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BurmaNet News: August 30
************************** BurmaNet **************************
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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BurmaNet News: Tuesday, August 30, 1994
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Contents:
1: NATION: MON SEPARATIST LEADERS SUSPEND TALKS WITH SLORC
2: FEER: SALTWATER DIPLOMACY
3: JDW: MYANMAR BOOSTS NAVAL POWER WITH FRIGATES
4: FEER: TRIBAL TROUBLE IN INDIA (INCUDES BURMA'S NAGAS)
5: BURMENET: SOME BACKGROUND ON THE AIPP
6: SAN SAN NWET: THE CHILDREN WHO PLAY IN THE BACK ALLEYWAYS
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NATION: MON SEPARATIST LEADERS SUSPEND TALKS WITH SLORC
August 30, 1994
by James Fahn
Sankha Buri
Mon separatist leaders have decided to suspend ceasefire negotiations with
the State Law and Order Restoration Council ruling Burma, a member of the New
Mon State Party's central committee said yesterday.
"We have decided not to meet the Slorc again until they agree to discuss 14
points which we have raised and which refer to a political settlement," said
Nai Pe Theing Zea, a Burmese Mon lawyer who sits on the NMSP's chief
decision-making body.
The central committee has been holding a crucial meeting over the last few
weeks on whether to continue the ceasefire negotiations.
Pe Theing Zea said that in three rounds of talks with the Slorc in Moulmein
the Burmese junta had only been willing to discuss how much area the Mon
guerrillas would be allowed to hold.
He said the area offered had been too little.
"The first time we met, we came with he 14 points, but they only wanted to
talk about where we would be allowed to stay," the Mon leader said.
"We don't want to sign a ceasefire agreement without a full political
settlement, but we were willing to sign a general agreement on where troops
could go.
"But the second time we met, they offered us a smaller area, and the third
time an even smaller area: 12 zones, each with a five-mile radius.
"Mon troops would be allowed to keep their weapons in these zones, but would
need to obtain permission to leave
"The last time we met, Slorc said if we wanted to talk again, we could only
discuss which 12 zones we would hold.
"So we decided to suspend the talks," Pe Theing Za said.
He noted that two ethnic groups, the Kachin and the wa-who have signed
ceasefire agreements with he Slorc had both received large contiguous areas
to "manage".
Pe Theing Zea said Mon leaders were also unhappy with he Slorc offer for a
political settlement.
"They said we can only discuss politics if we give up our weapons," he
explained
"Then we would be allowed to attend the national constitution convention
being held in Rangoon, but only as observers."
Among the 14 points sought by the Mon are a nation-wide ceasefire with all
guerrillas and the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu
Kyi.
Pe Theing Zea said he believed the Slorc wanted the two Mon leaders recently
freed from prison to serve as mediators in Slorc-NMSP negotiations.
He said that it may also have been an attempt to win over Mon people after
Burmese soldiers attached Halockhani and caused 6,000 Mon refugees to flee
into Thailand.
Pe Theing Zea said the NMSP central committee did not discuss the refugee
issue.
But he said it was his personal belief that the refugees should respect Thai
sovereignty and go back to Halockhani if the Slorc promised not to attach
again and if the Thais agree to provide shelter and assistance on Thai sold
should another attack occur.
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FEER: SALTWATER DIPLOMACY
Sept 1, 1994
The Indian Navy has invited naval chiefs from countries around the Bay of
Bengal an dAndaman Sea--including Bangladesh and Burma as well as the Asean
states--to get-together towards the end of 1994 at Port Blair, capital of its
Andamand and Nicobar Isalnd territory. The unprecedented gathering is part
of New Delhi's strategy of using the navy to build closer ties with Souteast
Asia and dispel fears of expansionist "blue-water" ambitions. Inclusion of
Burma on the list also marks a more active approach to countering China's
military ties with Rangoon.
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JDW: MYANMAR BOOSTS NAVAL POWER WITH FRIGATES
August 20, 1994
[Editor's note: As BurmaNet has already reported, JDW's has revised the
following report. The contract has not yet been signed although the Burmese
government does intend to purchase the frigates.]
----------------
Myanmar (Burma) has stepped up the modernization of its navy with the
purchase from China of at least two modified Jianghu class frigates, most
probably a smaller version of the vessel displacing 1100-1300 tons, writes
Robert Karniol.
Government sources in Yangon (Rangoon) have officially confirmed the order,
but further details are not available. Delivery dates, cost and weapons fit
remain unclear together with the final number of vessels to be obtained.
The Jianghu class is normally equipped with surface-to-surface missiles, a
capability still lacking in the Burmese Navy, but it is not yet known if
China will supply these. Burma alone among its neighbour states has no anti-
ship missiles.
The navy has traditionally focused on light forces to patrol coastal waters
and rivers in support of counterinsurgency operations. A secondary task is
coastal surveillance and fisheries protection, though resources are limited
given the country's 148,000 square kilometers of maritime territory.
The largest vessels in the fleet are four corvettes with an average age of
about 42 years--two at 400 tons displacement, build locally in 1960; one at
650 tonnes build in 1944 and one at 640 tons dating from 1943. The
acquisition of Jianghu class frigates should substantially improve on these
capabilities and enhance the build-up underway over the past five years.
This build-up has seen the navy's strength grow from about 7000 to over 12000
personnel in this period. It has also included: the acquisition from China
of 10 Hai class coastal patrol craft (with a further two due for delivery
this year) and three PB 90 coastal patrol craft from the former Yugoslavia,
together with the reported local construction of two fast attack craft/gun.
These have boosted coastal and inshore patrol capabilities previously
undertaken by six ex-US PGM class boats built in 1959-61 and four PGM Type
boats built int he early 1980s, still in operation.
Modernization of naval infrastructure meanwhile includes the construction,
with Chinese support, of a new base on Hainggyi Island and the upgrading of
facilities at Sitwe (Akyab), Mergui and Great Coco Island (see JDW 12
September 1992).
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FEER: TRIBAL TROUBLE IN INDIA (INCUDES BURMA'S NAGAS)
September 1
by Jayanta Sarkar in Calcutta
[abridged]
Probably the last thing the government in New Delhi wants in the country'
s troubled northeast is yet another bloody tribal insurgency. But it now
appears that is exactly what it faces in the Assam region.
The federal government's latest challenge comes from the Bodo, a relatively
small but aggressive tribal group numbering about 700,000. Political
observers and sections of the intelligence community in New Delhi see the
turn to violence by the previously quiescent Bodos as a bad omen for the
future of the region. They fear that others among the 300 tribal groups in
the region could decide to follow the Bodo example and take up arms in
pursuit of autonomy....
The Bodo offensive is one element in a widespread tribal agitation that has
disturbed peace in the northeast ever since a group of non-indigenous
politicisna allowed, indeed encouraged, a large-scale influx of foreigners
into the area. The politicians hoped the immigrants would form a reliable
block of votes to counter the indigenous vote. For some years, the plan
worked, but the presence of immigrants precipitated a backlash among the
tribal groups, and question of immigration soon came to dominate political
debate in the area.
According to Indian government intelligence sources, the Bodo militants have
already established links with other underground organisations operating in
the region. The biggest and most active has been one faction of the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), which recently attacked an army convoy
in Manipur, killing 23 soldiers.
Other insurgent groups now active in the area include the Kuki Nationalist
Army, the People's Liberation Army and the United Liberation Front of Assam.
Sometimes these groups turn to the NSCN for support, which is often extended
on strictly commercial terms. Indian intelligence sources allege that
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence has already established links with
some of these organisations and has been extending logistical and other forms
of support.
A new development has been a move by the insurgents to internationalise the
issue. The NSCN already runs an organisation called the Asian Indigenous
Peoples Pact in Bangkok. Security forces suspect it of funnelling arms to
the northeast militants. It also keeps in close touch with the Naga
underground government, which is also based in Bangkok.
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BURMENET: SOME BACKGROUND ON THE AIPP
August 30, 1994
The preceding article which appeared in the current issue of the Far East
Economic Review mentions the Asian Indigenous People's Pact and maintains
that they are run by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).
The NSCN is conducting a bloody insurgency in India but has not been very
active in Burma since the NSCN fractured a few years ago. The more active
faction of the NSCN, which had been using Burma as a base for strikes against
India, were forced across the border.
The Secretary-General of the AIPP is a Naga named Luingam Luithui, who is
affiliated with the Naga People's Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), India.
At least on paper however, the group appears to be fairly independent of any
single organization's influence. Even if there is a connection between
Luithui and the NSCN, the Review may be overreaching to state that the AIPP
itself is an NSCN front. BurmaNet to date has seen no evidence to support or
deny the Review's claims concerning AIPP. The charter of the AIPP is
reproduced here in full:
----
Asian Indigenous People's Pact
Charter
We the Indigenous Peoples organisations and movements in Asia, having come
together in mutual trust and respect for each other, having shared, discussed
and deeply reflected on the history, present situation, concerns and
aspirations of our people, do hereby establish the Asia Indigenous People's
Pact as a forum for Indigenous People's Movements in Asia,
We believe that the primary function of the AIPP is to strengthen solidarity
and linkages among the indigenous peoples organizations and movements in
Asian and to strengthen the position of indigenous peoples in Asia.
We believe and affirm our respect for, and our close relationship with our
land and our right to self-determination.
We assert our right to our homeland and ancestral domain; and declare our
right to own as a people our homelands and resources, and to protect, defend,
utilize and develop them in ways which are appropriate with our traditions,
beliefs, values and culture.
We declare that the AIPP, in fulfilling these functions, and in the
realization of the just demands and aspirations of our people in Asia, will
serve as a forum to facilitate:
-the sharing of our experiences, ideas and aspirations;
-consolidating unity and solidarity;
-coordinating and conducting campaigns on issues affecting our lives and
future
In fulfilling the above objectives, the AIPP will endeavor to:
-facilitate unity, solidarity and exchange of ideas and experiences among
indigenous peoples in Asia;
-actively lobby and campaign for the cause and demands of the indigenous
peoples in Asia;
-research, document, publish and disseminate information on the struggles,
demands and other aspects of indigenous peoples in Asia;
-initiate, support and sustain programmes for the defense and development of
the beliefs, culture, religion and values of our indigenous societies;
establish networks and coordinate with oppressed peoples for the
realization of our common goals.
We affirm our solidarity with other oppressed and exploited peoples of this
world with whom we share a common struggle for a just society and world
order.
We also affirm our solidarity with the struggles and aspirations of
indigenous peoples in other regions of the world.
----------------
According to the AIPP, they were established by 16 indigenous peoples
organisations who met at the Indigenous People's Forum in Chiang Mai,
Thailand in 1988. The first General Assembly meeting was held in Bangkok in
April 1992, when they adopted their charter. The AIPP claims 18 primary
member organisations and 3 assomciate members from 9 countries, including
representatives from the Igorats, Lumads, Moros and Aetas (Philippines),
Adivasis and Nagas (India), Karens, Kachins and Arakanese (Burma), mountain
people of Taiwan, Lahus, Lisus and Karens (Thailand), Orang Asli, Kadazan and
Iban (Malaysia), East Timorese and Tarus (Nepal).
As of late 93, the officers were:
Luingam Luithiu, Secretary-General (Naga People's Movement for Human Rights)
Pablo Santos, President, (National Federation of Indigenous PEoples
Organizations in the Philippines.)
Executive Council: Prof Hla Phay (Arakanese Liberation Movement, Burma), Ms
Jannie Lasimbang (PACOS, Malaysia), Ratnakar Bengra, (BIRSA, India), Praset
Trakarasuphakon (Mountain Peoples Cultureal Education and Development,
Thailand) and Mao Lung Chung (Alliance of Taiwanese Aboriginals).
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SAN SAN NWEH: THE CHILDREN WHO PLAY IN THE BACK ALLEYWAYS
San San Nweh, a short story writer who uses the pen name Thayawaddy, was one
of four people associated with the pro-democracy movement who were arrested
in Burma recently, prompting a statement of concern from Amnesty Intertional.
According to a report in the Nation, the crackdown was prompted by an
upcoming visit by an upcoming UN human rights investigation. The report went
on to say that San San Nweh was elected as an NLD MP and was been detained in
1989 for instigating unrest and released in 1990. Her daughter reportedly
was also arrested for shouting at military intelligence officials because
they treated her mother rudely. To give a sense of what the regime dislikes
about San San Nweh, one of her short stories is reproduced here. It is taken
from Anna Allot's book, "Inked Over, Ripped Out: Burmese Storytellers and the
Censors."
--------------
THE CHILDREN WHO PLAY IN THE BACK ALLEYWAYS
[Introduction and translation by Anna Allott]. This story was
written in early 1989 for the magazine Eit-met-hpu; it was not
passed by the Press Scrutiny Board, however, and was torn out after
printing. The author, who came to prominece in the mid-1970s, was
arrested on the same day as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and spent ten
months in prison. Since her release her work has not been allowed
into print and she maintains her family--her husband died in 1992--
by trading.
During the prodemocracy demontrations in 1988 there was one
particular death, among the many, that had a special impact on the
academic community in Rangoon. The son of a teacher at the
university was sitting drinking a cup of coffee in a tea shop on
the campus when he wsa fatally shot in front of his friends by a
stray bullet from a passing military vehicle.
The story alludes to this, and children's mention of the color of
the young man's shirt implies that the shirt was stained red with
blod. At the time the story was written an evening curfew was in
formce from 9:30pm. The curfew was finally lifted completely only
in November 1992. The story seems to suggest that whatever efforts
the SLORC makes to ingratiate itself with the people by buidling
public parks and children's playgrounds, it will not succeed in
wiping out the memory of the unneccessary bloodshed and the army's
cruelty. Indeed the clearing away of small houses and familiar
corner shops and cafes only leaves a greater feeling of resentment.
The final lines are surely heavily ironical.
-------------------------
On evenings when the electricity goes off in our neighborhood, the streets
are usually full of people. Our homes are cramped and the lack of light
inside encourages us to seek out the early evening breeze on the street where
there is more space and light.
When power cuts occur on moonlit nights, nervous types like myself breathe a
little easier--the sound of children's laughter seems louder and more
vivacious, and the teenagers strum softly at their guitars, playing not only
the latest hits but also the old familiar tunes that tend to linger sweetly
in the air, lifting the heart, yet bringing sad thoughts.
The noise of young children running here and there, chanting in shrill
voices, often disturbs me, though, and I have to shout angrily at them to
drive them away. But they just move on somewhere else and carry on their
laughing and playing, noisily arguing, never tiring of devising endless
games. I guess I'm glad the scamps can play so happily, yet at the same time
I get a little anxious--the scrub and long grass where they run around
playing hide and seek is full of vipers and scorpions, and the spot just
behind our row of little houses is a favorite with the mongooses.
The children of our neighborhood are quite familiar with mongooses but all
the same it could be nasty if they stepped on one in the dark. Even though
mongooses don't usually attack people they will react violently to being
touched, biting back if they are hurt. They say mongoose bites are hard to
heal. Only last year a child who had been bitten by one died before reaching
the hospital. And children have such short memories, don't they? They are
heedless and quickly forget things that have happened to them. They haven't
learned to feel fear.
Almost all the kids from our neighborhood, including my two, are little
devils. They decide for themselves that their homework needn't be done
properly and they just fool around, getting up to whatever mischief beckons.
We parents, at our wits' end, have given up trying to do anything about it.
Tonight, I see the kids play recklessly. They could easily come to harm--the
dim, yellow streetlights and the faint twilight make the main road
treacherous, with it s passing cyclists and sidecars plying for hire; and in
the back alleys and on the patches of waste ground there could be scorpions
and snakes. But wait a minute! Suddenly I remember--isn't there somewhere
just p the road where they could play to their heart's content? Isn't' there
a seesaw, some swings, green grass, and beds of colorful flowers, just about
to bloom, and benches, with fresh paint just about dry by now?
They could play on the swings, singing the old nursery rhyme:
Seesaw, sit on the plank,
one foot up, one foot down
Show me the way to Rangoon town.
Here they could shout, let off steam, and make as much noise as they liked.
Leaving the shade of an almost tree, I emerge into the dappled moonlight into
the tarmac road and look around in search of the children.
"Hi, Ko Zay!, Hi, Johnny!" I call out. The people nearby look up to see why
I'm raising my voice, but I take no notice. "Boys, come back, bring your
friends, all of you come over here."
With a patter of feet the children come running at top speed and gather
around me, panting for breath. My youngest son, Moonface, throws his arms
around my waist.
"What have you got for us to eat, Mommy?" he asks.
"Always looking for food!" I reply. "No, I called you because I won't have
you playing in the back streets in the dark. Come on, all of you, we'll go
to the park at the end of the road. There's much more space up there. Come
on, I'll take you."
"Oh, but mommy!" he protests. His little arms around my waist loosen.
"I'm afraid to go." The tremulous words come from a little one in the group.
"I'm not <afraid>, but I did see something," says one of the older boys, Ko
Zay.
"What are you saying--afraid of what?"
"Oh, Mommy, you know. It's...it's..Ko Chan Aye! He was a very good friend
of ours."
"Yes, Aunt!" says another. "He always helped us when we were flying our
kites. When the big boy was with us no one dared to try to beat us. Our
group was the champion at kite flying in our neighborhood."
"Chan Aye used to fly kites and do his schoolwork too, and if he ever went
into a tea shop it was only just for a moment!"
"And Aunty, he died in a moment too. I can see him now."
As their voices clamor, one after another, I, too, imagine that I can see the
boy: his friends are carrying the lifeless body out from the tea shop. But
Chan Aye is no more. And the tea shop has gone too. And along with the tea
shop, the nearby Arakan noodle stall and the betel and cigarette sellers have
vanished. They said the itinerant sellers, with their stalls scattered in a
makeshift manner here and there, were spoiling the neighborhood's tidy
aspect, and so they made them clear out. And all that remains is this area
of leveled ground, which they've turned into a children's playground, an
expanse of green grass with seesaws and swings, and neat beds of colorful
flowers.
"It's the best place for you to play. What's wrong with it? Come on, let's
go."
"I'm afraid to go," It's the same little boy as before.
"What are you afraid of, silly? I scold.
"I'm not afraid--but I can see him there." It's the older boy again.
"What do you mean, "see him"? You mean you're imagining his ghost?"
The children are quiet. Taking advantage of their silence, I begin to
lecture them in true adult fashion: Have they ever seen a ghost? I, for one,
never have. There aren't any ghosts. Ghosts simply don't exist.
"Oh, but Aunty, that's only because when people die, the family makes
lots of offerings to the monks so that the dead person doesn't end up as a
ghost. Ko Chan Aye's family was too poor..."
"Stop that! Don't talk nonsense. There absolutely are no ghosts. If you
don't believe me, just go and play there every evening. Come on now, I'll
take you there."
"No way!"
"That's enough now. You're just being stubborn. In this age of modern
science there's no need to be afraid of ghosts."
"But Aunty, scientific ghosts are more frightening, we've seen them in video
movies."
"All you kids do is watch those videos!"
"I don't feel like playing any more," one of the children says. "I can see
Ko Chan Aye right now, with is bright red shirt."
"But he was wearing a white shirt."
"No, it was red!"
"Stop arguing--its already half past nine."
The children scamper off to their homes and I walk home too, my heart heavy.
I can't help wondering what more can be done to persuade those children to
use that playground. I wish I wasn't born such a worrier.
Somehow I must get them to put all these notions out of their heads.
And somehow I know it will fall to me alone to do it--for, as a writer and
mother, I guess I'm the only one around here that can exorcise these
particular ghosts.
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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
JDW: JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY
NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
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