutally by cutting 
their throats.  Villagers who have recently fled the area say that 
the units continue to operate but have toned down their operations 
somewhat; they still come to the villages in small groups, but now if 
they see anyone they suspect they return and report to the regular 
SPDC Battalions, who then come to execute the suspected villager.  
One villager told KHRG that unlike the Sa Thon Lon victims of 
1998/99, whose heads were sometimes displayed on poles to intimidate 
the other villagers, the bodies of victims are now carried away and 
buried far from their villages so that other villagers cannot find 
them, possibly to eliminate evidence.

The desperate situation is reflected by the number of villagers from 
Papun District arriving at refugee camps in Thailand.  After the 
SPDC's 1997 village destruction campaign began, several thousand 
refugees crossed the border, but then the flow lessened to a small 
but steady stream as most people struggled to survive in hiding in 
the hills around their villages.  However, since January 2000 more 
people have been crossing the border.  The numbers below only include 
new arrivals at Meh Ka Kee (a.k.a. Mae Khong Kha) refugee camp:

January 2000			40 families		201 people
February 2000			52 families		244 people
March 2000			47 families		242 people
April 1-14, 2000		61 families		297 people
April 15-20, 2000		71 families		356 people

It is important to note that Papun District is not a densely 
populated area, with most villages consisting of only 10-15 families, 
so these numbers are significant particularly when it is remembered 
that they are only the tip of the iceberg.  They have more than 
tripled this month, and this trend may well continue until the rains 
make travel very difficult in July.  Most of the April arrivals fled 
the burned villages, landmines and the new SPDC columns in Dweh Loh 
township. 

Even these numbers are artificially low, because new refugees can 
only sneak into the refugee camps 2 or 3 families at a time; 
villagers fear that any larger groups will be detected by the Thai 
Army before they can reach the camps and summarily forced back across 
the border at gunpoint.  Those who do manage to find their way into 
the refugee camp are not allowed to build huts by the Thai 
authorities, but instead are forced to stay in barrack-like `holding 
centres' with no proper walls or privacy and insufficient space.  The 
low floor in the Meh Ka Kee holding centre floods whenever there is a 
heavy rain.  At present the Thai authorities are refusing to register 
any new refugees anywhere along the border and have set up `admission 
boards' of Thai military and civilian authorities which until now 
have had the sole purpose of rejecting every new group of refugees to 
come before them.  None of the refugees from Papun District to reach 
the refugee camps have yet been forced back across the border, but 
their status is extremely tenuous and they are living under inhuman 
conditions.

More information on the current situation in Papun and Nyaunglebin 
Districts, based on extensive KHRG interviews with villagers in and 
from the region, will be presented in an upcoming KHRG report. 


The full text of this report and an accompanying map, as well as 
other Karen Human Rights Group reports can be found online at the 
KHRG web site
http://metalab.unc.edu/freeburma/humanrights/khrg/archive



THE IRRAWADDY: ASSASSINS IN THE RANKS

Vol.8 No.3, March 2000

COVER STORY


On the evening of July 27, 1977, Capt Ohn Kyaw Myint was taken from 
his cell to the main Insein jail in Rangoon. Ohn Kyaw Myint asked his 
warder Chit Maung, ""Am I going to be killed soon?"" 

No answer came from Chit Maung but the warder shook his head. A few 
hours later two colonels from the War Office arrived with a judge. 
Capt Ohn Kyaw Myint''s time was up. He was hanged.

The crime committed by the captain was to attempt to assassinate 
state leaders including Gen Ne Win. He and his fellow coup plotters 
were opposed to Ne Win''s Burmese Way to Socialism, which they felt 
was leading the country to ruin.

They had vowed to hand over power to respected politicians and 
professional soldiers but the plan was leaked out.

Ohn Kyaw Myint was arrested along with a dozen other army officers 
before the plan could be carried out. Burma''s political history 
could have been very different if they had accomplished their task. 

Captain Ohn Kyaw Myint, who was a personal secretary to then Army 
Chief of Staff Gen Kyaw Htin, had a chance to meet all of Burma''s 
top leaders, including Ne Win.
The Captain and his group kept postponing their date to assassinate 
Ne Win. Analysts at that time suggested that that was their greatest 
mistake. The Captain was also superstitious. One day, as they drove 
their army jeep on A. D. Road, where Ne Win and top leaders lived, 
they saw bird droppings on the jeep''s windshield. They thought it 
was a bad omen and they postponed their plan. 

While they were choosing their ""lucky date"", one of Ohn Kyaw 
Myint''s close friends who was also an army officer had told the plan 
to Than Tin who was also a senior official in the Ne Win government. 
Learning about the plan, Than Tin rushed to Ne Win''s house and 
informed him. 

Many junior officers were apprehended and jailed or forced to retire. 
By now, many have been released and have settled overseas or live 
quietly in Burma. But Ohn Kyaw Myint, the mastermind, was not so 
lucky. 

Before Ohn Kyaw Myint there was another attempt on Ne Win''s life. 

In the late 1960s, Captain Kyaw Zwa Myint from the Military 
Intelligence Services (MIS) planned to poison Ne Win. Kyaw Zwa Myint 
was a personal assistant to Ne Win.

He was also a Christian. After visiting a church meeting with some 
relatives and learning about religious discrimination against 
Christian churches in Rangoon, he decided to assassinate Ne Win. 

He became close to anti-Ne Win groups. Eventually, his plan to poison 
Ne Win was discovered by some army officers. Ne Win was furious. 
Learning about his imminent arrest Kyaw Zwa Myint fled to Karen rebel-
controlled areas. Then he went to Australia where he died. 

Since then, Ne Win has always insisted that his cook taste his meals 
before serving him.

In 1993 it was rumored that some army officers were arrested for 
plotting the assassination of Lt Gen Khin Nyunt. The reason: they 
felt that the MIS chief had sold out the country to the Chinese. 

-The Irrawaddy Staff. 





__________________ INTERNATIONAL ___________________
		

BANGKOK POST: TOWN UNDER KAREN THREAT

Supamart Kasem 
A pro-Rangoon Karen army faction has threatened to carry out arson 
attacks in Mae Sot town unless three Karen women arrested on drug 
charges are released.
A border source said the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army's 999th 
Brigade sent a letter to Thai police in Mae Sot on Saturday. The 
letter, signed by the brigade's leading figure, Than Pe Myint, 
demanded the immediate release of the three Karen drug suspects.
The three-Aryu, 25, Pha Se Ya, 37, and Arwi, 27-were caught at Phop 
Phra-Mae Sot checkpoint on April 11 after police found 13,200 
amphetamine pills in their possession.

In the letter, the Karen brigade threatened to set fire to Mae Sot 
town if their demand went unheeded.

Meanwhile, the owner of a sawmill in Mae Ramat district has called on 
the Karen brigade to release eight workers seized during an attack on 
the sawmill on April 13, a source said.
The source said the Karen brigade was demanding 400,000 baht in 
ransom from the sawmill owner in exchange for the release of the 
eight Thai workers.

Bangkok Post (April 25, 2000)








THE NATION: RATCHABURI GAS USE TO BE BOOSTED

April 25, 2000

THE National Energy Policy Office (NEPO) yesterday decided to boost 
natural gas consumption at Ratchaburi power plant and hastening the 
operation of the tri-energy power plant in a bid to reduce the 
country's take-or-pay burden for natural gas purchases from Burma. 

The move follows the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT)'s decision 
to reduce the gas-pipeline tariff and the Electricity Authority of 
Thailand (EGAT)'s commitment to share the take-or-pay burden. 

NEPO secretary general Pitiyavasti Amranand said yesterday's 
discussions focused on helping the country to reduce the take-or-pay 
burden. Initially, EGAT was assigned to study the possibility of 
taking a total of 3,200 megawatts to cut down on the use of fuel oil. 

Under the original plan for Ratchaburi, the power plant will consume 
180 billion cubic feet per day for 2 thermal units. If the plan to 
raise the natural gas consumption of the power plant is concluded, 
the power plant will consume a total of 700 billion cubic feet per 
day. 



 
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________



SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL: DRAFT RESOLUTION ON BURMA

Meeting of the Council of the Socialist International
Brussels, 10-11 April 2000


The Council of the Socialist International, meeting in Brussels on 10-
11 
April 2000, remains very concerned by

- the continuing lack of progress towards a democratic opening in 
Burma;

- the increasing political repression which denies the people and 
opposition parties all basic human rights and freedoms, and includes 
arbitrary detentions or house arrest against democratic leaders 
including Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and fellow members of the 
National League for 
Democracy (NLD);

- the severe restrictions and intimidation which has caused the 
forced resignations of NLD members and the closing of NLD offices 
throughout Burma, thereby destroying whatever semblance of pluralism 
that had existed and re-imposing a completely dictatorial situation;

- the mob actions carried out by members of the government-controlled 
Union Solidarity Association to intimidate democratic forces and 
scare ordinary citizens by calling for the banning and dissolution of 
the NLD;

- the continuing detentions of NLD members of parliament when they 
attempt to convene the legitimate People's Assembly elected in 1990 
and in which voters gave the NLD a large majority.


The Socialist International therefore reaffirms the resolutions 
passed at the SI Congress held in Paris on 8-10 November calling for 
full respect for human rights in Burma, and urges that all political 
and diplomatic pressures be maintained against the military 
government in Burma, as well as all economic sanctions;

Expresses its support for the Committee Representing the People's 
Parliament (CRPP) formed by the NLD members of parliament elected in 
1990, and calls upon the Burmese government to recognise the victory 
of the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi in those elections;

Deplores the continuing gross violation of human rights generally as 
well as in the context of the government's war against the non-
Burmese ethnic peoples, particularly in the Karen, Kareni, Shan and 
Chin States;

Calls on the ASEAN nation to put pressure on the Burmese government 
to hold real political dialogue with the NLD and the non-Burmese 
ethnic groups to peacefully resolve the longstanding conflicts in the 
country; and

Reaffirms its steadfast support for democracy and human rights 
generally and the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi in particular.


_________________ OTHER ________________


UPCOMING TALK--RECENT IMPRESSIONS OF BURMA (MYANMAR)

Julie Sell and Rachel Goldwyn will talk at SOAS, at the invitation of 
the SOAS Students' Union.

Julie Sell has just published a book Whispers at the Pagoda: 
Portraits of Modern Burma recounting her interviews with Burmese and 
her travels in Burma. (The book is published by Orchid Press, ISBN 
974-8304-36-1)
Rachel Goldwyn spent three months in Insein Jail, Rangoon, following 
her arrest for making a solo pro-democracy protest last summer.

Weds 3rd May 2000, 5 pm
Room G2, School of Oriental and African Studies
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
tel (020) 7637 2388


All are welcome.




________________


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coverage of news and opinion on Burma  (Myanmar).  


For a subscription to Burma's only free daily newspaper, 
write to: strider@xxxxxxx

You can also contact BurmaNet by phone or fax:

Voice mail +1 (435) 304-9274 

Fax + (202) 318-1261

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