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BurmaNet News January 13, 1996
- Subject: BurmaNet News January 13, 1996
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 08:24:00
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Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 08:23:55 -0800
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: January 16, 1996
Issue #322
Noted in Passing:
All the students from my school were forced to joined the USDA.
(Union Solidarity and Development Association) We would not
pass the exam if we do not join the organization. - Naw Esther, a
high school student from Palaw township.
HEADLINES:
==========
ASSK: INFLATION IS A SUBJECT THAT INTERESTS EVERYBODY
STATEMENT OF THE STUDENTS AND YOUTH CONFERENCE OF BURMA
ABSDF-DNA: USDA IN TENESSARIM DIVISION
WATERSHED: BURMA'S FORESTS, A REPORT FROM WATERSHED
IPS: ASIA-DRUGS: KHUN SA'S FALL, NO BIG BLOW TO NARCOTICS
DVB: NORWEGIAN STATE OWNED OIL COMPANIES PLAN TO INVEST
AUSTRALIAN PAPERS: PROTEST/STAND AGAINST SLORC
INDEPENDENT LETTER: BURMA OR MYANMAR
INDEPENDENT LETTER: LET US NOT BE BIASED
BURMANET: BRIEF BUSINESS REPORTS
-----------------------------------------------------------
ASSK: INFLATION IS A SUBJECT THAT INTERESTS EVERYBODY
January 10 1996
Mainichi Daily News, Monday, January 8, 1996
Letter from Burma (No. 7) by Aung San Suu Kyi
INFLATION IS A SUBJECT THAT INTERESTS EVERYBODY
"Breakfast Blues"
One of the most popular topics of conversation in Burma today is the
rampant inflation. When a group of people gather together to discuss the
situation of the country the talk invariably turns into a comparison of the
present prices of goods with the prices that prevailed before 1990. The
comparisons are made wistfully, indignantly, incredulously, furiously. It
is a subject that never fails to interest anybody except the tiny handful of
the extremely rich who do not have to worry about the price of anything.
Those for whom inflation is the worst enemy are the housewives who have to
make a limited income stretch to cover the basic everyday needs of the
family. A visit to the bazaar becomes an obstacle race where the shopper
has to negotiate carefully between brick walls of impossible prices and
pitfalls of substandard goods. After an exhausting session of shopping the
housewife goes back home and struggles to produce meals which her family can
enjoy, trying to think up substitutes for the more expensive ingredients
which she has been forced to strike off her shopping list.
To understand the difficulties of housekeeping, let us look at what it
involves to produce just the first meal of the day. Breakfast for many
people in Burma is fried rice. Usually it is a mixture of cooked rice and
other leftovers from the evening before, vegetables, meat or shrimps;
sometimes an egg or two stirred into it; sometimes there might be a
sprinkling of thinly sliced Chinese sausage; sometimes a variety of steamed
beans sold by vendors in the early hours of the morning might be added. It
is a fairly substantial and tasty meal.
The breakfast fried rice for many families has now taken on an anemic hue.
There is not likely to e any meat or shrimps left over from supper, eggs or
Chinese sausage would be an extravagance and even steamed beans, once the
humble man's food, are no longer cheap.
The price of chicken six years ago was 100 kyats a viss (about 1.6
kilograms), now it is 400 kyats. Mutton that cost 150 kyats is also 400
kyats now. Pork has gone up from 70 kyats to 280 kyats. The smallest
shrimps which cost about 40 kyats in the late 1980s now cost over 100 kyats,
which the price of medium-size prawns has gone up from about 100 kyats a
viss to over 200 a viss. And giant prawns now over 1,000 kyats a viss have
entirely disappeared from the tables of all except the very wealthy.
At such prices few families are able to cook sufficient meat to satisfy the
whole family for one meal, let alone to have enough left over for the
breakfast fried rice. Eggs are not a ready substitute either as the price
of an egg has also leapt up, from about 1 kyat each before 1990 to 6 kyats
at present. And Chinese pork sausages which can be so conveniently sliced
up and thrown in to provide flavor and sustenance have become almost a
luxury item at around 450 kyats a viss. (Before 1990 the cost was about 250
kyats a viss.) With the price of meat so high, in the breakfast fried rice
of Burma today vegetables feature large -- but not as large as one might
expect. The price of vegetables has gone up at an even faster rate than the
price of meat.
A dish which is much loved by the Burmese not only at breakfast time but at
any time of the day is /mohinga/. This is a peppery fish broth, which is
eulogistically termed Burmese bouillabaisse, eaten with rice vermicelli. A
steaming bowl of mohinga adorned with vegetable fritters, slices of fish
cake and hard-boiled eggs and enhanced with the flavor of chopped coriander
leaves, morsels of crispy fried garlic, fish sauce, a squeezing of lime and
chilies is a wonderful way of stoking up for the day ahead.
The price of an average dish of mohinga which includes vegetable fritters
and a quarter of a duck egg was 3 kyats before 1990. Now a slightly smaller
portion with a cheap bean fritter and without duck egg costs 15 kyats.
There is less of even the standard flavorings: coriander leaves have gone up
in price from 50 pyas a bunch to 5 kyats. Extras such as fish cake or eggs
are, it need hardly be said, expensive. Few people can afford a substantial
breakfast of mohinga.
These days whether breakfast is fried rice or mohinga, it is not only less
appetizing from lack of good ingredients, it is also less nourishing. And
this is not merely because the high prices of meat, fish and beans mean less
protein foods. In both fried rice and mohinga, palm oil is used instead of
peanut oil which has become too expensive. To make up for the lack of tasty
ingredients, a liberal dose of monosodium glutamate is generally added.
What used to be healthy substantial delicious breakfast has become for many
Burmese not just unsatisfactory but also something of a health hazard.
Yet those who can afford to have fried rice or mohinga for breakfast,
however unsatisfactory it may be, are the fortunate ones. There are many
who have to make do with rice gruel -- or even nothing at all.
*****************************************************
STATEMENT OF THE "STUDENTS AND YOUTH CONFERENCE OF BURMA
January 10, 1996
Youth & Student's Conference Burma
Jan 7-8 New Delhi
1. With an aim to upgrade the role of the students and youths
and to establish solidarity among various forces that are
struggling against the military dictatorship in Burma, "Students
and Youth Conference of Burma" was convened from 7 to 8 January
in New Delhi, India. The list of the organizations participated
in the conference was as following.
(1) The All Burma Student's Democratic Front (ABSDF)
(2) The All Burma Students League (ABSL)
(3) Karen Youth Organization (KYO)
(4) All Arakan Students and Youth Congress (AASYC)
(5) Democratic Party for New Society (DPNS)
(6) Chin Students Union (CSU)
2. The conference is confident that, in order to solve the
political problems of Burma by political means and achieve
national reconciliation, a substantial political dialogue
involving the leaders of the ethnic nationalities, democratic
forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) is the best way.
3. The conference reached to he consensus to
a) stand against the SLORC's National Convention and its
consequences:
b) support the activities of the National League for Democracy
led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi;
c) destroy the economic and military elements of the SLORC;
d) promote the political awareness of he people concerning
democracy and human rights for all the people and equal
rights and self-determination for all the ethnic
nationalities in Burma and
e) encourage the solidarity among all revolutionary forces by
strengthening the unity and understanding among various ethnic
students and youths.
4. Through these two-days long deliberations, the leaders of
respective organizations unanimously agreed to establish
"Students and Youth Congress of Burma", as an umbrella alliance,
in order to fight for the restoration of democracy and human
rights in Burma in the collective form. The Congress warmly
welcomes all youth and student democratic forces of Burma who
agree with its ideas and plans and want to join it.
5. We strongly demand the SLORC
1) to release student leader Ko Min Ko Naing and all political
prisoners immediately and unconditionally;
2) to stop the ongoing National Convention which is illegal and
illogical;
3) to set up the tripartite dialogue that is to be composed of
the democratic forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
representatives of ethnic nationalities and
4) to declare the nation-wide cease-fire.
We urge the international community
(1) to withdraw or stop the various forms of aid which is
directly or indirectly fuelling the SLORC's machinery and
(2) to impose practical and effective trader and arms embargo on
SLORC military regime.
*****************************************************************
ABSDF-DNA: USDA IN TENESSARIM DIVISION
January 15, 1996 from caroline@xxxxxxxxxx
About 4,5000 civilians from the four townships in Mergui
District rallied on December 27, 1995 to express unanimous support for the
successful conclusion of the National Convention, according to the Slorc
media. The rally was chaired by Ge. Ket Sein who is a Commander of
Southeast military Command and chairman of Mon State, Karen State and
Tenessarim Division USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association).
The participants were mainly members of the USDA, state high school
students and teachers, as well as public service employees. The rally was
held to show the support of a constitutional convention which has been
boycotted by the opposition but the people said most of them had been
forced to participated.
"All the students from my school were forced to joined the USDA.
We would not pass the exam if we do not join the organization. I was in
the rally but I had no idea what was the reason for the rally. But the
authority ordered us to join this rally" Naw Esther, a high school student
from Palaw township recalled her experience.
The USDA was formed on 15, September 1993 by Slorc as a social
organization which establihed at village tract, wards, township, district
and division levels. Its central executive committee members are civilian
but its high position in state and division levels are assigned with the
high military officials. It is thus analyzed as an eventual political
power base for the military. Although Slorc is announced that USDA is only
a social organization and there is no political platform in its movement,
people inside Burma believe that in the name of USDA, Slorc is
strengthening its position by grassroots mobilizing to gain support for
military.
Ko Myint Oo, a high school teacher from Mergui said the USDA
forced the people especially government service employees into supporting
the military and National Convention. It is much worse than the BSPPs
program such as Lanzin youth (a BSPP youth cell during its time). People
are threatened dismissals from jobs and schools, or failure of examination
in case of absence to the USDA rally. People in Mergui were ordered that
one person from each household must attend the rally or pay 100 kyat if
fail to do so.
There will be similar rallies in Tavoy district and Kaw Thaung
district in the future, according to the source inside Burma.
In her weekly People Forum, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in regarding
with USDA and forced participation, People can be coerced, and people
support can be paid but their genuine love and goodwill can not be paid
and threatened. She said one of her weekend public addresses outside her
house that the public had been coerced into attending the mass rally.
ABSDF News Agency: ABSDF (DAWN GWIN)
********************************************************************
WATERSHED: BURMA'S FORESTS, A REPORT FROM WATERSHED
January 12, 1996
We recently saw an unscientific, naive, and misleading article in January's
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN regarding Burma's forests and use of working elephants.
We hope that some Burmanet readers will forward the following to SA's
editors and perhaps include letters to the editor so that SA's readership
will learn the plain truth about SLORC's opportunistic sale of natural
resources and their ruthless treatment of ethnic minorities.
>From WATERSHED: People's Forum on Ecology
Burma, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam
Vol. 1 No. 2. November 1995 -- February 1996
"Seeing the People for the Trees: Protected Areas in the Region"
PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEMS IN BURMA: FORESTS UNDER THE GUN
There are 5 National Parks and 16 Wildlife Sanctuaries in
Burma, covering about 1 per cent of the country's total land
area. According to a report by the Tropical Forest Programme
of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), "The present
coverage of protected areas in Burma is by far the lowest in
S.E. Asia and is totally inadequate for purposes of biological
conservation ... The reserve forests are all subject to
exploitation of timber and other forest produce, including
wildlife." Due to decades of civil war and military government,
an accurate appraisal of the forests has not been possible as
vast areas of the country are not accessible for surveys or
research of forests and declared protected areas.
The limited information available suggests that Burma is being
rapidly deforested. In 1960, approximately 50 per cent of the
country was under forest, and Burma's Ministry for Forestry
contends that this amount of forest cover has not changed in
the past 35 years. Independent observers put forest cover at
about 30 per cent and decreasing rapidly. UNDP and FAO
estimated that in 1975 average destruction of forest was about
1,250 square kilometres per year, but only five years later, this
rate had increased to 6,000 square kilometres per year. In
1992, the NGO Rainforest Action Network reported that the
average area of forest destroyed in Burma had increased to
between 8,000 and 10,000 square kilometres per year - one of
the highest national rates of forest destruction in the world.
Since 1988, when the SLORC declared itself Burma's
government, forest destruction has accelerated rapidly, with
SLORC signing its first commercial logging contracts allowing
cross - border timber exports to Thailand and China. By 1989,
companies from Thailand alone had received over 40 logging
concessions located along the Thai - Burma border, most of
which were in the control of ethnic minority groups defending
their territories against the SLORC military. In the early
1990s, SLORC also signed logging concession and joint -
venture timber processing contracts with logging companies
from South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Meanwhile,
ethnic minority groups such as the Maung Tai Army of Shan
State and the Karen National Union, under increasing pressure
from the SLORC military; also engaged in logging to fund
armsI purchases so they could defend their territories.
Independent observers have been scathing in their criticism of
logging by Thai companies in forest areas controlled by the
SLORC. In 1994 Martin Smith, a journalist and specialist on
Burma, observed, "Though Lt. Gen Chit Swe, Minister for
Forestry, has claimed that these new border concessions account
for only 2.6 per cent of Burma's total forest reserves, it is precisely in
these remote and previously undisturbed border regions that many of
the most ecologically - important reserves still remain."
Although there is little, if any, indication that the SLORC is
determined to protect Burma's forests and wildlife habitat, the
same can not be said for one of the ethnic minority groups
attempting to defend its territory, people and forests from SLORC.
In 1982, the Karen National Union established 11 wildlife
sanctuaries within its territory. In southern Burma's Mergui
Tavoy District, the Karen Forestry Department has set up the
Ka Ser Doh and Ta Naw Tha Ri wildlife sanctuaries, the
former covering an area of 420 square kilometres and the latter
an area of 2,250 square kilometres. However, the Karen's
efforts to conserve these, and other, ecologically - important
forest areas, have been extremely hampered by years of war
and logging by Thai companies.
Watershed is published three times a year by:
Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA)
Editorial / Subscriptions / Contribution Office:
409 Soi Rohitsuk, Pracharajbampen Rd.
Huay Khwang, Bangkok 10320, Thailand
FAX (66 2) 691-0714, email: terraper@xxxxxxxxxx
***************************************************
IPS: ASIA-DRUGS: KHUN SA'S FALL, NO BIG BLOW TO NARCOTICS
TRADE January 12 1996 By Andrew Nette
HANOI - The surrender of notorious opium baron Khun Sa to Burmese
authorities last week grabbed media headlines worldwide, but it is unlikely
to have a major impact on Asia's drug trade.
As Khun Sa and senior Burmese army officers signed a peace pact ending the
drug lord's war against the government, this year's opium crop was already
being harvested in the remote hills of north-eastern Burma.
Overseeing this is a new generation of drug lords who are changing the rules
by which the narcotics trade in the Golden Triangle region has been conducted
for decades.
In the past, hill tribe farmers grew the opium poppies and merchants linked
to a small group of well-established drug lords bought the raw opium paste
and refined and smuggled it through Thailand and Hong Kong to markets around
the world.
The challenge to this established order has its origins in the collapse of
the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1989.
Throughout the 1970s, the Chinese-backed CPB waged a guerrilla war against
the Rangoon regime from positions along the border between China and Burma's
Shan state. Chinese support dried up in the early 1980s, forcing the party to rely
on the two cash crops available in the area under its control: tea and opium.
The move proved disastrous when the CPB's war-weary rank and file revolted,
splitting the 15,000-strong force into five factions along ethnic lines.
Rangoon quickly signed peace deals with these groups, allowing them to keep
their weapons and engage in any business activity they wished -- including drugs --
in return for cutting links to groups still opposed to the central government.
Drug producers used the freedom to increase opium production from 1,200
tonnes in 1988 to a record 2,500 in 1994, according to a U.S. State Department
report earlier this year, and move heroin processing refineries closer to the poppy
fields.
They have also taken advantage of the opening up of Indochina to pioneer new
trafficking routes. Western officials speculated these had long superseded Khun
Sa's network, which faced increasing attack from Thai and U.S. anti-drug agencies.
''Economic changes which have seen a move away from closed borders and the
construction of new road and transportation infrastructure have increased the
volume of drugs being moved out of the Golden Triangle,'' says Richard Dickens,
law enforcement adviser with the U.N. Drug Control Programme's regional office.
Within Burma, the emerging drug barons fought a series of bloody turf
battles in which they had managed to wrest much of the crop in Shan state from the
exclusive control of Khun Sa.
Most seriously affected by these shifts has been the southern Chinese
province of Yunnan, whose 1,000 km border with Burma is now a smuggling
point for half of the heroin from the region.
Beijing has launched an anti-drug drive that includes community education
campaigns, televised trials of arrested traffickers and, since January, the introduction
of the death sentence for anyone caught with more than 10 kg of hard drugs.
More than 14,000 drug-related arrests have been made in Yunnan since 1991.
In a two-month campaign in mid-1995 alone, China executed more than 100
traffickers ''but still tonnes of narcotics get through undetected'', said one source
in Kunming.
Chinese customs officials do not have the facilities to fully monitor the
huge flow of vehicles crossing the border from Burma each day. Trafficking
groups are said to be increasingly well-armed, often with weapons from the
arsenals of the Chinese army.
Cambodia has also been hard hit. Noun Soeur, former head of the country's
anti-drug squad, says drug traders transport nearly 600 kg of heroin from Burma
to Laos through Phnom Penh each week.
Law enforcers remain at a loss as to how to combat the trade. ''To get the
key people you have to have an international investigation, and these countries
don't have a history of that,'' said Dickens.
''The arrests that have been made so far are just drug addicts and poor
smugglers. The real bosses remain untouched,'' said a Thai source, referring
to a recent government crackdown.
Observers point to difficulties faced by local police, who often lack
phones, let alone access to sophisticated crime fighting instruments.
The trade is generally conducted by loose confederations or syndicates who
call on contacts to put together alliances to do deals, after which they disband.
The fluidity makes it more difficult to infiltrate and crack.
An endless supply of recruits for drug runners are found among the expanding
populations of rural poor throughout the subregion.
Perhaps the major important factor hampering enforcement is corruption, a
trend worsened by the social breakdown and gold rush mentality created by
free market reforms in the subregion.
''Why is it that a lot of the drugs are not discovered? Because they are
being transported by (Chinese) police and military vehicles,'' the Kunming
source said of the trade on the Burmese-Chinese border.
Given the Rangoon junta's iron grip over the country, observers say it is
inconceivable that drugs could be moved out on such a scale without 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 it has
without access to some alternative form of finance.''
Also implicated have been businessmen and government officials across Asia,
who have reportedly used profits from the drug trade to build new hotels and
shopping centres.
International police agencies say official involvement in drug trafficking
threatens to turn Cambodia into a narcotics hub like Colombia. Drug smugglers
in Cambodia ''are rich and have high- ranking officials behind them'', claimed Soeur.
There is evidence that Cambodia has become a major centre for money
laundering, with crime syndicates setting up cash-oriented businesses through
which they funnel drug money.
*****************************************************
DVB: NORWEGIAN STATE OWNED OIL COMPANIES PLAN TO INVEST
IN BURMA January 10, 1996 (abridged)
Hydro and Statoil have started up talks with the Burmese military
junta about contracts worth billions of NOK [8NOK = 1USD]. Norway is among
the few Western countries without any direct investment in Burma.
Endsjo had a meeting with representatives from the Burmese military junta
(SLORC) just before Christmas in Rangoon.
Norsk Hydro has so far chosen to work independently, but Endsjo
says that they are planning to join a consortium with other companies if the
talks are positive. Hydro primarily wants to invest in a production plant for
fertilizer. Statoil has chosen to join the Thai company Charoen Pokphand
Group (CP-Group). The group is the biggest investor in China, and Burma is
their new market.
Sources in Burma says to Dagens Naeringsliv that talks between five
different consortium will start in the mid February. Norsk Hydro is among
the companies that are wanted most to attend the meetings. It is the enourmous
Yadana field in the Andaman Sea outside Burma that has made Hydro and
Statoil interested in Burma.
Statoil is 100% owned by the Norwegian government, Norsk Hydro is owned 50%
by the Norwegian government. There has been a discussion whether Norwegian
stateowned companies should be working with the dictatorship. The official
Norwegian mode is that as long as there are no UN embargo on the country
Norwegian companies are free to do investments.
The move by the Statoil and Norsk Hydro was strongly criticised by the
Nobel Peace Award Committee and Burmese pro-democracy groups based in
Norway.
On 6 January 1996, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry has warned Norsk Hydro
and Statoil, not to engage in Burma. "There is good reasons to keep away from
Burmese military junta," the Noregian State-Secretary said.
The Nordic Aviation Resources which like to won the contract from the
Burmese military authorities to expand the Rangoon airport would probaly
turn down their 390 million Norwegian kroner project.
Officials from Statoil and Norsk Hydro said the position of the government
would have impact on their decision whether to make business in Burma.
On 9 Jan 1996 - Norwegian TV 2 , Evening News conducted an telephone interview
with Aung San Suu Kyi regarding the Statoil and Norsk Hydro's interest to do
business in Burma.
Aung San Suu Kyi: We have always look upon Norway as one of the strongest
allies of our democratic movenment. I would not think that this is right time for
any Norwegian-own comapnies or any others industries to establish themselves
in Burma.
*************************************************************
AUSTRALIAN PAPERS: PROTEST/STAND AGAINST SLORC
January 10, 1996 from Dr U Ne Oo <uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
POLICE INTERVENE AT BURMA EMBASSY PROTEST
BURMA AUST (CANBERRA)
Police have intervened during a demonstration at the Burmese
Embassy in Canberra today as rowdy protesters condemning the
military regime in Burma clashed with visitors.
About 60 demonstrators attended the rally organised by the
Australia Burma Council to mark the 48th anniversary of Burmese
independence. Their speeches against the State Law and Order Restoration
Council were interspersed with shouts at guests arriving at the
embassy apparently to attend a diplomatic function.
A handful of people approached a vehicle whose passengers wound
down the windows to shout back, prompting several police to step
between the car and the demonstrators.
FED: AUST URGED TO TAKE STRONGER LINE AGAINST SLORC
BURMA AUST (CANBERRA)
Australia has been urged to strengthen its opposition to the
military government in Burma.
Australia's Burmese community has also called for trade boycotts
and economic sanctions to force Burma's State Law and Order
Restoration Council to leave office and restore democracy.
The community's also urged Australians to boycott the SLORC's
tourism promotion, saying that visiting the country would encourage
the regime and provide hard currency to support a defence force
turned against Burmese citizens.
Australia Burma Council patron and former RSL national president
William Keys has described the SLORC as a corrupt and brutal
dictatorship, saying those who do business with it are dealing with
criminals. The calls were made at a rally at the Burmese embassy in
Canberra today to mark the 48th anniversary of the country's independence.
*****************************************************
INDEPENDENT LETTER: BURMA OR MYANMAR
January 10, 1996
written by: CHAO-TZANG YAWNGHWE, FAX; (604) 525-6924
Mr. Dobb-Higginson's anti-NLD/Aung San Suu Kyi diatribe does not, frankly
deserve attention since it obviously is a "His Master's Voice" genre of
writing practised by fawning courtiers. If the writer is so enamoured of
SLORC rule, he should renounce whatever citizenship he now holds (British?),
and become a true "Myanmaran(?)" (why use "Burmese," if "Burma" is no longer
the country's name?). It is very naughty, if not lowly, to sing praises of
despots and the likes, while one enjoys all the perks of a citizen of a
liberal, democratic society. In this regard, those who choose to engage in
the business of making profit in Burma, should submit fully to SLORC "laws",
even or especially in business transactions. Without the protection
(perhaps even guarantees) of their home governments, let us see how many
would continue doing business in SLORC-land.
Regarding the Burma/Myanmar issue, actually Bama and Myanmar are identical.
"Myanmar" is the literary form of "Bama", or if you will, a more cultured
form. Like most Asian languages, Burmese is not only hierarchical, but also
the spoken and the written versions are different. Only a semi-illiterate
peasant would write Burmese as it is spoken. As much, Mr. Dobb-Higginson is
labouring a non-existent point when he attempts to argue that there is a
world of difference between the two. It is also starkly obvious that he
does not read nor speak Burmese and has moreover swallowed SLORC's
concoction down to the very last unpalatable dregs.
The main reason why "Myanmar" (as a name for the country) is objected to by
many, is that the name change is an unilateral act by a group of men who,
after killing thousands of peaceful protesters, rule at gun point. These men
have absolutely no mandate to rule nor to change the name of the country or
its towns. Take away their guns, and where will they be? Furthermore, they
are not even soldiers, as per the generally accepted definition of the word.
Strictly speaking, "Myanmar" is by itself an adjective. the grammatically
correct term of the country should be "Myanmar Pri/Pyi" or
"Myanmar-nalnggan," or in English, "Myanmar-land" (as in Thailand, Finland,
Switzerland, etc.).
Mr. Dobbs-Higginson is perfectly entitled to his uninformed opinion.
However, his pristine ignorance of the Burmese language, in addition to his
political illiteracy, unfortunately (or otherwise) detracts seriously from
his effectiveness as a SLORC-spokesperson (or defender of the "undefendable").
******************************************************
INDEPENDENT LETTER: LET US NOT BE BIASED
January 1, 1996 from S. Win, U. K.
With much interest I have been following the arguments and
replies brought up against Mr. Dobbs-Higginson's article,
" What the NLD is up to? " There are (2) reasons for my
interest on this subject. The first reason is that I had
left the country for nearly (4) decades and have worked and
lived in many parts of the world during these years but
whenever I hear about my country of birth it arouses my interest.
The other reason is that the names Bamar, Burma, Myanmar and
other British given names have always confused the people living
in that country as well as those visiting the country from outside.
I have always wondered when or who will come up one day and
straightened the mess out. I have visited the country quite a number
of times with my family since 1989 and did a lot of travelling inside
the country visiting relatives and friends from both sides. During one
of our visits there my children went to visit Myeik (pronounced Beik)
where my wife's relatives live. At one point on the way to Myeik my
daughter checked up on the map she brought from London to find out
the distance left to their destination. They stopped over at a small
town which was about (15) miles or (20) miles away from Myeik.
There she asked some townspeople the distance left from this town
to their destination Mergui (the name referred to Myeik on our British map).
Strangely, she did not receive any answer on the distance left between
the two places but just a confused reply of "don't know." Later on
among the locals, presumably a school teacher, came up and told her
that there was about 20-30 minutes drive left. Finally, when they arrived at
Myeik she again checked out at the filling station using the British name
Mergui receiving the same confused look.
Later on when they arrived at our relatives place she recounted
her experience to her uncle, who is a retired school principal,
and she was explained by him that Mergui is the name given by
the British during the colonial period or the way British may
have mispronounced it. The name Myeik (pronounced Beik) has been
used since ancient times and the majority of the people do not
recognize the name Mergui which could in fact be mistaken for a
town called Magwe which is located in the central part of the
country quite close to a town called Meikhtila. She was also
explained by her uncle that she will come up with a similar
confusion if she visits Pyi (Prome on the British map),
Pathein (Bassein), Mawlamyine (Moulmein), Dawe (Tavoy), Sittwe (Akyab),
Bago (Pegu) and even the capital city Yangon (Rangoon) will not be
easily recognized by people living in rural areas for these namesgiven and
used by the British were not historical names but substitutes
used for their own convenience. Even one of the races which resides
on the western part of the country is since ancient times called
Rakhine people or Yakhine is written language was changed to Arakan
by the British and today it has been renamed Rakhine by the present
government. Again the interesting point is that in the local languages
there never existed the word Arakan but always Rakhine or Yakhine.
It came to my notice that after so many years of regaining
independence there came up one government which took the trouble of
changing the names back to its original one. It is my belief that
regardless of who the government is or what type of government it may
be if the changes are appropriate and necessary let them do it and
we should give them due credit for having the courage to do it.
I believe I would not be wrong to say that if Aung San Su Kyi
has done the same thing, (which her father General Aung San would
be very proud of ) those who are now very much against renaming
the country will hail and commend her for doing it. Unfortunately,
just because it was done by someone else doesn't mean that they
should not be given recognition is I think very much bias and in
another word extremely childish as Mr. Dobbs-Higginson puts it.
Some would even go to the extent of confusing the readers
that the nationalist movement " the Doh - Bamar Asi-ayone (Our Burma
Association) is the proof that myanmar and bama are the same
word : ma and ba are often interchangeable in Burmese." Let me explain
briefly that the word Bamar in Doh- Bamar Asiayone was used purely as
a noun and even Indian and some Chinese nationals of Myanmar origin
are known to be involved in this association. There is also another
very reliable way to confirm my statement is to have Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe
and Mr. Litner check it out with other national races living in the
country and ask them how they understand the word or the name Burma
(Bamar Pyi). They will refer it to the place where the Burman (Bamar)
reside and for the other respective areas where other nationals reside
as Shan Pyi, Kachin Pyi, Kayin Pyi, Rakhine Pyi and etc., If all the
respective areas or (Pyi) of the nationalities are incorporated then
it becomes Myanmar Naing Ngan. Naing Ngan is the Bamar word for
country and where M. Litner got the idea that "ba" and "ma" are
interchangeable. I simply do not understand.
Well, my last advice for Mr. Litner is if he could look into
the Chinese history, let say, about a thousand years back. He will come
to realize that the Chinese called their neighbor (Myan - Tin ) not
(Bur - Tin ) or (Bama - Tin) and the notion that the Kachins, the Chins,
and the Nagas hardly had any contact with the Bamar before the arrival
of the British is in my opinion too absurd to reply. It is like saying
Christopher Columbus was a blackman who founded China and brought in
the Japanese as slaves for his empire.
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BURMANET: BRIEF BUSINESS REPORTS
January 16, 1996
from information provided by M. Beer and abridged/edited by BurmaNet
TEXACO: NEW PRESIDENT FOR FAR EAST DIVISION
Robert A. Solberg, Vice President of Texaco Inc. and Chairman of
London-based Texaco Limited, has been appointed President of Texaco's Middle
East/Far East Division (ME/FE), effective March 1, 1996. Based in Harrison, N.Y.,
ME/FE manages operational and contractual matters related to exploration programs
in Burma, among other places.
JAPAN'S MARUBENI WINS CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CONTRACT
Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp has won a 2.6bn yen order from
Burma for 200 construction machines, representing the largest ever construction
machinery deal struck between the Burmese government and a foreign concern.
Marubeni will extend trade credits in the form of three-year deferred payments for
the machinery because Burma is barred from receiving Official Development
Assistance (ODA) from the Japanese government.
BURMA'S GDP
Burmese planning minister Abel has said that during the three fiscal years
from 1992-93 to 1994-95, Burma's GDP averaged an annual increase of 7.5
per cent. The figure is expected to exceed the target of 7.7 per cent by 31st
March, 1996, the end of the present 1995-96 fiscal year.
Burma has attracted 468m US dollars in foreign investment in the current
fiscal year and the figure is expected to reach 600m US dollars by 31st March.
According to official figures, Burma has drawn over 3bn US dollars of foreign
investment since its opening up. Abel said that the country's energy sector
absorbed the largest share of foreign investment, followed by services and mining.
TAMURA EYES NEW BASES IN MYANMAR, VIETNAM
TAMURA Electronics Corporation of Japan is looking into the possibility of
setting up manufacturing bases in Myanmar and Vietnam, the managing director of
its Malaysian operations Yasuhara Hidaka said. "We are interested ... We can
not longer expand our operations here. It has become too big and on top of that,
we are facing labour shortages."
BURMA TRIES TO IMPROVE TIES WITH N. KOREA
Myanmar invited an official of the North Korean Embassy in Bangkok to its
Independence Day party last week, in an apparent step toward rapprochement 12
years after Yangon broke off diplomatic ties with Pyongyang. The North Korean
official from the embassy attended the party held Jan. 4 in the Thai capital, after
receiving an invitation from the Myanmar Embassy there.
HITACHI CONSIDERING MANUFACTURING IN BURMA
Hitachi, Ltd. is considering establishing new manufacturing bases in
Vietnam, Myanmar, and other Southeast Asian nations. The company currently
consigns production of color televisions and refrigerators in Vietnam, but has
no operations yet in Myanmar. Copyright 1996 Xinhua News Agency
FOREIGNERS TAKE PART IN COLLECTIVE ORDINATION
Nearly 200 foreign devotees from 18 countries or regions including Singapore,
Britain, Australia, USA, Japan and France took part in a collective ordination
and novitiation on January 13 in Burma. According to the New Light of
Myanmar, the collective ordination and novitiation, sponsored by Myanmar
Ministry of Religious Affairs, was the third of its kind.
12 INDUSTRIAL ZONES TO BE SET UP
The Myanmar government has decided to set up 12 industrial zones in the
country, the New Light of Myanmar today quoted chairman of Myanmar Inwdustrial
Development Committee Myint Aung as saying. Addressing a meeting on ednesday,
Myint Aung, who is also Agricultural Minister, said these industrial zones will
enhance the development of agro-based industries, raise quality and quantity of
industrial products, and promote production of new machinery and industrial
equipment. In order to support the development of private industries, Myanmar
Industrial Development Bank will be opened next month, he added.
TOKAI BANK TO SET UP YANGON REP OFFICE
Tokai Bank has applied for Finance Ministry approval to set up a
representative office in Rangoon possibly late this year. Tokai Bank wants
to extend financing for infrastructure development-related projects in Burma
in the future, the officials said.
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