The BurmaNet News, August 18, 1997

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------     
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"     
----------------------------------------------------------     
 
The BurmaNet News: August 18, 1997        
Issue #799

Noted in Passing:

It appears ... that Slorc and the Thai leaders do not share the same views
and optimism over the "friendship" bridge.

-- Yindee Lertcharoenchok
(see THE NATION: ONE BRIDGE, TWO DIFFERENT VIEWS)

HEADLINES:        
========== 
SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0095( I/L )
BKK POST: BURMESE SKYJACKER TO BE HANDED OVER 
BKK POST: REBELS A HURDLE TO TRADE SUCCESS
SCMP: REFUGEES IN LIMBO AS DEADLINE EXPIRES 
ORCHESTRA BURMA: SLORC'S VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
THE NATION: BRIDGE OPENED BUT STILL 'CLOSED'
THE NATION: ONE BRIDGE, TWO DIFFERENT VIEWS
BKK POST: STAGNATION IN BURMA?
BKK POST: WHAT MEDIUM FOR THE MESSAGE?
BKK POST: MON RANGERS TO BE GRANTED CITIZENSHIP
DAILY YOMIURI: MARUBENI WIN MYANMAR GAS DEAL 
SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A-0094(I)
ANNOUNCEMENT: RALLY AT ARCO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0095( I/L )
August 17, 1997

Special Court Passed Sentence For Act Of High Treason And Association With
Unlawful Organizations

                On the 15 Aug the Insein Special Court passed the following
sentences to Myo Aung Thant, Cho Aung Than, Myint Swe and Nge Ma Ma Than.
The activities and involvement of these persons were presented in the June
6th, press conference where Secretary-1 Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt gave a
clarification of the "Terrorism Committed by Certain Organizations Operating
Under The Guise of Democracy and Human Rights"

(a) Myo Aung Thant- has been sentenced to Transportation for Life for
committing High Treason, (3) years imprisonment for breaching the
Unlawful Associations Act and another (7) years under the Emergency
Provisions Act.

(b) Cho Aung Than, Myint Swe and Nge Ma Ma Than - has been sentenced for (3)
years imprisonment for breaching the Unlawful Associations Act and another
(7) years  under  the Emergency Provisions Act.

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

BKK POST: BURMESE SKYJACKER TO BE HANDED OVER TO SLORC
August 15, 1997

A Burmese skyjacker who was arrested and detained in Thailand several years
ago is expected to be handed over to Slorc this month, according to a
military source.

In exchange some 100 Thai prisoners, mostly fishermen, will be returned, the
source said.

The handover of 28-year-old Ye Thi Ha, also known as San Naign, will occur
sometime after today's opening of the friendship bridge linking Mae Sot and
Myawaddy.

Ye Thi Ha, along with another Burman, Ye Yint, were first arrested in
Thailand on October 18, 1989.

They had hijacked a Fokker-28, which was on a domestic flight between Mergui
and Rangoon, to Utapao.

They were released two years later. It was found that they had used washing
powder to threaten passengers, claiming it was explosive.

During the court case, the two were allowed to live at the home of Gen
Thienchai Sirisamphan.

Ye Yint later got a scholarship to further his education in the United
States, where he has settled.

Ye Thi Ha was rearrested in 1993 in possession of arms and ammunition.
His prison term expires this month and Slorc has asked the Thai government
for his repatriation.

Representatives of Burmese students in Thailand are to appeal to the
government for his release.

They have also written to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. 

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

BKK POST: REBELS A HURDLE TO TRADE SUCCESS
August 16, 1997
Nussara Sawatsawang
Mae Sot, Tak Province

Thailand to 'help' in settling insurgency

Thailand will step up efforts to bring together the Burmese government and
the Karen ethnic insurgents in order to promote Thai-Burmese cooperation
along the newly-opened Friendship Bridge, a senior Thai military official
said yesterday.

"They [Burmese] may find it difficult to say when they will be able to
totally suppress the Karen National Union, [but] we will try to get them to
reach a negotiated settlement by coordinating contacts between them," Third
Army Commander Lieutenant General Thanom Watcharaput said.

Thailand would act along the lines of the role it played last year towards
the surrender of Shan leader Khun Sa to the military government, he said,
without elaborating.

If this succeeded, Thailand would not have to shoulder the burden of
sheltering refugees in Tak, now numbering about 90,000, he said.

Lt. Gen Thanom attended yesterday's ceremonial opening of the Thai-Burmese
Friendship Bridge across the Moei River which links Tak's Mae Sot with
Myawaddy, in Burma.

Ethnic insurgency and poor road conditions were among obstacles that dimmed
prospects for bridge users, observers said.

The Karen National Union, which remains active in the area, is the last
ethnic minority yet to enter cease-fire talks with the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (Slorc).

Though Thailand and Burma effectively upgraded three temporary checkpoints
to permanent ones yesterday, their nationals are not allowed to go beyond
Mae Sot and Myawaddy towns because of security risks on the Burmese side.

Burmese Construction Minister Major General Saw Tun said the problem would
be tackled.

Lt.-Gen Thanom quoted Burmese southeast commander Major General Ket Sein as
saying Burmese authorities would upgrade the road from Myawaddy to the
proposed deep seaport in Moulmein, as a priority.

Sources said traders in Tak were asking permission from the Burmese
government to develop a 350 km road from Kawkareik to Rangoon.

Thais and Burmese welcomed the opening as an historical event to mark
bilateral and regional cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Korn Dabbaransi, who represented Thailand at the
ceremony, said the bridge would encourage people-to-people contacts, trade
flow and investment and a plan to build the Asian Highway linking South Asia
and South-east Asia. 

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

SCMP: REFUGEES IN LIMBO AS DEADLINE EXPIRES 
August 15, 1997
Arshad Mahmud in Dhaka 

The deadline for repatriation expires today but the fate of nearly 28,000 
Burmese refugees languishing in camps in Bangladesh is still uncertain.

A Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official dealing with the repatriation said: 
"We're already in touch with the Burmese authorities to extend the deadline
further and we hope they would agree to our request."

He said although officials were hopeful of sending back 7,000 refugees
already cleared by Rangoon, the fate of the other 21,000 remained uncertain.

The refugees, locally known as Rohingyas, are part of the 250,000 Burmese
who fled to Bangladesh from the bordering Arakan province in 1992 in the
wake of a bloody crackdown by the Burmese military.

Nearly 220,000 Rohingyas have already returned in the past five years, under
an agreement between Dhaka and Rangoon. But complications arose last June
when Rangoon showed reluctance to accept back nearly 20,000 refugees without
any apparent reason. Some of the refugees have been on hunger strike since
July 21 over attempts to forcibly repatriate them. Twenty-five have died.

The refugees say they will not return to Burma until democracy is restored.

The Bangladesh official said: "This is an absurd demand as we don't have any
power to restore democracy there."

The refugees' intransigence has put the authorities in a dilemma as, under
an agreement signed with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
repatriation has to be voluntary and nobody can be sent back forcibly.

To demonstrate their resolve, the refugees resorted to violence aimed at 
blocking repatriation of 400 Rohingyas from the two camps in Cox's Bazar
last month.

In the face of increasing defiance, the Bangladesh authorities were forced
to postpone the programme indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the UN has proposed to the Government to absorb the refugees into
Bangladesh. But the Government has rejected the proposal, saying it is not
possible to accommodate thousands of refugees in a country already severely
over-populated.

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

ORCHESTRA BURMA: SLORC'S VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
August 15, 1997

SLORC's is increasing human rights violations in Tha Hton, Nyaceng Lay Pin
and Phe Pon, it was learnt. 

	In July, SLORC soldiers, from 'Kha La Ya' 57 based in Shwe Kyin, set fire
to the houses in two villages leaving villagers homeless.  Also, about 100
people from nearby villages accused of having contact with insurgents were
captured. Furthermore, that army forebade villagers from working on the farm.
	'Thu Du Phaw', 'Moe Ga Low', 'Ta Khaer Hta' villagers were put inside the
Khe La Ya 54 army compounds as detainees.  They were interrogated and
tortured by the soldiers.
	It was SLORC soldiers from 'Kha La Ya' 57 who destroyed all the
farmyards found on their way to fight enemies, it was learnt.

			Mya win

*              Orchestra Burma                 *
* http://www.freeburma.org/lokanat/index.htm *

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

THE NATION: BRIDGE OPENED BUT STILL 'CLOSED'
August 16, 1997

MAE SOT, TAK - Some 3,000 enthusiastic spectators attended the opening of
the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge yesterday, but were disappointed when
Burmese authorities refused to let them cross into Burma.

Thai authorities were informed by their Burmese counterparts that the ruling
junta had not yet authorised the use of the bridge, whose Bt79.2 million
price tag was picked up solely by the Thai government.

Burma's State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) was not yet prepared
for the Thai public to enter the country at that point, the Thai side was told.

The Burmese decision greatly disappointed a large number of Thais who had
arrived hoping the auspicious occasion would allow them the chance for a
brief glimpse of the Burmese town of Myawaddy.

Local Thai security officers said Slorc was concerned that exiled political
dissidents and Karen guerrillas might sneak into Burma along with the bona
fide Thai visitors.

According to Burmese officials, the bridge would be open for public use only
when the 400-km road linking Myawaddy and Rangoon is completed. Thailand has
offered to help improve the highway which is part of the trans-Asian Highway
A1. 

Presiding over the ceremony yesterday was Deputy Prime Minister Korn
Dabaransi and Burmese Construction Minister Maj Gen Saw Tun. The event was
witnessed by Thai and Burmese deputy foreign ministers Pitak Intrawityanunt
and U Nyunt Swe and a large flag-waving crowd of over 10,000 Thais and Burmese.

During a luncheon, Saw Tun recalled how the bridge project had faced a
number of problems and was even stalled for a long period. He thanked
Thailand for funding the bridge and said it would help improve Thai-Burmese
relations.

Pitak said after the ceremony that after the inauguration, Thailand and
Burma would cooperate to resolve problems along the 2,500-km border which
had been dragging on for over 10 years, including territorial disputes.

He said the Burmese side would allow the public to use the bridge when the
Myawaddy-Rangoon road was ready.

Korn, also industry minister, said Burma was now "open", as evidenced by its
recent entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

The country was no longer isolated and the ceremony yesterday was concrete
evidence that it had opened up, he added.

The Mae Sot-Myawaddy bridge, which spans the Moei River, is 420 metres long
and 13 metres wide. Its construction began with the foundation stonelaying
ceremony on Oct 20, 1994, and was completed in June this year after a nearly
two-year delay due to a bilateral territorial dispute. 

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

THE NATION: ONE BRIDGE, TWO DIFFERENT VIEWS
August 15, 1997
Yindee Lertcharoenchok

Will the opening of the Moei River bridge which spans the Thai-Burmese
border bring economic benefits to people on both sides of the divide? The
Nation's Yindee Lertcharoenchok finds out.

As Thailand and Burma jointly inaugurate the Friendship Bridge across the
Moei River today, they hope the structure will be strong enough to serve its
prime objective of promoting lasting neighbourly friendliness. The new
bridge will serve to link northern Thailand's Mae Sot district of Tak and
the Burmese border town of Myawaddy.

Although Thailand had intended to capitalise on today's celebration as a
historic event for the two countries, Burma, on the other hand, was lukewarm
in responding to the Thai proposal that the heads of the two governments be
present on the occasion.

Until last week, it was uncertain who would represent the Burmese military
government at the half-day ceremony which will take place on the bridge. A
Thai Foreign Ministry press statement dated two days ago did not name the
Burmese leader who would par-take in the event along with Thai Deputy Prime
Minister and Industry Minister Korn Dabaransi. Thailand was informed at the
last minute that Minister for Construction Maj Gen Saw Tun had been
delegated to attend.

Thailand had initially proposed that Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh,
who has strong personal connections with the Burmese junta, co-chair the
event with Senior Gen Than Shwe, the chairman of the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (Slorc). The request from Thailand that another
Slorc leader, Lt. Gen Khin Nyunt, be represented was also politely rejected.

Citing ethnic insurgency and flooding, Slorc also turned down a Thai request
in July that Deputy Foreign Minister Pitak Intrawityanunt lead a 400-km Thai
caravan rally from Mae Sot via Myawaddy to Rangoon, right after the opening
ceremony.

Thai government officials are unable to explain what prompted Burma's
decisions. It appears, however, that Slorc and the Thai leaders do not share
the same views and optimism over the "friendship" bridge.

The history of the Moei River bridge has not been a smooth one and relations
between authorities on both sides of the waterway are often not pleasant.

After several years of Thai persuasion Slorc and the Thai government
eventually signed an agreement on Oct 17, 1994, to build the bridge, whose
total cost of Bt79.2 million was to be wholly shouldered by Thailand. Its
construction began three days after the signing and was expected to be
completed in less that 10 months.

For Thailand, the two-lane 420-metre bridge will serve to strengthen mutual
friendship between the people of the two countries, to promote stronger
bilateral economic engagement and activities, and lastly to complete a link
of the trans-Asian Highway A-1 that facilitates overland travel between
Europe and Asia.

However, Thai investors and businessmen have higher hopes. They believe the
bridge will instantly help boost the tourism industry and allow them easy
access to potential Burmese markets and to Burma's abundant natural
resources. They also consider Burma as an economic land bridge linking
Thailand and South Asia. Although Burma shares Thailand's economic
aspirations, Slorc views the benefits from the bridge in another light. For
over three decades, the total elimination of ethnic insurgency along the
Burmese frontiers has always topped other political and economic agendas of
successive Burmese military governments.

To them, the establishment of internal peace, security, and stability, where
the central authority in Rangoon could assert full control over the
strife-plagued border terrain, was more crucial than economic activity.

The Moei River bridge will allow Slorc generals a good opportunity to curb
the black-market economy which has been the main source of income for the
Burmese insurgency and to replace it with a new regulated border regime and
the controlled passage sage of goods and people between the two countries.

Burma also expects to have an equal say and to share equal benefit with
Thailand in any economic activities along the common frontier.

But while most Thai officials are optimistic that the Moei River bridge will
benefit Thailand and Burma in the long run, many remain skeptical over its
potential benefits and worth.

They have expressed concern that the structure will be a mere concrete
symbol, much like the Bt750-million Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge across the
Mekong River which was opened in April 1994. Laos still refuses to allow
Thai vehicles into the country, citing conflicting regulations, lack of road
infrastructure and logistical difficulties.

Citing Burma's record of unpredictability, Thai officials are worried that
Slorc might close the frontier and the bridge at will. For example, the
construction of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy bridge was delayed for nearly two years
after Slorc ordered an abrupt halt to its work in June 1995 following
allegations of Thai encroachment on the riverbank.

The suspension of the bridge project along with the abrupt  closure of the
three existing border crossings at Mae Sai-Tachilek, Mae Sot-Myawaddy and
Ranong-Kawthaung in 1995 severely affected Thailand. The total value of
cross-border trade dropped sharply from nearly Bt8 billion in 1994 to Bt5.5
billion in 1996.

With the spiraling fall of both the Thai and Burmese currencies in the past
few months, local Thai traders also doubt that bilateral trade volume will
soon pick up.

Although Thailand and Burma have already agreed to extend their sovereignty
to the middle of the bridge, they have yet to negotiate and finalise an
agreement on the crucial issues of jurisdiction and the free flow of goods
and the extent of travel of their people and vehicles.

As it looks now, the opening today of the Moei River bridge promises to be a
symbolic but pompous occasion full of great expectations, which may or may
not ever be fulfilled. 

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

BKK POST: STAGNATION IN BURMA?
August 17, 1997
David I. Steinberg

Confrontation: examining the political situation in Burma

Reproduced From Trends: A Monthly Publication of The Institute Of Southeast
Asian Studies  (ISEAS) in Singapore

"It is as if a large truck were rushing headlong into a small Volkswagen",
as one anonymous observer in Rangoon recently described the political
situation in Burma, comparing the ruling Slorc (State Law and Order
Restoration Council) to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the National
League for Democracy (NLD).

But is that confrontation inevitable and is it so one-sided? The NLD would
not agree to that characterisation of its meagre strength, citing its
overwhelming popularity in the 1990 election that Slorc ignored and
continuing evidence of anti-military feeling, and in spite of the determined
effort by the Slorc to whittle down its leadership and destroy its
organisation. The Slorc might also demur, claiming it is simply upholding
the laws that it has enacted.

These views may not express the subtlety of the situation, but rather a
polarisation of opinion reflecting internal institutional views that are
incessantly externally promulgated. Stagnation may seem evident, but there
are changes that are apparent beneath the stalemate of surface confrontation
and beyond the rhetoric. Understanding reality may require more nuanced views.

The Slorc seems at the moment to be in a position of enhanced power; it is
most internally secure since its coup of Sept 18, 1988. The population at
present seems disinclined to repeat the attempted revolution of 1988 that
the coup repressed. Fifteen rebellions have ended through ceasefires that,
however ephemeral they may eventually prove to be, have freed the military
for broader deployment and control. The last major organised
resistance, the oldest ethnic rebellion of the Karen, has had its major
bases near the Thai border destroyed, and its leadership is talking through
intermediaries with the Slorc about a ceasefire that some of its commanders,
although not perhaps its top leadership, desire. 

The Slorc is reinforced by its admission into Asean, which may mean little
at home but does carry some external weight. Although the sanctions on new
investments imposed by the United States convey considerable moral force at
least internally within the US, their economic effects on Burma will be
minimal; even their moral influence is diminished by the selective
imposition of such an action against Burma, only one of many repressive
regimes in the world. But as one congressman, who believed sanctions would
not be effective but who planned to vote for them, remarked, "It is
difficult to vote in favour of the Slorc." 
     
The economy in much of the country is vibrant and has evidently grown in the
past few years, but whether its apparent growth, albeit unevenly
distributed, can be maintained without more basic reforms is questionable.

The Slorc has not addressed the fundamental economic problems that virtually
all foreign observers recognise as required if economic growth is to continue.

These include a comprehensive devaluation of a currency over 30 times its
official value, control of the money supply to inhibit an annual inflation
of some 30 percent, rationalisation of inefficient public sector industries
now put at even more risk by foreign competition, development of a competent
and autonomous financial sector, and payment of public sector officials'
salaries that will combat the cancer of corruption that is evident,
ubiquitous, and even necessary for survival. The most difficult and basic
task for any Burmese regime is freeing the economy from political influence
without which economic rationality will not prevail.

Chinese goods and influence are so apparent as to create concerns that
should the Slorc falter economically it will be the Chinese, the most
obvious of the newly rich, who will be the scapegoats for Slorc errors.
Rumours are rife that drug money has been laundered into legitimate
construction and other businesses. 

There are also rumours that the Slorc itself is divided and in danger of
disintegrating into two factions reflecting the line military (led by
General Maung Aye) and the support, specifically intelligence, wing (led by
General Khin Nyunt). Veteran observers too describe the internal jealousies
and rivalries, but comment that these two groups need each other and the
Slorc needs both, so that overt splits that would threaten the stability of
military rule at this juncture seem unlikely.

The NLD may feel that it is becoming marginalised with restrictions on its
activities and those of Aung San Suu Kyi. It walked out of, and then was
expelled-from, the National Convention in 1995, that hand-picked body that
was designed to do Slorc's bidding in writing a new, heavily scripted
constitution. The NLD now seems to want to return because, even if the
results are predetermined to ensure perpetual military control, it is at
least a forum for internal discussion, if not public debate.

The military has taken two interlocking steps that will, it believes ensure
its control over the society into the future. It has, through the National
Convention and based on an Indonesian model, sought to ensure the military's
domination of the leadership and the administrative mechanisms of the state
through a constitution in which it will play the legal, leading roles at all
levels and in all branches of the government. 

It has, in tandem to writing a new constitution, created a mass base of
support for the military and its policies through the formation and
leadership of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which
now has over five million members.

The pattern is reminiscent of the military's strategy in its Burma Socialist
Programme Party incarnation in the early 1970s, when it expanded the party
in preparation for the constitution of 1974. The USDA concentration on youth
indicates the Slorc's intent for long-range control.

Splits in the foreign community's reaction to the Slorc regime and
recalcitrance in engaging in meaningful dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and
the NLD are becoming more apparent as the SLORC consolidates its power.
Entry into Asean puts the US at odds with that important body, as well as
with China, Slorc's major military and moral supporter.

Japan, which has been reluctant to break with the US on Burma in spite of
strong internal pressures from its business community, has now expressed
willingness to restart its most important foreign aid programme should the
Slorc show even some modest (probably ineffective) signs of dialogue. Korea,
with no such scruples, has a major economic role, with Daewoo Corporation
being the most obvious of Korean conglomerates.

The military's role in the economy is likely to remain- powerful through its
Burma Holdings Corporation Ltd, a wholly owned military venture, as well as
through its direct management of numerous factories far beyond the immediate
needs of military procurement, and at a local level through USDA-owned
businesses designed to provide support to those local branches of that
ubiquitous organisation.

Similarly, there may be a movement to a multi-party political system as the
military forms a constitution at some indefinite date, even though elections
do not a democracy make. Some very modest local autonomy given under the new
constitution to a variety of ethnic groups, along a Chinese model, will not
grant them national power or influence, but it may placate some local
concerns as will some controlled electoral process. The US call for Slorc
honouring the 1990 elections won by the NLD becomes more anachronistic over
time.

There is ferment, not stagnation, in Burma as events unfold. The Slorc at
first may not have planned to remain in such an obvious position of power
for so long, but it was evidently shocked by the 1990 election and
anti-military attitudes,  which it has been assiduously trying to change. It
may continue in power until it feels its future (and that of the state in
its terms) is assured. But the likely overall direction does indicate continuing
military control in mufti and in uniform. The immediate future seems stable,
but the longer-range problems remain unaddressed, let alone answered, and
these will likely erode the enforced tranquillity of the present.

**Dr David I. Steinberg is representative of the Asia Foundation in Korea.
He was formerly a professor at Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA. He
has long been a Burma watcher. 

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

BKK POST: WHAT MEDIUM FOR THE MESSAGE?
August 17, 1997
David I. Steinberg

Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi must speak to her own people through the Burmese
cultural medium or see her internal legitimacy erode

Reproduced from Trends: A Monthly Publication of the Institute of Southeast
Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore

To whom does Aung San Suu Kyi now speak? Her stand for democracy as the West
understands it is clear, but her message in the cultural context  may be
more oriented to the foreign community than to the local people within Burma
who have been denied by the authorities an opportunity to hear her or read
her words.

In the 11th century, a Burmese king from Pagan in central Burma captured
King Manuha from the southern kingdom of Thaton, and transplanted him and
many of his followers back to that central Burmese capital. 
     
The captive was placed in what we today would call house arrest. But in the
monarchical tradition, he was allowed to build a Buddhist pagoda, as indeed
all leaders have done up to the present, including U Nu, and Generals Ne Win
and Than Shwe in contemporary times.

To symbolise the psychic constraints to which he was subjected and the
resultant emotional stress, he built a pagoda containing three massive
Buddha figures.

They were completely out of proportion to the space cramped and constrained
by abutting walls that constricted their shoulders and a roof that pressed
on their heads. This was an innovative, eloquent and politically acceptable
means to protest his imprisonment and convey a timeless message. The pagoda
still stands today in Pagan.

Aung San Suu Kyi has also been under house arrest, and even after her
release her movements and visitors have been restricted and screened. Her
statements of political freedom now are only heard by the outside world
since she no longer can speak to her gathered followers and the press is
controlled.

The Slorc is attempting to make her irrelevant internally. Each side seems
to have become more intransigent, and her frustration seems to have become
more strident. The Slorc attempts to portray her as a stooge of foreign
"neocolonialism" and "hegemonism", both led by the United States. But in so
far as her message is conveyed only to the outside world, her internal
legitimacy may erode, and the Slorc's argument may have more local salience.

To begin meaningful dialogue between the two sides is what realistically the
world hopes for at this sorry state of play. To do this requires will on
both sides, but whether there are such mutual sentiments is unclear. But in
any case, the need for the opposition is to operate within the dominant
culture of the country, and deal with the authorities on a common platform,
even if the differences are immense. That platform is Burmese culture.

Some 20 or more years ago, a cyclone hit the Arakan in Burma, killing many
and making thousands homeless. U Nu, who had been released from prison by
the military but was prevented from engaging in politics in a highly
authoritarian state, made both a humanitarian and political statement. He
walked silently through the streets of Rangoon raising funds, as would a
mendicant monk, and his mute meritorious activities drew large, sympathetic
crowds. It was a quintessential political statement in an
appropriate cultural context.

Perhaps it need not take building a pagoda to operate within the Burmese
context, but then again it might.

King Manuha's actions remind us how to speak through culture to politics.
Aung San Suu Kyi must speak to her own people, drawing upon the traditions
and resources of her own society. 

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

BKK POST: MON RANGERS TO BE GRANTED CITIZENSHIP
August 17, 1997

Seven army-trained rangers of Mon origin are likely to be granted Thai
citizenship as proposed by the Interior Ministry because of their good deeds
for the country.

The proposal, backed by the army and National Security Council, will be
forwarded to the cabinet for approval on Tuesday.

The seven-Songji Monyahong, Kumpa Hongsa, Dej Hongcharoen, Wichit
Suwankosolwitya, Veera Salaklang, Viraj Puangdokmai and Wiwat
Booncharoen-originally held Burmese nationality. They entered Thailand
before March 19, 1976.

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

DAILY YOMIURI: MARUBENI WIN MYANMAR GAS DEAL 
August 14, 1997

Trading house Marubeni Corp. said  Wednesday it and Kawasaki Heavy
Industries Co. had won a Yen 7 billion order to boost power output in
Myanmar.

The contract was offered by the Myanmar  Electric Power Enterprise, a
Marubeni spokesman said.

Fie said that upgrading the capacity of two gas combined cycle power
generation systems would start by the end of the year.

Marubeni said  the orders were to raise the city of Ahlone and Hlawga
power generation systems to 150 megawatts each from 90 MW.

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

SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A-0094(I)
August 16, 1997

(1) No 2 Mining Enterprise, local company agree on JV gold prospecting in
Myitkyina
		No 2 Mining Enterprise of the Ministry of Mines and Sea-Sun-Star Co Ltd,
formed with Kachin nationals, this morning signed an agreement to undertake
joint-venture gold prospecting along the Ayeyawady in Mankhein region in
Myitkyina Township.
		After the signing ceremony Minister Lt.Gen. Kyaw Min gave a speech. In his
address, the Minister  said the Ministry of Mines has laid down a principle
on prospecting and mining of gold and copper deposits which entail foreign
investments and advanced technology and also given permit to local
entrepreneurs for small undertakings which need small inputs without high
technology.
		The ministry, he said, has joint-venture metal production and exploration,
finished gemstone production and pearl exploration and
production in cooperation with foreign companies, which has amounted to 12.
		He cited three of the ministry's joint ventures with foreign companies -
copper production with Myanmar Ivanhoe Co, lead, zinc and silver exploration
with Mandalay Mining Co and pearl exploration and production with Tasaki Co
of Japan. He noted that targets have been met in the three JVs and said
there are also other JVs under contracts and in operations with other
foreign firms. He revealed that concentrated copper will be produced at
25,000 metric tons per year beginning April 1988.
		Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration Department is also undertaking
gold, copper, lead zinc and platinum prospecting jointly with foreign firms
with the first-batch designation of 16 work blocks and second-batch 11
blocks, he said with a remark that the first-batch blocks are promising and
endeavours are being made for success of these work blocks so that they will
appear as a giant mine in future.
		For the third batch, proposals have been sent to foreign firms wishing to
prospect and survey gold, copper, lead, zinc, nickel and chromite, he said.
		He called on the two sides to strive allout as this agreement was the
second permit for joint-venture operations with local entrepreneurs and said
the ministry would provide guidance and assistance as necessary.
		He stressed correctness and accuracy in the methods of operations as large
inputs have to be made in mining which is risky and cited important points
in the process - minimization of wastage, standardization of concentration
methods, avoidance of causing impacts on natural environment and adherence
to the Mining and Forestry Laws. He reminded the local entrepreneurs of the
danger of using cyanide and mercury and said private entrepreneurs are not
allowed to use cyanide.

(2)		Medicine, medical equipment for Social Associations
		The Maymyo Expatriates Association of London donated medicine and medical
equipment for Social Association at the Ministry of National Planning and
Economic Development on 15 August.
		The Ministry then presented medicine and medical equipment to
representatives of Jivitadana Sangha Hospital, Nazaret Dispensary, Muslin
Free Hospital, Fran ciscan Missionaries of Mary and Parihita Tiger School.

(3)		MMCWA officials meet members of Khayan and Thongwa Township
		Chairperson of Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association,
Vice-Chairperson and member of the Central Executive Committee of the
Association met members of Khayan and Thongwa Township MCWAs at the meeting
hall of Khayan Township.
		The chairperson of MMCWA presented cash, medicines and clothes for Khayan
Township flood relief. Then handed medicines and educative pamphlets for
Khayan and Thongwa Township MCWAs to respective township chairpersons.
		Patron of Yangon Division Maternal and Child Welfare Supervisory Committee
handed cash to Patron of Khayan Township MCWA. Later on they proceeded to
the office of Khayan Township MCWA, where they inspected sewing business
undertaken by the association.

(4) Shwe Minn Tha Co opens new office
		Shwe Minn Tha Enterprises Co. Ltd. and Shwe Minn Tha General Enterprise
and General Trading Coop Society Ltd. opened its new office at 291, 40th
Street (Upper Block), Kyauktada Township, on 13 August.
		In addition to general services, the company is publishing Panorama, a
monthly economic and cultural magazine, and Myanmar Chronicle quarterly
handbook in cooperation with the Printing and Publishing Enterprise of the
Ministry of Information.

		Office calls in Yangon on 15 August
(A) Minister for Forestry Lt.Gen. Chit Swe received a delegation of PT Citra
Lamtoro Gung Persada of Indonesia led by Chief Executive Officer Mr. Bamang
Soeroso at the International Business Centre.
(B)Minister for Hotels and Tourism Lt.Gen. Kyaw Ba received a delegation
led by Chairman of Myanmar Basin Island Resort Co Ltd Maj.Gen. Dong Zhao
Liang at his office.

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: RALLY AT ARCO
August 15, 1997

Come to protest ARCO Corporation's continued support of Burma's brutal
military regime, SLORC.

Join us this Wednesday, August 20th at 11am, at ARCO Headquarters - 515 S.
Flower (at the corner of 5th and Flower) in downtown Los Angeles.

We have been doing weekly demonstrations in front of ARCO headquarters for
four weeks.   Especially given recent reports that ARCO may be looking for a
buyer of its project in Burma, it is even more important that we continue to
increase pressure.    We have leaflets,  banners and signs.  Bring
yourselves and drums, if you have them.

Please forward this message to anyone you think might be interested.

If you have any questions.  Please call Kevin at (310)399-0703.

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