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Bkk articles 12 sept
THE NATION I Monday September 12, 1994
Suu Kyi 'hopeful' Burmese junta may introduce reforms
Agence France-Presse
TOKYO-Dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi is guardedly optimistic
about the chances of reform in Burma but will not give in to demands
from the military junta to leave the country, an associate said.
Rewata Dhamma, an expatriate Burmese Buddhist priest, told the Yomiuri
newspaper that Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest since 1989, had
not recognized the junta's legitimacy but backed its moves to democracy.
"She wants to encourage them to meet democracy. She wants tto talk to
them, to carry out democracy, not work against them but together with
them," said Dhamma.
The priest was allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon on Aug 7
and 10.
"She regards reforms of the economy and education as very important,
as without them there is no democracy,'' the human rights campaigner
was quoted by the newspaper as saying in Birmingham, England. where
he lives.
"She thinks building the economic process is vital. Myanmar [Burma] has
good resources."
But Dhamma said Suu Kyi had brushed aside suggestions by the junta
that she leaves the country for five years.
"I will not leave Myanmar for five minutes, let alone five years,'' Suu Kyi
was quoted by Dhamma as telling him.
Dhamma said, ''She is so strong. She likes to do things steadily, just like
her father [the founder of Burma's independence movement].
''She is cheerful and healthy. Some people said she is thin but she was
always thin."
Dhamma, 62, who has lived away from Burma for 40 years and in Britain
since 1975, has known Suu Kyi since she was 11.
He commands deep respect from the top ranks of the military regime and
has been chosen as an unofficial UN intermediary in solving human
rights problems involving Aung San Suu Kyi, the newspaper said.
LETTERS to editor
Slorc's nasty secret
Tourists wonder why certain parts of the Thai-Burmese border smell so
much. The heavy monsoon rain has washed away the earth along jungle
tracks and dead bodies buried in shallow graves have surfaced. These
are the remains of porters who tried to escape the Burmese soldiers under
Slorc's direction. Porters were forced to acts as land mine sacrificials.
They were forced to carry heavy ammunition boxes etc. and when they
became too weak and ill and no longer useful to the soldiers, they were
shot along the roadside and buried in shallow graves.
Slorc is still blatantly forcing people; The railway project in the country
town near the border is another example. The people are forced to labour
and bear all personal costs, to do municipal work, construct pavements
and roads etc. in front of their homes in the cities. Every free person in
this world understands that it is the government's responsibility to
perform such work and provide the people with such
Mr Editor the world communities are not fools. Slorc cannot pull the rug
over their faces any more.
They will soon have to answer to all these atrocities.
San Maung, W. Australia
Bangkok Post Monday September 12, 1994
Thailand, Burma dispute islet formed by overflowing river
AN islet created by the overflow of the Moei River has sparked a conflict
between Thailand and Burma after the Burmese authorities warned
Thailand to remove its national flag and began moving troops to guard
the area.
Task Force 34 Commander Maj-Gen Bunlue Jittavikul said heavy rain in
the past two months caused the river to overflow and changed the water
course, leaving a 1,100-rai island in the middle of the river in Mae Sot
district.
More than 100 farmers have reportedly lost a total of 400 rai of
agricultural land and have been unable to reclaim their property.
Maj-Gen Bunlue, chairman of the Local Thai-Burmese Border Committee,
has officially told the Burmese that the island is part of Thailand.
He earlier ordered that Thai national flags be planted on the island and
border patrol police be stationed to ensure safety for some of the farmers
who tried to slip into the area.
Burmese forces from Palu Camp then insisted that Thai citizens and
police personnel must leave the island immediately to prevent conflict
which could lead to bitter military clashes, Maj-Gen Banlue said
He said a meeting between Thai and Burmese authorities On August 24
proved unsuccessful after the Burmese refused to acknowledge that the
island belonged to Thailand
They cited an agreement on Thai-Burmese borderline signed in 1868
indicating that land created by the river must be regarded as a natural
border shared by the two countries.
Third Army Region Commander Lt-Gen Yingyod Chotipimai believes the
problem will be settled peacefully through compromise after a meeting
with the Burmese authorities next month in Taunggyi, Shan state.
Officials have been told to prepare land ownership documents on the
island and other information to substantiate Thailand's claim over the
"floating" territory.