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BurmaNet News: April 29, 1995 {#160
- Subject: BurmaNet News: April 29, 1995 {#160
- From: burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 29 Apr 1995 08:45:00
Subject: BurmaNet News: April 29, 1995 {#160]
-------------------------- BurmaNet --------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
--------------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: 29 APRIL 1995
Issue #160
o------------------------------------------------------------o
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH/ASIA: HRW CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON REFUGEES
ABSDO (AUSTRALIA): STATEMENT TO DR BOUTROS BOUTROS GHALI
BURMANET: LETTER--"EASY MEAT"
REUTERS: BRITAIN OPPOSES TRADE SANCTIONS AGAINST BURMA
REUTERS: MALAYSIA TO SEND RUBBER MISSION TO BURMA
REUTERS: UN ASKS FOR KAREN CAMPS TO BE MOVED
KHRG: CHEMICAL SHELLS AT KAWMOORA-SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
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Correspondance and letters o-------------------------------o
to the editor should be addressed to: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
o------------------------------------------------------------o
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH/ASIA: HRW CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON REFUGEES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 26, 1995
For more information:
Zunetta Liddell 44-171-713-1995 - (office) In London
44-171-278-4485 - (home)
Mike Jendrzejczyk 202-371-6592 x113 - (office) In DC
301-585-5824 - (home)
Sidney Jones 212-972-8400 x290 (office) In NY 718-398-4186
(home)
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH/ASIA CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON BURMESE REFUGEES
Human Rights Watch/Asia today condemned three attacks on
Burmese refugees in Thailand since April 23 by Burmese
government troops and their allies, the Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA), and called for Thailand to increase the
protection of refugees in all camps. In the course of the
attacks, the combined Burmese and DKBA forces burned refugee
camps, forced scores of refugees to return to Burma against
their will and may have been responsible for the deaths of two
refugees. Human Rights Watch/Asia calls on the Burmese and
Thai governments to allow an international monitoring presence
along their border in the area where the raids took place and
on the Thai government to allow full access to the refugee
camps by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and
other humanitarian agencies, with whatever security protection
may be necessary.
Since the fall of the Karen National Union (KNU) bases at
Manerplaw and Kawmoora in January and February 1995, over
10,000 Karen have sought refuge in Thailand, joining the 70,000
already in camps along the Thai-Burma border. The DKBA, a
breakaway group of Buddhist Karen who left the Christian-led
Karen National Union in December 1994, alleging religious
discrimination and human rights abuses by Karen officers, had
assisted in the Burmese government's offensive against the
KNU. Following the defeat of the KNU, the DKBA began raiding
refugee camps, kidnapping Buddhist Karen leaders and killing
others in what are thought to have been acts of revenge. The
most recent attacks are the most serious yet, and appear to be
linked to leaflets distributed by the DKBA in early April
warning all refugees to return to Burma by April 19.
On April 23, around 200 government and DKBA troops crossed
the river Moei which marks the border with Thailand and
entered Klay They Loo refugee camp, close to the river in
Thailand's Mae Sam Leb district. Fighting broke out between
them and Karen camp guards. Unconfirmed reports suggest that
at least two refugees were killed in the crossfire, and nine
people were taken by the DKBA. The fighting spread to a nearby
Thai Karen village, resulting in all the residents of that
village fleeing, and the village was reported to have been
razed to the ground. The following day, April 24, further
intrusions were made into Klay The Loo camp and more refugees
were abducted.
On April 25, a separate group of around 200 Burmese and
DKBA troops crossed into Thailand from the north, and were
reported to have attacked Mae Ra Ma Luang camp, north of Klay
They Loo. Unlike the other camps, this is a new camp
established five and half kilometers inside Thailand after
earlier attacks on camps close to the border. There were over
4,500 refugees in the camp at the time of the attack. The
details of the attack are unclear, but it reports suggest that
sections one and three of the camp were razed. It is not known
how many people were injured in the attack, nor how many
people were abducted. Representatives of French and German aid
organizations are attempting to reach the camp today, but
there has been no confirmation as to whether they have
succeeded. Without protection from Thailand, the area remains
very dangerous for both refugees and those groups seeking to
provide them with food and shelter.
At midnight on April 25, a further attack took place in
Kamaw Lay Kho camp,which is south of Mae Ma Ra Luang, between
the river and the Mae Sot - Mae Sariang highway. Press reports
quoted a Thai army officer as saying that some 100 troops were
involved in this attack, in which 300 houses were razed and an
unknown number of refugees and Thai villagers were abducted.
Since the attack 3,000 residents of the camp have been forced
to live in the forest.
A representative of the Burma Border Consortium, the main
provider of aid to the refugees, told Human Rights Watch/Asia
that these attacks have dramatically increased the tension in
the camps, with the fear that now any camp could be attacked
at any time.
It is unclear how the Thai military in the area responded to
the attacks, but the Thai Third Army Region Commander, Gen.
Surachet Dechatiwong, is reported to have traveled to the area
to investigate the incident. He had met with his Burmese
counterpart, Gen Khet Sein, at a Thai-Burma Regional Border
Committee meeting on April 25, where he was reported to have
raised the issue of incursions into Thai territory and was told
that the SLORC could not control the DKBA forces "who are like
children staying under their roof." While Human Rights
Watch/Asia has no details of the current relationship between
the government and the DKBO, it is known that they regularly
meet and that the government has provided financial and
military assistance to the DKBA. Moreover, as a paramilitary
group operating from inside Burma (and the headquarters of the
DKBA is just across a river from the large Kammamung military
base), the Burmese government remains responsible for their
actions.
Human Rights Watch/Asia calls on the Thai government to
protect civilians taking refuge in their country. In cases
where refugees are abducted and taken to Burma against their
will, the Thai government is responsible for permitting
refoulement, a violation of international law. It also calls
on the government to step up its protection of the camp,
rather than forcing the refugees to provide for their own
protection with armed guards,as this could lead to the camps
being considered legitimate military targets.
*******************************************
Human Rights Watch/Asia (formerly Asia Watch)Human Rights
Watch is a nongovernmental organization established in 1978 to
monitor and promote the observance of internationally
recognized human rights in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the
Middle East and among the signatories of the Helsinki accords.
Kenneth Roth is the executive director; Cynthia Brown is the
program director; Holly J. Burkhalter is the advocacy
director; Gara LaMarche is the associate director; Juan E.
Mendez is general counsel; and Susan Osnos is the
communications director. Robert L. Bernstein is the chair of
the executive committee and Adrian W. DeWind is vice chair.
Its Asia division was established in 1985 to monitor and
promote the observance of internationally recognized human
rights in Asia. Sidney Jones is the executive director; Mike
Jendrzejczyk is the Washington director; Robin Munro is the
Hong Kong director; Zunetta Liddell, Dinah PoKempner, Patricia
Gossman and Jeannine Guthrie are research associates; Mark
Girouard and Shu-Ju Ada Cheng are Luce fellows; Diana Tai-
Feng Cheng and Jennifer Hyman are associates; Mickey Spiegel is
a research consultant.
Human Rights Watch/Asia
485 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10017
TEL: 212/972-8400
FAX: 212/972-0905
E-mail: hrwnyc@xxxxxxx
1522 K Street NW, Suite 910
Washington, D.C. 20005
TEL: 202/371-6592
FAX: 202/371-0124
E-mail: hrwdc@xxxxxxx
33 Islington High Street
London, N1 9LH United Kingdom
TEL: 44-171-713-1995
FAX: 44-171-713-1800
E-mail: hrwatchuk@xxxxxxxxxxx
o------------------------------------------------------------o
ABSDO (AUSTRALIA: STATEMENT TO DR BOUTROS BOUTROS GHALI
ABSDO (Australia).
-------------------------------------------
Dr.Boutros Boutros Ghali
UN Secretary-General
United Nations Building
New York
N.Y. 10017 USA.
26 April 1995.
Your Excellecy Mr. Secretary-General,
On behalf of the Burmese community in Australia, we wish to
offer you our greetings and best wishes on this auspicious 50th
anniversary of the establishment of the United Nation and
encourage you and your good offices to sucessfully reaffirm the
Charter of the United Nations in the case of Burma.
As related in the March 3 1995 Resolution of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights,despite some cosmetic changes in
terms of the State Law and Order Resotration Council(SLORC)'s
human rights record, systematic and persistent human rights
abuses continue across the country. This is of particular
concern in border areas inhabited predominantly by ethnic
minority people where forced labour and conscription as porters
is used extensively in the military's operations.
In Burma's central towns and cities too, arbittrary arrest,
intimidation and torture of political prisoners continue to be
used to silence dissent. In February, during the funeral of our
former Prime Minister, U NU, 50 students were arrested
following their peaceful expression of support for the
pro-democracy movement.
We seek your support in achieving the immediate and
unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political prisoner as a matter of priority. It is timely that
your good officers devote their attention to this aim in coming
months, as the SLORC's own deadline for her release will
expire.
We also seek your support in ensuring that the United Nations
humanitarian and development agencies reconsider their programs
in Burma. The central and local levels of the military
authorities are able to derive material and other benefit from
the assistance provided by these agencies and use froced lobour
in the construction projects undertaken in the name of border
development. We question the effectiveness of the delivery of
assistance to the people in Burma where the authorities
determine the ultimate direction of this work.
The SLORC uses the presence of UN agencies to justify the
recognition afforded to it by the international community. We
therefore recommend that diplomatic pressure be brought by
mechanisms available to you to acknowledge the legitimacy of
the elected parliament, who have held th emandate of the people
since 1990.
We ask that you convey to us the steps your good officeers have
been able to take in effectively implementing the Resolution
49/197 to achieve national reconciliation in Burma. We wish
you well and look forward to hearing your positive response.
Sincerely,
Central Committee
All-Burma Students Democratic Organisation (Australia)
o------------------------------------------------------------o
UPI: UN CONCERNED ON FATE OF KAREN REFUGEES
GENEVA, April 28 (UPI) -- The United Nations expressed concern
Friday about the fate of more than 100 Karen refugees who were
abducted from Thailand earlier this week by militia loyal to
the Burmese government.
The abductions took place on April 24 and 25 when armed groups
entered Thailand from Burma and attacked two large refugee
camps sheltering about 8,500 people, Ron Redmond, spokesman for
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said.
"They burned down or blew up large sections of both camps,"
Redmond said. "Thousands were made homeless by the incident and
fled terrified into the forest."
Following the attacks, Thai security forces increased their
presence in the area, a move that has been welcomed by the U.N.
agency, which has also asked the authorities to move the camps
farther away from the Burmese border.
"These latest incidents represent a sharp and worrying
escalation in a pattern of cross-border raids on refugee camps
that currently shelter 74,000 Karen refugees in Thailand,"
Redmond said.
Bangkok has strongly protested the incursions to Burmese
officials, calling the attacks a violation of Thai sovereignty
and territorial integrity. Karen ethnic groups have been asking
the Burmese government for an autonomous region for several
decades.
o------------------------------------------------------------o
BURMANET: LETTER--"EASY MEAT"
Dear Strider,
Criticizing SLORC is 'easy-meat' and punitive. Can I suggest
more innovative criticism about the people that 'live-off' the
regime and support it's existence?
Have you heard about a Burmese fable - where the magical
chariot settles for the "bad" prince instead of the "good" one?
It is sad, and probably cruel to say this... but the reality is
our country has it's leaders that it 'deserves'. The disparity
between the "haves" and "have-nots" is widening every day, and
little is done from all parties to bridge this. Recently
millions of money was spent on the 'Thingyan' extravaganza.
Maybe this money should have been spent on the villages and the
needy. Materialism, greed, insincerity, deceit, betrayal
overwhelm the people of Rangoon and it's inhabitants. Much time
is spent by many buddhists about 'taya'...and I am not a
scholar on Buddhism to critisize. But it makes me wonder.. what
do they understand and what have they applied to their everyday
life to benefit society?
[Name withheld]
**********
Editor's reply:
Finding things to criticize in Burma is as you say, simple
enough. Modern Burma is for a critic what a soldier would call
a "target rich environment." But the point of BurmaNet is not
to criticisize, but instead to try to understand Burma and its
peoples through the gathering and distribution of information.
If the SLORC comes in for a good deal of criticism, it is
because we understand them too well. If some individuals in
Burma escape a deserved censure, perhaps it is because we
understand them too little. But for insight into what is
admirable and otherwise in the Burmese people, most outsiders
have no choice but to rely on Burmese people such as yourself
for guidance.
o------------------------------------------------------------o
REUTERS: BRITAIN OPPOSES TRADE SANCTIONS AGAINST BURMA
LONDON, April 28 (Reuter) - Britain said on Friday it did not
believe trade sanctions would help improve human rights in
Burma. In a brief debate in the House of Lords, foreign office
spokesman Lord Inglewood said new sanctions would hurt the
people and not the country's government.
"We do not believe sanctions would be effective without
international support, which we do not judge to be
forthcoming." "While we do not wish to offer succour to the
regime, we don't believe isolating it entirely is necessarily
going to benefit the Burmese people," Inglewood said. Britain
has already imposed a ban on non-humanitarian aid and an arms
embargo, and has severed defence links with the ruling State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
But Britain, along with its European Union partners,
maintains a policy of "critical dialogue" with Rangoon which
means holding occasional talks in which officials repeat
demands for better human rights and political reform.
Inglewood repeated Britain's condemnation of the SLORC's
continued detention without trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the
leader of the National League for Democracy.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has been detained since
July 1989, but nevertheless led the League to an overwhelming
victory in May 1990 elections which SLORC failed to recognise.
"Her continued detention without charge is indefensible and in
flagrant contradiction of all principles of justice,"
Inglewood told the upper house of the British parliament.
o------------------------------------------------------------o
REUTERS: MALAYSIA TO SEND RUBBER MISSION TO BURMA
KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Reuter) - Malaysia will send a rubber
trade delegation to Burma from May 1 to 6, to improve and
increase trade ties between the two countries, the national
Bernama news agency reported.
"With peace and stability returning to (Burma) and with a more
open economic policy, Malaysian traders should take the
opportunity to establish closer trade ties with (Burma),"
Malaysian Rubber Exchange and Licensing Board (MRELB) chairman
Ng Kok Tee was quoted by Bernama as saying.
The mission was also aimed at importing more natural rubber
from Burma for Malaysian factories as well as to seek
investment opportunities in plantations and processing, he said
in a
statement.
Ng will lead a 20-member delegation which is expected to hold
discussion with Burmese officials and visit several rubber
estates and Burma's Rubber Technology Development Centre.
o------------------------------------------------------------o
REUTERS: UN ASKS FOR KAREN CAMPS TO BE MOVED
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, April 28 (Reuter) - The United Nations said on Friday
74,000 Karen refugees in Thailand were in danger from
cross-border attacks and called for the camps to be moved
further away from the Burmese border.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed
concern about reports that armed men had crossed from Burma
into Thailand and abducted "hundreds" of Karen refugees after
setting fire to two camps this week. Two refugees were killed.
Separately, Thai police and refugee officials said Burmese
soldiers and members of an allied Karen guerrilla faction
attacked two camps on Friday, killing at least one refugee.
"These latest incidents represent a sharp and worrying
escalation in the pattern of cross-border raids on refugee
camps that currently shelter 74,000 Karen refugees in
Thailand," UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told a briefing before
the latest raid. "Obviously these people are in danger...We
have requested camp relocation," he later told Reuters.
UNHCR's Bangkok office has asked Thai authorities to grant its
staff access to the string of more than 20 border camps
sheltering the Karen refugees.
The agency has yet to receive a government reply.
At present the Geneva-based UNHCR has no role in the camps
except for an occasional visit by a single protection officer
who travels from Bangkok.
"We are particularly disturbed by the reported abduction
earlier this week of hundreds of refugees, including women and
children, and the torching of homes in refugee camps," Redmond
told reporters.
"Two refugees were reported killed. Thousands were made
homeless by the incidents and fled terrified into the forests."
The attacks by armed men took place on Monday April 24 on Ban
Mae Ra Ma Luang camp and on Kamaw Lay Ko on the night of April
25-26, according to the UNHCR spokesman. The UNHCR had no
information on the attackers' identity.
The camps hold 4,500 and 4,000 Karen refugees respectively.
Relief workers say Burmese troops and members of the Karen
guerrilla splinter faction have launched a campaign of terror
against the Karen refugees in Thailand in an effort to force
them back into government-controlled parts of Burma and deprive
the Karen guerrilla group of its civilian support base.
The agency and Thai authorities have begun discussing a
greater "protection role" for UNHCR staff in the Karen camps.
"We have asked Thai authorities for access to these camps this
week following these incidents," Redmond said. "But we have
received no response so far. We do expect that they will give
us access."
o------------------------------------------------------------o
SCB: BURMESE STUDENTS ABROAD
Posted by: ckyu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
soc.culture.burma 3:56 PM Apr 28, 1995
(at mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu) (From News system)
Hi everyone,
I'm a student at Tulane University in New Orleans. I'm
wondering if there is an organization of Burmese students who
are studying at various universities around the world, and who
have been brought together by a vision of a Better Burma, our
Motherland, our A-Mi-Myay. If there is such a group, please let
me know.I will be a member right away.
Chan E Kyu
o------------------------------------------------------------o
KHRG: CHEMICAL SHELLS AT KAWMOORA-SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
March 20, 1995 / KHRG #95-08-A
This report provides supplementary information to the report
"Chemical Shells at Kawmoora", KHRG #95-08. Further
supplementary reports may be produced as more information is
obtained.
____________________________________________________________
______________
Medical and clothing samples from some of the soldiers exposed
to the gas attack at Kawmoora are still under analysis
overseas, and no results have been communicated to us as yet.
However, some further pieces of information have been provided
by various sources. Shortly after the fall of Kawmoora, Lt.
Gen. Tin Oo (Secretary-2 of SLORC) was in Thailand at the
invitation of Thai Army Commander-in-Chief Wimol Wongwanich.
Tin Oo's contacts while in Thailand were primarily only with
Thai military leaders. Just after his return to Burma, Thai
journalists questioned Gen. Chettha Thanajaro, Assistant Army
Chief of Staff of Thailand. In an article entitled "Burmese
Admit They Used Chemicals to Fight Karens" on February 28th,
the Thai-language Daily News paraphrased Gen. Chettha's words
as follows: "Concerning the Australian government's protest
over SLORC's use of chemicals against the Karen, Tin Oo replied
that they had to wipe out the thieves and rebels that are
against the government. He said that although the use of
chemicals is not right, it is necessary."
At the same time, SLORC has been publishing a seemingly endless
series of fictional - but supposedly true - propaganda pieces
in their "New Light of Myanmar" newspaper telling the story of
the fall of Manerplaw and Kawmoora, complete with fabricated
conversations. In one of the articles, Gen. Bo Mya says, "I
have instructed all my men to fire on towns and villages with
heavy arms and small arms. I have instructed them to explode
bombs everywhere. I have asked them to poison wells and tanks
with potassium cyanide. ... I have asked Soe Soe to get me some
chemical bombs, has he got any by now? Must explode them among
my men, must explode them at Kawmoora. We may lose four or
five men. I will have their bodies photographed. I will have
them videotaped. I have asked them to bring in two Japanese to
see for themselves how the Na Wa Ta [SLORC] army has been using
poison bombs. The Na Wa Ta government will then become another
Iraq. ... Well, get more potassium cyanide, poison bombs and
bacteria bombs. Try and get them urgently." After working to
incite a rift between Karen Buddhists and Christians, the SLORC
claimed it was Bo Mya who deliberately incited the rift
(despite the fact that it cost him his headquarters); after
attacking Kawmoora, the SLORC claimed it was Karen who attacked
Kawmoora; now it appears that after using chemical weapons
against Karen, SLORC "covers" itself by claiming it was Bo Mya
who used chemical weapons against his own men. The specific
mention of potassium cyanide is intriguing, because no one else
except SLORC has mentioned such a specific chemical. Potassium
cyanide causes 'cyanosis': inability to breathe, respiratory
failure and as little as 0.5 mg. can kill an adult, leaving the
victim with blue face, lips and extremities. If chemically
bound to some other organic compound, it can bind to the skin
and cause burns and blistering, also entering the blood stream
through the skin to cause cyanosis. People handling potassium
cyanide without protective gloves and mask can very quickly
become confused and clumsy, as it is a fine white powder which
is easily inhaled. The highly lethal nature of this chemical
does not appear consistent with the symptoms of the gas and
burn victims at Kawmoora; however, potassium cyanide is water
soluble and is ideal for the SLORC's mentioned purpose of
poisoning village
o------------------------------------------------------------o
INFORMATION ABOUT BURMA VIA THE WEB:
Information about Burma is available via the WorldWideWeb at:
FreeBurmaWWW http://199.172.178.200/freebrma/freebrma.htm.
[including back issues of the BurmaNet News as .txt files]
BurmaWeb: http://www.uio.no/tormodl
Burma fonts:
http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~lka/burmese-fonts/moe.html
Ethnologue Database(Myanmar):
http://www-ala.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rap/Ethnologue/eth.cgi/Myanmar
BurmaNet News (most recent issue only):
http://taygate.au.ac.th/web/michael/bnn/bnn.htm
o------------------------------------------------------------o
CONTACTING BURMANET BY SNAILMAIL, FAX OR PHONE:
In Washington:
Attention to BurmaNet
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(NCGUB)
Information Office
815 15th Street NW, Suite 609
Washington D.C. 20005
Tel: (202) 393-7342, Fax: (202) 393-7343
NCGUB email: ncgub@xxxxxxxxxxx
In Bangkok:
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Tel: (066) (02) 234-6674, Fax: (066) (02) 631 0133
Burma Issues email: durham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The NCGUB is a government-in-exile, formed by representatives
of the people that won the election in 1990.
Burma Issues is a Bangkok-based non-governmental organization
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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
o------------------------------------------------------------o