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BurmaNet News: August 19, 2001
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
August 19, 2001 Issue # 1867
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
NOTED IN PASSING: "There is mass national depression because of the
economy...[but] There isn't enough economy to collapse.?
A Rangoon-based diplomat on the economy. See AFP: Myanmar's economy
remains hopelessly mired in crisis
INSIDE BURMA _______
*AP: Diplomats say senior Japanese official met Aung San Suu Kyi
*AFP: Talks only hope for Myanmar to end pariah status
*Kyodo: Japan-donated high school building opens in Myanmar
MONEY _______
*AFP: Myanmar's economy remains hopelessly mired in crisis
*Xinhua: Myanmar Produces More Paper in First Quarter
*Xinhua: Myanmar to Train Chinese Language Tourist Guides
GUNS______
*AP: Naga tribespeople seek unification of predominantly Naga areas in
India
DRUGS______
*Reuters: Interview-Myanmar Warlord Says He's Fighting Drugs
*AP: Taiwanese gets death sentence in Myanmar for drug trafficking
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AFP: Thai official blasts UN over stance on Myanmar illegal immigrants
*AFL-CIO: U Maung Maung named recipient of 2001 George Meany-Lane
Kirkland Human Rights Award
*BurmaNet: Official refugee population in Thailand tops 136,000
OTHER______
*Announcement for the Burmese Literature and Art Symposium 2001
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AP: Diplomats say senior Japanese official met Aung San Suu Kyi
August 19, 2001
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ An influential Japanese official met with
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her home where she has been held
incommunicado by the military junta since September, diplomats said
Sunday.
Hisashi Owada, the president of a Foreign Ministry-approved think-tank,
the Japan Institute of International Affairs, met with Suu Kyi on Friday
at her lakeside home, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of
anonymity. They said Owada was accompanied by Japan's ambassador to
Myanmar, Shigeru Tsumori,
Owada and Tsumori were with Suu Kyi for nearly two hours but details of
the talks were not known, the diplomats said.
Owada, Japan's former ambassador to the United Nations, is the father
of Crown Princess Masako, a former diplomat.
The Japan Institute of International Affairs is a private, nonprofit
and independent research organization that was founded in 1959 through
the initiative of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
Suu Kyi has been held under detention at her residence since Sept. 22
after defying a travel ban by the authorities.
During her restriction, she was allowed to see U Lwin, a senior member
of her National League for Democracy party every week and some high
profile visitors at her house.
Suu Kyi also met with U.S. deputy assistant secretary of State Ralph
Boyce on Aug. 3 and former Asia Pacific director of the British Foreign
Office, Robert Cooper, late last month.
Owada who arrived in Yangon on Thursday called on Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt,
Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, on
Friday.
Japan is the biggest aid donor to Myanmar, having given about dlrs 4
billion until 1998, the latest year for which figures are available.
Despite its considerable influence over Myanmar, the Japanese
government has rarely criticized it for suppressing democracy. But
recently Japan advised Myanmar to speed up the process of
democratization as well as the release of political prisoners.
The current crop of Myanmar's ruling generals came to power in 1988
after the army killed thousands of protesters to suppress a popular
uprising against military rule. The regime called national elections in
1990 but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy won.
The opposition has since then been regularly harassed and Suu Kyi has
been prevented from carrying on political work. The junta's actions have
drawn severe criticism from the West.
The government, however, has been holding closed door talks with Suu
Kyi since last October but the contents have not been publicized.
___________________________________________________
AFP: Talks only hope for Myanmar to end pariah status
YANGON, Aug 19 (AFP) - Talks between Myanmar's junta and democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi are moving painfully slowly but remain the
pariah nation's only chance of emerging from a political impasse that
has lasted a decade.
Informed sources in Yangon say that since they began meeting last
October, the two camps have not progressed past the first stage of the
process which is aimed at creating a "climate of confidence and mutual
respect".
The new atmosphere has seen the release of around 170 political
prisoners in small groups over the past few months.
But eventually the aim is to establish a full-blown "national
reconciliation" process which, through the drafting of a new
constitution and democratic elections, would herald the return of
civilian government after 40 years of military rule.
The junta allowed free elections in 1990, which Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy won convincingly, but the military regime
has always refused to recognise the result.
Observers have been heartened by the prisoner releases, but note that
only about 60 are from the "priority list" of 200 presented to the
generals by United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Razali Ismail, when
he last visited in June.
The releases -- a major priority for Aung San Suu Kyi who herself
remains under loose house arrest restrictions -- are going too slowly
and have made only modest inroads into the 1,800 strong dissident
population in jail.
"The military is going much too slowly. The passing of time is not an
advantage for anyone. They should move more quickly," said a source
close to the talks.
"Aung San Suu Kyi is frustrated at the pace (of the releases). She
thinks they could move a lot faster," said a western diplomat who
nevertheless said the Nobel peace laureate is "still willing to pursue
the dialogue".
The international community meanwhile is waiting for some proof of the
generals' sincerity, like a mass release of prisoners or the lifting of
restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi and her two top aides who are also in
detention.
But the moment of truth -- when the "pseudo dialogue" is transformed
into a real political process -- is approaching just at the start of a
series of important diplomatic events which are expected to have a
bearing on the talks.
Myanmar's generals, long reviled on the world stage for their appalling
human rights record and refusal to brook democratic reforms, have never
had such a busy schedule as over the next few weeks.
Razali, the Malaysian diplomat who spearheaded the talks, is expected
in Yangon at the end of the month, and a team from the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) will fly in to assess the extent of forced
labour.
A European Union mission will make a visit in the autumn, and the UN's
special rapporteur on human rights, the Brazilian Sergio Pinheiro, will
make his second trip to Yangon.
Just as significant are plans for the junta's number-one, Senior
General Than Shwe, to visit his staunch ally Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad, and attend the next UN General Assembly in September.
The military regime has implicitly linked hints of progress in the
talks with moves to lift the heavy sanctions placed on Myanmar.
It is unlikely that the European Union or the United States will lift
their sanctions any time in the near future, but the international
community has indicated it is willing to make a gesture if the generals
begin moving towards democracy.
In what appeared to be an implicit gesture of encouragement, the heads
of the UN agencies in Yangon recently signed a joint letter urging more
international aid to cope with Myanmar's "humanitarian crisis".
Despite the considerable hurdles, no one in Yangon expects either side
to walk away from the dialogue. Aung San Suu Kyi has put her reputation
on the line by sitting down with her enemies, and the junta's pariah
status would become permanent if it allowed the process to collapse.
"They do not have any alternatives," diplomats in Yangon say in unison.
___________________________________________________
Kyodo: Japan-donated high school building opens in Myanmar
YANGON, Aug. 18, Kyodo - A high school building built with a nearly
$95,000 Japanese government grant was inaugurated in Kyaunggone, 130
kilometers northwest of Yangon, in the Ayeyarwaddy delta Saturday.
The two-story concrete building was transferred to the Education
Department at a ceremony attended by Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, number three
in Myanmar's ruling junta, other ministers and the Japanese ambassador
to Myanmar.
''I want to thank the Japanese government for extending grassroots
assistance for development projects in Myanmar despite sanctions by
western countries and the (European Union),'' the general said.
Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Tsumori said the school building was ''a
symbol of friendship and cooperation by the people of Japan toward the
people of Myanmar.''
The cost of the new school building was $115,000, of which about $95,000
was donated by the Japanese government and $20,000 by Kyodo News
correspondent Sein Win.
______________________MONEY________________________
AFP: Myanmar's economy remains hopelessly mired in crisis
YANGON, Aug 19 (AFP) - Paralysed for years by the twin burdens of
appalling management and international sanctions, Myanmar's economy
remains hopelessly enmired in crisis even as the ruling junta embarks on
landmark talks with the democratic opposition.
Property developments that have sprung up in the capital Yangon, as
well as official claims of five percent annual economic growth, give a
misleading impression of dynamism in the military-run nation.
But conversations with ordinary Myanmar citizens tell a very different
tale of continual price rises, rationing and a daily struggle to gather
the necessities of life.
"There is mass national depression because of the economy," said a
Western diplomat who accused the regime of "incomptence and lack of
understanding of a free market economy."
Despite being "ruled by generals who give commands," the economy would
probably continue to stumble along, greased by the black market as well
as the fortune in drug money funnelled in from ethnic warlords.
"There isn't enough economy to collapse," the diplomat quipped.
Apart from rice, which the government keeps in plentiful supply to
avoid the prospect of hunger-fuelled dissent, the price of basic
commodities has doubled or tripled this year alone, according to aid
officials.
"The price of cooking oil has tripled, as well as other items vital to
people's lives," said one, on condition of anonymity.
In the towns and cities, Myanmar citizens endure annual inflation rates
as high as 50 percent, the alarming depreciation of the kyat currency
and constantly changing rules on rationing of items like gasoline.
Tax-free markets set up a couple of years ago to ease the burden on
low-wage earners, including the legion of government employees, offer
fresh produce at discounted prices but in very limited amounts.
As a result, an industry has sprung up among "professional queuers" who
can be seen lining up well before dawn to purchase their quotas and sell
them at a healthy profit to oil merchants or harried housewives.
"In a single day I can get to queue up again at least four times and
invest 350 kyats, from which I can get a profit of 500 kyats (one
dollar) at the end of the day ... not bad for eight hours of queuing
up," one jobless man said.
Ironically, the government's plan to help consumers by distributing
rationed staples like cooking oil through the markets has served only to
line the pockets of big-time oil merchants.
"I don't know if Than Shwe understands how bad it is, it is getting
worse ... and people are becoming impoverished," a Western diplomat said
of Myanmar's military leader.
The junta meanwhile insists that the creaking economy is functioning
adequately, ignoring the mechanisms like the thriving black market that
have emerged to fill the gaps in the official economy.
"Nobody is starving here, nobody is homeless," a senior spokesman for
the government told AFP.
Foreign observers posted in Yangon remain pessimistic. "The ticking
bomb now is energy now ... They can't supply the electricity necessary
to run the industries," said one expert.
"In the countryside, people will continue to live like they did in the
feudal times."
Foreign investment remains extremely weak, and what funds do make their
way to Myanmar are centred on speculative sectors like property or
tourism, rather than industry or manufacturing.
Businesspeople lured by the prospect of rich natural resources lying
untapped in Myanmar's energy fields, mines and forests, as well as cheap
labour and a solid legal system inherited from the British colonial
rulers, have become disenchanted after seeing the economy at close
quarters.
"Investors don't come, because investors want to make money. People
have pulled out, like the Singaporeans out of oil, others out of
textiles," one analyst said.
International sanctions are also a major deterrent to foreign companies
investing here, and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund will
not consider giving assistance while the current regime is in change.
But despite the sanctions, which have contributed to Myanmar remaining
one of the world's poorest nations while its Southeast Asian neighbours
prosper, the government insists it is not concerned.
"We have built infrastructure, thousands of new roads, reservoirs and
dams, even without the help of the international institutions," said Tin
Winn, Minister at the Prime Minister's Office.
Tourism may not be the saviour it was hoped to be, due to the 1997
regional financial crisis and calls from democracy activists for
holiday-makers to stay away while Myanmar remains under military rule.
The stunning new five-star hotels built in Yangon, with their luxurious
ballrooms, expansive swimming pools and plentiful staff, are nearly
deserted with occupation rates running at a miserable eight percent.
"It is the worst July they have ever had, even Laos is getting better
figures," one diplomat exclaimed.
In spite of the malaise, observers do not believe that the "desperation
factor", which fuelled the bloody uprising of 1988 after three currency
devaluations, exists today.
Hopes for the future rest on the landmark dialogue between the junta
and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi which began last October.
"The only way to make any reform in this country -- whether in the
economy, social or health sectors -- is to start with political reform,"
says one observer.
___________________________________________________
Xinhua: Myanmar Produces More Paper in First Quarter
YANGON, August 19 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar produced 4,270 tons of all sorts
of paper in the first quarter of this year, 4.73 percent more than the
same period of 2000, the latest data of the country' s Central
Statistical Organization show. During the period, Myanmar imported 18.9
million U.S. dollars worth of paper goods, an increase of 34 percent
compared with the corresponding period of 2000, to meet its domestic
demand. In 2000, the country produced 16,894 tons of paper and imported
48.1 million dollars worth of paper manufactures. There is a major paper
mill known as the Sittoung Paper Mill in Myanmar's southern Mon state
operating since 1994 and mainly supplying paper for domestic use.
Meanwhile, a Chinese Tianjin Company concluded a 3-million- dollar
contract with Myanmar in September 1999 to build a 25-ton-
daily-capacity newsprint mill in Paleik, the country's central Mandalay
division.
___________________________________________________
Xinhua: Myanmar to Train Chinese Language Tourist Guides
YANGON, August 17 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has planned to conduct a special
training course, aimed at producing qualified Chinese language tourist
guides as part of its measures to promote the country's tourism industry
and provide systematic guide to tourists coming from neighboring China.
The special course, to be conducted by the Myanmar Ministry of Hotels
and Tourism, will commence in the beginning of September, according to
sources at the ministry Friday. The measure came eight months after
Myanmar reached a memorandum of understanding with China in December
last year on the implementation plan for outbound travel to Myanmar by
Chinese citizens at their own expenses. China, along with Thailand, is a
main supplier of tourists to Myanmar from its neighboring countries.
According to official statistics, the number of registered tourist
guides in Myanmar, who speak different foreign languages, reached 3,768
so far, of whom Chinese guides accounted for 222. The other languages
guides cover English, Japanese and French. The statistics show that
234,900 foreign tourists visited Myanmar in 2000, falling by 9.9 percent
from 1999 and the number of those who travelled the country in the first
quarter of this year came to 42,998, also dropping by 37.8 percent
compared with the same period of 2000. Myanmar's short-term target is to
draw 500,000 foreign tourists annually. Enditem
_______________________GUNS________________________
AP: Naga tribespeople seek unification of predominantly Naga areas in
India
GAUHATI, India (AP) _ Leaders of the Naga tribespeople in northeastern
India have adopted a declaration seeking unification of all areas
inhabited by the predominantly Christian tribal community under a single
administrative unit, community leaders said Sunday
``The Nagas, wherever they are, are one people. We have, therefore,
resolved to press hard for unification and integration of all Naga
inhabited areas in the region,'' said M. Vero, chief of the Naga Hoho,
the group's top decision-making body, in a statement.
The Nagas are concentrated in Nagaland, but a sizable population is
spread over the adjoining states of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal
Pradesh.
The declaration seeking the unification of all Naga areas was adopted
at a consultative meeting of Naga leaders organized by the Naga Hoho at
Kohima, the capital of Nagaland, on Saturday.
Vero presided over the seven-hour meeting attended by about 150
delegates representing different Naga tribes, church leaders and
non-governmental organizations comprising student and human rights
groups.
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland, the separatist group
fighting for an independent Naga homeland, and the federal government
signed an agreement in Bangkok on June 14 broadening a 1997 cease-fire
and extending it to all the Naga inhabited areas in northeastern India.
The extension of the truce sparked violent protests in neighboring
Manipur province, where 17 people were killed in the past month.
Protesters in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh _ where Nagas are a
minority _ fear the truce extension was the first step before the parts
of their states where Nagas are concentrated would be carved off and
merged into Nagaland.
The NSCN is engaged in peace talks with New Delhi to try to end the
54-year-old Naga insurrection through a ``political dialogue.'' The two
sides are locked in a dispute over the cease-fire jurisdiction.
Groups in Manipur and Assam accuse the Nagas and the NSCN of pursuing
``expansionist designs.''
Saturday's declaration by the Naga council calling for unification of
all Naga areas in northeastern India under a single political and
administrative unit is likely to heighten tension in the frontier
states, wedged between Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
________________________DRUGS______________________
Reuters: Interview-Myanmar Warlord Says He's Fighting Drugs
By Prapan Chankaew
TONGKYI, Myanmar, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Yod Suk, commander of an ethnic
militia battling the Myanmar military in remote jungles near the Thai
border, has been branded a criminal and narcotics trafficker, but he
insists he is fighting to stamp out drugs.
The Shan State Army (SSA) leader told Reuters at his headquarters in
Myanmar that his soldiers were doing their best to intercept drug
convoys bound for Thailand, where hundreds of millions of
methamphetamine pills are sold every year.
``The reason why we are focused on intercepting drugs at the moment is
because narcotics are not only affecting Thailand and the outside world.
It is directly threatening and affecting our own Shan people as well,''
Yod Suk said.
``If many of our people become addicted to drugs, we won't be able to
achieve the goals we are fighting for, so eradicating drugs is our
priority.''
Thai anti-drugs officials say the United Wa State Army (UWSA), an
ethnic army allied with the Yangon government, is the main producer of
the methamphetamine pills flooding Thailand.
Methamphetamines are increasingly supplanting heroin as the main drug
produced in the infamous Golden Triangle region where the borders of
Thailand, Myanmar and Laos converge.
The Myanmar government insists the UWSA is not involved in drug
production or trafficking, and says Yod Suk and the SSA are the main
culprits. It has accused the Thai military of siding with the SSA and of
profiting from the drugs trade.
Yod Suk was formerly part of the Mong Tai Army of drug warlord Khun Sa,
who surrendered to Myanmar troops in 1996 and now lives in Yangon under
government protection.
Yod Suk says there are some 20,000 soldiers in his army, including
thousands of new recruits. The SSA, which has been fighting for
independence from Myanmar for more than 40 years, is the most powerful
anti-government militia in the country.
Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has made
peace with 17 ethnic militia groups in recent years, allowing many of
them, like the UWSA, considerable autonomy in return for dropping their
struggle against Yangon.
But the SSA, as well as the Karen National Union (KNU), are still
fighting the government, saying they want independence for their people.
During recent months clashes between the SSA and soldiers of the UWSA
and Myanmar military have intensified along the mountainous border with
Thailand.
Relations between two countries have soured this year, boiling over in
February when Thai and Myanmar soldiers clashed and dozens were killed.
Since then, the two countries have tried to patch up ties. Yod Suk said
the detente was unlikely to last for long.
``I see relations between Thailand and Myanmar as on and off. Whenever
the relationship has improved, it didn't last for long and was always
fragile,'' he said.
___________________________________________________
AP: Taiwanese gets death sentence in Myanmar for drug trafficking
August 19, 2001
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ A Yangon district court has sentenced to death a
Taiwanese man on drug trafficking charges, a newspaper reported.
The 45-year-old man, identified as Yu Ming Yu, was arrested with 500
grams (17.5 ounces) of heroin at the Yangon International airport on
June 2, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported.
It said in its Saturday's edition that he was handed the death sentence
on July 31. There was no explanation why the case was reported late.
Court officials were not available to confirm the report on Sunday.
Under Myanmar law, anyone found guilty of importing and exporting a
narcotic drug may be punished with a minimum 15 years imprisonment to a
maximum of death sentence. However, death sentences are rarely carried
out in Myanmar. ^aaw/vj<
__________________________________________________
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
AFP: Thai official blasts UN over stance on Myanmar illegal immigrants
BANGKOK, Aug 19 (AFP) - A Thai official rejected a request by the United
Nations' refugee agency that some 4,300 illegal immigrants from Myanmar
be allowed to stay in Thailand, a report said Sunday.
National Security Council Secretary General Khajadpai Buruspatana said
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) proposal would
only prolong Thailand's refugee crisis and attract new waves of asylum
seekers.
"The UNHCR wants these people to be refugees so that it can take care
of them," he was quoted as saying by the Nation daily.
"Despite that the war (in Myanmar) is over, they want to make them stay
here on grounds that these people may be affected by the ramifications
of the war," Khajadpai said, referring to ethnic fighting along the
border.
He said recognising the current group of Myanmar illegal immigrants,
who are mostly ethnic Karen, as refugees could draw thousands of other
ethnic asylum seekers escaping fighting along the border.
"If we toe the agency's line, thousands of Shan people may flood into
Thailand," he said. "Our policy is to close refugee camps and send them
back home."
UNHCR deputy representative Janvier De Riedmatten said last week that
the 4,300 illegal immigrants had been turned away from the Mae La
refugee camp in Thailand's western Tak province despite UNHCR requests
to let them stay.
De Riedmatten said as the Thai government had rejected requests for
political asylum the group would likely be deported, although no action
has yet been taken.
The would-be migrants arrived at the Mae La camp over a six-month
period ending early this year. The camp is one of the largest along the
Thai border and shelters more than 30,000 Myanmar refugees.
A second group of 1,600 people who arrived over the past three to four
months are also at the camp, awaiting a decision on their fate by Thai
authorities, De Riedmatten said.
Many of Thailand's 120,000-strong refugee population are members of the
Karen minority group, who are escaping fighting along the border between
the rebel Karen National Union (KNU) and Myanmar government forces.
___________________________________________________
AFL-CIO: U Maung Maung named recipient of 2001 George Meany-Lane
Kirkland Human Rights Award
August 1, 2001
The 2001 George Meany - Lane Kirkland Human Rights award was awarded to
U Maung Maung, founder of the Federation of Trade Unions in Burma
(FTUB), for bringing the plight of Burmese workers to the attention of
the world.
Chicago, Illinois
2001 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award
In 1988, students, monks, civil servants and workers by the hundreds of
thousands took to the streets in cities all over Burma demanding an end
to 25 years of brutal military rule. Tragically, the military responded
by opening fire on the peaceful protests, massacring thousands. Many
others were forced to flee the country.
Now 13 years later, Burma?s military regime desperately
clings to power after having been singled out by the international
community as one of the worst violators of basic human rights in the
world. Last year, the International Labor Organization (ILO) agreed to
implement measures it had never imposed against a member state in its
80-year history to compel the military regime to end its widespread use
of forced labor. Freedom of association does not exist anywhere in Burma
despite the fact that Burma ratified ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of
Association over 40 years ago. Any attempt to organize an independent
trade union is repressed with violence.
One of the participants in the 1988 demonstrations was U
Maung Maung. A geologist by trade, Brother Maung Maung?s trade union
activism brought him to the pro-democracy movement. As the elected
president of the Ministry of Mines Union, he and six other union leaders
were fired from their jobs for participating in the 1988 protests. He
was forced to flee his home and escape to the Thai-Burma border in
December of that year after the Military Intelligence came looking for
him at his in-law?s home.
Two years after fleeing Burma, Brother Maung Maung helped
to form the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB). In doing so, he
mobilized other exiled workers to come together to protect basic worker
rights, while simultaneously acting to restore democracy in Burma.
Beginning with virtually no resources, Maung Maung has built an
effective grassroots organization that has had a tremendous impact on
bringing the plight of Burmese workers to the attention of the world.
The AFL-CIO is proud of the solidarity support we have been providing to
the FTUB for many years.
Now based in Bangkok, the FTUB is the only effective voice
for the over 1.5 million Burmese migrants working in Thailand. It has
successfully organized underground unions inside Burma, often at great
peril and sacrifice of its leaders. Two FTUB activists, arrested in
Rangoon over four years ago, have not been seen since in spite of an
international trade union campaign demanding their release. The FTUB has
also supported the organization of trade unions in many of Burma?s
ethnic states. The ethnic trade unions represent the first democratic
institutions organized in these areas.
When he fled Burma in 1988, U Maung Maung left behind a
wife and young son. He has not seen either of them for 13 years and
avoids any communication with them for their own protection. His ability
to remain optimistic in his belief that one day democracy will come to
Burma and that he will be reunited with his family and friends in a
democratic Burma is truly remarkable. For his inspiration, leadership,
and personal sacrifice, the AFL-CIO is pleased to award the 2001 George
Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award to Brother U Maung Maung.
___________________________________________________
BurmaNet: Official refugee population in Thailand tops 136,000
August 19, 2001
As of the end of July, 136,124 people from Burma were officially
registered as being in refugee camps in Thailand as well as some who are
in resettlement camps along the border. The figure does not include
people who fled their homes but remain inside Burma or refugees in
Thailand who live outside the camps. The number of refugees outside the
camps is regularly estimated at being between 500,000 and one million.
Some 800,000 are estimated to be internally displaced.
.
______________________OTHER______________________
Announcement for the Burmese Literature and Art Symposium 2001
The following speakers will participate in the Burmese Literature and
Art Symposium and everyone is invited to attend.
Speakers: (1) U Tin Moe (Poet)
(2) U Win Pe (Author, Artist, Movie Director)
(3) U Tin Maung Than (Journalist)
Where: First Parish in Brookline Church
382 Walnut Street
Brookline, Boston
Massachusetts
When: September 2nd 2001, Sunday
2:00 PM to 5:30 PM
A commemorative magazine 'Tha-Byay-Nyo' will be published and
distributed on the same day. It can be obtained from:
Ko Lay
35 Chestnut Street, Apt #2
Malden MA 02148
USA
eddress: kolay@xxxxxxxxxx
fax: 1-781-388-0038
Price: One issue of magazine (paperback): US $7.00
One issue of magazine (CD version): US $10.00
________________
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