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The BurmaNet News: October 7, 1995
Issue#246

Noted in Passing:
A national convention has been convened to draft a new constitution 
which would be in harmony with present-day realities and 
reflect the aspirations of the entire nation. - U Ohn Gyaw at the UN

Since the very intention of that convention is to ensure that 
the military plays a leading role in the future political life of Burma, 
it can never reflect the aspirations of the nation. - NCGUB response
(quoted in NCGUB: REBUTTAL TO OHN GYAW'S SPEECH)


Headlines:
========
BORDER REPORT: DKBA ATTACK ON SHOKLO REFUGEE CAMP
NCGUB: REBUTTAL TO OHN GYAW'S SPEECH
BPF: ANALYSIS OF SLORC STATEMENT AT THE UNGA
MAYKHA-L: LEPROSY IN BURMA
HRWATCH/ASIA  PRESS RELEASE ON YE HTUT
THE NATION: PRETENDERS TO DRUG BARON'S MANTLE MASS
THE NATION: KHUN SA BEGINS TO FEEL THE HEAT
BKK POST: BURMA PUTS CONVENTION DATE BACK BY ONE MONTH
NATION: LETTER - A BURMESE APPEAL
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************************

BORDER REPORT: DKBA ATTACK ON SHOKLO REFUGEE CAMP
October 7, 1995

Last night a group of approximately 25 DKBA soldiers went into Shoklo 
refugee camp and killed two Karen refugees.  Their names were Ga Duh Baw,
58, section leader, father of seven children, and Ga Lah, 25, father of two 
children.  The DKBA entered the camp in civilian clothes, with weapons
concealed under their longyis.  There were no Thai soldiers in the camp to 
provide security for the refugees.  There were a few local policemen at
the checkpoint in front of the camp, but they did not intervene. 

On September 25, the DKBA kidnapped 2 people from Shoklo, but those
people have now returned.  

The refugees in Shoklo are very afraid, and every night they 
close up their houses as soon as it gets dark.  The refugees in Bae Glaw 
(Mae La) camp are now also feeling very nervous about their safety.

******************************

NCGUB: REBUTTAL TO OHN GYAW'S SPEECH
by Sar NK    October 3, 1995

NCGUB INFORMATION OFFICE
815 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 910, Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 393-7342 (202) 393-4312, (202) 393-7343

Speech By The Slorc Delegate And What It Means

50th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
October 3, 1995

As the United Nations celebrates its 50th anniversary, 
many delegates to the UN General Assembly came forth to 
offer suggestions on how to expand the  role of the 
United Nations in achieving peace, security and 
development.   Yet, when the time came for the SLORC 
delegate, Ohn Gyaw,  it was obvious that he was there 
mainly to defend the injustices being committed by the 
military regime in Burma.

Nothing in his speech indicates that SLORC intends to 
improve the human rights situation or to advance the 
process of democratization and national reconciliation 
in Burma.  He even refused to use the words "human 
rights," "reconciliation" and "democracy" in connection 
with Burma.

Ohn Gyaw says SLORC was aiming for national 
"reconsolidation" which meant that SLORC was forcing 
the whole country,  including the ethnic people, to 
conform to its political agenda.   He also indicated 
that SLORC was pushing ahead with the process to 
legitimize military rule in Burma via the national 
convention.

Some observations regarding Ohn Gyaw's speech are:

NATIONAL CONVENTION

More important, U Ohn Gyaw said "a national convention 
has been convened to draft a new constitution which 
would be in harmony with present-day realities and 
reflect the aspirations of the entire nation."  Since 
the very intention of that convention is to ensure that 
the military plays a leading role in the future 
political life of Burma, it can never reflect the 
aspirations of the nation. The people of Burma have 
made it quite clear, once in 1988 and again in 1990, 
that they want nothing to do with military rule.
 
The constitutional principles laid down by the 
convention are all geared to serve the military.  They 
require that the future president be someone with 
military experience, that 25 percent of the seats in 
parliament be reserved for military candidates, and 
that the Commander in Chief of the Defense Services be 
given the right to take over the reins of the country 
whenever he deems the country is in a state of 
emergency.

These principles can never be in harmony with the 
realities of  Burma or the world today.  Delegates 
attending the convention have expressed their 
opposition to these rulings. Discussions by delegates 
were, however, restricted by Rules and Regulations of the 
National Convention.  Those who dared to express disagreement 
to the National Convention procedures were arrested and
 imprisoned.   Some delegates fled to neighboring countries 
after disagreeing to the way the convention was being conducted.

Finally, the crux of the matter regarding the National 
Convention  is mandate. SLORC does not have any 
legitimacy and thus no mandate to convene a National 
Convention or to draw up a new constitution.


POLITICAL PRISONERS

SLORC is still refusing to acknowledge the presence of 
political prisoners in Burma.   Even though Ohn Gyaw 
has tried to avoid using that term, credible 
international human rights organizations, such as the 
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have well 
documented cases of thousands of political prisoners 
living under harsh conditions in Burmese prisons.

Death resulting from systematic torture in prisons and 
because of harsh working conditions in labor camps is 
also very common.

These are the reasons why SLORC has repeatedly refused 
the International Committee of Red Cross from visiting 
political prisoners.  The ICRC finally has to close 
down its offices and withdraw from Burma because of 
SLORC's attitude.


CEASEFIRE AGREEMENTS

SLORC promises to carry out development programs in 
areas where ceasefire agreements have been reached.   
In reality, massive deployment of troops in these areas 
only increased the military control over the local 
populace who are subjected to grave human rights 
violations.

A good example is the case of the Karenni Nationalities 
Progressive Party (KNPP) which protested these 
violations following the ceasefire agreement.  SLORC 
responded by breaching the agreement and attacking 
Karenni areas.

Many of the ethnic resistance groups that have entered 
into ceasefire agreements are unhappy with the SLORC 
because the promised development assistance did not 
come about, the agreements did not transpire into any 
political dialogue that addresses the rights of ethnic 
groups, and tough restrictions continued to be imposed 
on the ethnic organizations.

One of the conditions imposed on ethnic organizations 
by the SLORC is to refrain from communicating with any 
foreign organization.   This restriction has prevented 
the ethnic groups from contacting the UN Secretariat 
and thereby hindering the effort of the UN Secretary 
General to assist in the process of national 
reconciliation and democratization.


BORDER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

U Ohn Gyaw is taking credit for undertaking development 
programs at the border areas.  It is a known fact that 
many of these border development programs never fulfill 
the needs of the people and are only propaganda 
exercises.  For instance, the Bangkok Post running an 
article entitled: "Broken Promises," cited Wa leaders 
as saying schools and clinics are constructed and 
opened with much fanfare and propaganda.   The local 
people however were never provided with teachers for 
the schools or medical staff workers for the clinics.

There obviously is something wrong with SLORC's border 
area development programs.   The number of refugees 
fleeing the border areas for neighboring countries is 
growing with time.  This is because forced porterage 
for the military, forced labor for development of 
construction projects, extortion, forced relocation, 
abuses of women and other human rights violations are 
going on at the border.


ECONOMY

Ohn Gyaw claims a "dramatic increase" in production and 
in the fulfillment of basic needs of the people.   He 
cites, among other things, an increase in rice 
production. 

The problem that faces the people today is high 
commodity prices, including that of rice which has 
jumped almost 500% as compared to 1988.  SLORC's drive 
to earn foreign exchange through rice exports by 
ignoring the growing demand at home due to population 
growth is one of the reasons for the spiralling prices.

The Burmese economy until today is a form of extracted 
economy where natural resources are exploited on an 
unlimited scale.  This has led to deforestation and 
depletion of natural resources.   Most investments that 
Ohn Gyaw claim to be increasing are in the form of 
joint ventures between the military and foreign 
entrepreneurs in the field of oil and gas, mining, 
timber extraction and tourisim. The present form of 
military command  economy only benefits the military 
elite and their relatives.

The majority of the people are getting poor and what 
Ohn Gyaw meant by narrowing the gap in living standards 
is that the urban poor are getting as impoverished as 
those in the rural areas. 

Economic benefits never trickle down to the people. Per 
capita income of people is not more than US$250 while 
the inflation rate, even according to official data, is 
about 30 percent.

SOCIAL SECTOR

Contrary to what Ohn Gyaw has said no discernible 
effort has ever been made to improve the social sector.  
The SLORC has only concentrated on building up the 
military and modernizing its weaponry.  Military 
expenditures take up about 40 percent of the budget 
while health and education sectors receive about 10 percent.

The situation has caused many social problems.  
Malnutrition rate is soaring in the country with many 
cases detected even in the capital, Rangoon.  Yet, no 
effort has been made until today to correct the problem.  

Hospitals only have medical staff and nothing else 
much.  Due to shortage of medical supplies,  
hospitalized patients are asked to bring in bandages, 
medicines and whatever they might need during their 
stay in hospitals. 

Children with preventable diseases are dying because of 
the lack of effective primary health care programs.  
Child and maternal mortality rates are increasing.

In the education sector, drop out rate at schools from 
primary level up is on the rise.   Young children and 
students cannot finish their education because they are 
needed to go out and work to supplement the family income.

Educational standard continues to decline as 
experienced teachers leave the academic world because 
their salaries cannot cover the increasing expenses.

Other alarming problems that remain neglected by the 
SLORC are drug addiction, AIDS, refugees,  war victims 
and environmental destruction.

DRUGS

U Ohn Gyaw claims that the "Armed Forces have been 
mounting major offensives against drug traffickers."   
He however forgot to mention that opium production in 
Burma tripled after SLORC came to power.   This comes 
as no surprise because the only "major offensives" that 
SLORC has been launching are against traffickers who do 
not toe SLORC line. In areas controlled by SLORC allies 
where the bulk of the opium is produced, opium 
cultivation goes on undisturbed and with blessing by the SLORC.

Meanwhile, western Burma areas bordering India have 
become a new opium cultivation and refining area.  Even 
though there is no significant ethnic resistance 
movement or known major drug traffickers, opium 
production and cross-border drug trafficking have 
become a major concern.

For the SLORC, offensives against drug traffickers in 
the northeast are merely well calculated moves to gain 
international recognition and sympathy.


CONCLUSION

In sum, Ohn Gyaw speech shows that SLORC is hardening 
its stance and intends to ignore successive UN General 
Assembly resolutions that call for improvement of human 
rights situation and political settlement through substansive dialogue.

His speech is a signal to the international community 
that it needs to continue being critical of SLORC with 
regard to the ongoing human rights violations and to 
strengthen the mandate of the UN Secretary General so 
that he may facilitate a political dialogue between 
SLORC,  the democratic forces led by Daw Aung San Suu 
Kyi, and the leaders of ethnic groups.   Any resolution 
passed on Burma at the 50th UN General Assembly should 
also be accompanied by a time frame for the 
implementation of that resolution.  Member countries 
should use all their resources and firmly cooperate 
with the secretary general for the full implementation 
of the resolution on Burma.

*******************
BPF: ANALYSIS OF SLORC STATEMENT AT THE UNGA
October 6, 1995	by David Arnott, Burma Peace Foundation

Analysis of the Statement By His Excellency U Ohn Gyaw, Minister
For Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Delegation of the Union
of Myanmar in the General Debate of the Fiftieth Session of the
United Nations General Assembly, New York 3 October 1995.
 
 
This Statement is remarkable mainly for what it leaves out. There
is no mention whatsoever of democracy, human rights, or 
cooperation with the Secretary-General, all of which received
copious lip-service in previous years. There is no reference to
dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi or reconciliation with the non-
Burman ethnic groups; no hint that the Burmese people chose
civilian rulers in 1990, or that the United Nations has adopted
strong resolutions on Burma over the past five years. Instead,
there is repeated use of such terms as the "stability of the
State", "non-disintegration of national solidarity" and the
"spirit of patriotism". 
 
This year's Statement uses a totally different style from those
of previous years, which have been conciliatory and defensive. It
begins with an lecture on UN reform which aligns Burma with the
Non-Aligned Movement and ASEAN, followed by the unapologetic
presentation of a programme for a militarised, unitary State. The
main elements are:
 
* "ENSURING THE STABILITY OF THE STATE". This is to be
accomplished by the Orwellian neologism of "national
reconsolidation" (according to Burmese speakers the Burmese term
indicates unification by force) along with a "new constitution
which would be in harmony with present-day realities and reflect
the aspirations of the entire nation".  
 
As an example of "national reconsolidation", U Ohn Gyaw cites the
"return to the legal (sic) fold of 15 out of the 16 armed
groups[1]". Apart from the 1989 deals with the Wa and Kokang,
where the inducement to agree a cease-fire was tacit permission
to traffic opium, the "returns" have been the result of military
action and low-intensity conflict involving systematic and
massive human rights violations directed against the civilian
population and (in the case of the Kachin and Mon) pressure from
the neighbours. 
 
The draft of the "new constitution" being worked on by the
(military-organised) national convention describes a centralised
unitary state in which the military would control political life.
No doubt the "present-day realities" referred to are the
realities of military rule, which the constitution would solemnly
legitimise. The Commission on Human Rights concluded in its 1995
resolution on Myanmar that "the National Convention does not
appear to constitute the necessary steps towards the restoration
of democracy". Democracy is clearly not on the military's agenda.
 
 
* FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE:
According to human rights organisations, the traditional village
structure of Burma is breaking down as more and more land is
confiscated for military farms and plantations run by slave
labour. Combined with the export of rice while domestic consumers
go without, the result is increasing malnutrition and high rates
of child and maternal mortality (see recent UNICEF figures). In
contrast with countries like Singapore, the Burmese economy is in
ruins, the principal growth area of the economy and focus of
international investment being resource extraction, revenues from
which go to the military rather than benefiting the people as a whole.  
 
This Statement comes at a time when there is mounting evidence
that the human rights situation in Burma is deteriorating.
Increased incidence of killings, disappearances, torture, rape,
forced labour, extortion, racism and religious intolerance by the
Burmese military have been documented over the past year by human
rights organisations and UN rapporteurs. (See, for instance,
Amnesty International's report of 22 September 1995 "Myanmar:
Conditions in prisons and labour camps" which speaks of thousands
of political prisoners throughout the country who are subject to
torture and forced labour.)
 
It also comes as the United Nations and a growing number of
countries are emphasising the inseparability of human rights,
(including the right of popular participation) and development.  
According to the Working Group on "An Agenda for Development",  
"A vigorous civil society is indispensable to creating lasting
and successful development" (para 245). Although the Foreign
Minister speaks of the need for development, a vigorous civil
society is not on the Burmese military's agenda.  
 
This Statement supports the view that the Burmese military
believes that the neighbours and international investment will
allow it to stay in power indefinitely, and that international
opinion is irrelevant. Yet U Ohn Gyaw did, at the end of his
Statement, renew his country's "dedication and commitment to the
principles and purposes of the Charter". One of the purposes of
the United Nations, as expressed in the Charter, is to promote
and encourage "respect for human rights and for fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or
religion". 
 
 
The forthcoming General Assembly resolution on the Situation of
Human Rights in Myanmar should: 
 
* Be very firm in pointing out Burma's violations of its duties
under the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, as well as of its obligations under specific treaties to
which it is a party, such as the Geneva Conventions of 1949, ILO
Convention 29 on Forced Labour, and the Convention on the Rights
of the Child.
 
* Emphasise that the National Convention, designed to legitimise
military rule, against to the will of the people as expressed in
the 1990 elections, stands in direct opposition to the principle
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the
"will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of
government" (Article 21). 
 
* State that the military "reconsolidation" of the non-Burman
ethnic groups into a centralised, unitary, military State does
not reflect the political or development needs and aspirations of
ethnic and other national groups. 
 
* Request the Secretary-General to (a) facilitate round-table
negotiations between the de facto Government, the political
opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and genuine representatives
of the non-Burman ethnic groups; (b) impose a time-frame for this
process of national reconciliation and restoration of democracy;
and (c) report to the General Assembly and the Commission on
Human Rights on progress made.
 
 
David Arnott 5 October 1995
________________________________________________________________
 
[1] Since the Chin National Front, two Naga groups, two Arakanese
groups, the Karen, the Karenni, the ABSDF and the Mong Tai Army
are still in a state of belligerency with Rangoon, it is
difficult to know where the figure of "16" armed groups comes
from. And presumably among the "15" are the Karenni, who are
currently fighting the Burma Army which broke the cease-fire
agreement they had signed two months before.

***************************

MAYKHA-L: LEPROSY IN BURMA

Myanmar is number 5th rank(After India, Brazil, Bangladesh & Indonesia) in
the WHO's 1995 Leprosy Estimation.
Estimated cases: 50781; Registered cases: 24231 & New cases: 8303
see http://www.who.ch/programmes/lep/l3.htm

******************
HRWATCH/ASIA  PRESS RELEASE ON YE HTUT

     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   October 4, 1995
     
     For Further Information
     Zunetta Liddell, London UK          44 -171-713-1995
     Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington DC     1- 202-371-6592
     
     
     HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH/ASIA PROTESTS THE ARREST OF
     BURMESE STUDENT
         
           Human Rights Watch/Asia today protested the arrest of Ye Htut, 
       a Burmese student, by military intelligence officials in 
     Rangoon. According to a report in the government-run newspaper 
      The New Light of Myanmar on October 4, 1995, Ye Htut was arrested
     on September 27, 1995 for sending 'incriminating
     documents' which Human Rights Watch/Asia believes
     were private letters addressed to Aung Zaw (aka Zaw
     Gyi), a member of the Burma Information Group, an
     activist organization based in Bangkok. 
     
          "We believe that Ye Htut has been arrested
     solely for having sent information to friends and
     contacts abroad. Under international law, this
     cannot be characterized as criminal behavior," said
     Zunetta Liddell, researcher for Human Rights
     Watch/Asia, "This arrest, just weeks after the
     release of Aung San Suu Kyi, is clearly intended to
     intimidate Burma s citizens.  It should  be a signal
     to the international community about the need to
     maintain the pressure for fundamental human rights
     improvements,  she added.
     
          Human Rights Watch/Asia is concerned that Ye
     Htut may be subjected to torture and ill-treatment
     since his arrest a week ago, that he will not be
     granted a fair trial, and that he could be sentenced
     to over ten years imprisonment under Burma's
     draconian laws.  Human Rights Watch/Asia urged the
     U.N. Special Rapporteur, Prof. Yozo Yokota, who is
     visiting Burma later this month on behalf of the
     United Nations Commission on Human Rights, to make
     urgent inquiries about Ye Htut.
     
          The New Light of Myanmar article alleged that
     information sent by Ye Htut had been used by Aung
     Zaw in articles published in opposition journals,
     such as The Irrawaddy, and by the independent radio
     station, Radio Burma. It added that Ye Htut had
     admitted receiving payment from Aung Zaw for his
               work.  However, international law protects
     the right to freedom of expression,          
     including the "freedom to seek, receive and impart
     information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of
     frontiers" (Article 19 of the International Covenant
     on Civil and Political Rights).  
     
           Since Aung San Suu Kyi s release from house
     arrest on July 10, 1995, there has been a noticeable
     softening of the position of some governments
     towards the SLORC. Japan, for example, is sending a
     mission to Burma this month to discuss Japan s
     bilateral aid programs and prepare for the
     resumption of some major Official Development
     Assistance (ODA) projects, suspended since 1988.  In
     a report released on July 24, 1995 Human Rights
     Watch/Asia stressed the urgent need for the repeal
     of laws which prohibit freedom of expression,
     association and the rights of citizens to
     participate in the country's political process if
     there is to be any meaningful improvement in the
     human rights situation in Burma. Ye Htut is likely
     to be charged and convicted under those laws.
     
          Human Rights Watch/Asia called on the
     international community to press the Burmese
     government for the immediate release of Ye Htut and
     others jailed on similar grounds.  Others arrested
     for similar  offenses  since 1988 include lawyer U
     Nay Min, who was arrested in September 1988 and
     sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment for having
     allegedly sent information to the British
     Broadcasting Corporation during the time of the pro-
     democracy demonstrations; Dr. Thida, a medical
     doctor and close aid of Aung San Suu Kyi who was
     arrested in August 1993 and sentenced to twenty
     years imprisonment for allegedly distributing anti-
     government literature in Rangoon; and U Khin Zaw Win
     (aka Kelvin), Daw San San Nwe, U Khin Maung Swe, U
     Sein Hla Oo and Myat Moe Moe Htun who were all
     arrested in August 1994 and given sentences of
     between seven and fifteen years for having given
     'false information' to embassies and journalists.
     Khin Zaw Win was also alleged to have contacted the
     U.N. Special Rapporteur on his visit to Burma in  1992.

**************************

BKK POST: BURMA PUTS CONVENTION DATE BACK BY ONE MONTH      
October 6, 1995              AFP

Burma announced yesterday it was putting off the next session of a national constitutional convention for a month, to November 28, to avoid disrupting rice-planting and the observance of Buddhist holidays.

Analysts, however, linked the delay to the annual United Nations vote on a resolution calling for an improved human rights situation in Burma.

"By delaying well past the time when the resolution will be debated, the junta can rest on the laurels it won in releasing Aung San Suu Kyi," one Burma-watcher commented.

If the convention resumed as scheduled, "It would be obvious that the State Law and Order Restoration Council was not going to talk to Suu Kyi or address her concerns," a diplomat reached by telephone in Rangoon commented.

Analysts also pointed to the total solar eclipse which is to be visible across parts of Burma on October 24, the day the convention was to have resumed. Countries in the region generally consider an eclipse to be inauspicious.

State-run newspapers reported yesterday that the delay would help ensure the attendance of the 700 delegates to the convention, and avoid disrupting their livelihood and religious observances.

October 24 falls in the midst of the planning season for a second rice crop, and just after the three-month Buddhist Lent. "The religious holidays and the planting season can hardly have taken the Slorc by surprise, so that can't be the reason," one analy

st said flatly.

Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw, addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, said his government had made great strides in getting rid of insurgents and implementing reforms.

"I'm happy to be able to say that in Myanmar peace reigns like never before and that the momentum for positive change continues," he said. He said the country was in the process of drafting a new constitution and that a large number of people have been re

leased.

"Insurgency which was born with our independence is now coming to a close," he said. "The unprecedented return to the legal fold of 15 out of the 16 armed groups speaks volumes for our efforts at national reconsolidation. The Government has adopted polici

es to prevent disintegration of the union, ensure the non-disintegration of national solidarity and ensure the perpetuity of our country's sovereignty," he said.

He also said the Slorc has been working hard to combat drug trafficking. "Our men have sacrificed life and limb so that the world may be rid of the scourge of narcotic drugs," Ohn Gyaw said, giving a death toll of 727 government soldiers and 720 "enemies"

 killed in drug-related combat since 1988.

"The numbers speak for themselves," he said. Burma has been hoping to break the international consensus on a strong anti-Rangoon resolution in the General Assembly this year, partly in recognition of the release of Suu Kyi.

But Burmese dissident Sein Win, speaking outside the assembly Wednesday, urged the international community to continue to look criticially at Burma.
"The very repressive laws are still there. Other political prisoners are still there," said Sein Win, speaking on behalf of a Burmese government-in-exile.

On October 3, state-run Burmese radio and television reported the arrest of a student, Ye Htut, on charges of spreading anti-government information to contacts abroad.

Human Rights Watch/Asia, protesting against the arrest, said it "should be a signal to the international community about the need to maintain the pressure for fundamental human rights improvements."

The latest session of the constitutional convention was adjourned in March. No time frame was announced for it to complete its work.

Observers said it had done little more than set down so-called basic principles 104 of them to be covered in the final document, while fleshing out three of the 15 chapters in the envisaged constitution.

Meanwhile, two Burmese ministers left Rangoon to lead delegations on official visits to Africa and the United States, Radio Rangoon said. The station said the two parties were headed by Immigration and Population Minister Lt-Gen Maung Hla and Finance Mini

ster Brig-Gen Win Tin.

Maung Hla led a four-member team to study the activities of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Africa, it said, without giving specific details of countries to be visited.

Win Tin and his six-member delegation were heading for Washington to attend the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, the radio added. (BP)

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NATION: WORLD IMPLODING ON SHAN STATE
October 6, 1995

The Burmese border state is being convulsed by change and
possibly destroyed by a dangerous explosion of free trade, drugs
and prostitution, Andrew Nette reports.

Best known until recently for its location among the opium fields
of the Golden Triangle, Burma's remote Shan State is becoming one
of the epi-centres of the HlV/Aids epidemic sweeping across the country.

The World Health Organization estimates 400,000 people _ almost
one per cent of the total population _ could be infected with the
virus in Burma, on a per capita basis far surpassing Thailand and
India, the two Asian countries considered worst hit by the disease.

Experts say that in addition to high rates of injecting drug use
and poor access to health services, Shan State is especially
vulnerable to the spread of Aids due to its position at thecentre 
of the growing economic rivalry between Thailand and China.

This has led to an explosion of cross border trade and movement,
both legal and illegal, which experts say is accelerating the
spread of Aids. Road building, linking Shan State to other parts
of Burma and to Yunnan and Thailand, has also increased.

"After years of relative isolation the world is imploding on
them," commented Dr Doug Porter, a lecturer at the School of
Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University,
in reference to the transformation taking place in the Shan State.

In particular, Beijing is keen to make Burma into a land bridge
between China and the Indian Ocean. Visitors to northwest Burma
report that Chinese road crews are already hard at work repairing
the Old Burma Road under a bilateral cooperation scheme with the
Burmese government. The 1,154 kilometre road connects Lashio in
Shan State to Kunming.

With the opening up has come foreign media, bringing about a
shift in cultural mores. " The Shan State today has a roaring
sixties feel to it," said Christian Kroll, who is involved in
drug and HIV prevention efforts on the Burma/Yunnan , border for
the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

"Many communities are surviving at _level basic subsistence, yet
at the same time they are receiving TV from Hong Kong and
Thailand," said Kroll. "It just makes them more vulnerable as
they can't help but compare their own lives to what they are watching."

Although the exact HlV/Aids situation is difficult to judge due
to limited surveillance, there are already reports of people
starting to die from the disease in rural Shan villages. Testing
in Tachilek in south eastern Shan State reveals that HIV
prevalence rates have increased dramatically among injecting drug
users, pregnant women attending ante-natal services and male
patients with sexually transmitted  diseases.

As well as epitomising the contemporary face of the HlV/Aids
epidemic in  Asia, however, Porter believes the Shan State
illustrates the failure of traditional responses to the disease.

"The fact that population movement is commonly associated with
the spread of  Aids is leading to initiatives to try and
stabilize people in one place," he says. ''Whether these involve
better policing of borders or schemes to generate small business
to get people to stay at home, they seldom work.

As he puts it, this is because anti-Aids campaign "tend to
characterize these people only as victims, thus giving them no agency."

"Why do young Shan women cross into Thailand as sex workers?
Poverty is obviously a key reason. But they are not just escaping
from things, but to things, to new places and identities.

"There are a huge number of reasons why people cross borders, and
along side these our responses to the disease are puny and don't
take into account the diversity of people's experience," he said.

Porter's views are the result of research carried out on behalf
of the UN in the Shan State over 1993. Undertaken with a Burmese
research team, the main objective was to identify the patterns of
trade transport and population movement which would be relevant
to attempts to prevent the spread of HIV in the area.

Entitled Wheeling and Dealing: HIV/Aids and Development on the
Shan State Borders , the study  concentrated on the section of
the Old Burma Road from Mandalay to Muse on the border with
Yunnan, about the same distance as that between Bangkok and
Chiang Mai.

Released early this year, the study documents how the growth in
cross-border trade and the privatization of the trucking industry
in Burma have led to an increase in the number of vehicles on the
road, in turn prompting a proliferation of truck stops at which
commercial sex services are often provided.

"The conventional approach is to provide Aids education to truck
drivers and the women working at these stops," said Porter. "Our
research showed that most of these people were already very aware
of what Aids is, and that the money would be more usefully spent
on strategies to facilitate faster movement so that drivers would
not have to stop so often, like improving customs facilities at
the border."

A key problem faced by anti-Aids efforts in the Shan State is the
nature of much of the cross border movement, which Porter
describes as "a twilight world".

"Traders, truckers, and women who take part in the cross border
sex industry prefer to remain anonymous and avoid contact with
the formal health system, because with visibility comes
surveillance and the possibility of being identified as a "risk
group' by the government.

The study also deals with the value of local knowledge.
"Travellers have amazing networks of information and are
responsive to changes in a way that the formal health system
cannot be."

One example is the impressive intelligence and research capacity
of truckers themselves and the people who control the majority of
trade between Yunnan and Burma, the commercial Chinese families
in Mandalay. "We don't need special researchers we need to
facilitate a way of working with these people," said Porter.

Although he stressed that Burmese health officials are genuinely
concerned about the Aids problem, Porter said the country's
present political climate makes implementing new ideas difficult.

The study caused an uproar among senior government officials in
Rangoon, who quickly moved to halt the project. "Officially the
government doesn't like to admit to such things as the Chinese
control over cross border trade. We found out too much."

These sensitivities are heightened by the border's militarized
nature and what he called, the fact that the study addressed
illegal activity such as prostitution and drug use, and
conceptions of ethnicity and the part of the central authorities
to those dwelling in the border areas.

"The lowland Burmans who run Rangoon government fear the Shan
State. They see it as an uncertain world of crooks, prostitutes
and drug runners, and this gives them a prejudiced view of what
is going on."

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THE NATION: KHUN SA BEGINS TO FEEL THE HEAT
October 6, 1995
Phoney war or not, government troops are closing in on the Shan war lord, Andrew Nette writes.

For thirty years Khun Sa has been the most feared and powerful of Burma's drug lords, responsible for nearly 60 per cent of the world's heroin, produced in a string of laboratories throughout the Golden Triangle. If Western law enforcement officials and t

he Burmese government have their way, this will not be the case for much longer.

Normally, the rains that blankets the Golden Triangle from May to November are so heavy that little movement is possible. But this year, the monsoon has masked a flurry of activity as the Burmese military moves thousands of troops into position around Khu

n Sa's base of Ho Mong, opposite the Thai border.

Reports indicate that Khun Sa has responded by evacuating civilians from his base, and moving millions of dollars into Thai bank accounts, in preparation for what Western law enforcement officials in Bangkok maintain will be the Burmese government's most 

serious drive to eliminate the drug baron yet come the dry season.

Others see these machinations as part of the phoney war on drugs in the Golden Triangle, which they claim has been carried out for decades.

"It's a game. If they were serious they would just bomb Khun Sa and get it over with, but the reality is that Khun Sa is the best public relations device the Burmese have," maintained one seasoned observer in Chaing Mai.

"They can point to their campaign against him as evidence of their efforts to crackdown on drugs," he continued. "If they didn't have him, they would have to invent him."

Throughout his career he has combined ruthlessness with a flair for publicity which once saw him try to hire Henry Kissinger to persuade the US government to buy a year's opium crop so that it could not be processed into heroin.

Khun Sa achieved international notoriety in 1989 when he was indicted in a New York court on drug trafficking charges. Although he does not deny that opium is the main corp grown in the area under his control, he has repeatedly stated that he only taxes t

he trade to fund his activities as a Shan nationalist.

"I don't grow poppies. It is my people who grow them... Because they need to buy rice to eat, and clothes to wear for themselves and their families," he is quoted as saying in a recently published pamphlet, General Khun Sa: His Life and His Speeches, one 

of several public relations tracts to have appeared in bookshops throughout Thailand in recent months.

He has claimed he is a scapegoat, blamed for Washington's failure to control drugs, and has accused the Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council of involvement in opium smuggling.

While few observers give any credibility to Khun Sa's nationalist pretensions, most agree that given the Slorc's iron grip over the country it is inconceivable that drugs could be moved out on such a scale without their official connivance.

"They are definitely involved in the drug trade," said one Australian academic familiar with the situation in Burma.

"This is one of the poorest nations in Asia, and it is difficult to see how the government could have acquired the army they have without access to some alternative from of finance."

Also implicated have been businessmen and government officials across Asia, who have reportedly used profits from the drug trade to fund the construction of new hotels and shopping centres from Rangoon to Phnom Penh.

Despite labelling him the "worst enemy the world has", the American government bears much of the responsibility for Khun Sa's rise to power, a saga deeply entwined with the shadowy world of civil war anti-communist insurgency that has dominated Burma sinc

e World War II.

He received his first military experience fighting with the Kuomintang, anti-communist Chinese forces who during the fifties and sixties waged a guerrilla war against Beijing with the covert backing of the US Central Intelligence Agency and money from the

 opium trade.

In the late sixties he was recruited by Rangoon's military government to head a "home guard" unit against the once powerful Communist Party of Burma. He used the arms and influence provided by Rangoon to establish himself as an opium smuggler.

Western observers say that eliminating Khun Sa is a vital part of the Burmese military regime's effort to dispel foreign perceptions of official complicity in the drug trade.

In addition, the Burmese government is keen to access the abundant natural resources available in the area under Khun Sa's control including hydro-electricity and timber. Thai logging companies are said to have already signed timber concessions in the are

a under his control in anticipation of Khun Sa's defeat.

Rangoon appears to be using similar tactics against Khun Sa to those employed successfully against the Karen headquarters of Manerplaw earlier this year: encirclement and economic strangulation, while it prepares for a major military offensive.

Rangoon has sealed off the border with Thailand, cutting the drug lord's trade routes and preventing vital supplies of food and medicine from entering his territory.

The Slorc has also succeeded in exploiting ethnic differences within the Muang Tai Army between the mainly Chinese leadership and a group of younger Shan leaders who view Khun Sa as a liability in the struggle for an independent Shan state.

Rangoon has lured over a key defector, Lt-Col Gunyod who now leads an independent Shan militia of 500-1,000 men. He reportedly quit because of Khun Sa's "discrimination" against native Shans and his preoccupation with the opium business.

Thai and US drug enforcement agencies have cooperated in an unprecedented wave of attacks on Khun Sa's trafficking organization abroad. The biggest of these to date, code-named "Operation Tiger Trap" in late 1994, saw a blitz on Khun Sa's "safe houses" in

 Thailand, which led to the arrest of ten of his top lieutenants and the seizure of vital internal records and financial documents.

Most seriously of all, the Slorc has enlisted the support of ethnic Wa hill tribes, who have engaged in fierce fighting with Khun Sa's forces over the last few months.

United Nations and law enforcement officials in Bangkok claim that together these activities have succeeded in cutting the drug lord's heroin processing ability by two-thirds, and seriously damaging his other business activities such as cattle rustling an

d gem trading.

But while this has led some to speculate that the drug lord's days as the undisputed ruler of the Golden Triangle may be approaching their end, others are more cautious, pointing out that this is not the first time Khun Sa has been pronounced finished onl

y to bounce back.

Despite internal divisions, his organization remains the most powerful ethnic army in Burma. His private army is estimated to number 20,000 full-time fighters, armed with everything from US automatic weapons to Russian made SAM 7 surface-to-air missiles.

Although it has received considerable media attention, the Chaing Mai source predicted that the break-away faction would not be successful due to the fact that it "does not have an economic base and problems with its supply lines."

In March the Burmese regime announced a cease fire with the Karenni_ a move considered vital to the regime's attempts to isolate Khun Sa, as Karenni state is a buffer to his territory, though which Slorc troops hoped to attack the war lord. (TN)

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THE NATION: PRETENDERS TO DRUG BARON'S MANTLE MASS
October 6, 1995      By Andrew Nette

Whether the present assault against Khun Sa is successful or not, what is certain is that the flow of drugs from the Golden Triangle will continue. "Khun Sa is just one of many people involved in the narcotics trade in Burma, and if he is removed there ar

e many others who will take his place," said an informed source in Chaing Mai.

Indeed, if Khun Sa's dominance does come to an end, many believe it will have less to do with the machinations of the Slorc and the US Drug Enforcement Agency, than with the activities of a new breed of drug lords, who are changing the decades-old rulers 

by which the narcotics business in the Golden Triangle has been conducted.

In the past, hill tribe farmers grew the opium poppies, and merchants connected to Khun Sa bought the opium and refined it into heroin in laboratories on the Thai-Burma border. Various international criminal syndicated then smuggled the drugs through Thai

land to South East Asia and the West.

This situation changed following the collapse of Communist Party of Burma in 1989. Throughout the seventies Beijing supplied the CPB with more aid than any other insurgent movement outside Indochina.

With the warming of relations between China and Burma in the early eighties this declined, forcing the CPB into a reliance on the two cash corps available in the area under their control: tea and opium.

After the party's break-up the 15,000 strong force split along ethnic lines. Within months, the Slorc had signed peace deals with them, under which they were recognized as local militias, allowed to keep their weapons and engage in any business activity t

hey wished, including narcotics, in return for severing any links to those forces still fighting Rangoon.

This facilitated the rise of a new generation of drug lords who used the freedom to increase opium production to a record 2,500 tonnes in 1994, according to a US State Department Report released earlier this year.

These include Lin Mingxian, a former Red Guard who joined the CPB in the late sixties, and Lo Hsing-han, an ethnic Kokang, both of whom command ex-CPB forces now recognized as a local militias by the authorities in Rangoon.

While Khun Sa continues to command his forces from a remote base in the Shan state, dealers like Lim Mingxian and Lo represent a different breed of socially mobile dealers.

They stay in first class luxury hotels in Rangoon, Yunnan and Singapore, play golf with Slorc generals and own real estate in throughout Asia. Lim has hosted visiting US delegations to northern Burma and participates as an ethnic representative in the Bur

mese government's Constitutional Convention.

In addition to establishing a host of new heroin producing laboratories within the Golden Triangle itself, they and other drug dealers have used their connections left over from their CPB days to pioneer new trafficking routes into southern China and Indo

china.

Southern China is now the conduit for an estimated 50 per cent of the heroin produced in the Golden Triangle. According to sources in Kunming, the trade has flourished with the active cooperation of officials throughout Yunnan, with the drugs often make t

heir way from the Burmese border in military and police vehicles.

Western law enforcement officials say new routes are superceding Khun Sa's existing network, which remains largely based in Thailand and is under increasing attack from Thai and US drug enforcement agencies.

New drug barons are also expanding their operations within Burma. Informed observers believe that Lo has bought up much of the opium crop  northern Shan state, an area which until recently was exclusively under the control of Khun Sa.

Citing the participation of elements of the Wa State Army, in Rangoon's campaign against Khun Sa, the Chaing Mai source said: "The Wa are involved only because they want economic control over trafficking routes through Thailand."

Law enforcement forces, meanwhile, remain at a loss as to how to combat the new traffickers. "To get to the key people you have to have an international investigation," commented a senior UN drug control official, "and these countries don't have a history

 of that." (TN)
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NATION: LETTER - A BURMESE APPEAL
October 6, 1995

Just after the coup that took place in Burma on Sept 18, 1988,
the Slorc (State Law & Order Restoration Council) vowed and made
known worldwide that they wanted to establish democracy based on
the true will of the people with participation of political
parties in Burma. In addition, the then coup leader, General Saw
Maung made a promise that soldiers would return to barracks after
transferring power to the government by the people's
representatives who were to be elected in general elections.

Well, let's recall the political events that followed.

General elections were held in May 1990 and the NLD (National
League for Democracy) won most of the seats with overwhelming
support from the people. Then, the Slorc declared that drawing up
of a new constitution was a must before the transfer of power.

Thus, the "National Convention" was organized with the Slorc
hand-picked delegates and MPs elected by the people. Anyhow, the
number of the former is much larger than than of the latter! At
the sessions of the Convention, the Slorc has manipulated through
the former to include such strange, sub-standard and undemocratic
clauses as: Parliament must consist of not only people's
representatives but also those chosen by Tatmadaw (armed forces);
Tatmadaw must take a leading role in national politics; a coup
can be staged by the commander-in-chief of Tatmadaw in times of
national chaos disorder and danger- the head of state must be a
typical citizen of Burma, not married to a foreigner. These are
just a few to mention.

The National Convention and a new constitution which would be
adopted at the end of this year or in the following year, reflect
the true colour of the Slorc: instead of transferring power back
to its own people, it consolidates its present position with the
aim of making Tatmadaw a sole and uncontested heir of politic
power in Burma.

Almost after six years of house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi has been
released because of international pressure and confidence of the
Slorc in itself. Since the release, Suu Kyi has persistently
requested the regime to open a dialogue in order to cooperate and
coordinate efforts for a timely national reconciliation and
rebuilding of the country, one of the poorest nations in the
world today despite its richness in natural resources.

Leading nations like, the United States, United Kingdom, France,
Norway, Sweden, Germany, India, Australia and Asean have
repeatedly [asked] the Slorc bluntly or diplomatically to step up
a democratic process that would fulfil the wishes of the Burmese
people.

General Ne Win who foolishly clung to power for 26 years by using
Tatmadaw as a stooge, has virtually destroyed Burma and its
people in almost every sphere of life: education, health,
economy, national character and so on. We, the Burmese people,
have already had very painful lessons at the expense of our
identity in the world today. Enough is enough. Now, it's the
national duty and responsibility of every citizen of Burma not to
let history repeat itself.

When my friends and I were at the Defence Services Academy in
Burma from 1955 to 1959, we had to study a course called
"Appreciation in Military Science" in order to draw up practical
strategy and tactic that would in turn guarantee victory over a
potential enemy. It might seem a bit too late now but I sincerely
believe there are still some workable options left.

For this reason, may I take this opportunity as a last earnest
request to all professional soldiers of Tatmadaw and some of my
friends who still hold high positions in the Slorc to properly
understand the implications of their actions on the country.
There is no threat in the country and all the Burmese people ask
for is genuine democracy and true national reconciliation.

Khin Maung Myunt 
Batch 1 of the Defence
Services Academy
Rangoon
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