BurmaNet News: October 17

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************************** BurmaNet **************************
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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BurmaNet News: Monday, October 17, 1994
Issue #34

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1: NATION: ANTI-RANGOON FORCES EYEING AFGHAN ARMS
2: NATION: JAPANESE MPS PLAN GROUP FOR SUU KYI RELEASE
3: BKK POST: BURMA RELUCTANT TO OPEN UP DESPITE BRIDGE ACCORD
4: REUTERS: RANGOON EXCEEDS ECONOMIC TARGETS OFFICIAL CLAIMS
5: KHRG:  COMMENTARY ON THE UNHCR'S PERFORMANCE ON THE BURMA BORDER
6: BURMANET: SOME BACKGROUND ON THE UNHCR

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NATION: ANTI-RANGOON FORCES EYEING AFGHAN ARMS

ANTI - RANGOON Burmese rebels are eyeing Peshawar - an arid Pakistani
border town opposite Afghanistan - as a possible black market source of
arms to support their war against the Slorc.

The rebels looked at this new option after a group of Muslim rebels from
Middle East countries suggested to them two month ago that war weapons
purchased at Peshawar's black markets are cheaper than those from
Cambodia.

Peshawar city, close to the lawless Khyber Pass, is known as a major
market for war weapon s left over from the civil war in Afghanistan.
At present, most weapons used by Burmese insurgents are purchased from
gun runner s who smuggle them through Thailand from Cambodia. But
crackdown campaigns by Thai authorities have threatened this supply,
forcing up the profit-margin by as much as 100 per cent.

Foreign Muslims who stopped over in Thailand en route to the Philippines
after the annual Haj Mecca said Burmese rebels have expressed an interest
in acquiring war weapons and munitions from Peshawar "at friendship
prices between follow Muslims." 

The visitor said a large number of Soviet and US made weapons are
available in Peshawar. However, they said the question of how these
weapons can be delivered to the Burmese and other Asian rebels still
remained to be answered. They said they didn't know how the weapons could
be smuggled into Burma without the assistance of an international weapon
smuggling racket.

But the weapons can be made available to the Burmese rebels if a proper
conduit can be arranged, the Muslims pilgrims said.
They also mentioned the possibility of supplying Muslim secessionists in
Mindanao in the southern Philippines with weapons from the same source.
Moro rebels in Mindanao also obtain war weapons from Cambodia. They said
the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the counter-military
operations supported by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency
had resulted in a major influx of war weapons into that country.

Some of these weapons included Chinese made assault rifles, Italian-made
Technovar anti-personnel mines, Swiss Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns and
ammunition which was supplied to the Mujahideen resistance fighters in
what was seen as the CIA's biggest undercover operation since the Vietnam
War. During 1983, 10,000 tons of weapons were transferred to Afghanistan
via Pakistan. This figure rose to 65,000 tons in 1987. Many of these
weapons are available, especially at Dara Adamkhel township, near the
city of Peshawar, on the Pakistani-Afghan border, they said. Cambodia has
long been the source of arms for Burmese rebel groups including the
Karen, Mon, and Shan's Mong Tai Revolutionary Army of opium warlord Khun
Sa. Advanced weapons such as M-16 assault rifles, Chinese-made Ak-47
rifles, M-79 grenade launchers, RPG rockets, mortars, hand-grenades, and
even SAMs (Surface to Air Missiles), are still available at places along
the Thai-Cambodia border, from Ubon Ratchathani to the coastal province
of Trat. The Burmese rebels can have an M-16 assault rifle delivered to
them at the Thai-Burmese border for between 4,500-8,000 baht, depending
on its condition. However, the same rifle would cost between 1,500-2,000
baht at the Thai-Cambodian border.

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NATION: JAPANESE MPS PLAN GROUP FOR SUU KYI RELEASE

TOKYO - Twenty legislators of both houses of the diet (Japanese
Parliamentary) will set up a group on Nov 3 to try to help win the
release of Burma's  opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been
under house arrest since July 1989, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper
reported yesterday. The Yomiuri said the 20 lawmakers include House of
Representatives Takako Doi, New Party Sakigake Secretary-General Yukio
Hatoyama and former transport minister Keiwa Okuda of Shinseito. 
"Guaranteeing the freedom of activities by political leaders is a step
toward democracy" in Burma, the lawmakers said in explains explaining the
parliaments' group. The legislators of the lower house and the House of
Councilors also said in a statement that the new group will try in a
friendly manner to win Suu Kyi's freedom and expedite an early shift from
the military government to a democratically elected government. 

On Sept 20, Suu Kyi's the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, met two top
officials of Burma's military junta in her first encounter with military
rulers since she was placed under house arrest five years ago. She met
senior Gen Than Shwe and Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary of the ruling
(SLORC) at a Defence Ministry guesthouse in Rangoon. The junta has said
Suu Kyi may be eligible for release if she agrees to leave the country
but she has rejected the offer. Suu Kyi case and Burma's human record
also came up in talks in New York earlier this month between UN
secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali and Burma's Foreign Minister Ohn
Gyaw. 

The talks followed a UN General Assembly resolution urging the UN
secretary-general to attempt to secure Suu Kyi's release. The junta
seized power after suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 and
placed Suu Kyi under house arrest for allegedly endangering public
security. Suu Kyi's NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 general
election result.  


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BKK POST: BURMA RELUCTANT TO OPEN UP DESPITE BRIDGE ACCORD
17 Oct 1994

RANGOON'S caution about opening up the country looms as a problem as
Burma and Thailand prepare to sing an agreement for construction of a
bright across the Moei River.

Deputy Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan represents Thailand at the signing
ceremony scheduled to take place in Rangoon this morning. Burma's
signatory is Col Aung San, the Deputy Minister of Construction.

The move comes five years after the two sides began discussing the bridge
idea.  According to a well-placed source, Thailand would like the new
bridge to be a channel for goods and people to travel all they way to
Rangoon.  But Rangoon's military junta is reluctant to let goods and
passenger crossing the bridge from Thailand penetrate more than five
kilometres into Burmese territory, the source said.

Although this is apparently a sensitive point, the two sides seem
confident of eventual settlement because they have agreed to discuss this
and other outstanding problem as construction of the bridge proceeds.

The bridge across the Moei River will connect Ma Sot district, in
Thailand's north-western province of Tak, with Myawaddy town in the Karen
state. The Thai Government will pay for construction of the Ma
Sot-Myawaddy bridge, which is expected to cost 79.2 million baht.

Construction is due to be completed 18 months after the foundation stone
is laid on Thursday.

Thailand's representative will again be Mr Surin and Burma's will be
Construction Minister U Khin Maung Yin.

Mr Surin co-chair what is formally known as Committee for the
Construction of the Thai-Burmese friendship Bridge.

A Thai-Burmese technical sub-committee related to this will be in charge
of thrashing out lingering problems which concern access, traffic,
jurisdiction and ownership. "The Thai side would like to enable goods
carried across the bridge to be transported as far as Rangoon, 300
kilometres from Myawaddy town," the source said.  "But Burma so far is
reluctant to let goods or passengers from Thailand travel beyond
Myawaddy," the source said.

Burma wants to apply to the Ma Sot-Myawaddy bridge a long-standing
agreement whereby the two countries permit people to travel only as far
as five kilometres into one another's territory.

The five kilometres limit is in force foe travellers using the crossing
at Tachilek in the northern Thailand province of Chiang Rai.

If this was the case for the Ma Sot-Myawaddy bridge, there would be few
users from the Thai side, the source said.

The new bridge would then meet the same problem as that facing the
Thai-Lao bridge across the Mekong River.

" Few people use the Thai-Lao bridge to travel to Vientaine because they
have to leave their cars at the Laotian end of the bridge and change into
a Laotian vehicle to continue their journey," the source said.

As in the Thai-Lao bridge, the traffic problem arises over different
systems, with Burmese driving on the right while Thais drive on the left. 
The current plan calls for traffic lights to be installed on the bridge
to regulate the problem. But after an initial period, U-turns are
expected to be built in at the ends of the bridge, using funds separate
from the 79.2 million baht envisaged for bridge construction.

The question of jurisdiction remains open because the two sides have yet
to decide heather to draw the line at the middle of the bridge or at the
territorial boundary, which is marked by respective embankments of the
Moei River, according to an agreement reached between Thailand and
Britain last century.

Ownership had to be settled but was not a major problem, the source said. 
"Negotiations about the regulations on the Thai-Burmese bridge are easier
than those for the Thai-Lao bridge," the source said.

The two sides have agreed that use of the bridge will be free of charge. 
The bridge across the Moei River will be 430 metres long and 13 metres
wide and allowed for two lanes of traffic.

The cabinet in March this year agreed that Thailand would shoulder the
construction costs. Burma will provide the unskilled labour.

The Ma Sot-Myawaddy bridge will from part of the 65,000 kilometre Asia
High- way, or A1, which starts in Turkey and links Iran, Pakistan, India,
Bangladesh, Burma and Thailand and ends in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

During his day-long trip to Rangoon to day, Mr Surin is also due to meet
the first secretary-general of SLORC, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt.

Talks are also planned with Livestock and Fisheries Minister Brig-Gen
Maung Maung and Construction Minister U Khin Maung Yin.

Mr Surin is also due to hand over Thai Government aid for three projects
in Bur- ma.

These include a donation of 1.25 million baht for vocational training of
people living in border areas, 1.92 million baht for repairing a Thai
room in the Buddhist province of Kabae and 250,000 baht for what is known
as the Hongsawaddy study programme.

Mr Surin is also to hand over 20 sets of robes for Buddhist monks as well
as a Buddha image. 

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BKK POST/REUTERS: RANGOON EXCEEDS ECONOMIC TARGETS OFFICIAL CLAIMS
Rangoon

Burma's economic performance in the 1993 fiscal year has mostly exceed
targets set by the military government, a senior official said at the
weekend. Senior junta member and military intelligence chief Lt Gen Khin
Nyunt said on Saturday service sector output in fiscal 1993/1994 exceed
the government's targets by 3,6%. He did not give further details.

Production in the oil and mining sector was 26.6% higher than the
government target for the period, he said, speaking at a ceremony for
teachers. Production was mainly in crude oil, natural gas, gold and
industrial raw materials, he said, and cited active oil and mineral
exploration activities being undertaken jointly with foreign companies on
a profit sharing basis.

Export in the first half of the 1994 fiscal year, which started on Apr 1,
amounted to 1.0 billion kyat (US$182.2 million at the official exchange
rate, $8.8 million at the black market rate) by the private sector 25.2
million kyat($4.6 million and $223,000) by the cooperative sector and
821.6 million ($ 49.4 million and $7.3 million) by the government sector,
he said.

Foreign investment as of Sep 21, 1994, totalled $2.75 billion, he said. 


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KHRG:  COMMENTARY ON THE UNHCR'S PERFORMANCE ON BURMA BORDER
September 1994    /     KHRG #94-C6

This Commentary comes to you because as usual, we cannot resist
giving a voice to people who usually have none - this time it
is the words of a Karen student in high school in a refugee camp
in Thailand, and the subject is the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, the same world-famous and morally invincible UNHCR which always
manages to get its well-painted trucks on television in all the world's
trouble spots.  Except of course the Thai/Burma border, where it has no
trucks because until recently the UNHCR has refused to even acknowledge
the existence of the 70,000 to 100,000 refugees from Burma in the area. 
Admittedly the Thai government has not "invited" them to be involved, so
they maintain a self-imposed silence in Bangkok.  
During the recent Halockhani crisis of the Mon refugees (see "SLORC's
Attack on Halockhani Refugee Camp", KHRG #94-21, 30/8/94), the UNHCR
tried to visit the camp but was denied permission, and even then the
UNHCR office would not release any public statement on the forced
repatriation of the thousands of refugees which occurred.  This only
increases the fears of all the Karen refugees also in Thailand, who the
Thais are also talking about repatriating.  Between June 12th and 18th,
two UNHCR representatives from Bangkok did them the unprecedented honour
of actually visiting some of their refugee camps.  They came with so many
Thai Military Intelligence agents that some foreigners helping in the
camps didn't even dare leave their houses while the UNHCR was there, and
at least one NGO worker
on her way to one refugee camp was roughly interrogated by a platoon of
Thai armed soldiers just because she happened to be along the UNHCR's
planned route.  The UNHCR people then showed up, climbed into two boats
together with the entire armed Thai platoon, and set off for a Karen
refugee camp.

Perceptions of the camp visits differ widely depending on whether
you talk to the UNHCR or to the refugees, and the following quotes give a
good example.  From the subsequent UNHCR Press Release:

     "UNHCR's meetings with the members of the Third [Thai] Army
     focused on the need to identify a durable solution with respect
     to the approximately 72,000 Myanmar refugees in the border
     settlements.  In its conversations with the representatives of
     the refugee committees and the residents of the settlements,
     UNHCR centered its efforts on gathering information from the
     refugees themselves concerning their views relating to
     conditions in the settlements, the situation in their country
     of origin and in regard to their own vision of the future. ...
     This Office has determined that a durable solution for the
     Myanmar refugees in Thailand could only be envisaged as the
     result of agreements between the Myanmar authorities and the
     various groups concerned, which would ensure the voluntary
     repatriation of the refugees in conditions of safety and
     dignity to their country of origin.  During the course of its
     mission, UNHCR urged all parties involved to work towards that
     end. ... UNHCR also informed of its willingness to both monitor
     and assist in any voluntary repatriation operation ..."



And now from a refugee who was there: a young Karen student in a refugee
camp's high school wrote this in English for the school magazine:

"The camp leaders called all the people in the camp, including high
school students, together in the monastery compound.  In
the meeting the leaders of UNHCR gave a speech that they would
like the Karen refugees to be able to go back to their homeland
as soon as possible.  But it is impossible for the refugees to
return to their country at the moment, and one of the high school
students asked him a question that, 'Could the UNHCR take care
of the Karen people who would like to go back to their country?'

The leader of the UNHCR replied that they did not have any suggestions
about this, but would send the information to their office.  After that
they went to Maw Ker Camp before they went back to Bangkok.  Since then
we have heard nothing more."

Somehow this young student seems to have missed the part where
the UNHCR closely consulted the refugees to gather information
on their views.  Note also that the UNHCR "urged all parties"
to work towards "agreements between the Myanmar authorities and
the various groups", apparently meaning that the UNHCR now supports the
SLORC concept of ceasefires with individual groups, and actually believes
that such agreements automatically "ensure" that refugees can return home
in safety and dignity.  The UNHCR should look at Shan State, where
several such ceasefires have been in place for 3 years already.  Since
the ceasefires the number of displaced people in those regions has
increased as much as threefold due to increased SLORC troop
concentrations, land confiscation, forced labour, extortion, looting and
other abuses.  SLORC ceasefires address none of these or any other human
rights or political concerns - they are only agreements to stop shooting
each other on the battlefield, not to stop shooting civilians.  It is not
battles that most of these people have fled in the first place, but SLORC
persecution, and no ceasefire deal addresses this issue.  

However, the UNHCR implies that as soon as any such deal is in place, it
would be happy to "assist in any voluntary repatriation operation".  What
it doesn't say is what it will do in the case of an involuntary
repatriation operation.  If the Halockhani crisis is any example, the
refugees had better start seriously worrying.


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BURMANET: UPDATE ON THE UNHCR

Since the above report was written, the UNHCR representive in Thailand
has visited both the Halockhani refugee camp and the so-called "Safe Area
for Burmese Students" at Ban Maneeloi (Thailand) in what appears to be an
effort to mend fences by getting out of Bangkok.  

The UNHCR has a fairly thankless task on the Thai/Burma border although
to be realistic, their performance until very has given little to be
thankful for.  The UNHCR came under intense criticism over their initial
inaction when the Thai government forcibly repatriated the Mon refugees
at Halockhani.  The UNHCR's original reaction when pressure began
mounting for them to issue a protest over the Thai government's handling
of the situation was to say the UNHCR doesn't issue statements.  After a
very public protest in front of their office building by Mon Buddhist
monks and others, as well as a number of scathing letters in the Bangkok
newspapers, as well as some more private arm-twisting, the UNHCR did at
last issue a statement protesting the forced repatriation.

Probably the most important reason the UNHCR's performance has been so
limp on the Thai/Burma border is that from the beginning, their mandate
was closely circumscribed for political reasons.  When refugees started
coming out of Burma in the mid-80s, the Thai government absolutely
refused to allow the UNHCR operate on that border.  Instead, the Thai
government has preferred to allow a number of church-related N.G.O.s to
feed the refugees and the refugees for the most part run their own camps. 
Except for the "Safe Area" and the UNHCR has been allowed only a very
limited mandate to operate in Thailand, restricted chiefly to running
programs at the "Safe Area", interviewing candidates for "Persons of
Concern" status (Thailand does not recognize refugees anymore although
persons designated UNHCR Persons of Concern have some of the protections
accorded to refugees in other countries).  

The present arrangement on the Thai/Burma border resulted from the Thai
government's experience with the Cambodian refugees from the late 70s
throughout the 80s.  The UNHCR and various high-profile international aid
organizations cared for the refugees from Cambodia's "killing fields" but
not without numerous problems.  For one thing, the aid organizations too
often engaged in a tawdry competition with each other for market share in
the refugee business.  Large-scale international involvement also brought
with it intense international media coverage of the Thai government's
behaviour, which was not always what could be hoped for.  For example, a
number of the camps receiving international aid were run by Khmer Rouge
cadres and used as training camps (a similar situation is evolving now in
Zairian camps housing Rwandan refugees).  

Add to that the international media coverage of ever-present corruption
and a couple of spectacularly brutal incidents such as the push back of
refugees at Preah Vihar (see note below) and Thailand's insistance on a
low-key relief operation on the Burma border begins to make sense.  

(Note: In a bloody incident, thousands of Cambodian refugees were
forcibly repatriated over the cliffs at Preah Vihear on the
Thai/Cambodian border by the Thai army.  Many of those not killed in the
trip over the cliffs were done in by the mine field at bottom.  For an
exceptionally good account of the Cambodian refugee period, see William
Shawcross' "The Quality of Mercy."

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ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:

 AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
 AFP: AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
 AW: ASIAWEEK
 AWSJ: ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
 Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt.=US$1 (APPROX)
 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
 FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW
 KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
 NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
 S.C.B.:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP
 S.C.T.:SOC.CULTURE.THAI
 SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST

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