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BurmaNet News January 28, 1997




------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News: January 28, 1997
Issue #622

Noted in Passing:

		Please use your liberty to promote ours.
		- Aung San Suu Kyi ( COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS)


HEADLINES:
==========
AP: PEPSICO IS COMPLETING WITHDRAWAL FROM BURMA
DASSK: COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
AP: SUU KYI URGES BOYCOTT
ABSDF: SLORC TRIES TO REOPEN SCHOOLS IN RANGOON
REUTER: BURMA SAYS STUDENTS SUFFERING AFTER UNREST
ABSDF: TWO JAPANESE TOURISTS DETAINED IN KACHIN STATE
AP: VOICE OF AMERICA FEARS BURMA JAM 
NATION: DOOM AND GLOOM UNDER THE SLORC
THE NATION: HUN SEN VISIT TO BURMA CONDEMNED
THAILAND TIMES SEVEN BORDER LOGGERS SEIZED BY BURMESE THAILAND TIMES:
RANGOON PREPARES FOR A DRY SEASON STRAITS TIMES: MEDIA'S WRONG FOCUS
NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: BRIEF NEWS REPORTS -  JAN 25, 1997
THE NATION: PTT TO FACE BURMA DEAL OPPONENTS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AP: PEPSICO IS COMPLETING WITHDRAWAL FROM BURMA
January 27, 1997

NEW YORK (AP) -- PepsiCo Inc. said Monday it is halting shipments of
soft-drink syrup to its bottler in Burma, severing its last business ties in
a country ruled by military leaders accused of human rights abuses. 

 Activists who have been pressing for the move said the $30 billion soft drink,
 snack food and restaurant conglomerate is the biggest company to withdraw
 from the troubled Southeast Asian country. 

"This sends an important signal to companies currently doing business in
 Burma that this is not the time to invest in Burma,'' said David M.
Schilling, an
 executive with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, an
association
 of 275 religious communities and pension funds. 

  Protests last year came from Pepsi's big target market -- high school and
college students -- and cost the company business. Harvard University turned
down Pepsi for a $1 million contract and Stanford decided not to allow a
Taco Bell, a PepsiCo restaurant, on campus after 2,000 students petitioned the
university to sever ties with companies doing business in Burma. 

 PepsiCo had announced last May that it was selling it 40 percent stake in a
 soft drink bottling venture in Burma because of a combination of business
reasons and in response to public sentiment toward the regime. 

But PepsiCo continued supplying the syrup used to make its soft drink brands
 to the venture under terms of its franchise agreement. 

Keith Hughes, a spokesman for PepsiCo in Purchase, N.Y., said Monday that
the company had severed all relationships with the bottler on Jan. 15 and is no
longer shipping syrup to it. 

 He said PepsiCo has been assured the bottler will "take steps to make sure all
 production and distribution of our products in Burma are ceased by May 31.'' 

 It had formed the venture called Pepsi-Cola Products Myanmar Ltd. in 1991
 Burmese businessman U Thein Tun. 

 PepsiCo based its decision to sever all ties to the bottler "based on our
assessment of the spirit of U.S. government foreign policy toward Burma,''
Hughes said. 

Hughes declined comment on the size of the Burmese bottler, but industry
sources familiar with the business said it had sales of $3.2 million in 1995
and accounted for about 80 percent of all soft drink sales in the country. 

 Companies that have already left Burma include Eddie Bauer, Levi Strauss
 amd Liz Claiborne, according to Schilling. 

  He said recent efforts have turned to oil companies with interests in Burma
 including Texaco, Unocal, Atlantic Richfield and France's Total. 

The Rev. Joseph La Mar, another critic of the Burmese government and an
 executive with the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, said it is important to get
 foreign companies to end operations in Burma because their involvement gives
 the rulers much needed hard currency. 

He said PepsiCo's withdrawal is especially important because the company is
known all over the world. 

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

DASSK: COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
January 26, 1997

Commencement Address by Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma
Upon Receiving Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in absentia
at American University--January 26, 1997

Address delivered on her behalf by her husband, Dr. Michael Aris

It is an honour to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from a
university known for its liberal values and international outlook. It is a
privilege to deliver the commencement speech at this assembly.  However,
what would have been the greatest joy, that of seeing the faces of the
graduating students, has been denied to me.  There is little that can
compare with the light of hope and anticipation that shines from those who
have satisfactorily completed one phase of their lives and are about to
embark on another more complete, more challenging phase.

No educational institutional can fully prepare its pupils to cope with all
that they will have to face during the course of their lives.  However, such
values as intellectual freedom, humanitarian ideals and public service,
fostered by American University, should go a long way towards equipping
young men and young women to make the best of any environment in which they
may find themselves.

Beginning a new life is a challenge that will put to the test our mental,
intellectual, emotional and spiritual resources.  Some are destined to lead
tranquil lives, safe in the security of a society that guarantees
fundamental rights. Others may find themselves in situations where they have
to strive incessantly for the most basic of rights, the right to life
itself.  It is no simple matter to decide who are the more fortunate, those
to whom life gives all or those who have to give all to life.  A fulfilled
life is not necessarily one constructed strictly in accordance with one's
own blueprint: it can be a glorious collage of materials that have come
unexpectedly to hand.  How wonderful it is that we do not know what tomorrow
will bring.  Of course we all hope that our tomorrow will be happy.  But
happiness takes on many forms.  Political prisoners have known the most
sublime moments of perfect communion with their highest ideals during
periods when they were incarcerated in isolation, cut off from contact with
all that was familiar and dear to them.  From where do those resources
spring, if not from an innate strength at our core, a spiritual strength
that transcends material bounds?  My colleagues who spent years in harsh
conditions of Burmese prisons, and I myself, have had to draw on such inner
resources on many occasions.

Nobody can take away from us the essential and ultimate freedom of choosing
our priorities in life.  We may not be able to control the external factors
that affect our existence but we can decide how we wish to conduct our inner
lives.  We may live in a society that does not grant freedom of expression
but we can decide how much value we wish to put on the duty to speak out for
our rights.  We may not be able to pursue our beliefs without bringing down
on us the full vengeance of a cruel state mechanism but we can decide how
much we are prepared to sacrifice for our beliefs.  Those of us who decided
to work for democracy in Burma made our choice in the conviction that the
danger of standing up for basic human rights in a respective society was
preferable to the safety of a quiescent life in servitude.

Ours is a non-violent movement that depends on faith in the human
predilection for fair play and compassion.  Some would insist that man is
primarily an economic animal interested only in his material well being.
This is too narrow a view of a species which has produced numberless brave
men and women who are prepared to undergo relentless persecution for the
sake of upholding deeply held beliefs and principles.  It is my pride and
inspiration that such men and women exist in my country today.

In Burma it is accepted as a political tradition that revolutionary changes
are brought about through the active participation of students.  The
independence movement of our country was carried out to a successful
conclusion by young leaders, including my own father, general Aung San, who
began their political careers at Rangoon University.  An institution with
such as outstanding reputation for spirited opposition to established
authority is naturally a prime target for any authoritarian government.  The
military regime which assumed state power in 1962 blasted the Rangoon
University Students' Union building out of existence within a few months of
their rule and made it illegal for students to form a union.

In 1988 the people of Burma rose up against the rule of the Burma Socialist
Programme Party, the civilian cloak of a military dictatorship.  At the
vanguard of the nationwide demonstrations were students who demanded, among
other basic rights, the right to form a union.  The response of the military
junta was to shoot them down.  More than eight years and much repression on
the students of Burma have still not relinquished their quest for an
association which would promote their interests and articulate their
aspirations and grievances.  As recently as last month, there were student
demonstrations where the call for the right to form a union was reiterated.
The security forces used violence to disperse the demonstrators and a number
of young people from my party, the National League for Democracy, were
arrested on the grounds that they had been involved in the organization of
the demonstrations.  I was accused of having held meetings with students and
holding discussion with them.  Things have indeed come to a sorry pass in a
country if meetings between politicians and students are seen as acts of
subversion.  My party has never made a secret of our sympathy for the
aspirations of students.  We work to forge close links between the different
generations that a continuity of purpose and endeavour might be threaded
into the fabric of our nation.

When we are struggling against overwhelming odds, when we are pitting
ourselves against the combined might of the state apparatus and military
power, we are sometimes subject to doubts, usually the doubts of those whose
belief in the permanence of an existing order is absolute.  It is amazing
how many people still remain convinced that it is only wisdom to accept the
status quo.  We have faith in the power to change what needs to be changed
but we are under no illusion that the transition from dictatorship to
liberal democracy will be easy, or that democratic government will mean the
end of all our problems.  We know that our greatest challenges lie ahead of
us and that our struggle to establish a stable, democratic society will
continue beyond our own life span.  We are aware that much will be demanded
of us and that there will be times when we are discouraged and disappointed.
But we know that we are not alone.

The cause of liberty and justice finds sympathetic responses in far reaches
of the globe.  Thinking and feeling people everywhere, regardless of colour
or creed, understand the deeply rooted human need for a meaningful existence
that goes beyond the mere gratification of material desires.  Those
fortunate enough to live in societies where they are entitled to full
political rights can reach out to help their less fortunate brethen in other
parts of our troubled planet.  Young women and young men setting forth to
leave their mark on the world might wish to cast their eyes beyond their own
frontiers towards the shadowlands of lost rights.  You who are gathered here
to celebrate the opening of the doors of hope and opportunity might wish to
assist our fight for a Burma where young people can know the joys of hope
and opportunity.

Part of our struggle is to make the international community understand that
we are a poor country not because there is an insufficiency of resources and
investment, but because we are deprived of the basic institutions and
practices that make for good government.  There are multinational business
concerns which have no inhibitions about dealing with repressive regimes.
Their justification for economic involvement in Burma is that their presence
will actually assist the process of democratization.  Investment that only
goes to enrich an already wealthy elite bent on monopolizing both economic
and political power cannot contribute towards egality and justice, the
foundation stones for a sound democracy.  I would therefore like to call
upon those who have an interest in expanding their capacity for promoting
intellectual freedom and humanitarian ideals to take a principled stand
against companies which are doing business with the military regime of
Burma.  Please use your liberty to promote ours.

This honorary degree that you have conferred on me today constitute a
recognition of our struggle.  I would like to conclude by expressing my
sincere thanks to American University and its Board of Trustees for thus
supporting the cause of democracy and human rights in Burma.

Thank you.

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

AP: SUU KYI URGES BOYCOTT
January 26, 1997

WASHINGTON -- Burma's leader for democracy and a winner of the 1991 Nobel
Peace Prize asked students Sunday to ``please use your liberty to promote
ours'' and urged them to discourage corporate America from doing business in
``the shadowlands of lost rights.''

American University awarded Aung San Suu Kyi an honorary doctorate of laws.
But it was her husband, British scholar Michael Aris, who accepted it and
delivered her message at the university's winter commencement ceremony.

Burma's military rulers released Suu Kyi from six years of solitary
confinement house arrest in July, 1995. She has not traveled abroad because
of the possibility of being denied re-entry to her Southeast Asian homeland.

American University President Benjamin Ladner conferred the degree,
declaring it ``public confirmation that you have friends and supporters ...
throughout the world'' in the nonviolent pursuit of human rights, democratic
ideals and the truth.

Universities in several countries have awarded degrees and other honors to
the Burmese freedom fighter. But it was her first doctorate in the United
States, American University officials said.

In the brief address read by Aris, Suu Kyi raised the prospect to the
roughly 400 American University graduates that they ``...might wish to cast
their eyes beyond their own frontiers towards the shadowlands of lost rights
 ...to assist our fight for a Burma where young people can (also) know the
joys of hope and opportunity.''

The address, which drew a 30-second standing ovation, urged the graduates to
``take a principled stand against companies which are doing business with
the military regime of Burma. Please use your liberty to promote ours.''

Suu Kyi disagreed with the argument that a corporate presence in Burma would
foster democratization. ``Investment that only goes to enrich an already
wealthy elite bent on monopolizing both economic and political power cannot
contribute towards equality and justice, the foundation stones for a sound
economy,'' her message said.

The National League for Democracy Party that she heads won Burma's 1990
national election but its results remain unrecognized by the junta.

The United States cut off economic aid to Burma after the military crushed a
1988 popular uprising and renamed the former British colony Myanmar, its
pre-colonial name.

President Clinton last year barred the government's officials from U.S.
visits, but some American companies operate there.

The state of Massachusetts and a growing number of local governments have
begun denying tax concessions or otherwise penalizing corporations doing
business in Burma, prompting some to shut down there or transfer operations
to foreign subsidiaries.

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

ABSDF: SLORC TRIES TO REOPEN SCHOOLS IN RANGOON
January 27,1996
caroline@xxxxxxxxxxxx

        The State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) tried to reopen on
January 6, 1997, all State High Schools in Rangoon which had been closed by
the junta after the student demonstrations last December.
        According to an ABSDF source in Rangoon, the schools were opened on
the morning of January 6, but the Slorc officials decided that there was
instability among the students and so they closed them all again in the evening.
        Meanwhile, the Education Minister is reported to have said schools
would be closed for another five months.
        Diplomats in Rangoon said Education Minister U Pan Aung recently
told the Australian Ambassador to Burma that the schools would be closed
until June.
        However, Slorc recently reopened on January 8, 1997, Myitkyina Degree
College in Kachin State, which had been closed by the junta after the
student demonstrations last December.
        A student who recently arrived on the China-Burma border, said that
while
students were demonstrating in Rangoon in December, professors, lecturers
and the registrar of Myitkyina Degree College persuaded their students not
to concern themselves with politics.
        To encourage students to stay away from demonstrations, the College
reduced the price of a cup of tea in its canteen to one kyat, the student said.
        When they closed Myitkyina Degree College, state officials asked the
regional police stations to collect the biographies and addresses of the
students. The student said Slorc officials from Bamaw township appropriated
five Toyota Hilux trucks to take 60 Bamaw students to the College,
pretending that they were concerned about student affairs.

All Burma Students' Democratic Front

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

REUTER: BURMA SAYS STUDENTS SUFFERING AFTER UNREST 
January  25, 1997

RANGOON, Jan 25 (Reuter) - Burma's military government said on Saturday 
that thousands of innocent students were suffering because of a group 
that instigated unrest last month and forced the universities to be closed
abruptly. 

``Students who wished to attend classes peacefully had to suffer as some 
institutions of higher learning had to be closed temporarily recently 
due to instigations,'' said a top official of the ruling State Law and 
Order Restoration Council (SLORC). 

``A group of students who do not want to see stability and development 
of the nation will always try to make bad schemes to cause instability 
in the nation,'' the SLORC's secretary two, Lieutenant-General Tin Oo, 
was quoated as saying by state media. 

University students in Rangoon last month launched anti-government street
protests to demand more freedom, but the government broke up the rallies. 

The SLORC also detained and later released more than 800 student protestors,
closed the universities indefinitely and sent students home to their provinces. 

Tin Oo, who was speaking at a meeting to coordinate studies at the high 
school level, did not say if the government would reopen the universities. 

But he urged parents, teachers and students to make efforts to 
peacefully pursue their education and deter attempts by an unidentified 
anti-government group to disrupt studies. 

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

ABSDF: TWO JAPANESE TOURISTS DETAINED IN KACHIN STATE
January 28, 1997

Slorc military intelligence arrested two Japanese tourists in Kachin State,
Burma on January 14, 1997, and their fate and whereabouts are unknown,
according to ABSDF source on China-Burma border. Both of them, one man and
one woman are students studying Political Science at Tokyo University.

The arrest took place at La Gyar Yan check-point in Banmaw district, Moemauk
township in Kachin State, northern Burma. The two arrived on January 8 in
Wai Maw, close to Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. They rented a
pickup truck (Ba. 7671) driven by Ko Ngwe for 8000 Kyats for a trip to Liza,
situated on the China-Burma border and under the control of the Kachin
Independence Organization, a cease-fire group with the Slorc. They passed
through La Gyar Yan check-point where Slorc LIB 276 was stationed, after
giving a bribe to the troops. After spending five days in Liza, they went
back and were detained at La Gyar Yan check-point by Major Mya Win Maung.

The fate of these two Japanese tourists is unknown, but Ko Ngwe the driver
is still in detention, according to a source from inside Burma. 

All Burma Students' Democratic Front

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

AP: VOICE OF AMERICA FEARS BURMA JAM
January 27, 1997  (abridged)
By GENE KRAMER 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A sharp decline in mail to Voice of America from
listeners in Burma is prompting concern that the Southeast Asian country's
military rulers are imposing new controls on the country's communications 
with the outside world. 

Burmese listeners' letters and postcards now arrive at the rate of only two
or three a day, compared to dozens daily until last November, a broadcaster
with the U.S. agency said Monday. 

Over the past decade, 1,000 to 1,500 pieces of mail came from Burmese
listeners monthly, but the monthly volume recently shrank to fewer than 100,
said Khin M. Win of VOA's Burmese service. 

A similar sharp drop was reported at British Broadcasting Corp. headquarters
in London, although exact figures were not immediately available. BBC and
VOA broadcast in the Burmese language 75 and 90 minutes a day, respectively,
and invite listeners' written comments. 

A second U.S. government-backed broadcaster, Radio Free Asia, plans to
launch daily two-hour Burmese news broadcasts next week. 

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

NATION: DOOM AND GLOOM UNDER THE SLORC
January 26, 1997

I have recently returned from a trip l to Rangoon, Burma, and I
am afraid that I haven't much good news to tell.
     
As for the bad news, lately there have been a lot of crimes. Some
taxi drivers dare not continue with the job after 8 pm. If they
do, they have to have company with them. They say that after 9 pm
it is not good to drive in the city as many of the other drivers
are drunks driving recklessly. Most of the latter ones are
youngsters or those who have become suddenly and immensely rich
during Slorc's time. There are many more call girls available, too.

Most people there dare not get involved in politics. One example
among many: There's a famous food shop that sells rice and curry
in one district in Rangoon. The shop is the main income provider
for the whole family. The family are also strong supporters of NLD.

What did the government do? They hid some heroin (secretly of
course) in the shop, ordered an immediate police raid, found the
drug instantly after a cursory look around, and charged the owner
with trafficking. The man was imprisoned, the shop closed, and
the whole family was in big trouble.

Having seen many such incidents, few dare to say a word against
the Slorc in public. Outside the circle of closest friends,
nobody knows for sure who to trust or with whom to speak freely.
They have to give priority to surviving. But nobody that I ever
talked to likes the Slorc; it is associated with corruption and fear.

Then there was the explosion at the Kaba aye temple. It was said
to have been planted by a big shot from Slorc, targeting another
big shot. But some people said it was done by disillusioned
soldiers who are against the Slorc.

Some soldiers are said to dislike the generals for making
sweetheart deals with Khun Sa.

After all, many soldiers and junior officers had lost friends and
risked or even gave their lives in battles against him over all the years!

Now Khun Sa is Slorc's business partner. Who dares complain openly?

Meanwhile, Chavalit's stance just seems to be following Indonesia.

I wonder what Thais think of such "bold, visionary, decisive,
independent, concerned, thoughtful" leadership, or if they feel
as I do. Wait and see.

A concerned tourist 
Bangkok 

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

THE NATION: HUN SEN VISIT TO BURMA CONDEMNED
January 28, 1997
AP

An opposition party yesterday condemned the upcoming trip of Second Prime
Minister Hun Sen to Burma, criticising its ruling junta undemocratic.

Hun Sen will leave today for a four-day "friendly and official" visit, the
Foreign Ministry announced yesterday.

His visit is at the invitation of Senior Gen Than Shwe, head of Burma's
ruling junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council. The junta seized
power in 1988 and refuses to hand over power to the civilian winners of a
1990 general election.

"Hun Sen's visit shows disregard for our Cambodian people who do not like
dictatorship," said Khieu Rada, secretary-general of the Khmer Nation Party.

"Hun Sen can go visit privately, but not representing the Royal Kingdom of
Cambodia, as he is a tyrant."

The Khmer Nation Party is critical of the government is critical of the
government, particularly the faction led by Hun Sen, which it accuses of
being dictatorial and corrupt.

A visit to Cambodia last year by Than Shwe was met by an anti-dictatorship
demonstration led by San Rainsy, head of the party.

Demonstrators carrying signs that said "Democracy in Cambodia and Burma,"
were harassed by hundreds of heavily armed security personnel during the
mid-October visit.

During the visit, Burma and Cambodia signed an agreement to establish air
links between Rangoon and Phnom Penh. An accord to promote tourism in the
two countries was also signed.

Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex and Burma's ancient capital of Pagan
are two of the region's most spectacular tourist attractions.

Hun Sen is expected to sign a pact on cultural cooperation during his visit
to Burma.

Hun Sen holds the official position of second prime minister, but is widely
considered to exercise more authority that First Prime Minister Norodom
Ranariddh. The first prime minister and his wife paid an official visit to
Burma in January last year. (TN)
						

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

THAILAND TIMES SEVEN BORDER LOGGERS SEIZED BY BURMESE ARMY TROOPS
January 25, 1997
by Assawin Pinitwong     

TAK: Seven Thais involved in the illegal logging were arrested
yesterday by Burmese authorities and are likely to face a prison
sentence of at least ten years, according to a Thai military
source based at the border.

After being informed of the arrest, Ban Wang Pha village chief
Thongmuan Sithikaew  Crossed the Moei river where he met with
Burma's 257th battalion commander Lt-Col Moe Aung Kyi to
negotiate the release of the seven villagers. The Burmese
authorities, however, refused the request, insisting that the
seven would be brought before the Myawaddy court.

In an attempt to by-pass official negotiation channels, families
of the seven said they had secretly contacted members of the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in order to seek assistance.
     
The DKBA is supported by the ruling Burmese junta, and the
families  hoped that the group' s men will be able to liaise with
government officers. The families said they were willing to pay
the Burmese soldiers for the release of the seven.

The DKBA troops based near the Burmese camp of Ye Gyaw -promised
to enter into negotiations on the condition that Thai authorities
were not informed, the families said.

The Thai military source however, said that underhand attempts to
negotiate the release would be in vain, as the seven had already
been transferred to the village of Thingan Nyinaung.

Burmese soldiers can be easily bribed, according to the families
of the arrested. They said it has underhand dealings with Burmese
officers that led to the turning of a blind eye to the illegal logging. 
     
The loggers, who strayed too far from the border, were, arrested
by Burmese patrol soldiers in Huay Ta Tam village. A chainsaw, a
farm truck, and two guns were also seized.

The seven villagers were identified as Sa Wirat-up-pakul, 25, Chankham Kam
paengtip, 44, Wuttichai  Wongmai, 31, Ton  Nathern 39, Waew Kobkae , 17, Ta
Pengsuna, 42, and Kong (age and surname unknown).

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

THAILAND TIMES: RANGOON PREPARES FOR A DRY SEASON OFFENSIVE
January 26, 1997
by Assawin Pinitwong

TAK: The Burmese government is building up is troops and weapons
or an offensive against the ethnic Karenni rebels in order to
seize control  of the group s illegal logging areas starting next
month.  border military source said.

Some 300 heavily-armed soldiers from  a central town of Pyinmana
were recently sent to  join a battalion in Huay Pong Lao in Kayah
state. The troops' movement  came after the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) announced that it would crush
the Karenni National  Progressive  Party  (KNPP). which has been
fighting  against the   central  government  autonomy, by the end
Of the oncoming  dry season.
     
A Thai military source said the heavily - armed government troops
are preparing for the dry season assault, expected to occur
between February and April, to wipe out the KNPP's strongholds in
Kayah state, opposite Tak province.

According to the source, the government troops are set to
severely suppress illegal loggers in the Burmese territory,
cutting off a major source of finance to arm the rebel group's resistance.

Both sides have been fighting for control over logging areas which can
generate high income from the lucrative trade with Thai timber merchants.

The KNPP, whose strong hold is located near Huay Pong Lao, earns
about 100 million baht (US $ 25) million) per month from its
logging operations in the territory it controls.

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

STRAITS TIMES: MEDIA'S WRONG FOCUS
January 27, 1997

     From a commentary by Voice of Malaysia, the overseas service of Radio
Television Malaysia: Although the inaugural Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) was
held last year, sceptics are already painting a drab picture over its
prospects. This is unfair, for it will take time for a diverse group of
countries such as that in Asem to get things started.

     The Western media is playing up the notion that Myanmar will be a
divisive factor, that it will drag efforts to strengthen ties between the
continents. Nothing could be further from the truth for there are so many
other areas in which cooperation could be advanced, especially in the
business sector.

     Next month's Asean-European Union Ministerial Meeting (Asean-EU) and
the First Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore need not
necessarily focus on Myanmar. On the contrary, there is much to be gained
from focusing on trade and economic matters.

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

NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR: BRIEF NEWS REPORTS -  JAN 25, 1997

SECRETARY-1 RECEIVES DEPUTY HEAD OF FEDERAL SECURITY SERVICES OF RUSSIA

Yangon, 24 Jan --- Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt received Deputy Head of Federal Security Services
of Russia Colonel General Valentin A Sobolev and party at Dagon Yeiktha of
the Ministry of Defence at 9 am today.  Also present on the occasion were
Minister for Home Affairs Lt-Gen Mya Thin, Minister for Foreign Affairs U
Ohn Gyaw and Director-General Thura U Aung Htet of the Protocol Department.
The guests were accompanied by Ambassador of Russian Federation Mr. Baleri V
Nazarov.---MNA.

*********

JAPANESE DELEGATION MEETS OFFICIAL OF MCCI

Yangon, 23 Jan --- A Japanese economic delegation led by Mr Yuji Hirakimoto
met EC member of Myanmar Commerce of Chamber and Industry led by U Khin
Maung Yi at Traders Hotel yesterday.  They discussed bilateral economic
cooperation.  Japanese delegation made donations 150,000 Yen for MCCI.

*********

GERMAN TOURISM COMPANY EXPRESSES COOPERATION WITH LOCAL PARTNERS

Yangon, 24 Jan --- Minister for Hotels and Tourism Lt-Gen Kyaw Ba received
Chairman of Dr Rumpf Touristik Company of Germany Dr Dieter Rumpf at his
office this morning.  Dr Rumpf expressed his wish to cooperate with Myanmar
enterpreneurs on mutual interest, saying his company is sending the largest
munber of German tourists to Myanmar. He has visited Myanmar for many times
in the last 20 years and his company is the earliest to send German tourists
to Myanmar.  Germans rank third among European tourists visiting the nation.

*********

TWO MYANMAR CITIZENS' COMPANIES SIGN CONTRACTS WITH DHSHD TO BUILD WHARVES
AT HLINETHAYA

Yangon, 24 Jan --- The Department of Human Settlement and Housing
Development of the Ministry of Construction today signed contracts and land
lease agreements with Stellar (Myanmay) Co Ltd and All Top Products Co Ltd
for building of jetty and wharves on Hline River bank in Hlinethaya Township.

Stellar (Myanmar) Co Ltd has undertaken to build a wharf on 5.993 acre plot
investing K 562.9 million inclusive of $ 4.77 million.  All Top Products Co
Ltd will also build another wharf with a capital of K 562.9 million
inclusive of $ 4.85 million.

With BOT system, the two companies will carry on with works for 25 years.
During the signing ceremony at Trader Hotel, Minister for Construction
Maj-Gen Saw Tun, Managing Director of Stellar (Myanmar) Co U Sit Nyein and
Managing Director of All Top Products Co U Myat Kaung made speeches.

Director-General of DHSHD U Arnt Kyaw, Deputy Director-General U Soe Lwin, U
Sit Nyein and U Myat Kaung signed the contracts and the agreements.
Minister Maj-Gen Saw Tun then presented the permits of Myanmar Investment
Commission to U Sit Nyein and U Myat Kaung. --- MNA.

*********

MAY FLOWER TRADING CO TO SET UP ZIZAWA-2 HOUSING ESTATE

Yangon, 24 Jan --- May Flower Trading Company today signed an accord with
Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development to set up Zizawa-2
housing project in South Okkalapa Township.  The project covers construction
of four five-storey buldings, with a total of 80 units, eight three-storey
buildings with another 80 units, and a separate car parking lot.  Under the
project, May Flower Company will act as the main contractor and Chinsu May
Flower Co Ltd will undertake management functions.

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THE NATION: PTT TO FACE BURMA DEAL OPPONENTS
January 27, 1997
By Watcharapong Thongrung

THE Petroleum Authority of Thailand will hurry to reach an agreement with
opponents of its plan to install pipelines from Burma's Yadana gas field to
Thailand's Ratchaburi power plant, in order to avoid paying potentially huge
compensation, said an official. 

Piti Yimprasert, president of PTT's natural gas unit, said if the project is
delayed by a year, PTT stands to lose US$470 million (about Bt12 billion) in
compensation to Burma. 

PTT will hold a technical hearing on pipeline installation from Feb 9 to 12,
during which it will also clarify environmental assessments of the project. 
The project will be considered by the Environmental Policy and Planning
Office as the final step prior to construction. 

The construction of a 260-kilometre natural gas pipeline from the Yadana gas
field to the Ratchburi power station has stalled because of opposition by a
non-government organisation which says the pipeline will cross reserved
forest for six kilometres. 

To assist the rising demand, PTT previously signed a 20-year natural gas
contract with Burma for the purchase from Yadana of 525 million cubic feet a
day. In addition, it signed a contract to supply gas to the Ratchburi power
plant of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand in 1998. 

PTT is considering the purchase of another 150 million cubic feet a day, and
will also sign a purchase contract with Burma for 200 million cubic metres a
day from the Yetagun field. (TN)

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ANNOUNCEMENT: ASEAN-BURMA POSTERS
January 27, 1997

Posters objecting to Slorc's proposed membership of ASEAN are
being produced by the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, and will be
available from Feb. 3. Activities to launch the poster in several ASEAN
capital cities are being planned for Feb. 12, Burma's 50th Union Day.

These poster will be available to you, particularly if you wish to present
them to diplomatic missions of ASEAN member states to lodge your objection
to Slorc membership.  Unfortunately, we do not have the funds to pay for
freight, therefore we would appreciate a contribution such expenses.

Please contact us at <chalida@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>.

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