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BurmaNet News: October 20, 1995 #25
- Subject: BurmaNet News: October 20, 1995 #25
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 05:42:00
Received: (from strider) by igc4.igc.apc.org (8.6.12/Revision: 1.15 ) id FAA11595; Fri, 20 Oct 1995 05:42:17 -0700
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 05:42:17 -0700
Subject: BurmaNet News: October 20, 1995 #256
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: October 20, 1995
Issue #256
Noted in Passing:
Two or three hundred families will certainly cross into Thailand after the
rainy season. It's really looking as if they're working their way through
[to the Thai border]. - border relief official on internally displaced Karen
(quoted in: THE NATION:THOUSANDS OF KAREN LEFT TO STARVE IN
BURMESE JUNGLE)
HEADLINES:
==========
KNU REPORT: GENERAL SITUATION OF THE KAREN PEOPLE IN PAPUN,
KNU REPORT: HOW SLORC HAS BEEN TRYING TO EXTERMINATE KARENS
BKK POST: BURMESE PREMIER TO VISIT THAILAND
BKK POST: FIRST 24-HOUR MEDICAL CLINIC FOR TOURISTS OPENS
THE NATION:KASEM HEADING TO BURMA TO PAVE WAY
THE NATION:THOUSANDS OF KAREN LEFT TO STARVE IN JUNGLE
THE NATION:SOFT-OPENING FOR HOTEL BY ROYAL LAKE
ANNOUNCEMENT: CAMPAIGN T-SHIRTS
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KNU REPORT: GENERAL SITUATION OF THE KAREN PEOPLE IN PAPUN,
THATON, NYAUNGLEBIN AND TAUNGOO DISTRICTS
July 25, 1995 (grammar/spelling slightly edited October 17, 1995)
Introduction:
In April 1992, Gen. Mang Hla announced that the SLORC's offensive
against the Karen people was withheld. But since then, there are always small scale
fightings inside, with an average of 3 fightings a day in Karen areas. This has
been continually happening all along without the knowledge of the outer world,
and is getting more frequent these days, especially in Papun, Thaton, Nyaunglebin
and Toungoo Districts. Now with the help of the DKBA, they can sometimes
stealthily infilitrate deeper into KNU areas. They burn more villages and forcibly
relocate more villagers, causing more internal refugees, and bringing more troubles
to the Karen people.
Papun District:
1. The SLORC troops went into Meh Thu village tract during October, 1994 and totally
destroyed 6 villages: Ko Reh Kee, Nya Peh Hta, Meh Way Kee, Lay Klay Kee, Naw
Maw Kee, and Meh Nyu Hta. 33 families had to flee from their villages and took refuge
in nearby villages or hid in the forest. These people are facing hunger and illness.
2. In February, 1995, the SLORC troops entered into Lay Po Kaw Hteet, Keh Pay
and Per Kee Der village tracts burning 545 baskets of rice (1 basket = 2 kerosene tins).
3. Again in February, the SLORC troops entered into Tar Meh Der, Tar Paw Der,
Tee Thoo Der and Thay Ko Mu Der villages, killing several villagers and destroying
all those villages, leaving 19 families (98 persons) with no food at all.
4. In June, 1995, the SLORC troops enterred into Thay Ko Der village, burned
down all houses and rice barns, froced the villagers to move to Wah Mee Day
village (6 miles away) at gun point, and left them there without food.
Some of the villagers were later able to escape and managed to get to Za Lah
refugee camp.
Nyaunglebin District:
The SLORC troops have been burning and destroying villages and
forcibly relocating illagers for quite a long time. 285 villages and 18 monasteries
were already destroyed and 300 villagers from all ages (1-70 years) were killed
between 1975-1990.
The SLORC troops are more active compared to previous years in all three
townships: Shwegyin, Kyauk Kyi and more, since the beginning of 1995. Wherever
they go, they do not carry rice or rations with them. They take rice or whatever food
they can get from any village they come across and destroy all the rest of the food
by burning or scattering them on the ground, leaving nothing for the villagers. They
also eat all domestic animals, including pigs, chickens and ducks.
Many villages are totally destroyed. In Shwegyin township, the hardest
hit areas or villages are Htee Klay, Htee Blah, Maw Kee, Meh Yeh Kee, Reh Thaw
Kee, Ler Way, Sa Mu Tar and Ko Pet.
In Kyauk Kyi Township, the SLORC troops forcibly relocated many
villagesand most of the rural villages are destroyed. The rest of the villagers fled
to the forest where they must play hide and seek with the SLORC. They are facing
a severe shortage of food.
In other townships the SLORC troops have been launching a major offensive
all summer. Most of the villages in the hilly regions are all destroyed or abandoned.
Only a few villages in the plain remain undestroyed.
The villagers that fell under SLORC control have to provide porters. Each
village tract has to provide 150-200 porters every week including men and women.
The SLORC still sometimes conscripts porters. If they don't get men, they take
women and make them be porters. If they don't want to go, they must pay 3000
kyats as ransom.
Many of the villagers who flee from the SLORC have no more pots or
utensils at all. They don't want to leave their homeland. If they leave, the SLORC
will bring in Burman people to till the Karens' land and take as their own.
These villagers try to buy rice from nearby villages at 500 kyat per kerosene
tin. They have to sell whatever they have to be able to buy rice. Many of the
villagers take refuge with their relatives in other villages.
Toungoo District:
The SLORC has sent 9 more battalions of their troops into Toungoo
District, and they are more active in Htan Ta Bin Township. They are posted at
several strategic points. 10 villages (1750 people) have had to leave their homes.
They have become homeless and have to hide in the forest. Wherever the SLORC
troops go, they burn, loot, and take everything from the villages. The create forest
fires to destroy those rice barns and household materials that are hidden in the
forest. This has caused many of these things to be destroyed.
Health:
Those villagers who flee from the SLORC troops have no good shelter
or food. They are suffering from all kinds of diseases. One peculiar happening
is that the villagers in all the villages that the SLORC troops have passed through
are suffering from a certain kind of disease, which is similar to dysentery. The
villagers have named the disease "SLORC's disease". Many villagers have died
of this. Between March and mid-July, 1995, more than 100 lives have already
been lost in Meh Way village tract in Papun alone.
Natural Disaster:
Most of the people in these districts earn their living by slash and burn
farming. Last year, the rain came very early. Those farmers did not have a chance
to burn their plots, so they had no usable land to till. At the end of the year, they
had nothing to harvest or store.
In Thaton township, most people earn their living by paddy field farming.
The rain came early, and the rain was so heavy that all their fields were flooded
for too long, destroying all their rice plants. They too ended up with very little
to harvest.
Education:
Due to the shortage of food and the activities of the SLORC troops in
the area, many of the schools were closed down during the 1995-6 school year.
In Bu Tho Township, all the schools were closed. In Papun District, as many
as 50% were shut down, and in other townships lesser numbers were closed.
Conclusion:
The SLORC is sending more and more troops into these districts.
At present, there are 12 battalions of SLORC troops in Toungoo, 10 battalions
in Nyaunglebin, 18 battalions in Papun, and 9 battalions in Thaton. That is,
there are 49 battalions of SLORC troops in those 4 northern districts. They
commit the same kind of atrocities everywhere they go. They are causing more
hardships all the time to the Karen people.
***************************
KNU REPORT: HOW SLORC HAS BEEN TRYING TO EXTERMINATE
KARENS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE KAREN PEOPLE
May 15, 1995 (grammar/spelling slightly edited on October 17, 1995)
(According to information provided by the village tract leaders and the
Township Chairman of Dweh Lo Township, Papun District)
Since the beginning of 1980, the BSPP troops have been active in
Dweh Lo Township, Papun District, and troops have been posted
at several places. The commanding officers were changed one
after another, from Kyaw Ba to Toe Lwin to Kyaw Tint to Kyaw Yee.
>From their posts, they could reach out to several surrounding villages.
There are twelve village tracts in Dweh Lo Township with a total of
144 villages. The commanding officers of the SLORC troops
demanded porter fees from all those village tracts with a minimum
of 40,000 kyat per month per village tract and more still from larger
village tracts. If they couldn't pay, they faced forced arrest as porters. To
avoid arrest, the villagers paid the fees. This continued at this rate for
six years: 1980-1985. The total porter fee demanded from each village
tract amounted to 480,000 kyat per year or 2,880,000 kyat in six years.
That makes 34,560,000 kyat for all twelve of the village tracts.
In 1986, the BSPP government withdrew some of its troops. From
that time until the end of May, 1995, they demanded 6000 kyat from every
village tract. The total paid amounted to 8,640,000 kyat. So during the
past 16 years, the Karen people from Dweh Lo Township had to pay
43,200,000 kyat to the SLORC troops.
The SLORC troops were supposed to hire porters (which they never did)
from the villages where they were posted and make them carry ammunition
and rations wherever they went. This did not happen regularly, and they
didn't need porters all the time. Again, wherever they went, they shot, killed,
and looted people. Many lives were lost, property destroyed, houses and rice
barns burned, and villagers arrested and tortured. This porter fee only
enabled the SLORC troops to move at will. This money just brought back
all kinds of hardships and miseries to the Karen.
Moreover, most of the money went into the purses of the commanders. Those
commanders were then able to build big houses when they returned home.
Many villages in Thaton District and Nyaunglebin District have met the
same fate and have to pay porter fees. If put together, the amount of porter
fees from all the villages would be very alarming. This is just one of the tactics
of the SLORC in their campaign to exterminate the Karen people.
KNU REPORT: July 11, 1995
On the night of July 11, 1995, the DKBO, led by Mya Win, went into a farm
hut belonging to Meh Naw Ther village (Thaton District) and shot Saw Po
Keh (49 years old) dead. Aung Than (20 years old)'s arm and leg were broken
and Saw Mu Kaw Tha (33 years old) was seriously injured.
The following villagers were blind-folded, tortured, and forced to drink
large amounts of water by SLORC troop regiment #36 and by DKBA troops.
No. Name Age Village
1. Kyaw Moo Kaw Htee Kee
2. Saw Kwee Nee Noh Keg
3. Naw Peh Peh " "
4. Saw Po Kaw " "
5. Pah Keh " "
6. Thein Pe " "
7. Saw Pee Law " "
8. Saw Lay Day Peh Wuh Hta
9. Maung Lu Pyo " "
10. Maung Pyah " "
11. Saw Naw " "
12. Naw May " "
13. Naw Mu Lee Htote Po Hta
14. Saw Po Be " "
15. Saw Po La thin " "
16. Maung Tha Lone " "
17. Pu La Ber Meh Naw Ther
18. Saw Maw Keh Kaw Htee Kee
19. Saw Pwe Dah " "
20. Saw Be Ko " "
21. Saw Win Sein " "
22. Maung Cho Noh Keh
23. Naw Ther Myaing " "
24. Pu Ta Ku Meh Naw Ther Kee
25. Haah Kee " "
26. Maung Mait " "
27. Pah Eh Htoo " "
28. Kyaw Khin " "
29. Pu My 65 Maw Kee
30. Hsa Der 38 " "
31. Than Nyo 40 " "
32. Htoe Po Tote 37 " "
33. Saw Keh 28 " "
34. Kwee Lah 51 Ee Su Kee
35. Chit Po 30 " "
36. Than Ngwe 35 " "
37. Saw To Kya 32 " "
38. Saw Ohn Shwe 35 " "
39 Chaule Lone 35 " "
40. Saw Ta Ku 25 " "
41. Kwee Che 27 " "
42. Tee Tha Lee 50 " "
43. Tee Pa Doh 50 " "
July 24, 1995
SLORC troops entered into Htee Pa Doh Hta and Kyone Waing
(Thaton District) and ordered the villagers to bring them wood and
bamboo and to build huts for the soldiers. They ordered Ler K'Ter and
Ker Po villagers to make a fence for them. On July 23, 1995, the SLORC
troops ordered villagers from Ee Heh and Kyone M'Thweh village tracts
to take all their rice to Ee Heh village and put them together in the same
place. The villagers are then issued rations on a daily basis. Every day,
they have to go twice for their food rations, once for breakfast and once
for dinner. They were told that the order came from Tha Htro Kyaw, the
DKBO leader.
August 2, 1995
On July 24, 1995, Slorc's regiminet #92 arrested Maung Thaung
Han (21 years old), son of Ba Chit, from Ta Rweh Kee village (Thaton
district) and tortured him severely. He has still not been freed. The same
troops drove villagers of the following villages in Bilin Townships from
one place to another.
No. Village No. families No. of people Village tracts
1. Ee Su Kee 44 253 Ee Su Kee
2. Klee Taw Naw 20 86 " "
3. Maw Kee 6 25 " "
4. Thay Kee Klah 12 45 " "
5. Htote Po Hta 35 n.a. Meh Naw ther
Total = 409
6. Noh Key 57 " "
7. Pe Wah Hta 72 " "
8. Kaw Htee Kee 69 " "
9. Kaw Htee Hta 70 " "
10. Paw Ru Kee 25 " "
11. Meh Naw Ther Kee 17 " "
12. Ha Lay 17 " "
total = 2270
TOTAL 444 4679
According to information from the village elders:
SLORC's troop Regiment 97 coy 3 Commander Capt. Thein Myint, while posted
in Ku Dune camp (Kauk Kareik District) forced villagers from Hsan Pa Lan, Mi
Pa Nya, Kauk Hsin Gone, Thein Pa Laing, Mi Pa Laing (5 villages) to till 3 acres
of land in June. The seed had to be provided by those villagers. On 11/7/95 he
was substituted by Regiment 310 coy 3 commander Captain Kyi Toe. Before he
went away, Capt. Thain Myin ordered those villagers to pay him 10,000 kyat for
the rice to be produced from the field and told those villagers to distribute the
output of the farm among themselves. The villagers had to collect 2000 kyat from
each village to make 10,000 kyat.
According to a personal report:
On 10/7/95 SLORC's troop Regiment 97 coy 3 Commander, Captain Thein
Myint, went into Thein P'Lein village (Kauk Kareik District) and ordered a village
elder, Daw Ah Yaing, to get him porters. Daw Ah Yaing pleaded that she could
not get the required porters as the villagers were all away in their respective
farms. Capt. Thein Myint acccused Daw Ah Yaing of being very stubborn. He
and Sergeant Htoo Bweh beat her with a stick, struck her with a rifle butt, and
kicked her with their boots. Daw Ah Yaing broke her nose, went unconscious.
The beating was so severe that her 3 month pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.
Another two villagers, Maung Ohn Shwe and Maung Khin Aye, tried to plead
for Daw Ah Yaing. They were also beaten almost to death. Moreover, Capt.
Thein Myint demanded that the villagers pay him 5 goats, 5 chickens, and
10,000 kyat for failing to provide porters. The villagers had to collect the
money among themselves to make up 5000 kyat.
***************************
BKK POST: BURMESE PREMIER TO VISIT THAILAND
October 19, 1995
Burmese Prime Minister Than Shwe and Deputy Prime Minister Maung
Maung Khin will visit Thailand this year. They will also attend the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Bangkok on December 14-15. (BP)
**********************
BKK POST: FIRST 24-HOUR MEDICAL CLINIC FOR TOURISTS OPENS IN
BURMA October 19, 1995 Rangoon, AFP
A French tourist, fresh a flight to Burma, was the first patient treated
yesterday when a 24-hour international clinic officially opened for business
in Rangoon.
>From Tuesday night the clinic was offering 24-hour service with internationally
trained medical staff to treat resident expatriates and visitors as well as
interested Burmese.
"The availability of a 24-hour first point-of-contact for emergency outpatient
medical service in facilities staffed with people who can speak their language
and provide medical care similar to what they receive in their home will give
visitors a greater sense of comfort," said Tan Mui Huat, general manager of
the clinic.
Doctor Pascal Rey-Herme, medical director of the Singapore-based AEA
chain of medical centers said the young French woman had been treated for
a throat infection and released after her hotel contacted the clinic for help.
A second tourist, an Australian suffering from digestive problems, was also
treated and released, ReyHerme said. The clinic is the sixth opened by AEA
so far in the region, after Jakarta, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau in
Vietnam and Alma Ata, Kazakhstan. (BP)
****************************
THE NATION: KASEM HEADING TO BURMA TO PAVE WAY FOR PREMIER'S
VISIT October 19, 1995 By Kulachada Chaipipat
Foreign Minister Kasem S Kasemsri said he will visit Burma next month to
prepare for an official visit to the country by Prime Minister Banharn Silapa-
archa in December before the Fifth Asean Summit Meeting.
In an interview with The Nation on Tuesday, Kasem said his trip will also
reaffirm Thailand's commitment towards Asean's "constructive engagement"
policy toward Burma.
"We are willing to turn our attention to the Burmese people. We believe in
communication and cooperation," he said. Defending "constructive engagement",
he said unlike Western approach, it does not undermine the interest of the people.
"Asean is a good organization. It has good code of conduct that helps enable
members who come in to become reasonable and sensible," he said. Kasem
was critical of Western pressure against Burma. He said earlier during the
Asean Ministerial Meeting in Brunei that it alone could not influence the
Burmese military junta's decision to release opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi from house arrest in July.
Thailand is also the first Asean country to open dialogue with Suu Kyi, a move
that irritated Rangoon. But according to Kasem, the ministry has already cleared
up any misunderstanding over the initiative and maintained that the visit to Suu
Kyi's home by Thailand's ambassador to Rangoon was meant to be informal.
Kasem's trip to Burma is tentatively set for Nov 12 and 13, but the ministry is
still waiting for official confirmation from Rangoon. Banharn has said he
would possibly visit Burma to get acquainted with the junta leaders first,
including Gen Than Shwe, before they meet at the Asean Summit in Bangkok
on Dec 14 and 15.
Kasem said it is high time channels of communication at high government levels
was restored. "In the past we lost communication. When there is no communication,
there is no diplomatic maneouvering.
Banharn's trip to Burma will be the first in 10 years by a Thai prime minister. Former
premier Gen Prem Tinsulanonda was the last head of government to do so.
Thailand, as host of the upcoming gathering of Asean heads of government,
has already issued an official invitation to Than Shwe, also Burmese prime
minister, to attend the meeting as its guest. Counterparts from Laos and
Cambodia which have yet to become Asean members will also be invited.
Asked whether Banharn's trip could be realized before the Asean Summit,
Kasem said, "The sooner the better." Kasem's trip is made easier by a visit by
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh in August.
Chavalit discussed with Burmese leaders ways to clam the border tension
that escalated earlier this year over a number of border incidents, including
Burmese troops' military offensive against armed ethnic minorities residing
along the border and the suspension of construction of the first Thai-Burmese
bridge across Moei River.
The latest incident involved the murder of Burmese fishermen abroad Thai-
operated trawlers, which led to the closing of border crossing in Ranong province.
Other crossing points in Chiang Rai and Tak were previously closed due to fighting
between Burmese troops and ethnic insurgents. (TN)
*******************
THE NATION: THOUSANDS OF KAREN LEFT TO STARVE IN BURMESE
JUNGLE October 19, 1995 By Yindee Lertcharoenchok
Thousands of ethnic Karen in Burma have been uprooted from their villages
and left homeless in the jungle, where they are either starving or facing serious
malnutrition.
While the exact number of those displaced is not known, information made
available by Western and Karen relief workers indicates at least 10,000 have
fled their homes since the middle of this year following harassment by the
Burmese army and renegade Karen forces.
The workers expressed hope that the UN's human rights envoy to Burma, Yozo
Yokota, who is visiting the Thai-Burmese border, will be alerted to the situation,
which they described as "critical".
Although few of those fleeing persecution have entered Thailand so far the majority
have opted to stay in the jungle aid workers fear more will arrive after the monsoon
season or after the harvest.
According to aid workers, the harassment began in July in Burma's eastern Karen
state, mainly in area around Taungoo, Papun, Pa-an and Thaton. They said reports
from different areas contained similar accounts of abuse by the Burmese army and
the forces of the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA).
The troops marched through villages, looting and burning homes, barns and rice
fields. The harassment was "so systematic that people fled to the jungle and
stayed there," said one worker.
In Taungoo, 21 villages were destroyed and about 2,700 people took refuge
in the jungle, in Mudraw 27 villages were raided and burned and 4,250 people
displaced. In Bilin 12 villages were set ablaze and 2,700 people fled.
Abuses in Mudraw were reported as early a May, when 20 paddy fields were
burned. Workers quoted displaced Karens from the area as identifying the Burmese
army's 74th and 77th and the DKBA's 777th battalions as being involved in the
violence.
Fleeing villagers also complained about the Burmese army's forced conscription
of local people and "schoolchildren" in Mudraw as porters for the troops.
"We often here about it, but haven't got all the details. It takes place constantly,"
said one Karen official. The Burmese and DKBA forces have been active in the
areas since the guerrilla forces of the Karen National Union lost their strategic
strongholds and power base early this year. The KNU was forced to pull out of
those areas and moved much further south after the fall of its Manerplaw
headquarters.
The workers said most of the fugitives in the jungle are starving or facing
serious malnutrition. The displaced are fast running out of food, and are
surviving mainly on boiled roots, rice and leaves.
In some areas, fugitives hope to be able to go back and harvest their corps,
but many are waiting for the end of the rainy season, when they plan to flee
across the border, said the workers.
"Two or 300 families will certainly cross into Thailand after the rainy season.
It's really looking as if they're working their way through [to the Thai border],"
said one relief official.
So far, most of the fugitives have crossed the Salween River into Thai camps
north of Mae Sam Rap village in Mae Sariang district. Last month about 50
families fled into Thailand and are taking shelter at Baan Sala.
Western and Karen workers and Thai officials in Bangkok and Mae Sot confirmed
that the DKBA, which was formed last December by defectors from the KNU, had
recently renewed its incursions into Karen refugee camps in Thailand's Tak province,
where they threaten and harass camp residents.
A Karen official said DKBA forces have entered Shoklo camp at least four times
since Sept 23. While local Thai officers considered the intrusions and violence as
internal conflicts between the two Karen groups, the workers feared more DKBA
harassment of refugees now that the dry season is approaching.
Two serious incidents took place on Sept 23 when the DKBA troops entered Shoklo
at 11 pm and kidnapped two brothers, Win Kyi and Win Myint, and on Oct 6 when
two refugees were shot dead during the raid about 8 pm. (TN)
*******************
THE NATION: SOFT-OPENING FOR HOTEL BY ROYAL LAKE
October 19, 1995 By Gray Way
The US$ 35 million Baiyoke Kandwagi Hotel project is nearing completion with a
soft opening for government and travel industry representatives scheduled today.
"We would like to show the hotel to the government, tour agencies and embassies
so they have an idea how we are doing. There are three other hotels now nearing
completion_ we would like to be the first," General Manager Jurgen Dieter Voss
explained.
The five-storey hotel, built on the shores of the Royal Lake with views of the
Shwedagon Pagoda, is due for completion "somewhere near Christmas" according
to Voss, and will initially open with 160 rooms, including eight suites and final
construction will be complete by March.
Approved under the Government Foreign Investment 30 year BOT lease agreement
act, the 228-room hotel, when completed, will have 169 superior rooms and 59 suites
including two lakeside Royal Bungalows complete with 24 hour butler service and
private swimming pool.
Room rates are pegged at US$ 180 for a double, with a special introductory rate of
US$ 120 until Dec 15, and suites range from US$ 200 for cooperate rooms to
US$700 for Royal bungalows. All rates are subject to a 10 per cent service charge
and a 10 percent government tax.
Expected occupancy rates are "60-75 per cent for Christmas then dropping down
to 60 per cent for January. In the summer months we should be able to sustain
an occupancy rate of 40 per cent," said Voss.
With a current rate of 50:50 per cent tourist-business ratio the hotel hopes to
offset the drop to tourism in the summer months with an increase in business
activity.
"There are a lot of big business groups coming in such as from the Chambers
of Commerce, and of these, 45 per cent are Asian. In the last two years numbers
from Europe and the US have dropped while numbers from Asia have risen,"
he said.
With this in mind, other than all facilities expected of a first class hotel,
including Burma's largest swimming pool, the hotel has also incorporated
a World Trade Club to correspond with the opening of the World Trade
Centre in Rangoon next year.
In-house seminars will be available from February after completion of the
five 30-set sound-proofed and interconnected conference rooms, and when
the hotel is fully-complete it will be able to organize in-house seminars
for up to 300 people.
Originally scheduled to open in August this year, the delays have been
attributed to changes in the original design. Exterior designers Bunnad
Associated and Chiang Mai Architect, Son Prason both renowned for
their work with wooden exteriors, were brought in. The interior design is
by Ben Severin.
According to latest figures released by the ministry of National Planning
and Economic Development, Thailand ranks third on the investment ladder
following the United Kingdom and France respectively with total investment
exceeding US US$421 million, US$159 million of which is in related hotel
and tourism ventures.(TN)
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ANNOUNCEMENT: CAMPAIGN T-SHIRTS
As you know, next year is "Visit Myanmar Year 1996." Have you already
joined the boycott? Are you planning demonstrations for the campaign?
ABSDF has designed an attractive T-shirt. On the front is a map of Burma in
green inside a black circle with the diagonal "NO" symbol. Red letters around
the circle cry out, "Boycott Visit Myanmar Year," with 1996 in green outline
letters. On the back is printed:
Please Boycott our:
Brutal
Unscrupulous
Repressive
Military
Autocracy
Below that is the ABSDF red fighting peacock.
ALSO, and better yet!!!! The talented young artist, Saw Ngo, whose cartoons
regularly appear in DAWN and sometimes in The Bangkok Post and
The Nation, has created four delightful color cartoons for the campaign.
ABSDF would like to reproduce these cartoons by silk screen on T-shirts,
but they lack the capital.
Could your group place an order for some of these shirts? The sooner the students
can collect the money, the sooner they can complete the printing. Your investment
will also help provide food and medicine for the students as well.
Recently, the students have faced drastic cuts in their funding, so projects like
this are essential for supporting themselves. Why not give added meaning to
your demonstrations by wearing matching shirts with unmistakable messages
and by supporting the revolution at the same time?
Please order 10 or more (cartoon) shirts at 25 dollars each (including shipping
from Thailand). Contact Burmese Relief Center--Japan for details on easy
remittance of payment.
Printed T-shirts (map) from BRC-J:
1-4 shirts 25 dollars each 5-10 shirts 22 dollars each
11 or more 20 dollars each (price includes shipping from Japan)
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