BurmaNet News: December 9, 2000

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
________December 9, 2000   Issue # 1679_________

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Associated Press: Thai soldier killed, two injured in border clash
*Reuters: Row over Myanmar set to sour Europe-ASEAN meeting
*Far Eastern Economic Review: Golden Triangle Role for U.S. Army
*The Nation: Engagement with Burma not working - senators 
*Reuters: HIV Risk High Among Refugees in Myanmar, Thailand 
*Mizzima: Villagers evicted for a new trade route on Indo-Burma border 

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Reuters: Massachusetts seeks again to bar Myanmar business
*AsiaWeek: Labor Pains 
*Leeds Student (UK): Suzuki Struck by Protest 

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Houston Chronicle: Words and Example: Military thugs in Myanmar deserve 
condemnation  
*Far Eastern Economic Review: Letter--One million Burmese people are 
subject to forced labour
*Myanmar Information Committee: Myanmar and the issue of forced labour 
*The Manila Times: Lacson and a SLORC junta?  


The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com



___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				


Associated Press: Thai soldier killed, two injured in border clash 

Dec. 9, 2000

BANGKOK, Thailand 

One Thai soldier was killed and two injured in an ambush by an 
unidentified group of armed men on the northern Thai-Myanmar border, a 
Thai army officer said Saturday. 

Thai television network Itv reported the armed men were from the United 
Wa State Army, a major producer of illegal drugs across the frontier in 
Myanmar, also known as Burma. 

The clash occurred early Friday near Mae Ai district in Chiang Mai 
province, an army officer in Mae Ai on condition of anonymity. The area 
is about 580 kilometers (360 miles) north of Bangkok. 

Ten Thai soldiers were patrolling the area after villagers reported 
seeing a small group of armed men. The group, hidden in the jungle, 
opened fire. A 10-minute battle ensued in which a Thai sergeant was shot 
dead and two soldiers wounded by exploding grenades. 

On Saturday, Thai army soldiers were searching for the armed men, who 
fled after the clash. 

A major UWSA base is located opposite Mae Ai, and large amounts of 
methamphetamines destined for illicit sale in Thailand are trafficked 
through the area. 

The UWSA signed a ceasefire with Myanmar's military regime in 1989 and 
enjoys virtual autonomy in its territory close to the borders of 
Thailand and China.




____________________________________________________


Reuters: Row over Myanmar set to sour Europe-ASEAN meeting

By Andrew Marshall
 
 VIENTIANE, Dec 9 (Reuters) - ASEAN and the European Union hold their 
first ministerial-level meeting for more than three years in the coming 
week, but the event is more likely to underscore their differences than 
bring them closer together.
 
 The main reason for the cool relations between the two blocs is human 
rights in military-ruled Myanmar -- an issue set to dominate the Laos 
meeting. 

 The Association of South East Asian Nations controversially admitted 
Myanmar in 1997, shortly before the region was battered by an economic 
crisis that also sapped its political clout.
 
 Europe has condemned Myanmar for its human rights record and its 
treatment of the pro-democracy opposition led by Nobel laureate Aung San 
Suu Kyi, who is under de facto house arrest with her telephone cut and 
diplomatic access barred. 

 Only Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Finland are sending their foreign 
ministers to the meeting on Monday and Tuesday, with most other European 
Union nations likely to be represented by junior ministers. 

 The official excuse is that many ministers are too busy due to the 
European Union summit in Nice which ends this weekend. 

 The EU has boycotted ministerial-level meetings with ASEAN since 
Myanmar joined. And while the coming meeting in Laos represents a 
partial thawing of this position, arguments over Myanmar and human 
rights are sure to sour the atmosphere. 

 Europe is pressing for a pledge by both sides to respect human rights 
to be included in the post-meeting declaration. 

 It also wants a pledge to work for political progress in Myanmar, 
something several ASEAN states bitterly oppose. 

 ASEAN DIVIDED 

 But ASEAN itself is divided. Countries like Malaysia, Vietnam and 
Myanmar are against any mention of human rights, and insist that the 
ASEAN code of non-interference in the internal affairs of other member 
states should be inviolate. 

 Thailand, on the other hand, is increasingly frustrated about the 
political isolation which Myanmar's inclusion has imposed on ASEAN, and 
is pushing for a more flexible approach. 

 British Foreign Office Minister John Battle said this week that Myanmar 
would be at the top of the agenda. 

 Battle, who will represent Britain at the meeting, said he would be 
looking for understanding among the 10 ASEAN members that Myanmar had 
become a regional problem they could no longer brush off as Yangon's 
``internal affair.'' 

 Battle said both the European Union and ASEAN were looking for a new 
approach, and Europe's intention in Vientiane would not be ``to simply 
turn up and blame Burma and say we think you are a form of moral evil.'' 


 ``What we need to see is an opening of Burma,'' he said. ``So we're 
trying to find ways to actually prise the situation open by using the 
political power that's in the region -- they are a member of ASEAN.'' 

 Concerns have also been raised about security, after a wave of 
mysterious bomb attacks in Vientiane this year shook the enigmatic 
country out of its torpor. 

 Laos mounted a major security campaign during celebrations earlier this 
month for the 25th anniversary of its Communist revolution. Security 
will again be extremely tight for the ministerial meeting.


____________________________________________________


Far Eastern Economic Review: Golden Triangle Role for U.S. Army

FEER, Issue cover-dated December 7, 2000

The Thai and U.S. armies are joining hands for the first time to combat 
drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle. The Thai military will form a 
special task force to counter the increased flow of methamphetamines and 
heroin into the country from Burma.  

The U.S. army is offering training and equipment and the new outfit is 
expected to be operational in August. It will bring together elements 
from the military, the border police, the Office of the Narcotics 
Control Board and the government. It will be equipped with modern 
detection devices and helicopters and, with training from U.S. 
instructors, will be able to operate at night.  

The small town of Pai near northern Thailand's border with Burma has 
been proposed as the force's main base. The area is rife with 
cross-border drug trafficking. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has been 
active in Thailand for years, but its mandate allows it only to 
cooperate with local police forces. 

____________________________________________________


The Nation: Engagement with Burma not working - senators 

Dec 08, 2000.


THE Senate Foreign Relations Committee will reconsider Thailand's policy 
towards Burma due to the worsening problems of drug trafficking and 
illegal workers, committee chairman Kraisak Choonhavan said.  

Kraisak said the committee yesterday discussed a United Nations' 
resolution to condemn Burma over its human rights and drug smuggling 
records.  

"The traditional way of handling diplomatic ties has failed to solve the 
drug trafficking problem along the border," Kraisak said.
  
Withaya Masaena, senator for Maha Sarakam province, said the policy of 
constructive engagement had failed to solve any problems. In fact, it 
created more, such as the rise in drug-trafficking and illegal workers, 
he said. 
 
The senate meeting agreed to join the UN in condemning Burma. In 
addition, the meeting would also urge the government to reconsider its 
policy towards Rangoon. - The Nation.  
Couple fined for forgery 

____________________________________________________


Reuters: HIV Risk High Among Refugees in Myanmar, Thailand 

Thursday December 7 5:24 PM ET

By Meg Bryant

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A survey of migrant workers living along 
the Thai/Myanmar (formerly Burma) border reveals ''major differences'' 
between that group and the ``much better publicized and better serviced 
refugee population'' that is officially recognized in border camps, 
according to Johns Hopkins University's Dr. Luke Mullany. 

About 1.2 million Burmese migrants live just inside the Thai border, the 
``vast majority'' of whom fled the oppressive military regime that is 
based in Rangoon, Mullany told a conference here on reproductive health 
of refugees and displaced populations. However, because the Thai 
government recognizes these people as illegal economic migrants rather 
than refugees, they are not entitled to any social services, he said. 

As a result, ``virtually zero access has been extended to (international 
relief workers) trying to document health status or education in migrant 
worker factories,'' Mullany stated. 

In the survey, 233 men and 492 women were asked a variety of questions 
concerning prevention and transmission of the AIDS (news - web sites) 
virus. The responses showed ``significant'' gender differences, with men 
``consistently'' scoring higher than women in terms of basic knowledge 
about the disease, according to Mullany. 

With regard to prevention, only 15% of women said they had ever seen a 
condom, and less than half of the women understood that birth control 
pills do not prevent infection. Fewer than 2% of the women reported 
using a condom at least once, as compared with nearly 13% of the men. 
The survey also exposed serious gaps in the workers' awareness of HIV 
that could put them at greater risk of infection. For example, 82% could 
identify the major risk factors for contracting HIV, but only 27% knew 
that they could learn their own HIV status with a blood test. 
Mullany called the refugee-run survey ``an important first step in 
drawing attention to the plight of migrant workers, not only within the 
context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but to their lack of (healthcare) 
services overall.'' 

Another survey, by the refugee-run Reproductive Health Group in Guinea, 
found similar misconceptions and cultural limitations among 976 men and 
women living in camps in Guinea's Forest Region. 

While roughly 90% knew of HIV and AIDS and that avoiding multiple sexual 
partners and shared needles helped to prevent transmission, 54% believed 
that mosquitoes can spread the virus. A lesser--but still 
significant--number thought they could get HIV by touching (26%) or 
sharing food (30%) with people who are HIV-positive, according to 
Meriwether Beatty of the JSI Research and Training Institute. Twenty-two 
percent of interviewees said that eating good food will protect against 
HIV/AIDS. 

All of the Guinean refugees had access to free healthcare within the 
refugee camps, about three fourths of those who reported having had 
sexually transmitted disease symptoms sought help at one of the health 
facilities. 

However, 82% also said they went to private pharmacies to purchase STD 
medications, pointing out the ``lack of necessary drugs'' at the 
camp-based clinics, Beatty said. 

____________________________________________________


Mizzima: Villagers evicted for a new trade route on Indo-Burma border 

Aizawl, December 7, 2000

Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)

The authorities in Mizoram State evicted villagers staying on Indo-Burma 
border from their village for a new Indo-Burma border trade route. Some 
houses were bulldozed by the authorities as the owners refused to move 
to the government-allocated new site.

Mizoram state government issued an order on October 20 for the villagers 
in and around Zo Khuttha village in Indo-Burma border to move to a new 
location by the end of November. The government has planned to 
rehabilitate the villagers in the new location, called ôPhulmawi 
Village, which is about two furlong far from Zo Khuttha.

However, most of the villagers refused to relocate themselves in the new 
village, alleging that the government is not providing necessary 
compensation and arrangement.

Therefore, total 120 villagers of Zo Khuttha village recently filed a 
petition with the court and the Mizoram Bench of Guwahati High Court 
last week stayed the eviction of 104 Indian villagers for two weeks. 
Most of these villagers continue to stay in Zo Khuttha as they wait for 
the governmentÆs response.

The rest who ware not able to prove their identity as Indian citizens 
are, however, not included in the High Court stay order. Moreover, the 
stay order does not include the villagers staying on ôno man landö 
situated between the border pillars of two countries. The state 
authorities bulldozed two houses in the area last Friday.

The Mizoram State government, through Border Road Organization (BRO), is 
planning to start the construction of some buildings related to border 
trade in Zo Khuttha village. The new trade route, apart from current 
Tamu-Moreh border trade route, is to connect Rih in Chin State of Burma 
and Zo Khuttha in Mizoram, crossing Tio stream. The government of India 
has offered to construct a bridge across Tio stream for facilitating the 
border trade between India and Burma.



_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 


Reuters: Massachusetts seeks again to bar Myanmar business

By Christopher Noble 

 BOSTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The Massachusetts Legislature, undaunted by 
the U.S. Supreme Court's rebuff of its 1996 law boycotting firms doing 
business in Myanmar, this week filed a new bill to put pressure on the 
country's military rulers. 

 The bill requires the state's $36 billion pension fund to divest itself 
over the next three years of companies that do business in Myanmar, the 
Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma, said state 
representative Byron Rushing, the bill's chief sponsor. 

 ``We want to be able to continue to express our concern about the way 
that companies are involved with regimes that have committed egregious 
human rights violations,'' Rushing said. 

 He said the three-year timetable would give the pension fund time to 
sell stocks without hurting returns and would allow the fund's managers 
to pressure companies to stop operating in Myanmar. 

 The divestment law would apply only to the $24.8 billion of the fund 
that belongs to the state, not the $11.2 billion from municipal pension 
reserves, Rushing said. 

 The new bill represents a shift in tactics after the U.S. high court 
ruled unanimously in June that the use of trade sanctions by states to 
protest human rights abuses abroad infringed on the U.S. president's 
power to set foreign policy. 

 The United States in early 1997 passed its own set of sanctions against 
the country, which the Supreme Court said superseded Massachusetts's 
law. Several consumer boycotts are in effect against firms doing 
business with the country. 

 Myanmar's rulers are shunned by most of the international community for 
their harsh treatment of the pro-democracy opposition, which won 
elections in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern, and their poor 
human rights record.
 
 The pro-democracy movement is led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San 
Suu Kyi, whose movements have been restricted for years as part of the 
government's efforts to limit her influence and force her from the 
country. 
 She is currently confined to her residence with all diplomatic access 
barred and her telephone line cut. 

 With the law, Massachusetts would join Los Angeles and Minneapolis, 
which recently passed measures urging their pension funds to divest from 
Myanmar, supporters said. 

 The new bill's backers, many of them veterans of divestment drives in 
the 1980s aimed at South Africa's racist apartheid regime, said they 
believed they were on firmer legal ground with a divestment approach, 
but conceded the new law would not have the same impact as the 
overturned 1996 ``Burma Law.'' 

 That measure effectively barred firms that did business with Myanmar 
from contracts in the state by adding 10 percent to any bids received 
from those companies. 

 Several firms pulled out of Myanmar after Massachusetts passed the law, 
including Apple Computer Inc (AAPL.O), which specifically cited the law 
as the basis for its decision. 

 ``Divestment doesn't have the same impact on companies as procurement 
restrictions do. It's more of a symbolic impact than economic,'' said, 
Simon Billenness, an analyst with socially responsible asset investment 
firm Trillium Asset Management and a supporter of the bill. 



____________________________________________________



AsiaWeek: Labor Pains 

Dec. 8, 2000

 
Businessfolk anywhere look after their own interests first, and those in 
Yangon are no different. When the International Labor Organization 
advised its members -- consisting of workers' and employers' groups and 
government reps -- to reconsider its ties with Myanmar for using forced 
labor, the Tuesday Club swung into action. The club is a loose 
association of local and expat businessmen who of course meet on 
Tuesdays. They brainstorm issues and convey their conclusions to the 
generals who, amazingly, often act upon them -- not least because the 
club is essentially impartial. On Nov. 21 (a Tuesday naturally), the 
club held an emergency session at the Traders Hotel, the Yangon hangout 
to be seen and heard, to parse the ILO resolution and, after a heated 
conclave, put out a missive berating the ILO. 

Yangon's businessmen fear that any ILO action against Myanmar will hurt 
trade and tourism. On a less self-interested level, the club argues that 
up to half a million Myanmar people could lose their jobs, hardly the 
sort of consequence the ILO, which is supposed to protect workers, would 
want. But in the end, the ILO will stick to its guns, the club will fume 
and the junta will bunker down. The losers will once again be ordinary 
Myanmar folk. 



____________________________________________________


Leeds Student (UK): Suzuki Struck by Protest 

[Leeds Student is a student newspaper at Leeds University.]

Issue of Dec. 1, 2000

By Joanna Brain


The Free Burma Society successfully demonstrated outside the Suzuki  
dealership in Leeds on Sunday in protest against the company's 
investment in  Burma.

About 25 students picketed the garage protesting about Suzuki's 
investment  in Burma, a country governed by a military dictatorship 
which ensures 12 per  cent of all foreign investment profits is spent on 
arms purchases. Abby Melton, president of the Free Burma Society, said 
'The demonstration  was a great success. We were really supported by the 
public we met, it  helped raise awareness of the situation.'

A spokesperson for Hounslett Suzuki garage asked 'Why have they decided 
to  picket us? We are not Suzuki, we are a dealership selling all cars 
not just  Suzuki.'

'If they picket us our profits will go down, I hope next year they  
demonstrate somewhere else.'
Rachel Goldwyn from the Free Burma Coalition emphasised that it is the  
individual which is responsible as well as the company.

Burma became headline news in 1990 when the democratic elections which 
voted  Aung San Suu Kyi as elected leader were declared invalid and she 
was placed  under house arrest. All foreign journalists were deported 
and anyone found  to be using a camcorder or taking a photo was 
arrested.

Following successful boycotts by students and other concerned action 
groups  many companies pulled out of Burma between 1996 and 1997. 
However in 1988  Suzuki decided to invest in Burma despite evidence of 
human rights  violations, forced slave labour and excessive arms 
spending. Roughly 40% of  the budget is spent on arms, in a country with 
no natural enemies. Rachel Goldwyn explained:'When a company invests in 
Burma they are directly  supporting the military regime. To protect 
foreign investors there will be  human rights violations, maybe forced 
labour or displacement of families,  no-one will be compensated.'

The Free Burma society proposed a motion at the LUU OGM on Tuesday to 
ban  all Lonely Planet Guides and advertising from LUU shops, until they 
withdraw  their guide to Burma. With only 26 people at the OGM the 
motion was passed  to the Ethical and Environmental Committee of LUU to 
make the final  Decision.


______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________


Houston Chronicle: Words and Example: Military thugs in Myanmar deserve 
condemnation  

Dec. 6, 2000, 6:01PM

Sometimes injustice in the world can be met only with words of 
condemnation. So if words are all we have at our disposal, let them be 
strong ones.  

Such is the option for helping Aung San Suu Kyi, who courageously 
continues to defy the military tyrants in control of Myanmar, formerly 
Burma.  

Her National League for Democracy won elections there in 1990, but the 
generals refused to honor the legitimate outcome. Meanwhile, the 
high-profile, pro-democracy leader has been under virtual house arrest 
and has endured almost constant harassment for most of that decade.  
President Clinton on Wednesday presented Aung San Suu Kyi the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom.  

"She sits confined, as we speak here, in her home in Rangoon, unable to 
speak to her people or the world. But her struggle continues and her 
spirit still inspires us," Clinton said. "The only weapons the Burmese 
people have are the words of reason and the example of this 
astonishingly brave woman. Let us add our voices to their peaceful 
arsenal."  

Words and worldwide public opinion, in reality, are probably the only 
things keeping Aung San Suu Kyi alive. For their many atrocities and 
injustices, the military thugs of Myanmar deserve the strongest 
condemnation and should be recognized as the repugnant e nemies of 
freedom that they are. 


____________________________________________________



Far Eastern Economic Review: Letter--One million Burmese people are 
subject to forced labour

BURMA ON THE LINE

BILL JORDAN (General Secretary International Confederation of Free 
Trades Unions) 

FEER, Issue cover-dated December 14, 2000


A piece of information was regrettably missing from your Regional 
Briefing on Burma [Nov. 30], on a decision by the United Nations' 
International Labour Organization to sanction Burma for its continuing 
use of forced labour.  The landmark decision by the governing body of 
the ILO, taken in Geneva on November 16, is of global importance. It 
marks the first time the UN's labour organization has invoked a 
procedure--article 33 of its constitution--that can only be used when a 
country fails to comply within a given deadline with the recommendations 
of a commission of inquiry. It will, in any event, prompt the UN 
organization to recommend that other UN bodies, states and private 
companies re-examine their relations with Burma to ensure that they are 
not unwittingly encouraging the use of forced labour. We at the 
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions estimate that more than 
1 million Burmese people are subject to forced labour. 



____________________________________________________



Myanmar Information Committee: Myanmar and the issue of forced labour 

YANGON 

Information Sheet N0. B-1629 (I) 

Special Feature 


This office is presenting an article written by Mr. Gerald Moore, 
Consultant  in International Socio-Economic Studies, Geneva, Switzerland 
for your  information. 


[BurmaNet adds: Gerald Moore is a cashiered United Nations Drug Control 
Program officer who was formerly posted to Rangoon.]

Myanmar and the issue of forced labour 


Myanmar has come under criticism recently over the issue of forced or 
unpaid  labour which, it is alleged by some western nations and 
anti-Myanmar  dissidents, is still practiced in various parts of the 
country.  This criticism came to a head earlier this month when the 
governing council  of the International Labour Organization in Geneva 
(ILO), the UN agency which  sets the standard for labour practices and 
monitors them worldwide, issued a  recommendation for its member states 
to impose sanctions against Myanmar, or  in UN jargon, to take whatever 
action they thought necessary to bring  pressure to bear upon the 
Myanmar authorities to stamp out all forms of  forced labour. 

"Unfair" cried Myanmar, and immediately rejected the ILO recommendation; 
it  also ceased its cooperation with ILO, a step which negates any 
possible ILO  policy, activity or presence in the country. 

Was the ILO recommendation to impose sanctions upon Myanmar, one of its 
most  loyal member states until that moment, fair and just? 

Myanmar would point to its ratification of every ILO convention drawn up 
 against forced labour, starting from the Convention on forced labour 
of1930.  It would also point to a recent decree (November 2000) of the 
Myanmar  Government, coming after several consultations with ILO and 
independent  teams, which strengthened the restrictions on forced labour 
throughout the  country, with severe penalties for contraventions, and 
made this known in  every corner of the land. 

Myanmar would also point to the fact that in times of war, national 
emergency  or disaster etc, there were provisions even in ILO?s own 
convention, for  member states to utilize various forms of forced or 
involuntary labour, and  that such occurrences in Myanmar, when they had 
occurred, fell mainly under  this category. 

It is well known that Myanmar has a very unstable security situation on 
its  borders, particularly with Thailand, where rebel groups and 
narcotic  traffickers still make it necessary for Myanmar to maintain a 
large military  presence, which from time to time may necessitate the 
use of communal labour  for the building of fortifications or 
transporting of military equipment.  

It is also well known that Myanmar is embarking on a huge and ambitious  
programme of public works involving the construction of roads, bridges, 
dams  and schools throughout the country. Such public works often need 
the  cooperation and support of local groups who afterwards would gain 
the benefit. 
 
Myanmar would also point to what it considers to be far worse abuses of  
labour in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti and several  
countries in Africa such as Mauretania, where slavery is still to be 
found.  These countries have yet to be sanctioned in the way that 
Myanmar has.  

Finally, Myanmar would ask, how can it effectively implement decrees 
against  forced labour in a matter of days or weeks before the ILO comes 
crashing down  with sanctions? Such decrees can take months or even 
years to implement,  particularly in a country as large and as 
diversified as Myanmar, where  communications particularly in the 
remote, mountain areas are very difficult.  In its decree of November 
2000, Myanmar did everything the ILO demanded û  what else could it do? 

The ILO?s governing council decision was not unanimous and there are 
many  friends of Myanmar who will ignore it and continue to do business 
with  Myanmar as before. It is also clear that the decision will be 
further debated  at the next meeting of the full ILO conference next 
June.  In the meantime however, observers will view the ILO decision as 
a dangerous  precedent û the recommendation of sanctions on a member 
state. Many people  will question whether ILO should be recommending 
sanctions instead of  providing assistance to its member states to 
overcome their difficulties.  Member states such as Myanmar pay the ILO 
secretariat in Geneva every year  contributions in hard-earned foreign 
exchange, which help to enable the  bureaucrats in Geneva to live very 
comfortable lives, enjoying high salaries,  tax free status and other 
benefits. 

Surely these contributions should be used to help member states overcome 
 their difficulties, not to place sanctions upon those which may not 
appear to  comply with western political systems and which are trying 
desperately to  raise the standards of living of their peoples. 
Gerald Moore, 

Consultant in International Socio-Economic Studies, 
Geneva, Switzerland 




The Manila Times: Lacson and a SLORC junta?  

 Dec 07, 2000.
ENTHUSIASMS 
By Rene Q. Bas 

How many Filipinos really value democracy? 

Obviously not the 10 to 20 percent of the electorate who sell their 
votes. Now, with more than half of the population said to be below the 
poverty line (up from the 35-37 percent in earlier statistical reports), 
the vote-sellers will probably increase to 30 to 40 percent of the 
electorate.  

In addition to the poor, there are also many Filipinos impatient with 
the slowness and inefficiency of democracy.
  
Every now and then, I come across pro-junta businessmen. They are fed up 
with the incompetence and corruption of elected government officials. 
They believe an authoritarian junta, backed by the military and the 
police, will immediately launch the country on the road to substantial 
social development and economic progress.  

Yesterday?s by-lined commentary by Dr. Jesus Lava, one of the pillars of 
the original communist movement in this country, called for a total 
change in government and the installation of a ôCouncil of Patriotic 
Filipino Citizensö to administer the country and undertake a program of 
sweeping changes in the economy.  

Other Left-wing groups, including Mr. Popoy Lagman?s BMP, also want a 
junta to rule when their desired ouster of President Estrada and 
rejection of Vice President Macapagal-Arroyo as successor take place.  

>From the Right, that faction of the RAM of which retired Colonel 
Maligalig is the spokesman has often spoken of rule by a junta 
acceptable to all sectors of society and politics. Chief Justice Davide 
is this group?s choice for junta chief.  

When RAM was still led by Senator Honasan and seeking to remove 
President Aquino?s government, they listed Cardinal Sin at the head of 
the junta they wanted to rule this country. Cardinal Sin immediately 
rejected RAM?s designs.  
There must be many other Right-wing groups whose unconstitutional plan 
for the improvement of the Philippine condition begins with a junta of 
their choosing.  
Vice President Macapagal-Arroyo?s revelations about PNP Director-General 
LacsonÆs movements in the United States are worrisome. He is alleged to 
have tried to sell himself to the Americans as the alternative to the 
Vice President when Mr. Estrada has been removed.  

Journalists have verified that Mr. Lacson has indeed seen US congressmen 
and defense department officials. But he went to America purportedly to 
discuss police matters of mutual interest to the Philippines and the 
USA.  

No one should discount the possibility of a coup, especially in these 
times of economic decline, increasing poverty and declining confidence 
in the ability and fitness of the elected president to govern. As 
Senator Biazon, a famous retired general, warns, a coup dÆetat is ôa 
distinct possibilityö now that the active-duty militaryùnot just retired 
officers and veterans ùis sincerely politicized. 
 
The Manila Times editorials have been warning both the pro- and 
anti-Estrada camps to stop drawing the military and the retired generals 
into the political fray.  
This is something we should all pray for. Rule by junta will surely turn 
this country into another Burma with a very unpleasant SLORC. 

________________


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