BurmaNet News: Aug 27-28, 1994

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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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BurmaNet News: Saturday-Sunday, August 27-28, 1994

QUOTES OF THE DAY: 

"You are dealing with systematic criminality, and a system that exploits
people throughout the whole country and in which many law enforcement
personnel have a hand....There are many crooks who are in uniform."


                         Chulalongkorn University's Professor Vitit
                         Muntarbhorn on how Thailand's sex industry gets
                         away with exploiting Burmese and Chinese children
                         despite laws which should protect them.


"We love our neighbours."

                         Thai army chief Wimol Wongwanich explaining that, 
                         despite loving the Mon refugees, his government
                         would make them return to Burma.

*************************************************************
Contents:

NATION: 

BURMANET: 


1:  BURMANET: XUWICHA FLIES TO PAYAW CAMP; PRESSURES MONS LEADERS
2:  NATION:  THAI ARMY DENIES MON FLEEING RIGHTS ABUSES
3:  NATION: MON REFUGEE WOMAN REPORTED DEAD FROM CEREBRAL MALERIA
4:  BKK POST:  MORE ON SHOOTING INCIDENT AT HALOCKANI REFUGEE CAMP
5:  BKK POST:  WIMOL HAD DOUBTS ABOUT U.S.
6:  NATION:  (EDITORIAL) MILITARY DICTATES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER
7:  REUTERS: MON REFUGEES SEES AS PAWNS IN COMPLEX POLITICAL GAME
8:  NATION: BORDERLINE ADVENTURE; JOURNALISTS SNEAK INTO HALOCKANI CAMP
9:  AWSJ: (EDITORIAL) BAD MIX OF DRUGS AND POLITICS
10: BKK POST/AFP: AIDS AND [BURMESE/CHINESE] CHILDREN IN THAILAND
11: BKK POST:  AIR MANDALAY PLANNING THAI-BURMA CHARTERS

*************************************************************
BURMANET:  XUWICHA FLIES TO PAYAW CAMP; PRESSURES MONS LEADERS
August 28, 1994
 
Xuwicha Hiranprueck (varient spelling=Suvicha Hiranyaprueck), a Thai
businessman and sometime "representative" of the Thai National Security
Council flew by helicopter to Payaw Mon refugee Camp on 22 August where he
met Mon leaders, including New Mon State Party President Nai Shwe Kyin and
other Central Committee members.  Xuwicha did not visit "New Halockani" on
this trip.

A well informed source said that during the the meeting, Xuwicha argued with
Mon leaders and about the recently finished the third round of cease-fire
talks, which were held between 27 June-2 July in the headquarters of Burma's
Southeast Military Command of Moulmein.  Moulmein is the capital of Mon State
in Burma.   Xuwicha condemned the Mon leaders because the cease-fire talks
are still deadlocked.  Mon leaders argued that the restrictions demanded by
SLORC negotiators are unacceptable.
 
In the meeting with Mon leaders, Xuwicha made three points:
 
(1)  That Mon troops should restrict their movements around the Three Pagoda
Pass and not fight with Burmese troops in this area.
 
(2)  Xuwicha also claimed that during the July 21 attack on Palai Dumpai
village, which was part of the Halockhani refugee camp, Burmese troops only
burned three houses.  Xuwicha accused the refugees of burning down the rest
of the houses in order to embarrass U Ohn Kyaw, SLORC's delegate to the ASEAN
meeting then being held in Bangkok.  He also accused Mon troops of
encouraging the refugees in this action.
 
(3)  Xuwicha then said that the Mons sheltering at New Halockhani must 
return back to their former camp on the Burma side of the border and submit
to the orders of Thailand's Ninth Division of Thai Army, which is based in
Kanchanaburi province.
 
During the meeting, Xuwicha threatened the Mon leaders with arrest should any
of them attempt to travel to Bangkok or anywhere else in Thailand.  He also
threatened to have them arrested if they did refused to meet with SLORC for
a fourth round of cease-fire talks in the near future. 

In the meantime, he said that he wants to see Mon refugees return back to
their former camp as quickly as possible.   He also accused Mon leaders of
discouraging the Mon refugees from returning.  He asked Mon leaders to make
arrangements for a meeting between the Mon refugees and the Commander 
of Burma's 61st Infantry Battallion in Three Pagoda Pass.

During the latter half of July, Naeo Na, a Thai-language newspaper featured
Xuwicha, codenamed Victor, in a series of articles accusing him of working
for SLORC as a spy.  There was speculation earlier in August that Xuwicha was
either maintaining a lower profile in the wake of the Naeo Na exposes or that
political opponents had clipped his wings.  This helicopter trip to Payaw
however, seems to indicate that he has regained his wings.

*************************************************************
NATION:  [THAI] ARMY DENIES MON FLEEING RIGHTS ABUSES
August 27, 1994

The head of the Royal Thai Army's 9th Infantry Division denied yesterday that
the 6,000 Mon villagers taking shelter at the Ban Ton Yang border checkpoint
were fleeing from war and human rights abuses in Burma.

Mag Gen Chalong Chotigakarm said the Mon were not refugees but in fact
illegal immigrants who had come to Thailand for economic reasons.

"They did not flee because of Human rights abuses," he said.  "There is no
war in this part of Burma now."

In a press conference held at the 9th Division's base in Kanchanaburi, Maj
Gen Chalong played down the attack on Halockhani by Burmese troops which
caused the Mon to flee to Thailand.

"The Burmese soldiers went to the camp to look for weapons because one of
their soldiers had been shot.  When no weapons were handed over, they got
angry and burned some houses," he said.

"They also needed some porters," he added, referring to the 16 Mon who were
taken prisoner.

Chalong said the Mon must go back to Halockhani because it was now safe and
Thai policy was to send back all illegal immigrants.  He equated this with
the US policy concerning Cuban immigrants.

The Mon living at Pa Yaw, another refugee camp in Kanchanaburi, would also be
sent back one a budget had been allocated, he said.

Chalong also said Thai troops would not use force to repatriate the Mon at
Ban Ton Yang to go to Halockhani.  

"We will not burn any houses," he said.  "We will simply try to help them
move back."

Officers from the 9th Division had a meeting with the leader of the Mon
national relief committee yesterday asking him to persuade the refugees into
returning.

Thai authorities have cut off the refugees from all visitors and delivery of
new supplies, including rice and medicine.  But the refugees have so far
refused to return, claiming it is still not safe.

The UN Rights Commissioner for Refugees also said it was not safe for the Mon
to return.

Pichai Nottaphan, a member of the National Security Council, who also
participated in yesterday's press conference, claimed the Mon were worthy of
sympathy, but were being manipulated for political purposes.

"The Thai government is trying--with the help of the 9th Division--to get the
Mon, the Karen and the Burmese to live together peacefully," Pichai said.

He added that Thailand was not trying to pressure the Mon into signing a
ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta or SLORC, but simply tying to
carry out Thailand's policy of sending illegal immigrants home.

Chalong explained that journalist were not allowed to visit the camp at Ban
Ton Yang because it would only encourage the Mon to stay.


*************************************************************
NATION: MON REFUGEE WOMAN REPORTED DEAD FROM CEREBRAL MALERIA
August 28, 1994

A Mon woman, one of 6,000 refugees taking shelter at the Thai-Burma border in
Kanchanaburi province, has died from cerebral malaria.

Members of the Mon National Relief Committee (MNRC), based in Kanchanaburi's
Sankla Buri district, claimed that permission was given to take her from the
New Halockhani refugee camp to a hospital, located 22 kilometers away, but
she was delayed at Border Patrol Police (BPP) checkpoints for several hours
en route.

They added that the woman, named Mi Bankyi, was 35 years old and left behind
five children, including a five-month old baby.  The BPP in Sangkla Buri
could not immediately be reached for comment.

Doctors with the French medical relief agency Medecins Sans Frontieres are
still being barred from entering the camp, along with journalists, MNRC
leaders and any other prospective visitors.  Thai authorities are enforcing
a blockade on the camp--including delivery of basic supplies such as rice and
medicine--until the refugees return to the Halockhani camp located on the
Burmese side of the border.

The Mon fled to New Halockhani located at the Ban Ton Yang border checkpoint,
last month following a raid on Halockhani by Burmese troops.  Malaria,
diarrhoea, beri-beri and respiratory tract infections are all reported to be
rife among the refugees.

MNRC sources said yesterday that the refugee had about three weeks of rice
left, perhaps less if Thai immigration authorities continue to deport illegal
Burmese immigrants through Halockhani, where they are given food and shelter
by the MNRC.


*************************************************************
BKK POST:  MORE ON SHOOTING INCIDENT AT HALOCKANI REFUGEE CAMP
August 28, 1994

Border Patrol Police shot and wounded a Mon refugee just inside Burma at the
"Old Halockani" Refugee Camp on the night of August 13.  The refugee, Nai Kyi
Aung, 28, is in the Kwai River Christian Hospital in Sangklaburi District
with a gunshot wound to the chest.  A BPP official maintains that the
shooting occurred when officers approached a hut occupied by recent Burmese
deportees because the occupants were making too much noise.  According to the
BPP official, the officers shined a flashlight inside the house and Nai Kyi
Aung then rushed at them brandishing a knife.  A number of witnesses and the
man who was shot dispute this version and say that the shooting occurred when
the two officers attempted to take two young Karen women from the hut.

"Old Halockani" is a refugee camp on the Burmese side of the border which was
abandoned by Mon refugees after the camp was attacked by the Burmese army on
July 21.  They moved to a site several hundred meters inside Thailand that
has been dubbed "New Halockani."  The refugee camp is also used as a
deportation point for some 400 to 600 illegal Burmese who are trucked weekly
from Bangkok's Immigration Detention Center.   Many of the deportees are
using huts in "Old Halockani" as temporary shelter while waiting for brokers
to arrange their passage back into Thailand.

The bamboo hut where the incident occurred is about 100 meters inside Burma
and according to camp officials, housed 12 female deportees that night.  
They also say that another eight male deportees were sleeping on the porch at
the time and approximately 200 deportees and a smaller number of Mon refugees
were in huts in the immediate vicinity.

According to Nai Kyi Aung and other witnesses in the camp, the incident began
at about 9:00pm when two BPP officers approached the hut.  The witnesses say
that the officers were walking unsteadily and they believed they had been
drinking.  On reaching the hut, say witnesses, one of the officers, armed
with an M-16 rifle/M-203 grenade launcher pointed his weapon at the men on
the porch and told them "lie down" and "don't interfere."

Then, said Nai Kyi Aung, the other officer went inside the structure and told
two female deportees to "Please follow with us."  The two women, Ma Khin Yi,
17, and Ma San, 20, both Karen-Burmese refused.  Then, say witnesses, the
officer briefly stepped out of the house and returned after a brief interval. 
At that point, someone, it is not clear who, blew out the candle and
according to Nai Kyi Aung, the officer then grabbed the two women and began
pulling them towards the door.  He went on to say that the women began
screaming when the candle went out and shouted out to the men, "please help
me, please help me."  When the shouting began, say the witnesses, some women
tried to get out and others tried to prevent the officer from dragging the
two women away.   According to other witnesses, the policeman then let go of
the women and both officers went down the hill, away from the house.

After the officers left "we ran out the back" said Nai Kyi Aung.  He and two
other men including one Mon refugee and Soe Soe, 26, a Karen deportee who is
Ma Khin Yi's brother, ran towards the camp leaders house.  When the men were
approximately 10 meters down the path, two bursts of automatic weapon fire
rang out and Nai Kyi Aung fell with a bullet in his chest.  According to Nai
Kyi Aung, "I fell down, tried to get up but could not.  So I called out,
`help me, help me'."  According to witnesses, all lights in the camp went out
after the shooting and there was no movement or noise except for the wounded
man's cries.  Both Nai Kyi Aung and witnesses agree that it was nearly an
hour before anyone came to his aid.  One witness stated that after the
shooting, no one moved because it was dark and "we couldn't see where the
police were."

After the shooting, Mon medics rigged a stretcher from a tarpaulin and a pole
and a group of 10 refugees took turns carrying the man more than 10
kilometers to the Kwai River Christian Hospital, arriving at 4:30a.m. 
According to the American doctor  who treated Nai Kyi Aung at the hospital,
the bullet passed through his chest from front to back between the spinal
column and right lung, and "may have ricocheted off the spinal column."  Part
of the bullet is still lodged in his chest.  Initially both legs were
paralyzed but he has regained some movement in his left leg, although his
bladder is not functioning and must be catheterized to urinate.  According to
the doctor, it is still too soon to know whether the paralysis is permanent.

According to hospital staff, police officers came to investigate the incident
on August 16 and 17 and an army officer came on August 18.  The BPP at
Halockani is under the control of the Ninth Division, based at Kanchanaburi.
According to hospital staff and Nai Kyi Aung, one of the investigating BPP
officers, gave the wounded man 4,000 baht but was not specific about what the
money was for.

Sources in the camp also state that on Wednesday, August 16, BPP officers
came into the IDC camp again, and gave between 50 and 200 baht to 16
witnesses, including Ma San, Ma Khin Yi and Soe Soe.  The witnesses were told
to leave the camp and go back into Burma.  Camp sources say they departed
that day before they could be questioned by investigating officers.

Mon camp leaders from "New Halockani" say they have been told that the two
officers allegedly involved in the shooting have been arrested and are in the
Kanchanaburi jail.  The Mon leaders said that they had no major problems with
the Border Patrol unit stationed at Halockani and that the police were
"generally pretty good" and that among the officers, there were "some good,
some bad."

Other camp sources however, say that while the police have treated Mon
refugees fairly well, their behavior towards the women shipped up from the
Immigration Detention Center has not always been as good.  They say that the
original huts for the IDC women were built as far away as possible from the
police outpost but now that the Mon refugees have moved back over into
Thailand, the IDC women are staying in houses only 100-200 meters from the
nearest police outpost.  At present, Thai officials have blockaded the camp,
cutting off food and water to pressure the refugees to move back inside
Burma.  If they do move back, the huts for the IDC women are likely to again
be moved to the far end of the camp.


**************************************************************
BKK POST:  WIMOL HAD DOUBTS ABOUT U.S.
August 28, 1994

Army Commander-in-chief Wimol Wongwanich yesterday said he doubted whether
the US was a genuine friend of Thailand, saying his suspicion arose after
some US Congressmen set conditions for its assistance to Thailand

Gen Wimol said he would not mind if the US wanted to cut its aid through the
International Military Education and Training Programme.  However, he did not
think it proper to link the assistance with irrelevant issues such as
Thailand's not following in the footsteps of the US on all issues.

The commander said a friend was a friend in need and would not waiver under
any circumstances, no matter what happened.

"If they want to cut the aid because they don't want to lose money or don't
want to help us, just say so," the commander said.

[Editor's note: The "irrelevent" issues that the US government linked aid to
are the Thai army's alleged support of the Khmer Rouge and its harassment and
mistreatment of Burmese pro-democracy exiles and refugees.]


**************************************************************
NATION: (EDITORIAL) MILITARY DICTATES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER
August 28, 1994

We might have democracy in Bangkok.  But upcountry--[particularly in the
border regions--a military dictatorship still reigns.

How else can we explain the decision by military authorities to block off all
access to Ban Ton Yang--a Thai border checkpoint where Mon Refugees are
taking shelter--not only to Burmese people but also to Thais and legal
foreign residents?  Journalists, doctors, even a fact-finding commission from
the House Committee on Human Rights have all been forbidden to enter the
area.

While it is the local Border Patrol Police who are carrying out the blockade,
their orders are coming from the Kanchanaburi-based 9th Infantry Division and
further up from the National Security Council (NSC).

What is it they want to hide?  The fact is that the 6,000  mon villagers at
Ban Ton Yang are legitimate refugees who have fled human rights abuses
carried out by Burmese soldiers, in particular the July 21 attack on
Halockhani located just across the border.  Most of the Mon had only moved to
Halockhani this year from refugee camps in Thailand on the orders of the 9th
Division, which had promised that they would be safe.

The NSC says the Mon must go back to Halockhani.  But if neutral observers
were allowed to go in and talk to the refugees, they would find that the
public explanations given for such a policy are weak.

Nonsensical claim

The NSC claims the Mon are illegal immigrants who have entered Thailand to
make money out of Thailand's booming economy.  This is nonsense.

If the refugees wanted to make money, why are they staying in a cramped and
muddy camp at the border?  It's easy enough to hike along jungle trails to
Sankha Buri from both Halockhani and Ban Ton Yang (which has been dubbed "New
Halockhani" by the refugees.")

Now Thai authorities are confusing the situation further by deporting
captured Burmese illegals to Halockhani, were they are given precious food
and shelter by Mon relief officials.  Meanwhile, no new supplies of food or
medicine are being allowed into the area in an effort to push the Mon back
into Burma.

Ironically, immigration officials say they have been forced to deport the
illegals through Halockhani because the Burmese soldiers at Three Pagodas
Pass--the legal border crossing--refused to accept them.  So why are we
trying to help the soldiers and hurt the Mon?

The 9th Division also claims that they have been destroying Thai forests. 
This must be a joke, because over the last few years this same division has
moved the refugees from camp to camp within Thailand--damaging the forest at
each new site.

It's true the refugees were doing a roaring trade in bamboo shoots before the
road to Sankha Buri was closed.  But this is nothing compared to what Thai
migrants to Burma--loggers, that is--have done to that country's forests.

Military authorities are also claiming once again that it is safe for the Mon
to live in Halockhani.  But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees disagrees. 
And so do the refugees.

Further trouble certain.

They have a lot of experience with Burmese soldiers.  They know that even if
the battalion at Three Pagodas Pass is now under pressure from Rangoon to
refrain from attacking the refugees, sooner or later-perhaps at the next
change of battalion--there will again be trouble.

The Mon refugees are not staying in Thailand because it is "sabay" [an easy
life], as Thai soldiers claim.  New Halockhani is anything but "sabay"; the
refugees say quite openly that they would like to go back to Burma.  But they
are, quite simply, scared to do so.

So what are the real reasons Thai authorities are pushing so hard to send the
Mon back?  It's all a part of the policy of constructive engagement.  They
want to pressure Mon leaders into signing a ceasefire agreement with the
Slorc.  In return, well-connected Thai businessmen will receive lucrative
contracts to extract timber, gas and fish from Burmese territory.

Thailand should be promoting peace between the warring sides in Burma.  But
this must be carried out by neutral diplomats attempting to facilitate
negotiations.  And refugees from Burma should be allowed to stay in Thailand
until there is a real peace settlement.

The Mon in particular should be allowed to stay at Ban Ton Yang.  There is
plenty of room for them to spread out a bit, and they are willing to follow
Thai regulations by preserving the forest.

But the cowardly silence on this issue from the Chuan administration has been
all to deafening.  The politicians--the alleged voice of our democracy--have
let the soldiers hijack our Burma policy, and they are simply trying to force
the guerrillas to surrender.

As a result, we have taken sides in the Burma conflict, the wrong side.




**************************************************************
NATION: BORDERLINE ADVENTURE; JOURNALISTS SNEAK INTO HALOCKANI CAMP
August 26, 1994
by James Fahn

Sometimes getting to a story can be just as interesting as the story itself. 

That was the case one day last week when a ragtag bunch of newshounds found
themselves trampling through a jungle adventure.

The idea was to get to a muddy, isolated Mon refugee camp at a Thai-Burma
border checkpoint near Sangkha Buri in Kanchanaburi province....

With the Thai authorities pushing for the refugees to go back, and the Mon
claiming it wasn't safe to do so, we had to get in and see for ourselves what
was going on.

We had received a tip that Thai troops may try to push the Mon back on a
certain day.  But the dirt road leading to the checkpoint had been closed to
all traffic by the Border Patrol Police.  Se we decided to look for another
way in.

After much searching around tow--and many elaborate negotiations--we found a
guide who agreed to take us along the jungle trails to Halockhani and the
border checkpoint, which are only one kilometre apart.

At first, out guide--a doe-eyed young Mon man who could have been any age
from 15-25--\wanted to go by night.  But we vetoed that decision--and were
later glad we did.

He was reluctant to go during the day because he feared running into Thai
security forces patrolling in the jungle--though what we were doing wasn't
necessarily illegal.

The week before journalists had expressly been given permission to enter the
area.  And although we had heard the blockade was tighter now, there had been
no formal announcement to this effect.

Furthermore, just because the ROAD was closed didn't mean HALOCKHANI was
closed.

Whether hardened soldiers on forest patrol would appreciate such legalistic
arguments was a matter of some debate.  But trying to get official permission
to enter the camp would have meant a tedious--and probably fruitless--trek
though some extremely tangled bureaucratic jungle.  So we figured we'd just
go ahead and try the real thing instead.

By the time we set off there were nine of us altogether, the guide and eight
journalists--half of us Thai, half of us farang--representing The Nation, the
Bangkok Post, Manager, a German press agency and various other publications.

We had all met accidentally in Sangkla, and at first it seemed unwise to go
traipsing through a sensitive border region with so many people.  But we were
all heading to the same place and those of us who had organized the trek
couldn't really bring ourselves to exclude the others.

Besides, we didn't know what kind of reception we would get at the camp, and
figured there might be safety in numbers.

We were in high spirits upon hitting  the trailhead.  The incessant rains had
actually ceased.  We were surrounded by lush, green paddy overlaid by a heavy
mist.

Best of all, our guide said it would take only two hours to our destination
if the rain held (others had said it would take all day).
We marched off with our head held high.  This would be a cake walk we
figured.

We found out otherwise soon after when our guide tried to cross a rain-
swollen "stream" and got swept away by a deceptively swift current.  It was
not clear if he could swim, but he managed to stay afloat until he caught an
overhanging tree branch and dragged himself ashore on the other side.

New we were stymied.  We could have swam across, but what about our camera
gear?

After much experimentation with fording the river and cutting down bamboo
poles, we finally realized that we could just link hands and help each other
through the hard parts.

All the to-ing and fro-ing took about half an hour.  From the subtle change
in the expression on our guide's face, he must have realized that Bangkokians
may pay well, but that he would have to earn every baht.

Nevertheless, we felt pretty good about our river conquest--until we found
out five minutes later that the trail crossed the same river again.

This time we managed to hack our way through the jungle to a log which
crossed the waterway--another time consuming exercise.  But by now the
difficulty of the task we had undertaken began to set in, punctuated by a
soft drizzle which began to fall.

The trail then began to climb through spectacular scenery.  But not all of us
could appreciate the stunning vistas, in particular The Nation photographer
Kod.

It would have been hard to come across a person more ill-suited to such an
arduous trek.  Kod's impressive height is complemented by his even more
impressive girth.  Weighing well over 100 kilos, he lugged along a camera bag
that seemed just as heavy.

Kod sat down frequently on the mud-covered trail--sometimes intentionally,
more often not.  During one of the stops, he conceded to me--a bit late, I
though--that he had never been trekking bore.

There was little I could do to comfort him, however, part from trying to
appease the increasingly insistent rumbles emerging from his belly with the
only offering I had to give: dry "mama" noodles and dried mango.

We pushed on.  The trail headed down toward another stream-turned-torrent,
which we again had to cross several times.  But by now we had got the hang of
it and were working as a team, helping each other across.  By now, we were
also grateful there were so many of us.

We would occasionally pass Mon villagers along the way.  Presumably, thy were
on their way to Sangkla or surrounding villages to do a little trade.  We
could only stare in awe at the heavy load the men carried, and the sturdy
women trundling along little children.

Then came the most exhausting part of the journey: a hike up a long, winding
rock-strewn stream.  We became quieter, and our heads began to hang.

Then, just after midday, about six hours into our trek, we heard a faint
sound, familiar but much out of place amid the jungle noises.  A Thai Army
helicopter soon passed overhead and headed toward Halockhani.

I had to suppress a giggle as we all ducked under some bushes so as not to be
seen. It seemed unnecessarily dramatic--like we were acting out some Vietnam
War flic--but anyway we needed the rest.

The worst thing about the helicopter passing was realizing that something was
going on at the refugee camp and not knowing what it was.  The second worst
thing was not being sure if I wanted something to be happening: on the one
hand it would have made a great news scoop for us; on the other, it may have
turned violent, even deadly.

The helicopter flew away a couple of hours later, piquing our imagination
even further.  We were getting close now and had gone completely silent at he
request of our guide, who said we were close to a police checkpoint.

We hoped we hadn't strayed into Burma, which would have been awkward, not
that the border seemed to make much difference here.

About half an hour from our destination we ran into a Mon villager who
offered us some fruit.  We sat down for a rest along a riverbank, when
suddenly we heard a shout from across the stream.  We looked over and our
hearts sank into our mud-covered boots.

There, coming out of the jungle, were four Thai soldiers in fatigues,
carrying automatic weapons.  They were obviously surprised to see us, and a
couple were even smiling  But the two senior officers quickly began
interrogating us one by one.

Given the circumstances, there was only one thing we could do: pretend to be
stupid tourists.

What are you doing here?  "Ma thiaw" [come to have fun] we grinned.  (And it
was true that at least some of us had come along for some "adventure
tourism", although this was more than we had bargained for).

Where did you come from?  "Bangkok" (Okay, we were being cheeky, but we were
tired).

Who's your guide?  This was the truly dangerous question.  If they had found
the answer, they would have taken him away and done who knows what.

But everyone simply muttered we didn't have one, or else said nothing at all. 
That's when I knew for sure that we had a really good bunch of people.

Fortunately, one of the soldiers had seen the Mon villager we had just met at
the refugee camp that morning, and they didn't think to ask what the other
Mon guy was doing there.

I showed them my name card, but was rather miffed to discover they apparently
hadn't heard of The Nation, much less me. 

"Where are you going," asked the balaclava-clad soldier, who was turning out
to be quite a hard case.

"Oh, we heard there was a village around here."

"You mean Halockhani?  It's empty.  The villagers have all fled to a Thai
border checkpoint."  And so we finally learned that the refugees had not--
yet--been pushed back.

They then started discussing whether to send us back.  But at this point,
they met their match in Kod.  He was tired.  He was hungry.  He was half
soaking wet and half covered in mud.  There was no way, he was going back the
way we came.

"Can't you carry us," he asked plaintively, "Maybe send a helicopter in to
pick us up?"

The soldiers looked at Kod's bulk in amazement and then at each other in
distress.  They then started complaining about how little equipment they were
given, pointing to holes poking through their big, black boots.  We knew we
had won.

"It's very dangerous around here," the hard-case soldier said in a last bid
to send us away.  "There are Mons, Karens and Burmese shooting at each other,
even Indians and repatriated illegal immigrants."  He spoke of them as if
they were criminals.

It it's so dangerous, why are you demanding that the refugees return, we
wanted to ask.  Instead, we promised we would look after ourselves and
slowly, quietly began walking away.

We regrouped a bit further on, and began babbling away in excitement over our
encounter.  We quickly paid off our guide (adding a generous tim) who
departed sporting a wicked grin.  Perhaps he was just relieved at being rid
of us, but I like to think that he enjoyed the adventure, also, in hindsight
at least.

Finally, we got to Halockhani.  To some it may look like a cramped and muddy
little hellhole.  But to the refugees it was a home of sorts.  And to us it
looked like heaven.

If the Mon were surprised to see eight mud-covered, waterlogged, camera-
clicking city-slickers, they hid it under delighted smiles.

There was no doubt about who among us was happiest to be there.  Kod dashed,
or rather shambled, straight to the nearest little food stall, plopped down
in the mud and to the astonishment of the nearby refugees--proceeded to
gobble down 12 packs of biscuits.

We all had a good laugh, but we were laughing with him, not at him.  Kod
actually had more to be proud of than any of us.  And it was nice to be able
to laugh again.,

The Border Patrol Police stationed at the camp greeted us with equanimity. 
On the whole, they seemed pleasantly surprised to have new company, although
they warned us next time we would have to arrive with proper permission.

We wolfed down some kwitiaow [noodle soup] and the latest news.  A fact-
finding group from the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights had been
forbidden to enter the camp.  The district officer and a soldier from the 9th
Infantry Division had arrived in the helicopter and warned the refugees they
had one more week to go back voluntarily or things would get "a little
difficult."

Then we heard the really bad news: a Reuters reporter had also been on the
helicopter.  [See next article]

We jealously cursed our lick.  Even with what little news there had been,
we'd been scooped.  Too bad we hadn't really been in Vietnam: we could have
shot down the damn helicopter.

But on second though, we realized we could now walk with a bit of swagger
because we had gotten to the camp the HARD way.  And so we had our own story
to tell, which no one else could scoop.


**************************************************************
REUTERS: MON REFUGEES SEES AS PAWNS IN COMPLEX POLITICAL GAME
August 23, 1994
by Robert Birsel
New Halockani
[abridged]

Burmese refugees refusing to leave a remote western valley are pawns in a
complex political game being played out by Thailand and the Burmese regime,
Burma watchers say.

The 6,000 minority Mon refugees camped in New Halockhani are victims of
shifting Thai policy towards troubled Burma, with some key Thai policy-makers
increasingly eager to accommodate Burma's moves to end decades-long jungle
wars.

Thailand says the Mon people in this muddy valley just inside the Thai-
Burmese border are not genuine refugees but illegal immigrants and must
return to Burma.

The Mon fled here last month after a Burmese army raid ont heir settlement
just across the border....

"These people must be sent back," regional Thai army commander Maj Gen
Chalong Chotigakarm told Reuters.

"They have guarantees for their safety but they still want to say.  I can
only assume it is because they are living comfortable lives on help from
relief agencies," he added.

The refugees, sheltering from monsoon rains under plastic sheets, do not
trust Burma's assurances and insist they will be vulnerable to Burmese
attacks if they are forced back across the frontier.

"There is definitely a new Thai get-tough policy towards the Burmese minority
groups," one political analyst said....

The Rangoon junta has recently cajoled ethnic minority rebel armies based in
northern and northeastern Burma into ceasefire agreements, but refuses to
discuss their political demands. 

Guerrilla groups still holding out, including the Mon and the more powerful
Karen people to the north, say ceasefires without agreements on long-standing
political demands amount to surrender.

"Nobody is expecting too much from these ceasefires.  They are just a pause
in the fighting.  They lack any content to build long-term confidence," a
diplomat said.

But political analysts say some Thai policy-makers are stepping up pressure
on the hold-out guerrilla groups to force them into ceasefire agreements.

"Some key decision makers appear set on forcing ceasefires as a friendly
gesture to Rangoon.  One can only assume that their personal interests will
be well served through close ties with wither opposite numbers in Burma," an
analyst said....


**************************************************************
AWSJ: (EDITORIAL) BAD MIX OF DRUGS AND POLITICS
August 26-27, 1994
[abridged]

Bangkok--At home, Thanong Siriprachapong was a member of Parliament and a
successful entrepreneur.  Abroad, he was known as Thai Tony, an international
drug dealer.

According to American prosecutors, while Mr. Thanong was cloaked in
respectability in his Nakhon Phanom constituency in northeast Thailand, he
was also peddling narcotics worldwide.  They say, for instance, that he
collected a million dollars at Hong Kong's Mandarin Hotel in late 1985 or
early 1986 for agreeing to supply 18 tons of marijuana.  And when the
consignment reached the US a few months later, he picked up another million-
dollar payment in cash at a ranch near Fresno, California.

Altogether, US authorities link Mr Thanong to the import of about 49 tons of
marijuana between 1973 and 1987.  At least 10 others have been convicted in
connection with those shipments.

Not Mr Thanong.  When details of his three-count indictment in San Francisco
surfaced in May, he quit the opposition Chart Thai Party and resigned his
parliamentary seat.  But still protesting his innocent, he looks like walking
away without having to answer the charges.  Although the US Justice
Department announced it would seek his extradition, the Thai are reluctant to
allow him to stand trial abroad and are unable or unwilling to prosecute him
themselves.

His public disgrace is the mere tip of a scandal of potentially monumental
proportions.  Since then, two more Thai legislators have been publicly
identified as having been refused visas for the US because they are thought
to be involved in drug trafficking.

Mongkol Chongsuttanamanee, who represents the Chiang Rai constituency in
norther Thailand for the opposition Chart Patana party hasn't been charged in
the US or Thailand and denies any wrongdoing.  "A well-founded reason to
believe that the applicant is knowingly involved in the illicit narcotics
trade is sufficient" to reject his visa applications, the US Embassy in
Bangkok said in a statement.

Vatana Asavahame, deputy leader of Chart Thai and a former deputy interior
minister whose Samut Prakarn constituency is southeast of Bangkok, denies
similar accusations.  But the US government has "extensive and reliable
information" that he "has been involved with various aspects of narcotics
trafficking for more than 20 years," the embassy said in a letter to the Thai
government that was leaked to the press.

On top of that, Foreign Minister Prasong Soonsiri has confirmed that the US
suspects nine other opposition members of Parliament and seven former members
are involved in the narcotics business.

Well-informed Thais aren't surprised by .  Without prejudging any of the
accused, it has been obvious for years that sophisticated syndicates operate
narcotics and other rackets in Thailand with the toleration or active
connivance of people at the top.

Investigators have long known he identity of the masterminds: a number of
prominent businessmen and politicians among them ethnic Chinese and pillars
of the community.  A typical, highly profitable deal requires budgeting,
buying, financing and arranging a down payment, transport and bribes,
creating a "symbiotic relationship" between politics, officialdom and
criminality, as one investigator puts it.

A Western diplomatic source in Bangkok who has studied the situation says the
tentacles extend much further than narcotics.  "There's gambling, there's
prostitution, there's the illegal smuggling of oil," he says.  "It becomes
part of the fabric of the institution.  You have a member of Parliament that
has high-level contacts with the authorities who facilitate...The oil comes
in illegally, there is no tax taken out of the profits.  People become filthy
rich.  That money gets dumped back into the party.  The party then goes out
and buys votes...it is all linked."

One consequence is that Thailand remains the major export route for heroin
from the notorious Golden Triangle encompassing northeast Burma, northwestern
Lao and upper Thailand.  Even as Thailand reduces the cultivation of poppy,
opium grown across the border in Burma and refined into heroin in clandestine
jungle laboratories flows down Thai highways--much of it in army and police
vehicles--on its way to the US and Asian destinations....

*************************************************************
BKK POST/AFP: AIDS AND CHILDREN IN THAILAND
August 26, 1994

Controversy surrounding an epidemic of AIDS babies in Thailand will also
affect socioeconomic, political and legal rights of the child, Child
Rights ASIANET director-general Vitit Muntabhorn said yesterday.

And he called for significant rights to be awarded to children -- the
ones who will be worst affected if they or their parents are infected
with HIV or AIDS.

He said the current guiding light for better treatment of those with
HIV/AIDS was a National Plan for the Prevention of AIDS with multi-
pronged strategies of education, rehabilitation and medical help,
protection of human rights and social assistance.

But he said the plan is persuasive rather than binding policy.

Thus, new or reformed laws are needed to prevent and remedy problems
caused by the impact of HIV/AIDS on child rights.

Mr Vitit, a Chulalongkorn University law lecturer, suggested Thailand
should withdraw reservations it submitted to the 1990 Convention on the
Rights of the Child.

"Child rights should be recognised as inherent in all children on Thai
territory, whether or not they have Thai nationality," he said.

Children and women sold and trafficked for sexual or other purposes into
Thailand should be exempt from immigration law, he said.

"The Thai government should not classify Burmese girls who are forced to
enter prostitution in Thailand and become HIV/AIDS positive as illegal
immigrants, but should recognise them as special humanitarian cases
needing protection and assistance," he said.

Mr Vitit said the key weakness of the country is that there was no law
providing redress against discrimination in Thai society.

Therefore, if there was discrimination concerning treatment,
accommodation and access to services and facilities there would be no
legal provisions to help affected people.

According to Mr Vitit a specific law offering equality of treatment
should be introduced to cover those infected with HIV/AIDS and those who
had been discriminated against.

There should be a law on the right to privacy to protect children
against compulsory testing for HIV/AIDS and to respect the
confidentiality of information concerning those who are HlV-positive
unless they give consent, he said.

"Such law should cover the pre-employment situation to protect those
applying for jobs and prohibit compulsory testing before they are
employed," said the law lecturer.

The National Plan for the prevention of AIDS lays down guidelines to the
type of testing permitted.

While screening of donated blood is ensured, testing of persons for
HIV/AIDS must only be carried out voluntarily.

Reality, he said, is still a far cry from that which was advocated by
the National Plan.

"The compulsory or hidden testing without informed consent continues to
appear," said Mr Vitit.

"Insurance companies also impose the condition of HIV/AIDS testing
without which they will refuse to insure candidates."

And Mr Vitit said laws concerning child abuse -- including Revolutionary
Announcement No. 294 and the Prostitution Suppression Act -- need to be
reformed to prevent abuse and exploitation from arising.

To protect children against sexual exploitation the age of consent, now
15, should be raised to 18 which would conform with the definition of
"child" found in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, he said.

Rights which Mr Vitit said should be given to children include the right
to non-discrimination, life, privacy, the highest attainable standard of
health, an adequate standard of living, social security, education and
information, protection from abuse and exploitation, and alternative
family care when the original family is unable to care for the child.

He said national policies accepted in Thailand include the National Plan
for the Prevention of AIDS; and international principles which have
emerged from treaties and customs, as well as through various decisions
and recommendations of the World Health Organisation.

But practices were often amiss and there were a lack of effective
remedies at the local level, Mr Vitit said.

**************************
Excerpt from Agence France Presse's coverage of the same seminar"

Thailand's Aid's babies must struggle against an outdated legal system,
disinterested politicians and a police force of "systematic criminality," a
prominent Thai law professor said yesterday.

"We have a morass of laws here," said Vitit Muntarbhorn, executive director
of a Unicef-sponsored children's rights group, ASIANET, adding that, "we have
no enforcement," or protection....

"Essentially," he said, "there is no law that says children have the right
not to be exploited in the first place."

Burmese or Chinese minors, who police have said maje up much of the forced
labour in Thailnad's brothel industry, have no rights because they are not
Thai citizens, Vitit added.

"You are dealing with systemic criminality, and a system that exploits people
throughtou the whole country and in which many law enforcement personnel have
a hand," he charged.  "There are many crooks who are in uniform."


**************************************************************
BKK POST:  AIR MANDALAY PLANNING THAI-BURMA CHARTERS
August 25, 1994

Air Mandalay is planning regular charter flight operations to link Thai and
Burmese tourist destinations soon. 

Grace Chang, senior marketing executive of Singapore based Air Mandalay
Holding Pte Ltd, says the company is now negotiating with the Thai and
Burmese governments for approval of its proposed routes.  The results should
be known in the next few months.

Proposed routes for operation include four scheduled domestic flights a week
on the Rangoon-Mandalay-Rangoon route.  Charter flights would link Rangoon
with Heho, Pagan and Thanwe.  Other proposed charter routes would link
Rangoon, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tachilek and Mandalay, along with A Rangoon-
Phuket service.  Air Mandalay is allow planning tour packages.

The fleet comprises two ATR 72-210 QC carries with an upgraded capacity of 66
passengers and four crew.  The ATRs are the most modern turboprop aircraft in
production and are equipped with flight-control technologies and flight-
management systems.  They are able to operate with full loads even at high
altitudes such as those encountered in the airfields of Heho at 1,300 meters.

A flight schedule is also currently being developed.  In addition, Air
Mandalay will offer well-planned Burma tour packages.

The launch of this new airline could not happen at a better time as the
Directorate of Hotels and Tourism has designated 1996 as "Visit Myanmar
Year."

***************************************************************
ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:

 AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
 AFP: AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
 AWSJ: ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
 BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
 BI: BURMA ISSUES
 BIG: BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
 BKK POST: THE BANGKOK POST
 CPPSM: COMMITTEE FOR THE PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND
 DA:  DEPTHNEWS ASIA
 FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW
 NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)

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