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Dear Free Burma readers 
Here is some news you find interesting re TIBET

thank you
Dawn Star  (Paris)
Coordinator (TOTAL) 
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Burmanet
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Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 
Subject: Tibetan independence 'was a colonial invention'

#1  Tibetan independence 'was a colonial invention'

The Straits Times - Singapore - 8th August 1996

China slammed Britain yesterday for creating the notion of Tibetan
independence during its colonial expansion and said the Dalai Lama was
ignoring history by claiming the region should have its own sovereignty.

"The slogan of 'Independence for Tibet' was initially raised by the British
imperialists for the purpose of invading Tibet," said Mr Yang Gongsu, a
former Chinese official in the region.

Mr Yang denounced a series of conventions signed between Britain and Tibet in
the early 20th century and said the fact that China did not sign these was
evidence that Beijing maintained sovereignty over the region, according to
Xinhua.

He also slammed the Dalai Lama for telling members of Britain's Parliament
last month that Tibet was an independent nation.

"Although Britain and other colonial powers consistently plotted the
"independence of Tibet" at the start of this century, all their efforts came
to naught," he said.

"Judging from international law, there is no evidence that justifies the
saying that Tibet has ever been an independent state," he added.

The vice-president of Beijing's Central University for Nationalities also
joined in the attack, accusing the Dalai Lama of perverting history and
joining forces with anti-China powers.

"The fact that the Dalai clique is asking for support from certain anti-China
powers, which in the past attempted to colonise Tibet is a betrayal of the
interests of the Chinese nation, including those of the Tibetan people,"
warned Mr Dainzhub Angbun.

Although most Tibetans welcomed the arrival of the Chinese army in 1951 after
years of interference by Britain and Russia, harsh Chinese repression led to
an abortive uprising in 1959 when the Dalai Lama fled to India.

China also reacted angrily when the Dalai Lama visited Britain, warning that
the trip would adversely affect Sino-British ties.

It also called off a visit by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel when the
German parliament expressed concern at Chinese repression in the region.

The two scholars said the only way out for the Dalai Lama was to give up the
pursuit of "independence of Tibet" completely -- there was no "middle way".

The Dalai Lama had told the British Parliament that he had adopted a
"middle-way" approach and was willing "to enter into negotiations on the
basis of an agenda that does not include independence".

A third Tibetologist declared that Chinese population statistics on the
region were irrefutable and reliable and denied claims by the Dalai Lama that
Beijing was flooding the region with ethnic Chinese and had allowed 800,000
Tibetans to starve to death in the past.

"In truth, Tibetans account for 95.5 per cent of the total population of
China's Tibet Autonomous Region and Han Chinese people make up just 3 per
cent," said anthropologist Ma Rong of Beijing University. -- AFP, Xinhua.



    NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (Reuter) - The Dalai Lama, Tibet's god-king and Nobel
peace laureate, and Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam on Saturday
backed India's stance on a nuclear test ban treaty and demand for a
nuclear-free world.
     The Dalai Lama told the Times of India newspaper in an interview that
he supported India's demand for disarmament.
     Ramgolam meanwhile told reporters he understood India's opposition to
a global treaty banning nuclear explosions and backed its call for nuclear
weapons states to eliminate their arsenals.
     "We understand that India has a problem with the CTBT (Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty) as it is now," Ramgoolam said after meeting Indian
President Shankar Dayal Sharma.
     "Mauritius understands the position of India. Mauritius is for a
nuclear weapons-free world," said Ramgoolam, who is in India on a weeklong
official visit.
     India has vetoed the CTBT being negotiated in Geneva and has vowed to
oppose further any attempts to send the draft treaty to the United Nations
General Assembly.
     New Delhi says the draft treaty does not commit the nuclear powers --
Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- to disarmament
within a specified time frame and allows them to refine their arsenals
through laboratory tests.
     India pledged to block the treaty on the grounds that it contains a
clause that will require India to ratify the pact for it to become law. New
Delhi says this infringes its sovereignty.
     In the interviuew with the Times of India the Dalai Lama said: "I
support India's stand on the CTBT that all nuclear powers should make a
timetable for eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons," the Buddhist
spiritual leader told the newspaper.
     "At present, what's happening is that an attempt is being made to
prevent non-nuclear powers from testing. This is inadequate... it's very
important to work for eventual elimination of all nuclear wepaons," he
said.
     Analysts say sending the treaty draft to the U.N. carries the risk
that India could draw support from other members of the 185-nation
non-aligned movement, who could seize on the occasion to tamper with the
treaty's compromise wording.
     The Press Trust of India on Saturday quoted senior military officials
from two non-aligned African countries as saying they hoped India would
continue to take the lead at CTBT negotiations on behalf of the world's
non-nuclear nations. It did not name the countries.


Aug 17 1996 (Reuter) - Tibetan godking and Nobel peace
laureate the Dalai Lama supports India's decision to reject
aproposed global pact banning nuclear explosions, the Times of
India daily said Saturday.``I support India's stand on the
CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) that all nuclear powers
should make a timetable foreventual elimination of all nuclear
weapons,'' the Buddhist spiritual leader told the newspaper in
an interview. ``At present, what's happening is that an
attempt is being made to prevent non-nuclear powers from
testing. This is inadequate... it's very important to work for
eventual elimination of all nuclear wepaons,'' he said.


*********

Interesting web site on world ressource information
The entire World Resources 1996-97 is on the web at:
 http://www.wri.org/wri/wr-96-97/index.html

Also
World Bank's report East Asian Miracles,  contains basic statistics 

As alternative data sources : 
Asian Development Bank "Key Indicators of Developing Asian and Pacific Countries"
Director-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan "Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of China"

There is also a yearbook published by "Far Eastern Economic Review"

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


re Japan firms,  in Burma, try using Euro-Burmanet's ressource index chapter on business and japan.



         tell us about Japanese firms investing in Burma 
         Tue, 20 Aug 1996 06:16:57 -0500 
>From: TAKASHI OIDA <JAD03461@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>Dear menbers,
>  I'm a Japanese reader of you.
>   Now, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's letter is present on news paper
>Mainichi-Shinbun, and is gaining
>   great applause.
>   We Japanese have heard that many Japanese firms are deeply involved &
>investing in Burma,
>  against  world wide public opinion, and feel badly about that.
>    But in fact we don't know much about _what_ company has _what_
>connection with your
>   countly, because Japanese mass-media don't tell much about those
>details.
>    Please tell us Japanese, about those facts in your hp.
>
>       Thank you for reading my letter, in horrifyingly bad English ;-p.
>
>   Regards,
>
>    JAD03461@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>     Takashi oida
>

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