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BurmaNet News 23 July 1995



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The BurmaNet News: July 23, 1995


AUNG SAN SUU KYI IS NO LONGER A NON-PERSON 
BURMESE GOVT BREAKS ITS SILENCE ON SUU KYI
JAPAN SENDS OFFICIAL TO RANGOON 
BURMA'S MON SEEK TALKS ON DEMOCRACY
TRADERS DEFYING CALL FOR THAI BOYCOTT ARE PUNISHED BY BURMA
2,OOO CUT TIES WITH KHUN SA
TREMOR FROM BURMA QUAKE
RESIDENTS BELIEVE WORLD HAS FALSE IMPRESSION OF BURMA
KAREN PLEA
REFUGEE ON MURDER CHARGE
INTERIOR GROUP PROBES BORDER
PUNISHMENT FOR BURMA TRADERS
MASSACHUSETTS IN BURMA BAN
KASEM PLEDGES TO FOLLOW SAME POLICY ON BURMA
SUU KYI'S HUSBAND AND SON ARRIVE IN RANGOON FOR VISIT
THE LADY TAKES THE CAKE!

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===== item =====

AUNG SAN SUU KYI IS NO LONGER A NON-PERSON 
Bkk post/21.7.95

Rangoon, Agencies

DEMOCRACY leader Aung San Suu Kyi's picture appeared for the
first time since her release from house arrest in state-run
Burmese newspapers yesterday.

A picture of her participating in an official Martyrs' Day
ceremony on Wednesday was on the front page of all state-run
Burmese-language and English-language newspapers.

The picture and caption, which mention her by name marked the
first time she had been named in state-run newspapers since being
released from six years of house arrest last week.

On Wednesday night, picture of Suu Kyi at the ceremony were shown
on official television stations, ending nine days of a domestic
news black-out following her release on July 10.

Yesterday's state newspapers, considered organs of the ruling
State Law and Order Restoration Council, also published an
article denouncing "traitors who worked to create economic crisis
in Burma.

"Myanmar (Burma) is now embarked on the way to economic
development," said the article published in the New light of
Myanmar and the other two official papers. But it must not be
forgetting that national traitors from within the country will
continue to conspire with foreign elements to enforce an economic
blockade without any regard to the welfare of the 45 million
Myanmar in their own interests and in order that they should gain
political power."

Suu Kyi was not named in the article but she has urged foreign
business executives and governments to consider political
circumstances in her country very carefully before rushing with
investment and aid.

Some government like Japan have indicated they might resume aid
following her release.

She has responded by urging caution, and asking foreign
governments to wait and see what changes occur before making such
decisions, "I would ask them to wait and see if there are any
real changes," she said. "I wonder why the Japanese Government
feels a need to hurry. I think all governments should wait to see
what is going to happen."

Suu Kyi is working  to ensure her party is united and behind her
as they renew their quest for democracy. Yesterday, she continued
meetings with fellow democracy leaders to plot their course of a
action.

Diplomats and opposition leaders say her first priority must be
to reorganise her National League for Democracy, which had
suffered factions and leadership problems over the past few
years, if she hope to make any progress with the military regime.
"The party must consolidate its position then try and work things
forward," a diplomat said. "They need to decide what they want to
talk to the regime about."

Diplomats said the military had the strategic upper hand because
they have had years to plan what to do after releasing Suu Kyi,
while the party was taken by surprise.

Suu Kyi believes her party will be able to regroup and launch a
dialogue with SLORC. "We are a very disciplined organisation
despite the fact we've been limping along due to circumstances
beyond our control," she said.

First she must conquer opposition members fears and suspicions of
their military rulers, calling for caution while also asking for
support. "Wait with patience, have a strong will," Suu Kyi told
hundreds of people gathered at her front gate of this week. "Be
clever and be careful not to do anything wrong."

Diplomats and opposition leaders say although she is urging
caution and patience, the situation could again turn ugly if the
military does not agree to dialogue and the Opposition decides to
turn to the streets and demonstrate. "If Slorc says they don't
want a dialogue, it could lead to another step, a period of
agitation," one opposition leader said. "But agitation in a
totalitarian state could lead to disaster."

A student supporter of Suu Kyi agreed. "There could be a lot of
problems or a lot of good things in this country," he said. "It
depends on Suu Kyi. If it explodes this time we have to expect
the worst."

The generals have been very quiet about Suu Kyi, but everyone in
Rangoon knows she is now free and many yearn to hear more about
what she intends to do to change the country.

"They are afraid of her," said Saw Maung, 28, a graduate student
in Law. They are afraid if they say something, many people will
come to see her."
 
Kyaw Thet Aung, an artist in his 50s, said, "The whole city is
talking about it. We saw her on television last night, but it was 
only for a moment. I want to know more. We all want to know
more."

"I want to know what she will do," he said. "Will she stay here
or go to another country? Why can't the Government make things
clear to us? I want them to be clear."

A young teacher said: "The fact that I have to be told about this
by the Voice of America and BBC is a slap in the face from my own
government."

Suu Kyi's appearance in the official media may suggest that the
Government is willing to deal with her politically at some level.
She has been urging the Government to join her in national
reconciliation talks, but no reply has been reported.

A small photograph of her on the front page of the New light of
Myanmar showed her laying orchids at her father's tomb. It was
placed below a photograph, spanning the width of the page,
showing military and government officials bowing and saluting
during the same ceremony.

Suu Kyi's presence was noted in a single sentence in the middle
of the 18-paragraph story. It also mentioned the names of two
people who placed a wreath on behalf of Aung San Oo, her brother,
who lives in the US and did not attend the service. The
Government tightly cordoned the area to prevent any disturbances
centred around her.

Several hundred people are still gathering outside her lakeside
house every day. She tells them democracy remains her goal, but
the people must be cautious and avoid danger. Yesterday she
apologised to them for spending so much time with foreign
journalists. "Only they can tell the world what is happening,"
she said.

"It will take many, many years for our country to change," Saw
Maung said. Suu Kyi, he said, "must be part of the government.
The Army says they must be part of government too. If they can
work together, that will be good. She is the mother of our
country."

A western diplomat said Slorc  freed her because it believes it
is now in a strong enough position to do so and handle the
outcome.

He noted that there had been a minor cabinet reshuffle last month
to fine tune the Government, and that a constitutional convention
had nearly finished writing a new charter that will enshrine a
leading role for the military in running the country.

He noted that Khin Nyunt, Burma's powerful intelligence chief and
a senior member of Slorc, had made a major policy speech
recently, his first such address in years.

In it Khin Nyunt indicated "that they had been getting their
house together _ that they had doused the fires," the diplomat
said.

He was referring in part to the ceasefire agreements  Slorc had
negotiated with 15 of the armed ethnic groups that have been
battling Rangoon for greater autonomy for decades.

So they (SLORC) are dealing from a position of strength," he
said.

An Asian diplomat suggested that SLORC probably also had economic
reasons for freeing her.

He noted that Burma's economic had grown steadily in recent
years. Its exports totalled $1.7 billion last year, and the
Government has said it expects the figure to reach the $2 billion
mark this year.

Tourism is also growing Continuing to hold Suu Kyi could have a
negative effect on the economy and on tourism, he said.

The two diplomats also noted that SLORC continues to hold several
key NLD members.

Other top NLD leaders are in hiding in the jungle or have fled
into Thailand or into exile further abroad.

" The question is, can she put the apparatus back together? " the
second diplomat said.

Regardless of why they freed her, the analysts believe Suu Kyi
will have a brief period of time when she can do pretty much what
she wants without fearing re-arrest.

" The shorter the time [before ] they re-arrest her the worse it
will look, " the second diplomat said. " She will probably have a
three-or four-month honeymoon." 

Then if SLORC believes she has gone too far it could re-arrest
her and say; " Look, we gave her a chance and she did this, this
and  this," he said.

Both analysts said they thought Suu Kyi would move slowly at
first. 

"She will probably want to see how much slack SLORC will give
her," the second diplomat said. " She will test the boundaries"
of her new freedom .

"She will see if she can accept or cannot accept those
boundaries," he predicted.

Although many of her colleagues were imprisoned, and others
killed in the pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 or subsequent
imprisonment, Suu Kyi said she would not have changed what she
did as a leader of the movement to return Burma to democracy.

" I don't think so," she said when asked if she would have done
anything different. " Under the circumstances I probably would
have done what I did. I don't think I could have stopped that,"
she said. " I think those who were put in prison and killed would
have been anyway." 

A reliable source said that her husband, British academic Michael
Aris, would arrive here tomorrow. Suu Kyi said her family has
suffered for her ideals. "They support me but I think they have
paid a price for all this," she said . "It was difficult. Not so
much for me, but because I thought of my children. My biggest
concern was what is happening to my sons, how are they coping? I
was hoping they wouldn't need me." 

Suu  Kyi said she survived her six years of detention by imposing
strict self-discipline. 

"I kept a strict timetable, partly because I thought self-
discipline was very important and party because I didn't want to
waste my time." 

She said she spent her time in detention meditating, reading
books, studying religion, listening to international news in
English and Burmese and doing various household activities.

" I didn't think of it as my prison," she said " It's my home." 

She urged Western pressure groups to await developments in Burma
before changing their tactics.

"All those who are interesting democratic development in Burma
should wait and see what is going to happen before they decide to
change tactics. Nothing has changed yet, apart from my release."
she said.

She cautioned ASEAN leaders against reacting too quickly to
changes inside Burma. " I would ask them to support the cause of
democracy," she said. "I think they should go on observing the
situation  very closely and accept that we are nowhere near
democracy yet". 

She said she always rose early and began her day with an hour of
meditation. " It was partly a matter of self-discipline but it is
also good to meditate that early when it is still very , very
quiet." 

Paradoxically, 'I know it sounds funny but often I would find I
did not have enough time for everything.' 

She said she ate regularly, but never very much. "The thing about
being alone is that you lose interest in food. Cooking for myself
was no fun at all." 

Suu Kyi's release sparked a flood of visa applications from
reporters to enter the country but more than a dozen missed out,
prompting the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand to urge
Information Minister Maj-Gen Aye Kyaw to drop an apparent
blacklist.

Club president Panadda Lertlum-ampai said in a letter that recent
applications had either gone unanswered or had been rejected.  


===== item =====

BURMESE GOVT BREAKS ITS SILENCE ON SUU KYI
21.7.95/The Nation

The Burmese government has broken its silence on opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi by reporting her participation in
Martyrs' Day ceremonies in the official media.

A brief segment was shown on Burmese television on Wednesday
night, and state-run newspaper yesterday reported her presence at
the Martyrs' Mausoleum the day before.

The TV narration mentioning her by name, referred only to her
brief activities at the ceremony and said nothing about her
newly-free status.

It was the first public mention of Aung San Suu Kyi since she was
released from six years of house arrest on July 10.

The English-language New Light of Myanmar printed a front-page
picture of the dissident placing flowers at the mausoleum during
Wednesday's official ceremonies honouring independence leaders
including her father Aung San who were murdered 48 years ago.
Chief among them was her father Aung San.

The picture was at the bottom of the page immediately below a
large photograph of Culture Minister Brig Gen Thaung Myint, who
represented the Burmese junta at the ceremony, and other
dignitaries paying tribute at the mausoleum.

The daily also mentioned Suu Kyi by name in the story about the
memorial service printed above the photographs.

The previous failure of the media to refer even indirectly to Suu
Kyi's July 10 release from house arrest had caused puzzlement and
unease over the government's intentions.

Word of her freedom has spread by word mouth and though foreign
radio broadcasts such as the BBC and Voice of America.

Her television appearance suggests that the military government
is willing to accept her a legitimately player in the public
political arena. She was last seen on state television when she
held talks with senior members of the military government last
year during her detention.

Later on Wednesday some 100 foreign reporters, photographers and
cameramen drank tea and ate cakes in the garden of her Rangoon
home where the 50-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner spent her
detention.

After asking that all cameras be turned off and no pictures be
taken, Suu Kyi mingled, signing autographs and asking reporters
about their visits to Rangoon.

One close adviser to Suu Kyi said she held the tea because "she
thought most of you would be going home soon".

Suu Kyi's release sparked a flood of visa applications from
reporters to enter the country but more than a dozen missed out,
prompting Thailand's Foreign Correspondents' Club to urge Burmese
Minister of Information Maj Gen Aye Kyaw to drop an apparent
blacklist.

Club president Panadda Lertlum-ampai said in a letter that recent
applications had either gone unanswered or had been rejected.

Burma's ruling military has had an uneasy relationship with the
foreign media and no reporters were allowed in to the country for
several years after the military suppressed the 1988 democracy
uprising .

Meanwhile, a reliable source said Suu Kyi's husband, British
academic Michael Aris, would arrive here tomorrow to visit his
wife.

Since her release, Suu Kyi has taken a non-confrontational stand
towards the authorities and urged them to join her in talks on
national unity. The military seized power in 1988 after violently
suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations.

Suu Kyi was put under house arrest in July 1989 because of her
strident pro-democracy speeches. Her release earlier this month
was not reported in the strictly-controlled Burmese media.

She has since held frequent meetings with senior members of the
main opposition National League for Democracy, trying to decide
on how best to jump-start the movement.


===== item =====

JAPAN SENDS OFFICIAL TO RANGOON 
The Nation/21.7.95

Kyodo

TOKYO _ The foreign Ministry sent an official to Burma on
Wednesday to meet junta and released pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, the ministry said.

Masaaki Ono, deputy director general of the ministry's Asian
Affairs Bureau, will brief officials there on Japan's policy
toward Rangoon and study the local situation.


===== item =====

BURMA'S MON SEEK TALKS ON DEMOCRACY

YINDEE LERTCHROENCHOK
The Nation/21.7.95

BURMA'S ethnic Mon guerrillas, who reached a ceasefire with the
ruling junta late last month, have announced their intention to
pursue peaceful dialogue towards restoring democracy and human
rights .

In a public statement on July 13, the New Mon State Party (NMSP)
defined its position by saying that the truce with the ruling
regime known as the State Law and Order restoration Council
(Slorc) "is just merely a military ceasefire", and that "the NMSP
armed forces will retain their arms while carrying on its
political aims as the situation demanded".

The statement, which was released yesterday to the media, said
after abandoning violent struggle, "the method of peaceful
negotiations would be followed according to our [NMSP] national
movement".

The NMSP, the ethnic group to reach a ceasefire with Slorc, added
that it would continue "with determination" the struggle of the
Burmese people of all ethnic nationalities to achievement their
common political objectives and Mon freedom.

"With full endurance and without surrendering our arms, we will
solidify the unity of the Mons and hereby declare to struggle
with determination, together with the people of other ethnic
nationalities, for the restoration of democracy and human rights
in the country, in accordance with the programme laid down for
our freedom," said the statement issued by the NMSP central
committee.

"... work beneficial to the party as well as to the general
public would be carried out in consultation with Slorc. For the
development of Mon areas, in some cases, joint ventures between
the [NMSP] party and Slorc would be arranged, while in other
cases, it would be done between the party and the private
sector," the release said.

The NMSP and Slorc began their peace talks in December 1993 but
they became deadlocked as Rangoon repeatedly rejected the ethnic
group's demands for control over certain areas.

An extended lull followed Burmese attacks in July 1994 against
Mon refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border, before both sides
agreed to meet in June.

Unexpectedly, both sides came to a compromise in their fourth and
last round of talks last month at the Mon state capital of
Moulmein and agreed to a ceasefire.

"With a view to unify the Mon people ... acceptance of dialogue
with representatives of Slorc was made. After our forth round of
talks an amicable agreement was reached resulting in a ceasefire
ceremony on 29 June, 1995," statement said.

In the agreement, the NMSP was allowed to keep its army, weapons
and 20 of its areas it controls in Mergui, Tavoy, Moulmein and
Thaton districts. Civilians and villagers would be able to freely
travel in and out of the areas.


===== item =====

TRADERS DEFYING CALL FOR THAI BOYCOTT ARE PUNISHED BY BURMA
100 forced to work for soldiers
THe Nation/21.7.95

Reuter

SCORES of small traders in northern Burma have been punished for
ignoring a call to boycott products from neighbouring Thailand,
their Thai counterparts said yesterday.

Thai traders in the northern Thai town of Mae Sai, opposite
northern Burma's Shan state, said as many as 100 traders from
Burma have been punished after returning from Thailand with Thai
products.

One day last week 60 people were arrested but they were given
only light punishment. They were forced to work for the soldiers
in their camp for one day," one Thai trader told reuter by
telephone.

Several days later about 40 traders were arrested as they crossed
back into Burma from Thailand. They were given similar punishment
and threatened with fines of  Bt2,000 if they repeated the
offence, the trader said.

Burma closed the main border crossing between Mae Sai and the
northern Burmese town of Tachilek after Shan guerrillas raided
the town in March. Burma's military government accused Thailand
of assisting the rebels, which Thailand denies.

The Burmese traders arrested last week slipped across a small
border river to make their purchases in Thailand.

Meanwhile, a Thai diplomat based in Rangoon told traders in
another Thai border town affected by the Burmese boycott call
that he believed the campaign was initiated at the local level
and was not affecting trade between the two nations.

Commercial attache Sriwat Suwan told a trade seminar in the Thai
border town of Mae Sot on Wednesday that he believed the boycott
campaign was not Burmese government policy.

"Only a few leaflets [calling for a boycott' were found and I
believe they have nothing to do with the central government,"
Sriwat told the meeting.

Last month posters began appearing in southern Burmese towns
urging people not to buy Thai products, but to purchase goods
from other countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia
instead.


===== item =====

2,OOO CUT TIES WITH KHUN SA
Bangkok Post/21.7.95

ABOUT 2.000 solders of the Muang Tai Army, declaring they have
cut ties with their commander Khun Sa, are heading for the north
of Shan State, according to a Thailand border official.

The source said yesterday the rift was caused by the drug
warlord's alleged favouritism toward personnel of Haw origin who
control most of the key positions in the army. For this reason,
most Tai Yai soldiers held grudges against Khun Sa.

The source said the Tai Yai soldier led by Maj-ColKanyod, a
commander of Sipor battalion, had moved to northern Shan State to
protest against Khun Sa's way of handing army affairs.


===== item =====

TREMOR FROM BURMA QUAKE
Bangkok Post/ 21.7.95

CHIANG RAI: Another tremor was felt in this northern border
province yesterday when an earth quake measuring 4.0 on the
Richter scale rocked Burma around 4.43 am.

The quake's epicentre was the province's earth-quake detection
centre and about 374 kilometres north of neighbouring Chiang
Mai's detection centre.

There were no report of damage in the province.


===== item =====

RESIDENTS BELIEVE WORLD HAS FALSE IMPRESSION OF BURMA

Don Pathan
The Nation/22.7.95

RANGOON _ The tension along the Thai-Burmese border has created a
false impression of what Burma is really like on the inside,
according to a Rangoon-based banker from Thailand.

"The world has a violent view of Burma, but looking at the
country from inside I have to say that such a view is misleading
and has often been blown out of proportion," said Aroon
Buranatanyarat, assistant president of the Siam City Bank.

Aroon, the bank's representative in Rangoon, said he saw no real
problem in doing business in Burma. In his view, Burma was an
"open " country where foreign companies were given equal
opportunity to do business.

"The Burmese authorities, particularly the finance and commerce
ministers, have been making trip abroad to meet potential
investors," said Aroon. "They understand very well about the need
to attack foreign capital.

"Many foreign investors don't understand Myanmar's [Burma] laws
and mind-set," said a resident foreign correspondent. "I believe
Slorc [the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council] has
been firm and fair in most cases.

"I have to admit, the standard of living here is better than a
few years back," he said. "Some of the credit has to go Slorc."

Aroon acknowledged that in the past some Thai projects may have
been forced to stop, but insisted that this was not the fault of
the Burmese authorities.

"These franchisees [from Thailand], particularly those in the
forest industries, had often cheated on their quotas _ such as
cutting more trees than they were supposed to, and so on," he
said.

"The government has to be firm and consistent with their laws
because they do not want to make the same mistakes their more-
developed neighbour [Thailand] made with regard to natural
resources," said Aroon.

"However, some of their precautions may appear to outsiders as
rigid or too restrictive."

The correspondent said the way Rangoon and Bangkok had handle the
border problems had been detrimental to the two governments. This
could have affected the decision whether to grant economic or
business contracts.

An advertising campaign was launched here yesterday by Singapore-
based Carrie Models to participate in the 15-nation "Traditional
Asian Model" contest to be held in Singapore in October.

"This is an opportunity for Myanmar [Burma] to present one aspect
of its culture to the world," said an official from Burma's
Ministry of Information.


===== item =====

KAREN PLEA
The Nation/Letters

We are two young Karen women refugees living in Bangkok. We both
arrived in Bangkok in April this year after Slorc and the DKBA
overran the KNU base in Marnerplaw and border refugee camps
inside Thailand. It has destroyed our future and almost destroyed
our hope.

So as not to be considered "illegal immigrants" under Thai law,
we applied to the UNHCR for protection, but they refused us. When
we found out that many of our friends have been treated the same
way, we are decided to make our case public.

The responsibility of the UNHCR to protect refugee like us is
clear and unambiguous. The UN Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees (1951) does not say that refugees from some countries
(like Somalia), or those who became refugees at certain times
(like those who fled Burma in 1988), could be recognized, while
those from Burma and the border areas who have fled to escape
persecution would be ignored.

We appeal for justice and fairness.

Name Withheld 
Bangkok


===== item =====

REFUGEE ON MURDER CHARGE
bkk post\22.7.95

CHIANG RAI: A Burmese refugee was charged with murder yesterday
after allegedly confessing to police that she hired a gunman to
kill her husband.

Mrs Moei or Nong Nong Win, 19, told police she had paid 20,000
baht to Sithi Thakamma to kill Aso (surname unknown), 28, also
Burmese. She alleged Aso had beaten her almost every day for
years.

On July 7, Aso was shot in the stomach and wrist allegedly by
Sithi, and was admitted to Chaing Rai Prachanukrao Hospital.

Yesterday morning, Sithi raided his room on the second floor of
one of the buildings and allegedly stabbed Aso to death Police
located the suspect in Mae Sai district.


===== item =====

INTERIOR GROUP PROBES BORDER
bkk post/22.7.95

MAE SOT: An Interior Ministry working group yesterday checked
areas along the Moei River to investigate Burma's allegation that
Thailand has encroached on the river.

The 15-member  group led by interior inspector-general Yont
Sarathoonthat was made up of representatives from the Foreign
Ministry, departments of Land, Harbour, Thai Survey, Treasury and
Town and Country Planning, the Tak deputy governor and Mae Sot's
district chief.

According to Mr Yont, the group will meet on Tuesday to conclude
its findings.


===== item =====

PUNISHMENT FOR BURMA TRADERS
bkk post/22.7.95

MAE SOT: Burmese authorities yesterday sentenced 60 people to two
months' jail after arresting them at the Burmese border town of
Myawaddy for crossing into Mae Sot, according to a Thai border
source.

The source said yesterday the Burmese government had since July
10 prohibited the transport of goods and frontier crossings and
sit up a special task force to patrol the border area.

A Burmese trader said that earlier, when a similar ban was
enforced, the authorities allowed people living along the border
to cross into Thailand for food and necessities.

Those found to have broken the regulation were liable to six
months' jail and a fine equal to four times the value of the
goods bought. Myawaddy residents have reportedly started to store
food in anticipation of a food shortage.

The source said 200 trucks from the town, which were meant to
carry goods from Thailand, were stopped by the authorities at the
Kawkareik check point, 65 kilomertres inland from the border, and
forced to go back.


===== item =====

MASSACHUSETTS IN BURMA BAN

bkk post/22.7 95

THE house of representatives of the US state of Massachusetts has 
passed a bill effectively barring the state from buying goods or
services from firms doing business in Burma.

The Burma bill is sponsored by the state representative Byron
Rushing , who introduced similar legislation against South Africa
during the apartheid era.

"When Nelson Mandela was released, it was two years before he
called for the lifting of sanctions," Rushing pointed out.

"Since her release, Aung San Suu Kyi has asked other countries
not to rush to invest in Burma. We will press forward in our
campaign until there is an irreversible transfer of power to
Burma's legitimate elected representatives," he said.

Having passed its third and final reading in the house, the Burma
bill now goes to the Massachusetts senate. If passed, it will
then go to the state government for approval.

Massachusetts, with a population of 6 million, has the tenth
largest economy in the US. The state and local budget is over
$1.1 billion, including the purchase of billions of dollars of
goods and services annually.


===== item =====

KASEM PLEDGES TO FOLLOW SAME POLICY ON BURMA
The Nation/23.7.95

THAILAND will continue to pursue a policy of constructive
engagement with Burma in an effort to bring "changes" to the
country, new Foreign Minister MR Kasem Samosorn Kasemsri said
yesterday.

Kasem said he would seek to have talks with his Burmese
counterpart U Ong Kyaw next week, when they would both be
attending the 28th Asean Ministerial Meeting in Brunei.

Constructive engagement was initiated by Thailand and later
adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
The policy argues that isolating Burma is not the right way to
bring about positive change.

"I don't think constructive engagement benefits only a few and
destroys other," Kasem told reporters at his first press
conference at the Foreign Ministry.

Western governments have claiming that it was being used by Thai
businessmen to pursue unscrupulous business interests in Burma,
thereby strengthening the repressive ruling military regime.

"Thai economic growth is not an index for democracy, we have seen
from past events that economic progress has led to it," he said.

Kasem said the prosperity the Burmese people gained as a result
of constructive engagement could eventually lead to
"liberalization".

Peace and stability in Burma would also mean trade opportunities
for Thailand.

The minister said that while Thailand welcomed the July 10
release of Burmese national heroine Aung San Suu Kyi and hope for
national reconciliation, the government would remain distant from
Burma's internal affairs.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since
February, when  Rangoon intensified a series of military actions
against Karen armed insurgents and later Khun Sa's forces along
the Thai-Burmese border, and accused Thailand of aiding them.

In June, Burmese authorities suspended the construction of the
Thai-Burmese Bridge across the Moei River, accusing  Thai
villagers of infringing upon their territory.

Kasem said Asean members would discuss the issue of Burma's
future relations with the organization at the ministerial meeting
in Brunei on July 29.

Burma approached Asean a few weeks ago, prior to the release of
Suu Kyi, indicating it wanted to accede to the Treaty of Amity
and Co-operation in Southeast Asia, a step towards becoming an
observer country.

Burma is the only Southeast Asian Nation with no affiliation to
Asean. Vietnam will become a full member next Friday, when
Cambodia will become an observer. Laos is already an observer.

Kasem outlined Thailand's agenda for the Brunei meeting which
will be his first appearance abroad, providing him with the
opportunity to meet other foreign ministers and to explain the
new government's policies.


===== item =====

SUU KYI'S HUSBAND AND SON ARRIVE IN RANGOON FOR VISIT

Reuter
The Nation/23.7.95

RANGOON _ Michael Aris, the British husband of freed Burmese     
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, arrived with their youngest
son in Rangoon yesterday, an airline official said.

Aris and his son Kim had travelled from their home in Oxford,
England.

Suu Kyi was set free in July 10, after nearly six years of house
arrest for "endangering the state" after military government
during 1988 pro-democracy uprising that left thousands killed or
in jail.

Suu Kyi, who was never charged or tried during those years, was
allowed several visits by her two sons and husband during her
detention. Aris has visited her 10 times since her detention in
1989.

Agence France-Press adds: A senior officer in Burma's military
government has said that the country's diverse ethnic groups are
enjoying peace and unity for the first time since independence
more than 40 years ago, an official newspaper reported yesterday.

The government had also negotiated with's "certain political
parties" and there is now "relevant cooperation" between them,
the English-language New Light of Myanmar quoted Lieutenant
General Khin Nyunt as saying.


===== item =====

THE LADY TAKES THE CAKE!
SUNDAY POST/PERSPECTIVE/23.7.95

     R.STRIDER snoops around Rangoon and comes up with some touching
    and hilarious tales about the "the Lady" _ now no more in waiting
                               _ and her.

At the edge of the crowd, U Kyi Maung looks in munching a banana
and sipping tea. Six years ago, he looked years of detention and
poor treatment, he looks every one of his 80 years.

Like most people in Rangoon however, he is beaming. People who
were dispirited just weeks ago now walk like they're all holding
a winning lottery ticket.


There is no fear also _ that the winning number, so unexpected,
could just as quickly blow away. Worse still, they fear the whole
thing is a trick. But if only for this afternoon, U Kyi Maung,
the journalists, "the Lady," and the  rest of Burma are jubilant.

While journalists and Aung San Suu Kyi rediscover each other,
light rain begins falling. The rain doesn't deter some
photographers from asking for a photo opportunity on the lawn,
which she first protests and then indulges.

After the mass press conference ends, she continues meeting small
groups of reporters anxious to get an exclusive before their
deadlines. Now there are chairs enough for all journalists who
make it past the door, which is a change from the first day.

When word of her release was announced, U Kyi Maung, U Tin Oo, U
Aung Shwe and U Lwin arrived at her house within hours to meet
Suu Kyi. Between the five of them however, there were only four
chairs.

As the youngest of them, Suu Kyi sat on the floor amidst her
"uncles.". During her detention, Suu Kyi refused to accept
favours from the Slorc and insisted on paying for her own food.

As she ran out of money, she was reduced to selling her furniture
until the house was all but bare. Who had been purchasing the
furniture was something of a mystery until the evening of her
release.

A truckload arrived at the compound that evening courtesy of the
secret police. Suu Kyi, still refusing favours, declined to
accept. After some quick mediation by one of her "uncles," a
price was agreed to "repurchase" the furniture.

Away from the crowd on the lake-shore side of the house, other
residents of the compound are keeping away from the shutter happy
journalists wandering about. A half century ago, two of the main
rivals for power in Burma were Gen Aung San Thakin Than Tun.

Gen Aung San headed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League and
Than Tun founded the Burma Communist Party. Separated by
politics, the two were joined by family; Aung San married Daw
Khin Kyi, Than Tun married Daw Khin Khin Kyi.

Aung San was assassinated while organizing an independence and
democratic Burma and Than Tun led the BCP into armed revolt
against that government, setting off Burma's still running civil
wars.

Now, Khin Khin Kyi, Suu Kyi's aunt and the window of her father's
rival, still lives in a small wooden house in hidden from view
behind unattended bushed and tall grass.

The other residence in the compound in occupied by Ko Soe, the
son of another of Daw Suu's aunts. Ko Soe has been Daw Suu's
primary companion through the years of detention, sharing meals
with her and going out once every two weeks, accompanied by the
secret police, to buy her food.

It is evident from the perfectly tended rows of flowers behind
his house what he has been doing these last six years. Coils of
barbed wire still line the lakefront along with guard posts for
the secret police. The bushed and grass have grown so thick over
the wire in six years that it is relatively to simply walk over
it.

Although now her "protectors" rather than her warders, they
remain publicity shy and decline to be interviewed. "Go away" is
the only comment they offer.

At the other end of the compound, near the gate, is a brick
structure with some of its walls missing. This building was an
NLD office when the troops came in to arrest Daw Suu and her
followers on the July 20, 1989.

Now, one of those arrested that day points it out as the secret
police held quarters in the compound. Several men are in the
building sitting at the table.

On enquiry as to whether they are M.I, one responds with a
somewhat surly "no".

Perhaps not, but they aren't NLD and the two of them have the
journalist sign-in roster laid out in front of them while they
are cross-checking it against the business cards they collected
earlier _ all of which then gets noted in another list.

The Burmese word for secret police is "M.I", as in Military
Intelligence. Unfortunately the British, on whom the system is
modelled, didn't have a secret police so the more accurate "S.P"
was never adopted.

Whatever they're called, it's difficult on this day at least, the
bear them ill will. She who has far more reason to hate them,
does not. And it would be out of keeping with the celebratory
mood of the day.

During the years of her detention, Aung San Suu Kyi grew to know
some of her guards well, which may go part of the way to
explaining why she has asked that they be kept on to provide
security.

In the beginning of her detention, the guards were posted inside
the house. With nothing else to do, says a well informed source,
Suu Kyi pulled out a blackboard and started teaching them
English.

In the created a problem because the Burmese use an honorific
term in addressing a teacher and it was a bit confusing to have
the guard addressing the prisoner with a term of respect.

Slorc finally resolved the problem by withdrawing the guards from
inside the house. Early in her detention, according to another
source, Suu Kyi requested the ingredients to bake a cake.

Perhaps with the idea that cooking was a more appropriate
activity for a Burmese woman than politics, they provided the
ingredients and she baked them a cake. In the icing, she wrote
the words "Free the political prisoners."

It is again for cake and celebration in Burma. But soon, the
euphoria will wear off and given the Slorc's record, it is
difficult to imagine them capable of sincere intentions for the
capacity to negotiate something like a just solution.

But it is her ability to transform even secret police guards
into, if not supporters, at least human begins, that allows one
to begin to imagine _ at least for a day.

================================================================

<<END>>