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The BurmaNet News February 21, 1997




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

The BurmaNet News: February 21, 1997
Issue #645

HEADLINES:
==========

THE NATION: THAI FORCES GEAR UP FOR INCURSIONS
BKK POSTS: US SLAMS ATTACKS ON KAREN FORCES
STRAITS TIMES: UN OFFICIAL IN MYANMAR FOR 'LOW-KEY' TALKS
NDF: STATEMENT OF THE 4TH CONGRESS 
AFL-CIO: NEWS RELEASE-CALL FOR SANCTIONS
STRAITS TIMES: KARENS SURRENDER ARMS TO GOVT TROOPS
THAILAND TIMES: LAND MINES THRUST BACK KAREN RENEGADES
KNU & NCUB: PRESS STATEMENTS 
FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW: HIGH ON DRUGS
REUTER: MYANMAR REBEL CHIEF 'FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL'
ASIA TIMES: YANGON AIMS TO CLEAR PATH FOR INVESTORS
KYODO: MILITARY TV STATION TO BROADCAST VIA ASIASAT-2+
NEW WEB PAGE: BUSINESS IN AND OUT OF BURMA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 


THE NATION: THAI FORCES GEAR UP FOR INCURSIONS
February 20, 1997

CHUMPHON ­ Thai Army forces and paratroopers have mapped out a plan to deal
with incursions by Burmese forces as the threat to the Karen rebels'
southern strongholds drives more refugees, mostly children, into Thailand. 

Over 200 Karen recently fled across the border through Chong Kamiew, some
two kilometres into Thai territory. Of these 129 are children and three are
new-born babies. The refugee group included several expectant mothers. 

Chong Kamiew, or Kamiew Pass, is in Tha Sae district in southern Chumphon
province. 

Local Chumphon authorities are providing assistance to the refugees and a
health unit has been dispatched to the shelter site. 

Maj Thira Daewa, an Army's Dhep Satri Forces' strategic officer in Nakhon Si
Thammarat province, said yesterday that Karen fugitives had told him that
they do not want to surrender or return to Burma. The ethnic Karens
weredetermined to fight for their survival rather than give themselves up to
what they described as a certain death sentence at the hands of the Burmese
authorities, he said. 

Thira said the situation on the Burmese side is very tense as Burmese troops
are expected to attack the strongholds of the Karen National Union's (KNU)
11th and 12th battalions at any time. 

According to the officer, six Burmese Army battalions from Kawthaung under
the command of Brig Gen Chit Maung are closing in on KNU forces under the
command of Maj Simon. 

Local Chumphon authorities are concerned that if an all-out Burmese strike
occurs, the fighting could adversely affect the Phetkasem superhighway,
which connects central Thailand with the southern provinces. The Burmese
Army's reported military target is located about 34 kilometres from the
superhighway. ''If the fighting begins, it could be very dangerous for us
[Thailand]," said Thira. 

Maj Gen Niphat Dhepmongkol, commander of the Dhep Satri Forces, said the
Thai side has already prepared for the impact of the fighting and that
troops from the 41st Border Patrol Police and the 4501st, 4502nd and 4503rd
Paratroopers had already been sent to the frontier to retaliate if either
the Burmese or the KNU violate Thai territory. 

Thira said although the tension had mounted since last Wednesday, the Thai
side did not know exactly when the Burmese offensive would begin.(TN)

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

BKK POSTS: US SLAMS ATTACKS ON KAREN FORCES
February 20, 1997

The United States yesterday condemned Burmese govnerment attacks on Karen
military forces along the Thai border.

The US State Department has urged Burma to stop the offensive and start
talking with ethnic minority groups and the opposition party to bring about
national reconciliation.

"We call upon the govnerment of Burma to halt its military attacks and
return to negotiations to achieve national reconciliation with the ethnic
minority groups and the democratic political opposition," said the
department. (BP)

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

STRAITS TIMES: SENIOR UN OFFICIAL IN MYANMAR FOR 'LOW-KEY' TALKS
February 20, 1997

(AFP) YANGON -- A senior United Nations envoy has held talks with Foreign
Minister Ohn Gyaw and other Myanmar officials in Yangon, official sources
said yesterday. 

A Foreign Ministry source said the visit of Mr Francesc Vendrell, director
for East Asia in the UN's political affairs department, was essentially
"low-profile" and confined to "official calls". 

In New York, a UN official said on Tuesday that Mr Vendrell was in Myanmar
to try to set the stage for talks between the government and opposition
leaders. However, no meeting was scheduled with opposition figures. 

The envoy was the first UN representative to visit Myanmar since Deputy
Secretary-General Alvaro de Soto's trip in late 1995. Last year, the UN and
Yangon were unable to agree on the terms of an official mission. 

The state-run New Light of Myanmar reported yesterday that Mr Vendrell and
another UN official had also met Mr Than Aung, Secretary-General of the
Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a pro-government mass
organisation. 

Mr Than Aung explained USDA operations and its efforts to promote
"stability, peace and tranquility and development of the state", and
answered relevant questions, the aily said. 

Yangon Mayor Ko Lay and other officials also attended the meeting, the paper
said. 

Mr Vendrell arrived on Monday and leaves on Sunday.(ST)

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

NDF: STATEMENT OF THE 4TH CONGRESS 
February 15, 1997

The Fourth Congress of the National Democratic Front (NDF), was successfully
held along the Thai-Burma border from February 7th until February 15, 1997.
Fifty-three representatives from various nationalities, parties and
organizations belonging to the National Democratic Front as well as
observers attended the congress.  Representatives from Shan United
Revolutionary Army and ethnic representatives from the National Coalition
Government of the Union of Burma also attended the Congress.

The Congress participants held frank and earnest discussions regarding the
situation of members of the National Democratic Front, as well as other
national resistance groups who are facing similar oppression by the SLORC.
These discussions were for the purpose of establishing stronger unity to
better consolidate the NDF in carrying on the struggle or victory against
the SLORC.

The following has been agreed upon by the Fourth NDF Congress:

-  To abide by the agreement reached at Mae Tha Raw Hta (Ethnic
Nationalities Seminar) in January 1997, and to strive to implement that
agreement.
-  To continue striving towards the establishment of a Federal Government
which has always been an objective of the National Democratic Front.
-  To collectively resist the SLORC?s Ethnic Cleansing Policy and to
recognize each other?s cultural uniqueness and ethnic identity.
-  The Congress rejects the cease-fire agreements arranged by the SLORC with
various ethnic groups as nothing but divide and conquer tactics.  The
agreements do not lead to real and lasting peace but only propagate ethnic
cleansing programs as they provide the SLORC with greater freedom to operate
in the ethnic areas.
-  The Congress strongly condemns the use of arms by the SLORC against the
Karen National Union while the latter are striving for an end to the civil
war and achievement of internal peace through negotiations.
-  The Congress acknowledges the scourge of narcotics production and
trafficking to generations of ethnic peoples in the ethnic nationalities
areas.  The Congress agrees to establish an organization for total
eradication of narcotics and to establish a viable crop substitution
program.  The Congress invites all groups involved with narcotics to work
with us for an appropriate solution to this problem.
-  The National Convention currently convened by the SLORC is a sham.  It is
merely an instrument to prolong the SLORC?s hold on power and to more deeply
entrench the military dictatorship.  This NDF Congress will use all means
available to oppose it.
Foreign investment does not help the ethnic nationalities, or any other
citizen of Burma.  In fact it helps to prolong the SLORC?s hold on power and
makes it possible for the SLORC to continue violating human rights.
Therefore the Congress is strongly opposed to all foregin investment at this
time.
-  The Fourth Congress of the National Democratic Front welcomes Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi?s speech on the 50th anniversary of Union Day in which she
mentions that all nationalities join hands in the establishment of a genuine
federal union.  The NDF joins hands with the democratic forces led by Aung
San Suu Kyi to bring an end to the military dictatorship.
-  Tri-partite dialogue is the most appropriate means to solve the political
problems of Burma.  Hence, the Fourth Congress of the NDF strongly urges the
international community to put increased pressure on the SLORC to agree to
tri-partite dialogue.

February 15, 1997

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

AFL-CIO: NEWS RELEASE-CALL FOR SANCTIONS
February 19, 1997
Pamela Wellner <pwellner@xxxxxxx>

Posted to the Web by Free Burma: No Petro-dollars for SLORC

OCAW    AFL-CIO
Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Int'l Union, AFL-CIO  News Release

For Immediate Release                                   contact Joe Drexler
or Rod Roger
February 19, 1997
303- 987-2229


AFL-CIO LEADERSHIP CALL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF SANCTIONS AGAINST BURMA'S
MILITARY REGIME

President of Energy Workers' Union Introduces Resolution

The Executive Council of the 13.9 million member AFL-CIO today passed a
resolution introduced by the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International
Union (OCAW) condemning the current military government in Burma and urging
"the Clinton Administration to implement economic sanctions without further
delay in accordance with the law."

"We hope that we have stuck another nail in the military's regime's coffin
with this resolution which expresses the leadership sentiment representing
millions of U.S. workers," said Robert Wages, OCAW President, who sponsored
the resolution. "Maybe now the Clinton Administration will do what Congress
intended it to do and quite making excuses for refusing to impose these
sanctions," he added.

Wages commented further that continued and increasing repression in Burma
provides clear evidence that the conditions granted by Congress to the
President to impose sanctions have been met.

The resolution also call on U.S. corporations to withdraw their investment
in Burma and encourages unions to mobilize members to pressure the Clinton
administration and Congress to take whatever steps necessary to restore
democracy and civilian rule in Burma.

In addition, the resolution encourages unions to support selective
purchasing legislation barring the expenditure of public funds with
companies which do business in Burma. Selective purchasing laws have been
passed in nine cities, one country and one state.

Unocal, Arco and Texaco are singled out in the resolution for special scorn
by the labor body for "providing it the (military regime) with large amounts
of desperately needed hard currency" at the same time oil companies are
engaged "in severe downsizing and cost-cutting which has compromised worker
and community safety and is resulting in significant loss of high-skill,
high-wage jobs in the United States."

Also receiving special attention is the production and sale of heroin, which
is attributed to being the military regime's largest source of capital
beyond that provided by the oil companies, and widespread use of forced labor.

We're soon going to find out whose side the Clinton Administration is
really on--the oil companies and drug dealers or the workers." said Wages.

According to Wages, OCAW is planning a "Three Days for Burma" campaign to
take place sometime in the Spring in which the 90,000 member union will be
fully mobilized throughout the country to enlist union members to exert
pressure on the Clinton Administration and Congress to take whatever steps
are necessary to restore democracy and civilian rule in Burma.

----------------------------

AFL-CIO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL STATEMENT
Burma

        When the omnibus appropriations bill was signed into law last
September by President Clinton , a clear line was drawn defining a new
course for U.S. policy toward Burma. Sanctions will be invoked if conditions
in Burma deteriorate and the military regime which goes by the acronym SLORC
(State Law and Order Restoration Council) has "physically harmed, rearessted
for political acts, or exiled Aung San Suu Kyi or has committed large-scale
repression of violence against the democratic opposition."

        Since the bill was signed into law, the situation has gone from bad
to worse. Hundreds of opposition leader and activists have been arrested and
Aung San Suu Kyi remains virtually imprisoned in her own home and subjected
to increasingly severe forms of harassment. Freedom of association is
absolutely denied. There are no independent unions in Burma, and all
attempts to organize them are brutally suppressed. Only within the past
three weeks, SLORC has mounted a new military offensive against the Karen,
one of Burma's ethnic minorities, resulting in thousands of new refugees.
Refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border  have been attacked and burned.

        Furthermore, if anything, the widespread and systematic use of
forced labor by the SLORC to rebuild the country's decrepit infrastructure
has increased during the past year as SLORC has promoted tourism in a
desperate attempt to attract hard currency. The International Confederation
of Free Trade Unions has estimated that 800,000 men, women and children have
been utilized as forced laborers, many in connection with the construction
of an overland gas pipeline by SLORC which is in joint venture with Unocal
and its French partner Total.

        So great have been the abuses that SLORC has been singled out by the
International Labor Organization, the UN Commission on Human Rights, the
European Union, and the US Congress as one of the world's most notorious
human rights violators. The growing international consensus to isolate Burma
has led to the withdrawal of European companies such as Heineken and
Carlsberg. Earlier, under pressure from campus and consumer activists, such
U.S. companies as Levi Strauss, Eddie Bauer and Liz Claiborne pulled out all
production out of Burma. Recently, PepsiCo announced that is is severing all
commercial ties to Burma.

        Recognizing that foreign investment contributes directly to the
strengthening of the military regime and the continued repression of
civilians, Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly called on international business
to suspend investment until the country is democratic. U.S. corporations
that continue to do business in Burma cannot deny their complicity in
keeping the regime in power. This is especially true for U.S. based oil
companies which stubbornly continue to prop up the military regime by
providing it with large amounts of desperately needed hard currency. In
addition to Unocal, ARCO and Texaco are engaged in exploration that may
provide SLORC with significant additional capital. This is occurring at the
same time that oil companies are engaged in severe downsizing and
cost-cutting which has compromised worker and community safety and is
resulting in a significant loss of high-skill, high-wage jobs in the United
States.

        Beyond revenues provided by major oil companies, the production and
sale of heroin is SLORC's largest source of capital. Under SLORC, Burma has
become the largest source supplier of heroin in the world and 60 percent of
the heroin seized in the United States comes from Burma. There is a growing
body of evidence that the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, Unocal's partner
in Burma is serving as a front for drug money laundering.

        The AFL-CIO urges the Clinton Administration to implement economic
sanctions without further delay in accordance with the law. We call on all
U.S. corporations still doing business in Burma, to withdraw all investment,
licenses, franchises, contracts, goods and services. We encourage our unions
to actively support selective purchasing legislation at the local, state and
federal levels which bans contracts or the expenditure of public funds with
companies that do business in Burma. And finally, we encourage our unions to
mobilize members to exert the necessary political pressure on the Clinton
Administration and Congress to take whatever steps necessary to restore
democracy and civilian rule in Burma. 

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

STRAITS TIMES: KARENS SURRENDER ARMS TO GOVT TROOPS
February 20, 1997

Reuter 
MYAWADDY (Myanmar) -- Myanmar army officers said yesterday that about 400
Karen National Union (KNU) guerrillas had surrendered their weapons to
Myanmar troops as the government continued an operation to secure control of
all Karen-held territory near the Thai-Myanmar border. 

The officers told reporters that the guerrillas handed over 280 rifles and
15 mortars at the border town and dispersed without being detained. 

"They did not surrender but merely gave us the weapons because they were fed
up with fighting," a Myanmar officer said. 

A KNU spokesman disputed the number, saying only 70 guerrillas had
surrendered their weapons. 

He also said that the rebels had quit the KNU because they had committed
crimes. 

"Yes, there are some 70 of the guerrillas who committed adultery and other
wrongs who know that they cannot stay with us and have defected to Burma,"
KNU spokesman Ner Dah told Reuters by telephone. 

The latest development follows reports from some senior sources within the
KNU of policy differences between hard-line KNU leader General Bo Mya and
his moderate deputy General Swe Seing over how to deal with the military
government in Yangon. 

Gen Swe Seing wants to soften the KNU's stance against Yangon and start
negotiations for peace with Myanmar, the sources said. 

The KNU was formed in 1948 to fight for greater autonomy from Yangon and is
the last ethnic rebel group which continues to reject Yangon's peace overtures. 

The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) said that at
least 15 rebel factions had already reached ceasefire accords with the
government. 

Mr Mahn Sha, a confidante of Gen Bo Mya, said the KNU still commanded more
than 15,000 guerrillas and continued to fight against Myanmar troops. 

Myanmar troops last week sacked several key KNU mobile camps operating
inside eastern Myanmar in an operation which caused more than 20,000 Karen
refugees to flee into Thailand. 

The attacks were part of a major military operation by Yangon to secure
control of the entire 2,500 km border with Thailand. 

Authorities in the Thai province of Tak have prohibited the residents of
five districts from going near the Thai-Myanmar border along the Moei River
between 6pm to 6am to prevent possible danger from fighting in Myanmar. 

Army personnel have been deployed to tighten security along the border. 

Meanwhile, the US State Department yesterday urged Myanmar to halt its
military operations against the Karens, saying it was "deeply disturbed" by
events. 

A statement released by the US Embassy in Bangkok said: 

"The United States is deeply disturbed by the Burma army's attacks against
ethnic Karens living near the border with Thailand."(ST)

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

THAILAND TIMES: LAND MINES THRUST BACK KAREN RENEGADES TO BURMA
February 20, 1997
by Assawin Pinitwong

TAK ; Pro-Rangoon Karen renegades who yesterday attempted to cross into
Thailand with the aim of torching a refugee camp were forced to retreat when
land mines set by Thai soldiers killed five of their men, said a Thai border
patrol police source.

Working under cover of darkness, around 50 soldiers form the Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) tried to ford the Moei river in order to land
them in Mae Ramard district's Ban Huay Bong village, not for from Ban Huay
Bon refugee camp, the source said.

He said he was in no doubt that they were set on razing the 90 houses still
left in the camp following a DKBA arson attack last month.

Stationed nearby, the 345th Thai border patrol police heard the exploding
mines and immediately responded by bombarding the area, said the source.
However, darkness prevented them from proceeding further.

At first light, border patrol police moved in to survey the scene, where
they found blood stains indicating that five bodies had been towed back to
Burma, the source added. 

Bo Ye Mya, leader of Ban Huay Bong camp, said the Karen refugees living in
the area had been afraid that such an assault was on its way after hearing
reports that DKBA leader U Thuzana was intent on reducing the camp to ashes.

He said about 50 male refugees in the camp had been assigned the task of
acting as security guards to gather information on DKBA activities and
monitor people coming in and out of the camp.

The Thai police have also stepped up security in the area, with 345th border
patrol police's Platoon 3452 now stationed at a hill near Ban Huay Bong camp
form where they are afforded a comprehensive view across to Burma.

Dialogue between Burma and Thailand on the repeated cross-border incursions
received another blow yesterday, when the Thai side's Thai-Burmese local
border committee indefinitely postponed the meeting of the committee that
had been scheduled for February 20.

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

KNU & NCUB: PRESS STATEMENTS 
All Burma Students' Democratic Front <lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
February 20-21, 1997

PRESS RELEASE No. 1/97 
FROM THE KAREN NATIONAL UNION ON THE 1997 SLORC OFFENSIVE
February 20, 1997
									
1. The massive military offensive against Karen National Union Headquarters
at Hteekerpler in KNU 6th Brigade area, began on February 2nd 1997.  The
offensive has now extended to the KNU's 4th Brigade of Mergui-Tavoy District
area.  Simultaneous offensives against the KNU are also occurring in KNU
Brigade areas 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7.

2.  In this general offensive against the KNU human rights abuses such as
arbitrary arrest, portering, rape, torture, murder, looting, and the
destruction of property, have been perpetrated by SLORC troops against
thousands of civilians in the various front-line areas.  Many of these
civilians are trapped inside these brigade areas and have been unable to
cross the border into Thailand due to the overwhelming presence of SLORC troops.

3.  Within days of the start of the offensive against the KNU 6th Brigade
area, an influx of over 20, 000 refugees into Thailand has occurred.  Many
more refugees are expected to cross the border into Thailand.  Although
international relief organisations are assisting some of these refugees at
present, further assistance such as shelter, sanitation, clean water, food,
medicines, medical assistance, are urgently needed.

4.  The SLORC is not only conducting an all-out military offensive against
the KNU, but its Psychological Warfare Department also waging a propaganda
campaign by spreading false rumours amongst the people in these areas to
discredit the KNU.  These false rumours state that there is a split between
the President of the KNU, General Bo Mya, and the vice-president of the KNU
General Shwe Hser, and that there has been a massive surrender of KNU troops
to the SLORC side.  

5.  The basic policy of the KNU is to resolve the political problems between
the KNU and SLORC peacefully by political means through dialogue, but the
SLORC has responded with a massive military offensive.  Therefore the Karen
people and other united ethnic groups of Burma and pro-democracy forces will
now have to continue to wage a war of resistance against the SLORC.

February 20th, 1997.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRESS RELEASE NO (3) 
ON EMERGENCY SITUATION OF THE KAREN REFUGEE
Clarification on Information Currently Circulating 
on Radio, wire services and TV

1. The NCUB would like to make it clear that the Karen National Union (KNU)
chairman General Saw Bo Mya has been taking a leading role in the affairs of
the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), and members of all Alliance
troops in launching a resistance war against the SLORC.  General Bo Mya has
not been receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Bangkok as described
in media recently.

2. The fact which recently appeared in the media saying that there is now a
conflict and disunity among the KNU leadership is totally groundless and is
merely a psychological attack against the KNU by the SLORC.

3. Kawkareik's KNU township Chairman, Saw Mahn Yin Sein, was abducted by the
SLORC and did not voluntarily join the SLORC or Democratic Kayin Buddhist
Army (DKBA).

4. We confirm that KNLA Battalion No.16 commander and 30 KNLA soldiers
surrendered to the SLORC.  However, final reports state that some of them
were forced to surrender and have managed to escape by fleeing back to KNLA
troops. 

5. We also would like to clarify that news release by Thai TV Channel 7,
stating that Brigadier General Mu Tu surrendered to the SLORC is false news
and he is continuing to actively resist against the brutal offensive
launched by the military junta. 

6. The National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) would like to encourage
the international community to consider the fact that there are a lot of
rumors and propaganda ploys currently being created and disseminated by
SLORC and other individuals with the intention to disregard the struggle for
peace, democracy and a Federal Union.

7. NCUB would like to recommend that journalists contact Pado Mahn Shar
(KNU), Khun Teddy Buri (NCGUB), Aung Saw Oo (NLD-LA), and/or U Tin Maung Win
(DAB), in order to check details or to obtain accurate information
regarding the situation, before disseminating further news, in order to
avoid factual errors.

Information Committee, National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB)
February 21, 1997

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

FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW: HIGH ON DRUGS
February 20, 1997

Opium production in Burma's northernmost Kachin State is increasing rapidly.
The state was declared an "opium-free zone" by the rebel Kachin Independence
Organization in the early 1990's, and American satellites subsequently
recorded a decline in poppy cultivation.  But the anti-opium scheme seems to
have fallen apart after the KIO signed a ceasefire agreement in 1993 with
the Rangoon junta.  The regime appears to have encouraged local farmers to
grow poppies in the areas it controls, and the Kachin rebels have been
unable to sustain their anti-drug campaign. Increased production has been
observed especially in the northern and western parts of Kachin State.  What
looks like official connivance in the drug trade in Burma is also noticable
elsewhere:  There are now four
heroin refineries in Mandalay, the first evidence of refining activity
taking place inside a major Burmese city.

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

REUTER: MYANMAR REBEL CHIEF 'FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL'
February 20, 1997

     UMPHANG (Thailand) -- Myanmar's rebel Karen National Union (KNU) leader
Bo Mya is using Karen refugees as a human shield to buy time to try to
avert a looming split within his ranks, rebel and Thai border officials said
yesterday. The KNU may be  near the brink of collapse because of serious
policy differences between the hardline General Bo Mya and moderate
Vice-President Swe Seing.

     The reports came as Myanmar troops moved against the last areas of
south-eastern Myanmar, held by Karen guerillas after successful strikes
against rebel positions further north.

     Myanmar government troops were approaching a strip of territory more
than 200 km long, adjacent to the border with Thailand, held by the fourth
brigade of the Karen National Union (KNU), reports said.

     About 2,000 refugees have crossed into Thailand's Kanchanaburi province
ahead of the advance, Thai television reported late on Monday.

     They join the more than 20,000 other Karen refugees who arrived in
Thailand after  fleeing fighting last week between Myanmar troops and KNU
guerillas inside eastern Myanmar, and the 70,000 Karen refugees who have
been camping along Thailand's western border with Myanmar since 1984.

     The rift within the KNU has created uncertainty among the Karen refugees.

     Myanmar troops destroyed several key KNU mobile camps inside their
soil, which ruffled rebel ranks and led to charges by some that Gen Bo Mya's
hardline stance had brought about the guerilla group's recent string of
setbacks.

     The predominantly-Christian KNU was formed in 1948 to fight for greater
autonomy from Myanmar's central government. It was wracked by a major
internal split in 1994 and lost all bases and headquarters on the Myanmar
side in March 1995.

     But it is still one of the last holdouts among Myanmar's dozen ethnic
rebel groups, most of which have recently signed peace pacts with Yangon
after having fought the central government on and off since the country's
independence from Britain.

     Gen Bo Mya, 71, KNU's head since 1976 but now leader of a smaller group
of  guerillas, has vowed to fight the ruling Myanmar State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc) and refused to lay down arms despite Yangon's
peace offers.

     But a more moderate and powerful faction lead by KNU Vice-President,
Gen Swe Seing, wants to soften the group's stance and start some negotiations
for peace with Myanmar, KNU sources said.

     "The KNU is about to collapse because of the internal conflict. That is
why a certain group of people who are very selfish have decided to use the
civilians as the shield for survival," said a top KNU official who declined
to be named.

     The official said he was referring to Gen Bo Mya and his loyalists as
the group of people fighting for survival.

     Gen Bo Mya "was supposed to be finished since 1995 and be replaced by
Swe Seing, but the old man is too selfish and people are too scared of him",
he added.

     He estimated that 70 per cent of KNU guerillas who used to be under Gen
Bo Mya were either living in Thai border towns or among the refugees in the
camps.

     Given reports of Myanmar attacks on their mobile camps and the tension
that followed, some KNU guerillas had taken the opportunity to join in the
new influx of refugees and live under the patronage of international aid
agencies, he added.

     "We have nothing left now. No forests, the Burmese are everywhere, and
so the only  place to live and survive in are refugees camps in Thailand," a
senior KNU official said.

     The Myanmar-backed Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which caused
the KNU split in 1995, has accused KNU guerillas of hiding in refugee camps
and sneaking out to launch surprise sabotage and attacks on them inside
Myanmar soil.

     Myanmar has vowed to clear out all KNU guerillas from its eastern
border, saying they posed a major security threat. -- Reuter.

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

ASIA TIMES: YANGON AIMS TO CLEAR PATH FOR INVESTORS
February 20, 1997
Vissuta Pothong and Thomas Crampton, Bangkok, 

Ethic Karen along the Thai border now under heavy attack from Myanmar
government troops stand in the way of hugely lucrative energy and trade
projects. 

On Wednesday some Karen National Union (KNU) guerrillas reportedly began
surrendering their weapons. According to the Myanmar army, 400 guerrillas
surrendered their weapons to Myanmar troops, but the KNU said that only 70
were involved. 

Myanmar previously vowed to clear out all KNU guerrillas from its eastern
border. 

Economics played no decisive role in the decision to launch the annual dry
season offensive which resulted in razed villages and sent more than 20,000
refugees across the Thai border in the past week. 

There are, however, several key projects on both sides of the border that
stand to benefit from the surrender of the Karen. 

"There are a whole host of things that have been talked about if the [KNU]
was not in the way, hydroelectric dams, the importing of water. The Karen
can potentially be an economic threat," a Yangon-based Western diplomat said. 

Myanmar's Ministry of Energy advisor Pe Kyi insisted the fighting with the
Karen would "not in any way" affect progress of the Yadana gas pipeline. 

However, a Yangon-based employee of Texaco working on the project said he
had no confidence in Myanmar's ability to protect the pipeline. "You can
have soldiers every five feet, but you just need one crazy man and anything
can happen." 

The controversial pipeline - which will provide an annual income of US$600
million for 30 years - is just one of a series of projects in the wedge of
Myanmar formerly occupied by the Karen located between Thailand and the
Andaman Sea. 

The Yangon government recently granted a licence to Thai companies MDX and
Ital-Thai and Japan's Marubeni to carry out a feasibility study on a 150
megawatt hydroelectric dam on the Mae Kok river near Tha Ton, opposite
Thailand's Tak province where the refugees have fled. 

A Yangon-based Asian diplomat said: "Right now the gas pipeline is the
country's major economic interest and for the first few years of operation
it will be the largest source of hard currency. 

"They want to eradicate the KNU so there won't be any problems negotiating
peace or any problems with the gas line, which in the past the KNU has
attacked," the diplomat added. 

Over the past few years the Karen have launched several attacks in the
pipeline region but all - bar one in 1995 - have stopped short of the
construction zone, according to Yangon-based officials of the Petroleum
Authority of Thailand. 

The gas companies have managed to set up a headquarters and start laying
pipe without undue KNU interference. 

Also straddling the area is a project to turn the undeveloped Tavoy into a
deep seaport to give Myanmar desperately needed access to export markets in
South Asia, the Middle East and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

Linked to Thailand by road and rail, Tavoy would be the first port in the
Andaman Sea that could transfer goods from Europe and the United States
without stopping at Singapore or traveling into the Gulf of Thailand. 

At present, the undeveloped site is an abundant source of fresh seafood
which is flown daily to Yangon before being air shipped around the region. 

Contractors have not yet been selected to upgrade the port to serve 120,000
tonne vessels, but Japanese investors have already shown a great deal of
interest in developing a nearby industrial estate, according to Ital-Thai
president Premchai Karnnasuta. 

Ital-Thai had also planned a road link connecting the industrial estate with
Thailand, Premchai added. 

Thai investors appreciated the potential of the project so much that last
month they upset Myanmar officials by trying to outbid each other. 

"Overwhelmed with separate project proposals, Development Minister David
Abel said that Thai investors should not struggle with one an- other to get
into Tavoy but should work together with cooperation, dividing up their
strengths," Manu Sattayateva, director in charge of the Western Seaboard, said. 

Eager to import Myanmar's natural gas to generate much needed electricity
and act as a gateway for goods from Tavoy, Thailand has been developing the
Western Seaboard development scheme. 

The final Western Seaboard study, to be presented on March 8 by the Japanese
International Cooperation Agency, will be the basic strategy for the
development of sub-regional linkages for Thailand with Myanmar by the year
2011. 

Among other initiatives, the scheme encourages the use of illegal immigrants
and refugees near the border as low-wage factory workers. 

Thai investors in Kanchanaburi have also urged the government to construct a
railway to the proposed deep seaport at Tavoy. 

"If you have peace along the border, everyone can enjoy the economic
benefits," Thanin Pa-em, of Thailand's National Economic and Social
Development Board, said. 

"The pipeline projects are the deciding factor for the success of other
projects." 

Pe Kyi of Myanmar's Ministry of Energy stressed the Karen could never attack
the Yadana gas pipeline and it was on schedule for a July 1, 1998 start up. 

However, Thailand's economic advantages could be offset by both the cost of
dealing with refugees and also the prospect of facing Myanmar's troops for
the first time in 50 years without the benefit of the Karen rebels acting as
a buffer, a Bangkok-based analyst said. (AT)

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

KYODO: MILITARY TV STATION TO BROADCAST VIA ASIASAT-2+
February 20, 1997

YANGON, Feb. 20 Kyodo - Myanmar's military-run television station Myawaddy
Television (MWD TV) signed an agreement in Yangon on Wednesday with Asia
Satellite Telecommunication Co. to use the Hong Kong company's Asiasat-2
transponder, state-run newspapers reported Thursday.  The agreement was
signed between Brig. Gen. Aung Thein of the Defense Ministry and Sabrina
Cubbon of Asia Satellite Communication Co., the Hong Kong-based firm's
subsidiary in Yangon. MWD TV began airing programs in March 1995 for four
hours in the morning, in addition to programs shown on the same channel for
seven hours in the afternoon by the state-controlled Myanmar    Television
and Radio Department (MTRD).  MWD TV will soon broadcast in the afternoon
through Asiasat-2 using a separate channel operated by the MTRD, the
newspapers said. -Kyodo

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NEW WEB PAGE: BUSINESS IN AND OUT OF BURMA
13 February, 1997

	I've finally set up a primitive web page showing the total size of markets
that are either lost to businesses involved in Burma or where those
businesses face a handicap in competing with ethical businesses. The address is:

         http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~schmidtb/burma.html

	This is just the big money page so far- any new government, university or
organization that sets up barriers to businesses in general (not just one
business), and has a budget over US$1,000,000 should be added to this page.

	I also plan to set up a linked page for smaller markets - same conditions
as above except the minimum budget would be $10,000. Please send any
information you may have on organizations that qualify to me at
<schmidtb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Please include either verifying information
source or a way to reach a contact person to verify the info submitted.

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