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The BurmaNet News, March 26, 1997
- Subject: The BurmaNet News, March 26, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 26 Mar 1997 06:49:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: March 26, 1997
Issue #676
HEADLINES:
==========
AP-DOW JONES: EU CUTS BURMA'S TRADE PREFERENCES
NCGUB: STATEMENT ON 'RELIGIOUS RIOTS'
WALL STREET JOURNAL: BATTLE IN BURMA
THE STRAITS TIMES: MONKS WERE QUIZZED AND RELEASED
SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET A-0029
BKK POST: OVER 2,000 FLEEING KARENS GIVEN REFUGE
KYODO: JAPAN TO SEEK DEMOCRACY IN MYANMAR
THE NATION: SAKURA BANK OPENS IN RANGOON
AP : ILLEGAL BURMESE WORKERS ARRESTED IN THAILAND
AFP: CHINA EXTENDS 600,000 DLRS AID TO BURMA
STATEMENT: KAREN REFUGEE COMMITTEE
THAILAND TIMES:LEAFLETS TAKE A STAB AT HANDLING
THE NATION: FIVE THAI NATIONALS STILL UNDER ARREST
THE NATION: NEB OKAYS GAS PIPELINE FROM BURMA
SCMP: BURMA'S GENERALS FIGHT BACK THROUGHT INTERNET
ENTERTAINMENT WIRE: MTV HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIAL
CAMBRIDGE TALK: BURMESE HUMAN RIGHTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
AP-DOW JONES: EU CUTS BURMA'S TRADE PREFERENCES TO PROTEST FORCED LABOR
March 24, 1997
BRUSSELS -- The European Union agreed Monday to scrap preferenial trade
benefits for Burma's industrial and agricultural exports to protest the
use of forced labor there.
'From now on Burma no longer enjoys these preferences,' said Josep Colli
Carbo, Asian affairs spokesman for the EU head office, the European Commission.
Ministers from the 15 EU nations approved without debate the Commission's
proposal to remove Burma from the list of developing nations enjoying
special trade advantages.
**********************************
NCGUB: STATEMENT ON 'RELIGIOUS RIOTS'
March 24, 1997
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
Tel:(202)393-7342 (202)393-4312 fax:(202)393-7343
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Release Press Release Press Release
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SLORC SOLELY TO BLAME FOR RELIGIOUS RIOTS IN BURMA
History has shown that the Burmese generals are not above exploiting or
instigating racial and religious riots whenever they feel they would
serve their purpose. In 1967, when there was critical rice shortage in
Burma, the generals took advantage of the Red Guard movement in Burma - a
spillover of the Cultural Revolution in China - to start an anti-Chinese
riot. The ensuing racial riots gave the generals enough time to cope with
the rice shortage problem.
Again, in 1988, when people were frustrated with the hardships in the
country and were about to take to the streets to protest the conditions, the
military tried to divert the attention away from it and started an
anti-Muslim campaign in different towns of Upper Burma. It was only because
the people were wise to the scheme of the generals that the movement for
democracy prevailed.
History is being repeated in Burma today. Buddhist monks and lay people
were recently said to have attacked mosques over a reported rape case of a
Buddhist woman by Muslim men and the generals are accusing "elements opposed
to Burma's entry into the ASEAN" of masterminding the mosque attacks.
Prior to the news being spread about the rape case, there have been reports
about SLORC's systematic looting of pagoda treasures at several temples in
Upper Burma and about the breaking open of the famous Maha Myat Muni
Buddha's statue in Mandalay to search for the legendary ruby - the Padamya
Myetshin - which supposedly brings war victories to those who possess it.
Buddhists have already been angered by these reports and it was indeed
fortunate for the generals that a report about the rape was very
conveniently spread around.
Whatever the excuses it may be giving, the military regime cannot deny
that it is solely responsible for the current mob attacks on people of
Islamic faith. This is because the brutal generals have always been
encouraging such acts by example.
There are many documented incidents about the military destroying mosques,
churches and non-Buddhist religious icons in areas belonging to
the ethnic nationalities. There has also been a systematic and persistent
effort, including the murder of preachers by the military regime, to prevent
the propagation of non-Buddhist religious teachings in these areas.
The National Coalition Government strongly condemns the practices of
religious persecution being pursued by the military regime. The diversion of
the attention away from the true situation by creating a religious riot and
blaming it on the others is but an act of desperation by the brutal generals
whose days are numbered.
The people of all nationalities, regardless of race or religion, are urged
to show restraint and not to engage in acts that would destroy their unity.
They must stand as one in their struggle for democracy and not allow
themselves to be misled by the generals.
***************************************
WALL STREET JOURNAL: BATTLE IN BURMA
March 25, 1997
Alistair Horne
RANGOON, Burma--At last month's foreign ministers' meeting in Singapore, the
Association of South-East Asian Nations backed Burma's
application for membership, setting itself on a collision course with the
U.S. and the European Union, which advocate sanctions aimed at Burma's
military regime.
For Western liberal opinion, the issue remains Burma's deplorable record on
democracy and human rights. Foremost among the charges
against the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council, known as Slorc,
is its treatment of Aung Sang Suu Kyi, 1991 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
As my wife and I discovered on a recent private visit to her, Ms. Suu Kyi
remains sequestered, a highly vulnerable bird in a cage
that is far from golden.
The Lady, as Ms. Suu Kyi is reverently known throughout Burma, is the
daughter of Aung San, the national hero who opposed the British, then the
Japanese in World War II, and whom Burmese regarded as the only man who
could salvage their war-ravaged country. But Aung San and
his entire cabinet were assassinated by political rivals in 1947, and the
country was then ruined by 26 years of its own brand of inward-looking
socialism.
Landslide Victory
In 1988, economic collapse precipitated mass demonstrations that were
crushed with appalling brutality by the military, which then assumed
power under the unfortunate acronym (it could have been invented by the late
Ian Fleming). At this point the Oxford-educated Ms. Suu Kyi, who
was in Burma to tend her ailing mother, found herself swept up in politics.
She formed the National League for Democracy, which in 1990 won a landslide
victory with 81% of the vote in an election forced upon Slorc by
internal and international pressure. SLORC, however, refused to recognize
the results, and Ms. Suu Kyi, arrested before the elections, endured house
arrest for six years. In July 1995 she was released, not having seen her
husband, Oxford don Michael Airs, or her two young sons during most of this
time.
Ms. Suu Kyi's "compound," as she calls it, at No. 54 University Avenue in
Rangoon, is still sealed off by the army. Visitors can only enter by special
appointment. Carrying a parcel of books, photos and other articles from her
husband, we were quite disagreeably harassed by armed
soldiers and plainclothes "guards" at each of two roadblocks, liberally
photographed and forced to sign a registration book. Our taxi driver fled
the scene, in evident discomfort. Our luggage, however, was not searched.
Surrounded by the bravely challenging red flags of her party, Ms. Suu Kyi's
compound consists of her late mother's once elegant but now badly decayed
stucco house, overlooking a lake on whose banks some of Slorc's worst
atrocities occurred in 1988, and several modest huts. One
of them houses a Slorc security post; it became evident later that our
conversation had been bugged. Hammers were at work running up a small
conference center for the big Union Day holiday the following week (in the
event, half of the estimated 5,000 NLD supporters who arrived were turned
away by the police).
Despite the rigors of recent years, Ms. Suu Kyi looks younger than her 53
years, a slender woman of delicate beauty. She has an engaging sense of
humor, and laughs gaily when I say I intend to photograph the
guards, en revanche, when we leave. But underneath one senses a steely
seriousness, and deep commitment.
Are things getting better? I ask. "No," she replies, "it was worse over the
past year, with more arrests of our people in the middle of the night." Some
of them received seven-year sentences. "You won't see people arrested at
night, but now you have seen a little of what it's like, outside."
She herself receives letters only four times a year, and so relies greatly
on the BBC World Service radio for information from the outside world.
"Every day they write something nasty about me in the papers--particularly
about my Western contacts," she says. Amnesty International
confirms the personal attacks on Ms. Suu Kyi are becoming "increasingly
strident." When she goes out she is accompanied by escorts from the Slorc
Military Intelligence--"They say it's for my safety," she tells us. In
November her motorcade was attacked by thugs with iron bars.
Pressure from outside has helped, she says: "Slorc is not impervious to
international opinion." She remains committed to the principle of sanctions,
even though some claim they hurt her people. Does she think that, as with
Augusto Pinochet in Chile, the generals will
go one day? "They don't have Pinochet's self-confidence; they are very
suspicious of people trained abroad," she says, referring to the "Chicago
Boys" who saved the Chilean economy. Perhaps the Slorc generals
are fearful of retribution? "We have said many times that everything is
negotiable," she replies.
Ms. Suu Kyi's house is austere, with absolutely no concessions to
traditional femininity. Leaving, we asked: What about her everyday life?
"It's taken up with politics--three meetings this morning, now your visit
this afternoon, then another meeting this evening," she replies. "I have
books, and videos but I don't have time to watch them."
Looking at the fragile grille on the windows, and the few frail men from
her NLD at the entrance to the compound, one appreciates just
how at risk she is. Some of her supporters fear she may be assassinated,
like her father. What she says she most fears is to be forced into exile, like
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, though some admirers think this would be best for
her safety.
Indeed, over the past eight years of military rule, Amnesty International
has assembled a devastating dossier of Slorc's human rights
abuses. These include forced labor and chain gangs, atrocities against the
Karens and other minority rebels, brutal relocations of entire communities,
and arbitrary imprisonment of Ms. Sun Kyi's deputies, some of whom have
died in jail. Last month, ironically on Burma's Union Day, the army launched
a new offensive against the Karen rebels in the east, driving
many thousands of civilian refugees into Thailand and producing fresh
reports of tortures and killings.
In Mandalay the tourist is confronted by SLORC slogans as provocative as
anything from the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War: "Oppose those
relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views,"
for instance, and "Crush all internal and external
destructive elements as the common enemy." Yet, except for a few obvious
signs of malnutrition, except for a fleeting glimpse of a police truck as
densely packed with prisoners as those in "Schindler's List," and except for
armed soldiers supervising building of a road--I saw none of the alleged
abuses. Then again, I was a tourist. Even trained experts of the
International Red Cross failed to pick up on torture by the Greek Colonels.
Although they are not allowed to travel more than 25 miles outside of
Rangoon without official permission, some senior Western
observers say Slorc's record is not all bad. In recent years, they say, a
great deal of building and foreign investment has helped create a new middle
class, with parallels to Franco's Spain. Foreign businessmen, like Jim
Sherwood, an American who has pioneered the efficient Road to Mandalay
cruise ship on the Irrawaddy river, take a much more robust line. Sanctions,
Mr. Sherwood says, would be totally counterproductive and likely to drive
Slorc back into the introverted posture from which Burma has just begun to
emerge, make its rule harsher and reverse the growing
prosperity of ordinary Burmese. Expanded trade, tourism and other contact
with the outside world, he says, make for the best way of leading Slorc out
of its present ways.
One university graduate and supporter of Ms. Suu Kyi voiced to me another
reason for opposing sanctions: If the West pulls out, she
said, the Chinese, already pressing on the door, will take over. Meanwhile,
in Singapore last month, the Asean foreign ministers prepared to accept
Burma as one of their own. And in their polite Southeast Asian way, they
warned the West to mind its own business on human rights in Burma.
"In Asia," declared Singapore Foreign Minister S. Jayukumar, "we marry first
and expect the bride to adapt her behavior after the marriage."
Looming Confrontations
Yet if Burma is admitted to Asean this summer, as is likely, confrontation
looms. The Asean foreign ministers' next meeting with their EU counterparts
is scheduled to take place next spring, in London--and current British
policy does not allow visas for Slorc representatives. U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has urged quickening the pace toward
sanctions for Burma. To many in America, Ms. Suu Kyi is the new Nelson
Mandela--and an even more charismatic figure. As a former U.S. ambassador
close to the White House remarked to me, "We regard San
Suu Kyi as the legally elected head of the Burmese government; therefore, if
she calls for sanctions we must do what she wants."
Recent reports from Rangoon, meanwhile, allege much heavier military
activity than normal. Will Burma become a new South Africa--or
Southeast Asia's next killing fields?
Mr. Horne, a fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford, is author most recently
of "How Far From Austerlitz? Napoleon 1805-1815," due
out from St. Martin's in May.
*****************************
THE STRAITS TIMES: MONKS WERE QUIZZED AND RELEASED, SAYS YANGON
March 25, 1997
YANGON -- A Myanmar government source yesterday acknowledged a Sunday-night
incident in which at least 100 militant Buddhist monks stoned a mosque
frequented by Indonesian embassy staff in western Yangon, but denied that
any had been detained.
Eyewitnesses reported earlier that security forces rounded up about 100
monks after the incident and hauled them away.
"We haven't arrested anyone and only a handful of monks were taken in to
answer questions and then released," the government source said.
The incident, observed by hundreds of residents in the mixed but mostly
Buddhist neighbourhood, was confirmed as more Buddhist-Muslim troubles were
reported yesterday near Yangon with the government beefing up security in
the capital around monasteries and other religious sites.
In the stoning incident, witnesses said that although the monks were not
seen entering the mosque, security personnel took them away to an unknown
destination.
The unrest in Myanmar was sparked in the northern city of Mandalay last
weekend by a group of monks protesting against the release of Muslims said
to be involved in the alleged attempted rape of a young Buddhist girl.
Failing to gain satisfaction from the authorities, the monks proceeded to
vandalise nearby Muslim property and mosques.
Religious Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Myo Nyunt urged Buddhist
monks on Sunday to teach young monks good conduct and to remember to follow
religious principles.
Myanmar is 90 per cent Buddhist and about 4 per cent Muslim. Its 430,000
monks play a key role in this deeply religious country.
They have in the past lent their support to political and social causes. --
AFP, Reuter. (ST)
*******************************************************
SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET A-0029
March 25, 1997
Incident between Buddhist and Islamic faith
At the beginning of this month an incident took place in Mandalay
where a buddhist girl was molested by a moslem youth. However, this
problem is known to be resolved between the two families concerned
immediately after the incident took place. Nevertheless, it is very much
regretful to learn that some elements who are bent on creating unrest in the
country exploited the situation and managed to agitate some of the buddhist
religious communities in Mandalay to attack moslem
communities and some mosques. On the surface it seems like a religious clash
but it is actually very much politically motivated. The anti-government
groups are very much desparate to create instability in the country wherever
or whenever possible. Although, this time if problems between the two
religions can be successfully created they could very much produce
misunderstanding between Myanmar and her ASEAN friends (especially with the
Islamic nations) to derail Myanmar?s expected entry into the ASEAN.
Unfortunately, before the curfew was imposed in some townships in
Mandalay, a group of buddhist monks destroyed some personal belongings
from some houses in certain moslem communities and attacked a few mosques.
Also, in Yangon, monks were being agitated to attack some
mosques.
In order to maintain the prevalence of law and order in Mandalay and
to protect the moslem community there, appropriate security measures as
well as measures to prevent and bring better understanding between the two
religions has been worked out by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Also, in
some other cities where agitators may target for their next move have taken
preventive measures by the local authorities with the
cooperation and coordination of the leaders of both religions residing in
the area.
Due to the disturbances there has been some minor damages inflicted
upon some personal properties and mosques.It is also learnt that there has
been no bloodshed or casualties resulting from the attacks and the current
situation in Mandalay and Yangon is very much under control.
***********************************
BKK POST: OVER 2,000 FLEEING KARENS GIVEN REFUGE
March 25, 1997
As Burmese sweep through rebel area
More than 2,000 Karen refugees have been allowed to find refuge in Thailand
as Burmese forces advanced to the frontier in a sweep through rebel Karen
territory, a military official said yesterday.
The Karen villagers were allowed to cross into Suan Phung district of
Ratchaburi early on Saturday, said a relief worker who put the total number
at 2,500 people.
Forces of Burma's ruling junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(Slorc) had since overrun the refugees' former sheltering point at Htaw Ma
Pyo Hta, on the Burmese side of the border, an informed source said.
"Last week we decided to let the refugees in from Burma because the
fighting might be dangerous for them," said Col Somdej Seumak of the 9th
infantry division.
Some of the Karens had been repatriated to Htaw Ma Pyo Hta by the Thai
military late last month after they had fled to Kanchanaburi province
further north, border sources said.
The incident prompted criticism from human rights groups, the United States
and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
An estimated 20,000 Karens have fled into Thailand since a Slorc offensive
began in early February against the rebel Karen National Union (KNU), the
only major ethnic insurgency yet to reach a ceasefire with the junta.
The KNU has lost its fixed bases in the Thai border area but is maintining
guerrilla resistance.
A relief worker who visited the new temporary camp at Huay Sut, six
kilometres inside Thailand, said there had been a diarrhoea outbreak among
the refugees.
Three children and an adult had died, the worker said, adding that Thai
health authorites had established a medical post at the camp.
"The refugees have been allowed in but it's not clear how long they can
stay for," the relief worker said.
"They are staying on mats and under plastic sheets. They're not allowed to
use thatch or cuts lots of bamboo to make a semi-permanent shelter."
A further 700 refugees had also been allowed across the border nearby and
were sheltering near a gravel plant opposite Meh Hta Kee, where Thai health
services had also set up a mobile clinic, another relief worker said.
The Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) said in a statement last week that a
total of 92,000 ethnic Karens were now camped along the Thai border having
fled Slorc rule.
Referring to the reports of forced repatriation from Kanchanaburi, the KRC
urged Thailand to continue to extend refuge to the Karens and allow the
UNHCR to protect refugee rights and security.
"Pushing back the defenceless Karen into the hands of the Slorc troops
would surely mean slave labour, severe torture and death," the statement
said. -AFP (BP)
*******************************************************
KYODO: JAPAN TO SEEK DEMOCRACY IN MYANMAR THROUGH DIALOGUE
March 25, 1997
TOKYO, March 25 Kyodo - Japan, negating the European Union?s economic
sanctions, will seek improvement in democracy in Myanmar through promotion
of dialogue between the military junta and the pro-democracy movement,
Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda said Tuesday.
?We wonder if measures to isolate (Myanmar) are the only effective means of
actually improving? democratic conditions in the country, Ikeda told a news
conference.
Ikeda?s remarks followed the EUÕs agreement Monday to remove Myanmar?s
special trading benefits out of concern over its human rights record.
The decision follows a proposal in February by the European Commission, the
EU?s executive arm, on retracting Myanmar?s preferential treatment after an
investigation confirmed the use of forced labor in the country, EU officials
said.
Noting that Japan has ?dual channels? to Myanmar?s junta, the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and the National League for Democracy
(NLD), Ikeda said, ?Japan will work on both sides to improve the situation
at every opportunity.?
But Ikeda did not answer directly to a question on whether Japan has
recognized the EU?s claim of forced labor in Myanmar, saying only, ?Japan
will try to study the situation in the country.?
The NLD led by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace
Prize laureate, is demanding, among other things, that the SLORC release
political prisoners, open universities to students and resume dialogue with
the group. Kyodo
*************************************
THE NATION: SAKURA BANK OPENS IN RANGOON
March 20, 1997
Kyodo
Rangoon - Sakura Bank, a major Japanese commercial bank, has opened a
representative office in downtown Rangoon, newspaper reported yesterday.
In an opening ceremony held on Tuesday, the finance minister of the
military government, Brig Gen Win Tin, was quoted as saying the opening of
Japanese banks in Burma will spur Japanese investment and trade in the country.
Out of the 44 representative offices of foreign banks in Rangoon, eight
are from Japan, he noted.
"Of the over US$6 billion (Bt150 billion) investment in Burma from 21
countries, Japanese companies have invested $192 million in 13 projects."
"Japanese capital and technology can fully utilise the natural resources
and manpower in Burma for mutual benefit," the finance minister said.
Fuji Bank, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Sanwa Bank, Sumitomo Bank, Tokai
Bank, and DaiIchi Kangyo Bank have all opened representative offices in Rangoon.
Representative offices serve as liaison units between the Burmese
government and foreign business executives until the establishment of branch
offices for full banking operations. (TN)
*******************************************************
AP : ILLEGAL BURMESE WORKERS ARRESTED IN THAILAND
BANGKOK, March 20 (AFP) - Ninety-one Burmese who fled fighting in Burma were
arrested in the northern Thai province of Tak Thursday for illegally seeking
work, police said.
They were arrested in the province's Muang district, located opposite
territories of ethnic Karen rebels facing an offensive by
Burmese government forces.
Some 20,000 who fled the fighting in Burma since early February and made
for the Thai border are staying in camps or are displaced along the
frontier. A total of more than 90,000 Karens are now staying in Thai camps.
Uncertain numbers of new refugees are believed to have sought work in Thailand.
The government estimates some 700,000 illegal immigrants are
employed in Thailand, most of them from Burma.
********************************
AFP: CHINA EXTENDS 600,000 DLRS AID TO BURMA
March 25, 1997
BANGKOK, March 25 (AFP) - The Chinese government has agreed to give a total
of five million yuan (602,400 dollars) in aid to Burma, state-run Burmese
radio reported late Tuesday.
A memorandum of understanding to extend official aid to buy
equipment and spare parts for Burmese agriculture sectors was signed by a
visiting Chinese official and Burmese National Planning and Economic
Development Minister Brigadier General David Abel, Radio Rangoon said.
The ceremony held in Rangoon was presided over by first
secretary of the ruling Burmese military junta, Lieutenant General Khin
Nyunt and China's State Council Secretary General Luo Gan, it
said in a dispatch monitored here.
Luo was leading a high-level Chinese delegation, which arrived in
the Brumese capital Monday, for an official goodwill visit at the
invitation of Khin Nyunt.
During the ceremony, Luo and Khin Nyunt also signed a
cooperation accord on managing their shared 2,000-kilometer
(1,240 miles) border, the radio said.
The Chinese delegation also called on Burmese junta leader
General Than Shwe earlier Tuesday during a meeting attended by
Burma's General Maung Aye, army chief Lieutenant General Tin
Oo and Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw and Chinese diplomats, the
report said.
***************************************
STATEMENT: KAREN REFUGEE COMMITTEE
March 19, 1997
Statement Regarding Request For Permission To Have UNHCR
Assistance And Continued Refuge
March 19, 1997
There are now 92,000 Karen refugees camped along Thailand's western border
with Burma. We, the Karen Refugee Committee (KRC), would like to express
our gratitude to the Royal Thai Government for kindly permitting these
refugees to take refuge in the border areas of Thailand, and the
international NGOs to assist them with the basic needs. The refugees had
been staying in the border areas for years without much incident until 1995
when the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army troops (DKBA), and in some cases
combined forces of DKBA and the Burma Army, or State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) troops started attacks on the refugee camps.
Particularly in the month of January this year, two large camps rather close
to the border were burnt down by the DKBA and SLORC troops, making more than
16,000 refugees homeless.
The Burma Army, or the SLORC troops now occupy territories close to or
adjoining the Thai border from Mae Hong Son Province in the north, down to
Prachuab Khirikhan in the South. Starting from the last month, a major
offensive against the Karen National Union (KNU) by the SLORC in the
Tenessarim Division and the southern part of the Karen State has forced many
Karen villagers to cross the border into Thailand. Many refugees,
especially the newe ones are settled in areas directly adjacent to the SLORC
troops on the other side of the border-line: as such they are left very
vulnerable to attacks. Allegations of forced repatriation (refoulment) of
thousands of refugees by the Thai troops, particularly in Kanchanaburi
Province, has caused a great concern among us and the international
community. Pushing back the defenseless Karen's into the hands of the SLORC
troops would surely mean slave labor, severe torture and death.
The situation being as such we, the KRC like to request the Royal Thai
Government to permit the United Nations High Commissiioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) to perform its mandated role in protection of refugee rights and
security, and to continue to extend refuge, as before, to the Karen
civillians who have been forced to seek refuge in the border area of Thailand.
****************************************
THAILAND TIMES:LEAFLETS TAKE A STAB AT HANDLING OF REFUGEE SITUATION
March 25, 1997
by Assawin Pinitwong
TAK; Karen refugees sheltering in Mae Sot district were the recipients
yesterday of thousands of leaflets blasting several sides, including the
Thai government, for worsening the refugees' plight.
Drawn in cartoon style, the leaflets which were handed out to
residents of Huay Kraloke camp depicted a refugee being gnawed to death by
seven dogs. First among the canines was Burma's junta, the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (Slorc), who the leaflets said was attempting to
exterminate the refugees.
Second was the pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), who are
aiding the Slorc in their campaign.
Turning their attention to Thailand, the writers of the leaflets
blasted the handlord of the camp for trying to collect rent from the
destitute refugees.
They condemned both the Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) and Huay Kraloke camp
leader Mario for taking advantage of the refugees.
Last among the dogs were the Thai Army had government, accused of
embezzling aid money destined for the refugees and forcibly
repatriating them into hands of Slorc troops.
An informed military source speculated that the distributors of
the leaflets were either the refugees themselves or international NGOs, but
said the source of the leaflets has yet to be traced.
Residents of Huay Kraloke camp have come in for a harsh time
since January 28, when their camp was razed to the ground by the DKBA.
Although the camp has since been rebuilt, living conditions there continue
to be harsh, and the refugees live in constant fear of future DKBA incursions.
*******************************
THE NATION: FIVE THAI NATIONALS STILL UNDER ARREST IN BURMA
March 25, 1997
NEGOTIATIONS to secure the release of five Thai nationals being detained by
Burmese authorities have made little progress as the five have been accused
of entering Burma to grow opium, border sources said yesterday.
However, Mae Hong Son Deputy Governor Amornphan Nimanan said that his hopes
remain high for their imminent release.
The negotiations are being conducted between Pang Mapha district chief
Thawee Suwanwilai and Burmese district chief Tok U Muang, Amornphan said,
adding that he does not believe the matter will escalate to government level.
The deputy governor insisted the five are traders who frequently cross the
border between Mae Hong Son and Burma's Shan State to exchange goods with
their Burmese counterparts.
In a related development, three Burmese soldiers were arrested by Thai
police yesterday while hiding in a Baan Na Pak Paek village in Mae Hong
Son's Muang district.
Police said that Min Saw, 16, Aung Nai Win, 19, and Aung Gyaw Min, 18, told
officers that they were from the 99th battalion's 6181st division stationed
in Muang Lang, opposite Mae Hong Son.
The soldiers claimed they were driven into Thailand by hunger.
Villagers said the three arrived on Sunday night armed with pistols and
hand grenades.
Thai authorities believe the soldiers may have been scouting the area in
preparation to ransack the village in the near future. (TN)
*******************************************************
THE NATION: NEB OKAYS GAS PIPELINE FROM BURMA
March 25, 1997
By Walakkamon Eamwiwatkit, Pennapa Hongthong
Construction may start today
THE Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) could start construction of the
controversial gas pipeline from the Thai-Burmese border as soon as today,
after the National Environment Board (NEB) gave the green light by approving
its environmental impact assessment yesterday amid criticism from
environmental and human rights groups.
Somphongse Tantisuvanichkul, the PTT Gas Pipeline Project director, said
that he will contact the project contractor today to begin construction in
the heart of the Kanchanaburi forest.
''We have been ready. The PTT signed a contract with a German company to
build the project two weeks ago. We are confident the project's
environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be approved. But I told the
contractor not to start the work before March 24 as we would like to wait
for official approval from the NEB," he said.
The NEB approved the project's environmental studies on the grounds that
the gas pipeline is a bilateral deal between the Thai and Burmese
governments. A delay of the transfer of natural gas from Burma's Yadana
field to Thailand beyond June next year would cause the PTT to be fined
Bt100 million per day by the Yadana Gas Field development consortium.
''Moreover, the project is in the same package with the gas power plant
project in Ratchaburi, which was recently approved by the Cabinet.
Therefore, we have to give it the green light," explained Dhira
Phanthumvanich, a board member who is also president of the Thailand
Environment Institute.
However, residents of Kanchanaburi condemned the NEB for approving the
project without addressing their concerns. Pinan Chotirosserani, president
of Kanchanaburi's Women's Conservation Club, said that residents are worried
about the safety of the project as the pipeline will lay on a fault line.
''We do not trust the PTT. It has never given us full information about the
project. For example, it never mentioned anything about the fault line until
we found out about it by ourselves. Moreover, the pipeline might be
sabotaged by ethnic rebel groups," she said.
Pinan led a group of Kanchanaburi residents to submit a letter to Prime
Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh yesterday before he chaired the NEB meeting.
In the letter, most residents in the province are yet unaware of the project
and its possible impact.
Suraphol Duangkhae, deputy secretary-general of the Wildlife Fund of
Thailand, said he was surprised that the NEB approved the project in such a
hurry. He said that information on the project's possible effects on the
forest and key wildlife species have not yet been assessed from the PTT's
environmental studies.
He said that in principle the EIA must be completed before construction so
that the public can decide if the project is environmentally sound. The PTT
should not have been allowed to implement the study while constructing the
pipeline at the same time.
''We may have to review the whole environmental law of this country. The
approval from the NEB today means the present law is flawed," he said.
The Office of Environmental Policy and Planning (OEPP) rejected the
project's EIA twice during the past few months as it found incomplete
information on the project's impact on elephants, great hornbills, the
Kitti's hog-nosed bat and royal crab, which are key species found in the
forest in the area.
Suraphol said that the PTT should have spent another year studying the life
cycles of various species to determine the possible impact. But the agency
did nothing more than state in the EIA that it plans to conduct the study
while construction is proceeding.
Somboon Phantuwaditorn, of the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in
Burma, said the green light for construction means that the Thai government
supports human rights violations in Burma. He said that thousands of Karen
families in Burma were evicted by the Burmese military to make way for the
project.
OEPP secretary-general, Saksit Tridech, who served as the NEB secretary in
the meeting yesterday, said that a sub-committee was set up to monitor
seismic safety, the construction process and to avoid any impact on the
forest and endangered species.
He said the sub-committee will be chaired by the governor of Kanchanaburi,
the governor of Ratchaburi, the president of the Thailand Environment
Institute, the secretary-general of the Wildlife Fund of Thailand and
representatives of local non-governmental organisations in Kanchanaburi.
''The sub-committee will examine the project's implementation in every
stage and push the project implementers to conduct environmental impact
relief measures which were planned in the EIA," Saksit said.
He added that the sub-committee was assigned to report to the NEB every
three weeks.
''And to prevent sabotage during construction which the environmental
groups are worried about, patrol officers from the military and police will
be asked to regularly examine the area," he said.
In addition, he said that the Royal Forestry Department proposed setting up
another new forestry protection unit to look after both natural resources
and safety issues. The Petroleum Authority of Thailand also has its own
field rangers, Saksit said. (TN)
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SCMP: BURMA'S GENERALS FIGHT BACK THROUGHT INTERNET
March 19, 1997
William Barnes in Bangkok
The junta has been the target of a human rights campaign in cyberspace
but is fighting back.
Rangoon's generals have their man "somewhere in California", retaliating
electronically against activists who use the Internet to lobby for the
regime's international isolation.
Political activists and exiles are spluttering with rage over the regular
bulletins of e-mail "news" being supplied by okkar 66127 Burma might have
only recently emerged from three decades of self-imposed isolation but the
State Law and Order Restoration Council recognises its opponents' Internet
campaign is a formidable weapon.
Professional Web sites have whipped up a lively anti-junta movement
across the globe - from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam.
Simon Billeness, who runs an "ethical" investment fund in Chicago and is
a canny Internet operator, believes Burma has become "the South Africa of
the 1990s".
The council created a Web site last year located at http:www. myanmar.
com - but sites have impact only if people look at them.
"Okkar", believed to be a former Burmese embassy official, injects his
missives into a 24-hour "Burmanet" information channel.
One Burmese exile in Bangkok said people should try to look on the
bright side. He added: "We keep asking the council to engage in a debate.
This might not be much of a debate but it's a start."
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ENTERTAINMENT WIRE ANNOUNCEMENT: MTV HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIAL
March 20, 1997
MTV will premiere "Get Up, Stand Up" Human Rights Special
March 26 at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT)
Hosted by MTV's News Reporter, Serena Aschtul, the special profiles this
year's Reebok Human Rights Awards recipients, takes a look at human rights
issues around the world, and discusses ways young people can get involved.
Also included are interviews with Michael Stipe, Peter Gabriel and other
celebrities discussing human rights awareness.
"Get Up, Stand Up" focuses on the recipients of the annual Reebok Human
Rights Awards which honors young men and women, under the age of 30 from
around the world, for the good work they do in the field of human rights.
This year's recipients include:
Dr. Ma Thida from Burma is currently a prisoner of conscience. She was
sentenced to 20 years in prison for treating injured protestors and handing
out pro-democracy pamphlets.
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CAMBRIDGE TALK: BURMESE HUMAN RIGHTS
The Burma Action Group (Cambridge) presents
Human Rights and Democracy in Burma
___________________________________
7pm Wednesday
30th April 1997
Hills Road Sixth Form College
Hills Road, Cambridge
Guest speakers:
Pascal Khoo Thwe
Former Burmese student leader
and Cambridge University graduate
&
Aung Myint Htun
Journalist and former member
of Burmese government in exile
&
Yvette Mahon
Burma Action Group (UK)
&
U Ttra
A Burmese Buddhist monk
will speak on Buddhism and
human rights.
Tickets UK$5.00/3.50 concession includes Burmese soup and refreshments
The Burma Action Group (Cambridge) are pleased to invite you to a unique
public-and fund-raising event which will be held on the evening of the 30th
April 1997. The evening will highlight human rights abuses in Burma and the
struggle of those in Burma who campaign for democracy. With the recent news
of an increased wave of abuses in the country, Burma needs your support now
more than ever. Your attendance at this
event will send the Burmese democracy movement a strong message of respect
and solidarity from Britain for the restoration of democracy in their country.
For tickets or further information about the Burma Action Group
contact:
Mike Edie (01223) 500051 and Mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
or Lawrence Isaac (Christ College, University of Cambridge)
or Pick a ticket up on the door (subject to availability)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Burma Action Group (UK)
Working for:
* Human rights and democracy in Burma
* A peaceful solution to the civil war.
* The promotion of humanitarian aid to the people of Burma
Mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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