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BurmaNet News: 25 April, 1995 [#156 (r)
- Subject: BurmaNet News: 25 April, 1995 [#156 (r)
- From: burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 25 Apr 1995 10:59:00
Subject: BurmaNet News: 25 April, 1995 [#156]
------------------------- BurmaNet ---------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: 25 APRIL 1995
Issue #156
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NOTED IN PASSING:
The FTUB calls on the regime to reassess its asanine
position and allow free and independent trade unions;
before Burma becomes an even bigger economic and social
mess, before the Burmese people begin to starve and
before the SLORC finishes turning the country into a
Chinese colony.
U Maung Maung, Secretary of the Federation of
Trade Unions, Burma <See FTUB: CALL FOR FREE TRADE
UNIONS, WORKER RIGHTS, IN BURMA>
Contents:
--------------------------------------------------------------
FTUB: CALL FOR FREE TRADE UNIONS, WORKER RIGHTS, IN BURMA
SCB: ANNOUNCEMENT--BURMESE FONTS WEB SITE
SEASIA-L: COMMENT AND A QUESTION REGARDING MARTIN SMITH'S "BURMA:
DEVELOPMENT DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS"
BURMANET: QUESTION AND ANSWER ON NMSP CEASE-FIRE RUMOR
THE NATION: BURMESE MINISTER CLAIMS ECONOMIC SUCCESS
REUTERS: HUNDREDS OF BURMESE SET TO FLEE FIGHTING
ABSDF-MTZ: STATEMENT ON THE MOUNTING SLORC'S HUMAN RIGHTS
ABUSES ON THE KAREN REFUGEES ON THAI SOIL
BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST
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In Washington:
Attention to BurmaNet
c/o National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
(NCGUB)
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815 15th Street NW, Suite 609
Washington D.C. 20005
Tel: (202) 393-7342, Fax: (202) 393-7343
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The NCGUB is a government-in-exile, formed by representatives
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that documents human rights conditions in Burma and maintains
an archive of Burma-related documents. Views expressed in The
BurmaNet News do not necessarily reflect those of either NCGUB
or Burma Issues.
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FTUB: CALL FOR FREE TRADE UNIONS, WORKER RIGHTS, IN BURMA
April 25, 1995
Federation of Trade Unions, Burma
Fax: 1-202-393-7343
Burma has been excluded by the US government from the Gereralized
System of Preferences Act (GSP) trading relationship for being a
violator of internationally accepted workers rights, including:
1. the right of association
2. the right to organize and bargain collectively
3. a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory
labor
4. a minimum age for the employment of children
5. acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages,
hours of work, and occupational safety and health
6 prohibiting discrimination in employment
Also, in consequence of its refusal to abide by internationally
accepted worker rights, funding for Burma by the U.S. Agency for
International Development (AID) has been restricted by the 1992
Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
The acceptance and practice of internationally recognized worker
rights will again make Burma eligible for preferential trading
privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences of the
Trade Act of 1974 "GSP". According to its terms, the act is
intended to:
"Promote the development of developing countries, which often need
temporary preferential advantages to compete effectively with
undstrialized countries" and "allow for the consideration of the
fact that there are significant differences among developing
countries with respect to their general development and
international competitiveness."
If Burma were to meet the conditions of GSP, the country would be
designated a "beneficiary developing country BDC". This would
allow for duty free exports to the United States and access for
American companies investing in Burma to to funding from the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). OPIC's purpose
is to "mobilize and facilitate the participation of Unisted States
private capital and skills in the economic and social developments
of less developed friendsly countries and areas..."
OPIC is also empowered to "provide insurance, financing and
reinsurance" to all "eligible investors," inevitably making Burma
more attractive to investors.
Surprisingly, some of the "friends" of the regime, who strongly
urge it not to compromise and accept internationally accepted
workers rights, are themselves benefitting from the GSP and OPIC.
Two among these are Thailand and Malaysia:
Country Trade union presence GSP/OPIC exports to the US
Thailand 75% state sponsored both US$ 3,280,204,761
Malaysia 75% state sponsored both N/A (more than
Thailand)
The only substantial difference between these countries and
SLORC's Burma is that Malaysia and Thailand are not on record as
being gross violators of article 3 of the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1984, which has as a basic benchmark,
whether a country "permits any form of forced or compulsory
labor."
In this, we see that:
1. The ASEAN countries who seem to be championing the Rangoon
regime maintain double standards on the trade union issue. They
use one approach when they seek benefits from the Americans and
another when they pretend to make a stand for "Asian culture."
2. Through the ignorance of the regime, the ASEAN countries are
taking advantage of the fact that they have lured almost all the
international investment in the region while Burma finds that it
has been sold out.
The main stumbling blocks to gaining GSP preference, access to
OPIC financing and U.S. AID programs is that Burma neither allows
free and independent trade unions nor protects worker rights. Not
having these ordinary US programs in the country, combined with
the refusal of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
to provide loans because of human rights violations is preventing
Burma from becoming an attractive place to invest.
The FTUB strongly condemns the regime for its refusal to allow
free trade unions in Burma, which has led to consequences
including the denial of normal assistance and trade preferences
fromt he US government, the IMF and the World Bank.
The regime needs to realize that they are being double timed by
their so-called ASEAN allies, who take benefits and preferences
from the US, the IMF and the World Bank while encouraging Burma
to take a course which ensures exclusion from these mechanisms.
The FTUB calls on the regime to reassess its asanine position and
allow free and independent trade unions; before Burma becomes an
even bigger economic and social mess, before the Burmese people
begin to starve and before the SLORC finishes turning the country
into a Chinese colony.
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SCB: ANNOUNCEMENT--BURMESE FONTS WEB SITE
lka soc.culture.burma 2:25 PM Apr 22, 1995
(at cs.bham.ac.uk) (From News system)
This is it folks.
The Web site for Burmese font is now ready. It took me more than
2 weeks to get it up (as I have said previously) and I hope it was
worth the wait. The site contains information and samples of all
known Burmese fonts for the PC and Macintosh.
Please report any errors you find to me.
The URL is:
http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~lka/burmese-fonts/moe.html
As it happens, my wife and I will be moving to our new jobs
somewhere up north of England and will not be able to read email
as regularly as we used to (we'll be resort to reading mail via
the modem) until the company we'll be working for gets Internet
accounts. In fact, my first task will be to do exactly that! (One
way of making sure you get a job is to promise to do something for
the company even before they give you the job.)
Anyway, don't get upset if you don't get replies to your email.
As for the site itself, I will keep it open for as long as I can
until I can move it to a new one. I've talk to our system admin.
people here to keep my account open.
Thanks and enjoy.
Len Aye
--
Leonard Kyaw Soe Aung Aye |Internet: lka@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
School of Computer Science, |tel: +44 (0)121 414-3705
The University of Birmingham, |fax: +44 (0)121
414-4281 Birmingham B15 2TT, England, UK |WWW:
http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~lka
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SEASIA-L: COMMENT AND A QUESTION REGARDING MARTIN SMITH'S "BURMA:
DEVELOPMENT DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS"
Gehan Wijeyewardene
bit.listserv.seasia-l
4:22 PM Apr 23, 1995
I am reading with great interest the recent book by Martin Smith=
'Ethnic groups in Burma: Development democracy and human rights'.
What is paticularly interesting is the Smith is not entirely
pessimistic. Towards the end of the book he writes
While still rejecting the word 'federal', the SLORC does
seem= to have taken some ideas of the ethnic minority
parties on board. A new degree of local autonomy for all
minority groups has been envisaged. For day-to-day
government, the seven ethnic minority 'states' on the
present map would be retained with equal status to the seven
existing Burmese-majority divisions, which would be renamed
as 'regions'. Each state and region would have an assembly
of its own and there would also be the right to create new
'self-administered zones' or 'divisions' for smaller
minorities within each territory.
These new tiers of assemblies, although controversial, are
in fact a development many ethnic groups have long demanded.
However, to make such a countrywide reorganization really
work will need considerable planning, conciliation and
discussion if it is not to create a new generation of ethnic
and political problems.
The potential scale of these new problems became clear at
the National Convention in September 1994 in the first
announcement of new 'self-administered areas for
unrepresented ethnic minorities. For while new zones or
divisions would be created for the Pao, Palaung, Kokang and
Danu in Shan State and the Naga in the Sagain Division, no
such nationality representation was indicated for minorities
such as the Karens in the Irawaddy and Rangoon Divisions,
who number over one million, or the numerous Chins living
outside the Chjin State's borders.
(Martin Smith, 1994: 129).
I am not inclined to give SLORC the benefit of any sincere
intentions or good will, but I would be most interested in what
others think of Martin Smith's suggestions.
He has a proven record on support of freedom and democracy in
Burma and is someone that I will listen to most carefully.
Gehan Wijeyewardene gew400@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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BURMANET: QUESTION AND ANSWER ON NMSP CEASE-FIRE RUMOR
[A reader contributed the following question he asked regarding
a rumored cease-fire between the New Mon State Party and the
SLORC. The reply is attached as well.
Question:
Could anyone please confirm me that NMSP has signed the Cease-
fire treaty with the Slorc yesterday in Moulmein. One unconfirmed
source from inside Burma sent this message to me. Much appreciated
for your reply.
Reply:
It is not true. I contact to the Mon office in Sangkhalaburi and
one spokesman said "No". They have not yet sent the delegation
which has been appointed since the beginning of March. Now they
are facing the problems with travelling in Thailand. Someone you
will know pressures them to sign.
***********
Editor's note: The "someone you will know" is an an apparent
reference to Xuwicha Hiranyaprueck, a figure both widely known and
loathed along the border. Xuwicha, a Thai fixer/businessman has
made himself unpopular ethnic groups, Burmese exiles and large
segments of the Thai military. He answers to Thailand's National
Security Council chief but is perceived as doing the SLORC's
bidding as well. Referring, as he did recently, to the Burmese
army as "our Tatmadaw" is not the sort of thing designed to endear
him to the Thai officer corps. [The SLORC uses the expression "our
Tatmadaw" in referring to its own armed forces.] Xuwicha has also
been quoted recently saying that the Thai and Burmese armies
together should rise a total of 700,000 (400,000 Burmese, 300,000
Thai). That would mean a rise of yet another 100,000 Burmese
troops and an even greater number of Thais.
The reason he feels such an increase in troop strength is
necessary is, strangely enough, India. Thailand and other ASEAN
countries are known to fear the Chinese People's Liberation Army,
but that fear Xuwicha calls misplaced because "the Chinese never
invaded anybody." What all those Chinese troops were doing in
Vietnam (1979), South Korea (1950-53) as well as Tibet and the
Spratly's, he did not say.
--------------------------------------------------------------
THE NATION: BURMESE MINISTER CLAIMS ECONOMIC SUCCESS
MALEE TRAISAWASDICHI
The Nation
Local/Regional Business
Tuesday April 25, 1995
RANGOON- Burmese has succeeded in registering a high economic
growth rate after introducing a short-term economic development
plan offering favourable opportunities for foreign investments,
claimed Brig Gen David O Abel, Burma's Minister for National
Planning and Economic Development.
However, a Thai banker in Rangoon said foreign investment is still
low due to Burma's unrealistic official currency exchange policy.
The banker also proposed an idea to establish an equitable money
exchange rate for the baht and kyat currencies to encourage
investment from Thai developers.
The official exchange rate for is six kyats to the dollar, but it
is traded at 100 kyat to the dollar on the black market. Abel
recommended the establishment of a reasonable exchange rate as a
way to encourage more Thai investment in Burma.
"Burma is a rich country in terms of natural resources. It is a
pity that the unrealistic currency exchange has prevented
investment in Burma," he said.
Calling the economic success " a momentum of achievement in
Myanmar's economy", Abel said between 1992 and 1994, which were
designated "Economic years" under the 1992-1996 economic plan, the
Gross Domestic Product(GDP) increased by 9.7 per sent in 1993 and
by 5.9 per sent last year.
The minister said Burma achieved a growth rate of 6.8 per sent in
the third year plan which was designated as "All Round
Development Year".
Abel was speaking at the opening secession of the Asian
Development Bank-sponsored meeting for the six Mekong countries
under the Grater Mekong Subregion Programme.
The Burmese minister said the economic plan also resulted in an
increase in exports by 22.7 per sent and 17.8 per sent for 1993
and 1994 respectively and by 12.9 this year. Investment has also
gradually increased from 13.7 per sent in 1993 to 29.8 per sent
this year.
"The main thrusts of the short-term plan are to step up
production and exports in order to achieve economic growth with
stability and to speed up the pace of economic development" said
Abel, adding "The pronounced achievements are already there and
the people are enjoying the current stage of development".
--------------------------------------------------------------
REUTERS: HUNDREDS OF BURMESE SET TO FLEE FIGHTING
BANGKOK, April 24 (Reuter) - Hundreds of minority Burmese
hill people are poised to flee into Thailand to escape fighting
between Burmese troops and guerrillas loyal to opium warlord Khun
Sa, Thai border police said on Monday.
``About 500 refugees are now about one kilometre (half a
mile) inside Burmese territory and are likely to cross the border
into Thailand,'' a Border Patrol Police (BPP) officer said by
telephone from the northern Thai province of Chiang Rai. He
said the civilians, most of them ethnic minority
hill-tribe people, were fleeing a new offensive by Burmese forces
in northeastern Burma's Shan state.
An official in Khun Sa's Mong Tai (Shan state) Army (MTA)
said some 600 Burmese government troops had been locked in battle
with MTA fighters near the southern Shan state town of Mong Hsat
since last week.
``Fighting intensified over the last few days. Initial
reports say both sides have suffered heavy casualities,'' the
guerrilla source told Reuters by telephone.
Government troops began a dry season offensive against the
MTA in early March, attacking Khun Sa's eastern-most base area in
mountains near the town of Tachilek.
But the fighting in that area tailed off after the MTA
launched guerrilla attacks against Tachilek and other targets in
government-controlled lowland areas.
Burma's military leaders have vowed to crush Khun Sa, whom
they call a drug-trafficking ``terrorist,'' and his
well-equipped guerrilla force.
Khun Sa, who has been indicted in the United States on
narcotics charges, says he is a Shan nationalist fighting
Rangoon for the independence of the Shan people.
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ABSDF-MTZ: STATEMENT ON THE MOUNTING SLORC'S HUMAN RIGHTS
ABUSES ON THE KAREN REFUGEES ON THAI SOIL
Date: 25th April, 1995
Regarding on the recent event where as many as 300 Slorc troops
under the name of DKBO swept into Mae Lor Ta and Mae Wee Klu
refugee camps, deep inside Thailand's Tha Song Yang District,
early on 23.5.95, killing two Karen refugees, abducting several
people and threatening to burn the camps down.
Recalling on the fact that 20 Slorc troops, on 23.1.95, intruded
into Thailand and attacked the five trucks carrying the karen
refugees from Mae Pho Hta, a village on Thai side of the
Thai-Burma border at the junction of Moei and Salween rivers, to
a new refugee camp site at The loh Thi Hta in which two karen
women and a Thai driver were killed , and 10 others, including
four small children were seriously injured,
Recalling on the several rounds of Slorc's manipulated abduction
of the KNU officials and Karen refugees including a senior
Buddhist KNU official, namely, Man Yin Sein and other five
karens from Mae La refugee camp in Thailand on 9.2.95,
Recognizing the value of all human life and regretting any loss
of life in Burma created by Slorc's war against the people,
Emphasizing Slorc's human rights abuses not only in the country
but also its increased extension to the outside of the country
now,
Emphasizing with increased concern about the security of the Karen
refugees and all Burmese refugees who are staying under much scare
of attacking by Slorc troops in the refugee camps on Thai soil,
Denounces extended Slorc's rights abuses by killing refugees,
harassing unarmed refugees, threatening to destroy refugee camps
and abducting refugees even on the Thai soil. Demand the Slorc to
stop its mounting human right violation inside and outside of
Burma.
Appeal earnestly to the Thai government to effectively step up the
security measures for the protection of the Karen refugees and all
Burmese who are now taking refuge in Thailand in order to prevent
any intrusion of Burmese troops inside Thailand which violate the
Thai sovereignty and also not allow to happen like these events
again.
Appeal earnestly to the UN and international community, to
seriously consider to reach a correct resolution toward the
escalating insecurity problems and to see the refugees on Thai
soil are being effectively protected, by establishing a UN
monitoring program and international participation.
Foreign Affairs Office
Central Leading Committee
All Burma Students' Democratic Front
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BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST
BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different
topics related to Burma. The scope of the subjects involved is
simply too broad for any one person to cover. BurmaNet is
therefore organizing a number of volunteer coordinators to field
questions on various subjects. If you If you have questions on
any of the following subjects, please direct email to the
following coordinators, who will either answer your question or
try to put you in contact with someone who can:
Arakan/Rohingya/Burma- [volunteer needed]
Bangladesh border
Art/archaeology/: [volunteer needed]
Campus activism: tlandon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boycott campaigns: tlandon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission,
c/o NBH03114@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Fonts: [volunteer needed]
History: [volunteer needed]
Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Karen history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Naga history/culture [volunteer needed]
[Burma-India border]
Pali literature "Palmleaf", c/o burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
Shan history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Tourism campaigns: bagp@xxxxxxxxxx "Attn. S. Sutcliffe"
World Wide Web: FreeBurma@xxxxxxxxx
Volunteering: "Volunteer coordinator", c/o
burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
--------------------------------------------------------------
Information about Burma is available via the WorldWideWeb at:
BurmaNet News webpage:
http://taygate.au.ac.th/web/michael/bnn/bnn.htm
Burma fonts: http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~lka/burmese-fonts/moe.html
BurmaWeb http://www.uio.no/tormodl
FreeBurma website http://199.172.178.200/freebrma/freebrma.htm.
[including back issues of the BurmaNet News as .txt files]
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NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:
ABSDF-DNA: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT [DR. NAING AUNG]
ABSDF-MTZ: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT [MOE THEE ZUN]
AMNESTY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
AW: ASIAWEEK
Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt. EQUALS US$1 (APPROX),
BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
BF: BURMA FORUM
BKK POST: BANGKOK POST (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI
BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN
CPPSM:C'TEE FOR PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND
FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW
GOA: GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA
IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
KNU: KAREN NATIONAL UNION
Kt. BURMESE KYAT; UP TO 150 KYAT-US$1 BLACK MARKET
106 KYAT US$1-SEMI-OFFICIAL
6 KYAT-US$1 OFFICIAL
MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN
MNA: MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY (SLORC)
THE NATION: A DAILY NEWSPAPER IN BANGKOK
NCGUB: NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA
NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER,RANGOON)
NMSP: NEW MON STATE PARTY
RTA:REC.TRAVEL.ASIA NEWSGROUP
RTG: ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT
SCB:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP
SCT:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL
TAWSJ: THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
UPI: UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
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