BurmaNet News March 21, 1997

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------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ 
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" 
---------------------------------------------------------- 
 
The BurmaNet News: March 21, 1997 
Issue #673
 
HEADLINES: 
========== 
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: POLICE OPEN FIRE 
AP: MONK KILLED IN BURMA UNREST
THE NATION: KAREN KEPT IN BURMA BY THAI FORCES
AP: BURMA ARMY ATTACKS KAREN  AREA
AP: 1,000 BURMESE HEAD FOR  THAILAND
KNU: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS UPDATE   
S.H.A.N: TURBULENT SITUATION IN CENTRAL SHAN STATE
FTUB: FORCED LABOUR AT INDO-BURMA BORDER
BUSINESS TIMES: EU SET TO SUSPEND TARIFF PREFERENCES 
AP: BURMA BANS GERMAN POLITICIAN FROM MEETING ASSK 
PRNEWSWIRE: SEC ACCEPTS RETIRED OIL WORKER'S
IPS: MORE JOURNALISTS THROWN INTO PRISON IN 1996
BANGKOK RADIO THAILAND NETWORK: ARMY CHIEF SENT XINHUA: LABOR DELEGATION
ARRIVES IN BURMA
RANGOON RADIO MYANMAR: THAI COMPANY TO DEVELOP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---  

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: POLICE OPEN FIRE AS BUDDHISTS RUN RIOT
March 20, 1997
AGENCIES in Rangoon 

Riot police in Mandalay fired their weapons as Buddhist mobs, including
monks, ransacked mosques in response to the alleged rape of a Buddhist girl
by a Muslim, residents said yesterday.

Police fired over the heads of rioters to disperse the attacks on mosques
and property owned by Muslims, residents in the country's second city said.

At least two monks were taken to hospital with bullet wounds from ricochets,
they added.

The residents said a night curfew was in force in seven townships in the
city, some streets were sealed off and the main market was closed.

Mandalay was one of five cities put on security alert after the religious
unrest, a source said.

Combined security forces, including police and the Army, were also deployed
in Rangoon, Sittwe in Arakan state, Bassein in Irriwaddy division and
Moulmein in Tennasserim division, where there were large Muslim communities,
the source said.

Burmese authorities had extended the "first-degree security alert" to
prevent tension spreading to other cities, the source said.

In Rangoon, armed soldiers were patrolling in Muslim districts.

A diplomat in the capital said there were unconfirmed reports of unrest in
Pyimmana, Meiktila and Taunggyi towns.

A senior Burmese military intelligence source confirmed a night curfew had
been imposed in several townships in Mandalay to prevent further disturbances.

He said monks had "destroyed some personal belongings" in houses and mosques
in the Muslim quarter of the city.

The troubles were "widely believed" to have been instigated by unnamed
agitators seeking to stir up students, monks and workers in a bid to
undermine Burma's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the
source said.

Burma is an observer in Asean and hopes to be granted full membership in
July.  The source noted Asean members Indonesia and Malaysia were both
Islamic nations.

But the All Burma Young Monks Union, based on the Thai border, accused
Burma's ruling junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, of
disinformation in attributing the monks' unrest in Mandalay to the rape of a
Buddhist girl.

In a statement received in Bangkok, the group said they were protesting at
the deaths of 16 monks who had been incarcerated by the military and forced
to work as porters. The military intelligence source denied the report.

Monks, who are revered in Burma, were prominent in pro-democracy
demonstrations against military rule in 1988.

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

AP: MONK KILLED IN BURMA UNREST
March 20, 1997  (excerpts)
By  Patrick MacDowell, Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- A Buddhist monk has died from gunshot wounds
suffered during anti-Muslim rioting in Mandalay, Burma, The
Associated Press has learned.

Diplomats in the Burmese capital of Rangoon, speaking Thursday on
condition of anonymity, said the monk died after rioting that targeted
Muslim-owned property in response to the alleged rape of a Buddhist
girl by a Muslim.

A curfew was in effect in Mandalay, and police and soldiers were
patrolling the streets, the diplomats said in telephone interviews from
 Bangkok,Thailand. Mandalay residents confirmed their accounts of
activity in the city, but not the death of the monk.

The circumstances of the monk's death were unclear, the diplomats said.

The residents, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear
of retaliation, said two monks were wounded by ricocheting bullets.

Residents said soldiers and police were posted Thursday around some
monasteries and the city's biggest market was closed.

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

THE NATION: KAREN KEPT IN BURMA BY THAI FORCES
March 20, 1997

KANCHANABURI ­ About 700 Karen civilians, many of them people who were
pushed back to Burma late last month, are being blocked by the Army from
crossing the frontier into the western province of Ratchaburi, according to
relief workers. 

They said the Karen started to move toward the Thai border at 6 am yesterday
after Burmese Army troops pressed forward, seemingly bent on taking control
of the whole area occupied by the refugees, who are concentrated around
three small Burmese streams: Huay Tha Ma Piew, Huay Khi Ma and Huay Tha Ma
Muang. 

The Burmese advance is part of the ruling junta's all-out military
offensive, which began last month, to crush Karen rebels who have repeatedly
refused to surrender. 

The workers said that although the Border Patrol Police gave permission for
the refugees to cross into Thailand, troops from the Army's 9th Division had
adamantly refused to let them enter, arguing that there was no imminent
threat from the Burmese Army. 

The workers rejected the Army's assessment. The civilian population was on
the move because Burmese troops were just six or seven kilometres away and
moving closer. 

The 9th Division had earlier promised to let the refugees cross back to
Thailand if the Burmese attack threatened their safety. A worker who is
familiar with the Burmese terrain said that the Karen civilians are living
well within range of Burmese mortar bombs. 

Over 3,500 Karen civilians are living along the border across from Suan
Phung in Ratchaburi and are expected to attempt to flee to Thailand, the
workers said. They added that relief groups have launched an international
appeal for assistance. 

Meanwhile, government authorities have begun cracking down on the offices of
exiled Burmese dissidents and activists in Bangkok, Mae Hong Son and Tak
provinces. 

The office of the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) in Mae Sariang
district of Mae Hong Son was warned early this week of a possible raid to
evict them, while authorities and a "suspicious person" took pictures of the
front's office and members in Bangkok, spokesmen said. 

Members of the National Coalition of the Union of Burma in Umphang district
of northern Tak were also told to leave their office ''temporarily" from
March 15, but Burmese dissidents believe the order indicates permanent closure. 

In January, the ABSDF supply office in Bangkok was raided twice in 10 days
by the authorities and some members arrested, including the author of the
book Cry from Insein. 

During the second raid, the police took away a Macintosh computer and
extorted about Bt10,000, spokesmen said. 

On the day of the second raid, authorities also moved into the ABSDF foreign
affairs office. They cut off the telephone and left after extorting about
Bt20,000. 

An office of the exiled Burmese government National Coalition Government of
the Union of Burma in Bangkok was also recently raided. 

Burmese activists in Bangkok said a number of prominent Burmese dissidents
have also received death threats from the Burmese intelligence service. (TN)

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

AP: BURMA ARMY ATTACKS KAREN  AREA
March 20, 1997  (abridged)
By Jiraporn Wongpaithoon, AP writer

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- The Burmese army pounded an ethnic
Karen area inside Burma with mortar fire today, continuing an attack
against a Karen rebel group that has sent about 3,500 refugees fleeing
toward Thailand.

Karens along the border said that the refugees, scattered in pockets
along several miles of frontier across from Thailand's Ratchaburi
province, were being denied entry by Thai troops unless the fighting
gets closer.

A spokesman for Thailand's 9th Army Division, which controls the
border area, confirmed Wednesday that Karen refugees were ``being
asked'' to stay on the Burmese side unless their safety is in imminent
danger.  The officer spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Burmese bombardment, which began Tuesday, was about 6 miles
 from the border, Karen sources said on condition of anonymity.

Thailand came under criticism from the United States, the European
Union and human-rights groups last month for denying entry to
fighting-age Karen males fleeing the fighting and for forcibly sending
hundreds of women, children and others back into Burma.

Government officials note Thailand has sheltered some 100,000 people
fleeing Burma's conflicts over the past decade, including perhaps
20,000 from the most recent offensive.

Burma's military regime has deployed an estimated 100,000 troops to
destroy the rebel Karen National Union. In six weeks, the approximately
1,500 rebel fighters have lost several bases and abandoned much of the
rugged border area they had controlled for decades.

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

AP: 1,000 BURMESE HEAD FOR  THAILAND
March 19, 1997  (excerpts)
By JIRAPORN WONGPAITHOON

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- The Burmese army has attacked a key rebel
village, sending another 1,000 refugees fleeing into Thailand. Hundreds
more were believed to be on their way, relief agencies said today.

The Burmese army launched an artillery attack Tuesday against Hta
Ma Pyo. A lumber yard and sawmill make the town economically
crucial to the rebels.

The shelling, which continued early today, sent at least half the 2,000
people living at Hta Ma Pyo fleeing across the border to Ban Tako Bon
village in Thailand's Ratchaburi province, military sources and relief
agencies on the border said. The rest were expected to arrive today.

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

KNU: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS UPDATE   
March 19,1997

SLORC's dry season offensive started earlier this month at the northern
region (KNU No.1, 2, 3 and 5 Brigade areas). The SLORC is using full
strength of Light Infantry Division 77 and battalions under Southern Command
Headquarters and Eastern  Command Headquarters which totalled about 23
battalions, not including the battalions stationed in the areas.

Skirmishes occur every day throughout the areas. Human Rights violations
also increase as the offensive continues.

On March 10, deputy commander of SLORC Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)
534 Aung Than arrested 3 villagers in Thaton district area, accused them of
having contact with the Karen resistance group and killed them.  On the
same day he arrested a woman villager, age 30 , and beat her until an arm
was broken. (all names withheld for security)

On March 11, SLORC Light Infantry Division 77 demanded porters from
villages in Nyaung Lin Bin district area. They demanded 70 porters from each
village and  the villages which  couldn't meet their demand, they  forcibly
took women and children as porters. On March 14, they killed 5 villagers;
one man and four women. On the same day they captured 12 villagers who were
panning gold in the river. A husband and wife in the group managed to escape
but the rest were all killed by the Division 77 troops including their son.

On March 15, SLORC troops of Division 77 entered Paw Say Pu village,
Papun district and set the village on fire. The whole village was completely
burned.

On March 12, KNU No. 7 Brigade troops attacked SLORC Infantry Battalion 28,
Company 1 camp, stationed at Teh Bu village, Paan district. Company
commander Myint Kyi Oo and his company fled from the fighting spot after
resisting for 2 hours and 45 minutes. The Karen guerrillas also left the
place taking with them all the captured arms , ammunitions and military
materials. After 3 days, the Infantry  Battalion 28 commander Nyunt Hsaung
returned with his troops to the village where the fighting took place. They
forcibly took rice and household materials from the villagers and went away
with 9 carts loaded with the looted properties.

KNU Information Center

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

S.H.A.N: TURBULENT SITUATION IN CENTRAL SHAN STATE
March 19, 1997

        Since mid-January 1997, during which Slorc is launching a massive
offensive against the Karen National Union (KNU) in Karen State using 7-8
Army Divisions comprising more than 100,000 troops, Shan United
Revolutionary Army (SURA) is launching guerrilla offensive at several
places against Slorc troops in central and southern Shan State.
        On 18.1.97, a group of Shan rebels shot dead 14 and wounded 17
villagers at the village of Nam Maw Khao Saen 5 miles east of Namzarng
where 3-40 houses of Burmese ex-soldiers and their families live.
        On 24.1.97, in the morning and evening, SURA troops attacked a
Slorc outpost at Nam Parng bridge, and blasted bombs and guns in Kunhing
town, killing 2 Burmese military veterans.
        On 25.1.97, entered Laikha town and gunned down a Burmese soldier
and seized his pistol. The soldier was said to be the Corporal who often
beat up and bullied the villagers. He was shot dead in the morning while
he was wrapped up in a blanket and warming himself in the sun. (Some
suspected that he was killed by townspeople who bore a grudge against him
and spread the news, blaming SURA for it)
        On 26.1.97, raided Murng Nawng town, killing 1 Burmese soldier.
        On 26.1.97, raided Murngkerng town, killing 1 Burmese ex-soldier.
        These incident had caused Slorc troops to become so alarmed that
they started to issue curfew orders (from 6:00 pm. to 6:00 am.) in at
least 5-6 townships -- Kunhing, Namzarng, Laikha, Murngkerng, Kaesi and
Murng Nawng township.
        Since Slorc had moved many of its troops to the front lines with
KNU, not so many were left in some places such as small towns and villages
in Shan State. This situation provides an opportunity for SURA to make a
move, say many observers.
        On 5.2.97, SURA troops, about 3-4 sections strong, again raided
Murngkerng, roamed the town to their satisfaction and left. This prompted
Slorc authorities to immediately impose a dusk-to-dawn curfew in
Murngkerng.
        On the night of 6.2.97, 3 members of SSNDA (Shan State National
Democratic Army -- a Slorc supported anti-insurgency group led by Kan Na
and Sai Lar who had broken away from SSNA - Shan State National Army --and
surrendered to Slorc in September 1996), under the command of Pho Mar, were
killed by Slorc troops while walking with their guns on a street in
Murngkerng. They were shot and beaten to death, and their weapons were
taken away. Though SSNDA leaders had complained about this to Slorc
authorities, no steps had so far been taken to deal with the grievance.
        On 7.2.97, some members of the SSNA (unofficial cease-fire group
led by Karn Yord) also had to bear the brunt of the side-effect of the
curfew when 2-3 of them, carrying handguns, were shot at on leaving a bus
at Laikha by Slorc troops. They were said to have been followed by the
Burmese soldiers since they boarded the bus at Parng Long where they had
gone to collect tax money. One was wounded and was sent to the hospital.
Slorc troops knew that they were SSNA members only when they questioned
him at the hospital.
        Because of the frequent raids in 3-4 towns, Slorc top brass in
Rangoon had summoned the Division Commander in Loilem to Rangoon for
explanation. SURA's counter-offensive against Slorc has somewhat caused a
division between the people and Slorc troops and there are signs of
discrimination between some Shan and Burmese in some towns in central and
southern Shan State. In Namzarng, Slorc authorities even issued an order
banning racial discrimination. At night, Burmese civil servants like
teachers, health workers, office staffs etc. have to sleep at the same
place where police and Burmese soldiers keep watch.
        More and more Shan travellers with unfamiliar faces or coming from
other parts are often being harassed and beat up by Slorc troops on the
road from Murng Nawng, Kaesi to Murngkerng.
        No Burmese (Bama) dare to travel along the motor roads of
Murngkerng-Kaesi, Murngkerng-Murng Nawng because there had been an
incident in which a Burmese who was travelling by bus was beaten to death
with bricks and sticks by the rebels. Gem traders also do not dare to use
the roads that run through Parng Phon and Murng Nawng, but go by way of
Khum Parng and Murng Awt to Murngsu gem mines, because cars running that way
always meet 3-4 groups of rebels. Traders who used to travel by cars along
Taunggyi, Loilem, Namzarng, Kunhing, Takaw, Kaengtung and Tachilek are now
mostly travelling by air.
        However, many people and observers say that there are some good
results from SURA guerilla-war against the Burmese soldiers. Human Rights
violations committed by the Burmese soldiers on the people have somewhat
reduced and it is disrupting their 4-cuts policy and forced relocation program.
        On 18.3.97, at about 10:00 hrs., a group of Shan rebels attacked a
vehicle carrying Burmese spies near the border with Thailand, on the road
between Nong Ook and Pung Pa Khem. One of the Burmese was killed and one was
missing. On 19.3.97, the Burmese reinforced about 2-300 more troops to the
area in an attempt to hunt down the rebels.

S.H.A.N. (19.03.97)

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

FTUB: FORCED LABOUR AT INDO-BURMA BORDER
March 18, 1997
"FTUB (WB)" <aungsan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

During the 1st week of March 1997, The villagers from Min Tha village
were subjected to forced labour. Men, women and even ageing were used to
forced labour to take out the Teak from the jungle for Burmese Army BN228.
Forced labourers were beaten up by soldiers in work place as uaual.One
villager were severely beaten and broken his leg, but Army deniled to
give any medical treatment. Relatives brought him to Tamu Government
Hospital but admission was not accepted. Therefore they went to the Kalay
Myo for long distant and took medical treatment there.They have afraid to
put on trial for their case against Army personals.Responsible person for
the case is Capt. Tun Swe from BN 228.

source FTUB(WB)

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

BUSINESS TIMES: EU SET TO SUSPEND TARIFF PREFERENCES FOR MYANMAR
March 19, 1997
By Shada Islam

Decision today to be endorsed on Mar 24, say diplomats

EUROPEAN Union governments have overcome their differences towards Myanmar
and are set to suspend tariff preferences for Myanmar's exports of
industrial and agricultural products.

Senior EU diplomats and officials say the decision will be taken by European
ambassadors in Brussels today and then endorsed by EU foreign ministers on
March 24.

"We expect the decision against Myanmar's use of the Generlised System of
Preferences to be taken by unanimity," an EU official said.

"We are going to vote in favour of the GSP suspension for Myanmar," a
British official said. "We believe this an appropriate response to human
rights violations in Myanmar and the use of forced labour in the country."

The EU Commission recommended that Myanmar should be stripped of millions
dollars worth of tariff concessions late last year, citing complaints from
international trade union groups that the country is using child labour and
forced labour.

Britain and Germany initially opposed the move because of their policy of
not linking trade and labour standards. They feared the move would set a
precedent for similar EU action against other countries accused of violating
labour standards, including China and India.

EU insiders say Bonn and London were later persuaded by their EU partners
that the case against Myanmar was justified on human rights grounds and did
not signal a direct link between trade and labour standards.

According to EU statistics, Myanmar exported about US$60 million (S$86
million) worth of goods to European markets in 1995.

Myanmar stands to lose about US$4 million worth of tariff preferences as a
result of the EU action.

EU diplomats are hoping the move will not strain Euro-Asean relations.

The EU has already said an Asean decision later this year to bring Myanmar
into the regional group will lead to "problems" in Europe's relations with
Asean.

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

AP: BURMA BANS GERMAN POLITICIAN FROM MEETING WITH  SUU KYI
March 19, 1997

FRANKFURT (AP)--The Burmese government has refused permission for a German
politician to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, officials said Wednesday.

Otto Graf Lambsdorff, economics chief for the Free Democratic Party, a
member of Germany's governing coalition, has been denied permission to meet
the Nobel Peace Prize winner, said a statement from a foundation that
Lambsdorff heads.

The Burmese government considered the meeting 'unsuitable for political
reasons,' said the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

In February 1996, the Burmese military rulers had forbidden a meeting
between Suu Kyi and Germany's development aid minister, Carl-Dieter Spranger.

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

PRNEWSWIRE: SEC ACCEPTS RETIRED OIL WORKER'S SHAREHOLDER RESOLUTION TO
INVESTIGATE UNOCAL'S LINKS TO DRUG MONEY LAUNDERING
March 20, 1997

OCAW President Expects Further Roadblocks from Unocal

LAKEWOOD, Colo., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The 90,000-member Oil, Chemical
and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW) announced today that the
effort by Unocal Corporation to exclude a controversial resolution from its
annual proxy statement and to prevent a vote on the resolution has been
denied by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The resolution, submitted by a retired OCAW member, calls on outside or
non-employee board members of Unocal to investigate the allegation that
Unocal's partner in Burma is serving as a conduit for laundering money
obtained from the illegal sale and production of heroin. If the allegation
is true, the resolution asks board members to determine if Unocal officials
had any knowledge of it and to take appropriate action based on the findings.

Unocal had desperately sought to have the SEC submit a so-called "no- action
letter" which would have permitted Unocal to exclude the resolution.
However, the SEC in a March 5, 1997 letter to Unocal denied all of the
company's objections.

"We are pleased that the SEC acted judiciously in throwing out Unocal's
objections, and we hope that Unocal shareholders can now become better
informed about the real cost of doing business with Burma's military regime,
which may include a rise in drug use in the U.S.," said OCAW President
Robert Wages.

According to the U.S. State Department, Burma is the largest producer of
illegal heroin in the world, and 60 percent of the heroin seized by law
enforcement officials in the U.S. comes from Burma.

"Unocal has had plenty of time to present evidence that the allegation is
false but has done nothing -- which has only added to growing suspicions
that its partner is serving as a front for drug money laundering by Burma's
narco- military regime," added Wages.

Wages cautioned that further roadblocks can be expected from Unocal to
ensure the resolution does not pass at the shareholders' meeting in June,
and he stated that a "cover-up" investigation by Unocal would be no
surprise. "Corporations always have the upper hand in shareholder meetings
and only a large shareholder and public outcry will produce a real
investigation," he said.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the democratic
opposition in Burma who still remains under virtual house arrest, has
repeatedly urged foreign corporations to stay out of Burma and has heaped
particular scorn on oil companies for their support of the military regime.

OCAW notes that, if Unocal ignores this allegation and it later turns out to
be true, the company along with its officers and directors will expose
themselves to significant criminal and civil liability under U.S. law.
Furthermore, if Unocal management knowingly ignores employee wrongdoing,
they breach their fiduciary duty and can be held personally liable in
derivative lawsuits.  Unocal shareholders can take action
against management and directors to protect the reputation of their company
and the value of their shares.

Unocal's partners in the construction of a natural gas line across Burma are
French-owned Total SA and the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which
was established by Burma's military regime. The drug-laundering allegation
was made in a December 16, 1996 article of "The Nation," which reported on
findings from a four year investigation by Geopolitical Drugwatch that MOGE
was the major channel for laundering revenues of heroin produced and
exported by Burma's military regime.

According to the allegation, hundreds of millions of dollars have flowed out
of MOGE's coffers to its Singapore bank accounts and in one instance $60
million were channeled through MOGE by Khun Sa, purported to be Burma's most
renowned drug lord. Khun Sa has been indicted
in New York by a federal prosecutor and now lives in Rangoon under the
protective umbrella of Burma's narco-regime. Other than limited payments
made to MOGE by Unocal and Total, MOGE has no other identifiable source of
income.

OCAW plans to mobilize its 90,000 members in late April in a "Three Days for
Burma" campaign which will include a petition drive calling on President
Clinton to impose immediate economic sanctions on Burma's military regime.
In February, the 12.9 million member AFL-CIO passed
a strongly-worded resolution supporting the imposition of immediate economic
sanctions and the passage of selective purchasing laws to isolate Burma's
military regime. 

SOURCE Oil, Chemical, & Atomic Workers International Union

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

IPS: MORE JOURNALISTS THROWN INTO PRISON IN 1996
March 15, 1997  (excerpts)

WASHINGTON, Mar 15 (IPS) - A New York-based press freedom group is
urging U.S. officials to speak out against the abuse of
journalists in countries like Nigeria, Turkey, and Burma.

The Committee To Protect Journalists, in its new report,
'Attacks on the Press in 1996: A Worldwide Survey', says that
Turkey was the worst offender for imprisonment of reporters for
the third year in a row, with more journalists in jail that the
next five countries combined.

In a year that ended with 27 journalists killed because of
their work and a record 185 journalists in prison in 24 countries,
Turkey alone imprisoned 78 reporters -- 27 more than they held in
1995, says the survey.

Journalists in some countries in Asia also faced major impediments.

The CPJ notes that civil strife and separatist wars provided
the backdrop to most of the press freedom violations in South
Asia, while regimes in East Asia impeded access to information
through Internet censorship and the suppression of dissident journalism.

China blocked access to Internet sites run by Hong Kong and
U.S.-based news organisations as well as by the Chinese language
daily, Ming Pao. Singapore set up a body to police the Internet
and required the state's three Internet providers to install
equipment capable of blocking access to certain sites.

Meanwhile, China and Indonesia continued to crackdown on
dissident reporters, says the CPJ.

In Burma, political arrests and repression have dramatically
increased as the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) keeps a tight rein on the flow of information, says the
CPJ report. On Jun. 7 last year, the SLORC introduced a law that
made it an offence to instigate, protest, say, write, or
distribute anything that would ''disrupt and deteriorate the
stability of the state, communal peace and tranquility, and the
prevalence of law and order.'' Persons convicted under the law
face prison terms of up to 20 years.

The regime also made owning, using, importing, or borrowing a
modem or fax machine a crime punishable by up to 15 years in
prison. The SLORC also barred access to the residence of Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) in late September and conducted mass arrests of
NLD members and supporters. (END/IPS/YJC/97)

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

BANGKOK RADIO THAILAND NETWORK: ARMY CHIEF SENT TO BURMA FOR EXTRADITION
COOPERATION
March 15, 1997

The interior minister believes that Mr. Phongsak Rotchanasaksakun, a
key narcotics suspect in the United States, has actually fled to Burma.  He
has also expressed confidence that he will receive good cooperation from
Burma in extraditing the criminal.

Interior Minister Sano Thianthong said: Thus far, he has not yet
received a report as to whether or not Mr. Li Yun-chung or Mr. Phongsak
Rotchanasaksakun, a chief alleged narcotics trafficker in the United
States, continues to hide in Thailand.  However, if it is found that he has
escaped to Burma, there will be no problem in asking Burma to return the
suspect to Thailand although there is no extradition pact between Thailand
and Burma.  This is because executive leaders of the two countries have
maintained good personal relations.  Recently, the army commander in chief
was sent to Burma to hold talks with the Burmese side on this issue.  The
army chief is expected to have a full report on the issue at a meeting of
the security branch this Monday.
The interior minister has also expressed concern over the fact that a
number of Khun Sa's subordinates and Chinese Ho nationals falsified Thai
identification cards which might affect the national security both on a
long-term and short-term basis.  He will also refer to this issue at a
meeting with the army on Monday.

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

XINHUA: LABOR DELEGATION ARRIVES IN BURMA
March 17, 1997

Yangon [Rangoon], March 17 (XINHUA) -- A Chinese labor delegation, led
by Liu Heng, vice-president of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions,
arrived here today for a six-day goodwill visit to Myanmar [Burma].
The four-member Chinese delegation will call on Myanmar Minister for
Labor Saw Lwin during its stay here.  The delegation will also visit some
factories in Myanmar and exchange information with its counterparts on labor
organizations of the two countries.

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

RANGOON RADIO MYANMAR: THAI COMPANY TO DEVELOP DEEP-SEA PORT AT BOKPYIN
March 18, 1997  (translated from Burmese)

The Ministry of Transport's Myanmar Port Authority [MPA] and
Sahaviriya Group Corporation of Thailand signed a memorandum of
understanding on building a deep-sea port at Bokpyin in Tenasserim
Division.  The signing ceremony was held at the MPA conference hall on
Pansodan Road in Yangon at 1400 today. 

Under the terms of the memorandum, Sahaviriya Group will conduct a
feasibility study on developing a deep-sea port at Bokpyin on the coast of
Andaman Sea in Tenasserim Division and at Ban Bangpan Port on the Gulf of
Siam.  The feasibility study is to be completed in six months from the day
of signing the memorandum and if possible, the Sahaviriya will implement
the project under build, operate, and transfer system.

The project to be called Golden Gateway Project will link Bokpyin and
Ban Bangpan with roads, railway, and natural gas pipelines and the area is
expected to emerge as a link between the Middle East and Europe in the west
and the Far East and U.S. in the east.

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