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The BurmaNet News, August 19, 1997
- Subject: The BurmaNet News, August 19, 1997
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 19:55:00
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------
The BurmaNet News: August 19, 1997
Issue #800
Noted in Passing:
It is inappropriate to send dissident students to SLORC which opposes
democracy and human rights in Burma.
--Burmese students on the imminent extradition of Ye Thiha San Naing
(BKK SIAM RAT: STUDENTS WANT EXTRADITION CANCELED)
HEADLINES:
==========
DAILY YOMIURI: MYANMAR REJECTS CALL FOR DIALOGUE
STRAITS TIMES: ACTIVIST' S COUSINS JAILED FOR 10 YEARS
THE CANBERRA TIMES: GETTING ON THE WRONG SIDE
BKK SIAM RAT: STUDENTS WANT EXTRADITION CANCELED
BKK POST: CROSSING AT NEW BRIDGE STILL LIMITED
BKK POST: DEMARCATION PLAN CLOSER TO APPROVAL
BKK POST: BURMESE ECONOMY AT 'TURNING POINT'
NLM: WHAT THE COLONIALISTS' FOREIGN AID MEANS
ANNOUNCEMENT: FBC OCTOBER CONFERENCE AT UCLA
BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST
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DAILY YOMIURI: MYANMAR REJECTS CALL FOR DIALOGUE
August 19, 1997
Yangon ( Kyodo ) -- Myanmar on Monday rejected Japan's request that it open
dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Japanese official said.
Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council, told State Foreign Secretary Masahiko Komura, the second
highest-ranking Foreign Ministry official, that he cannot meet with people
who have broken the law, even if they are leaders of Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy ( NLD ).
Three relatives of Suu Kyi have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison
for illegally receiving funds from an American.
Komura who is on a weeklong visit to Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to hold talks
with the countries' leaders, also called on Khin Nyunt to involve the NLD in
drafting a new constitution.
Regarding a new charter, one of the conditions for restoration of civilian
rule, Khin Nyunt said his government wants to introduce democracy under a
multiparty system but it would take time.
********************************************
STRAITS TIMES: ACTIVIST' S COUSINS JAILED FOR 10 YEARS
August 18, 1997
AGENCIES in Rangoon
Three democracy supporters, relatives of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
have been sentenced to 10 years each in prison, the Government said in a
statement yesterday.
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi' s cousin and close aide Cho Aung Than, his sister, Nge
Ma Ma Than, and her husband, Myint Swe, had been found guilty and sentenced
under national security laws in Insein court in Rangoon, the statement said.
Several other close aides and relatives of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi have been
arrested and sentenced to long jail terms over the past 18 months as part of
a crackdown against her movement.
The statement said the three were jailed for three years for breaching the
Unlawful Associations Act and seven years under the Emergency Provisions
Act. It gave no further details.
The three were detained in June and questioned about smuggling videotapes of
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi' s speeches abroad.
They have also been accused of being conduits for foreign funds the
Government said were received by Ms Aung San Suu Kyi' s party, the National
League for Democracy, this year, officials said.
In June, Burma' s military Government, the State Law and Order Restoration
Council, said the league had received US$82,200 (HK$635,500) from two
Americans working for United States agencies.
Nobel Peace Laureate Ms Aung San Suu Kyi has strongly denied receiving the
money. League vice-chairman Kyi Maung has said the party has occasionally
been offered money by foreign organisations but never accepted foreign
donations as a matter of principle.
The court also sentenced former sailor Myo Aung Thant to life imprisonment
for high treason and terrorist-linked offences, the statement said.
Myo Aung Thant was convicted of attempting to smuggle explosives into Burma
from Thailand earlier this year after being recruited by exiled Burmese
dissidents, officials have said.
The junta has accused exiled pro-democracy groups of masterminding bomb
attacks in Rangoon over the past few months, one of which killed the eldest
daughter of Army Chief of Staff General Tin Oo.
Meanwhile, the highest-ranking delegation from Japan to visit Burma in five
years arrived in Rangoon yesterday.
Parliamentary Vice-Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura was to hold talks today
with Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw and Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, a key
member of the junta.
The delegation had no plans to meet Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, the Japanese
Embassy said.
Mr. Komura is expected to stress to the junta the need for greater democracy.
*****************************************
THE CANBERRA TIMES: GETTING ON THE WRONG SIDE
August 18, 1997
Ian McPhedran
IAN McPHEDRAN reports that despite its entry to the ASEAN, Burma continues
to stifle its people by a network of secret intelligence services supported
by China, Singapore, Russia and Israel.
LATER this year one of Australia's most accomplished senior diplomats, John
Dauth, will travel to Burma as the special envoy of Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer. Dauth's brief will be to report on the reality of claims
made by the Burmese Foreign Minister, Ohn Gyaw, that real progress towards
democratic reform is being made by the military junta in Burma.
After their meeting in Kuala Lumpur during the Association of South East
Asian Nations Regional Forum, Ohn Gyaw attempted to mislead the media by
saying human rights was not even discussed, when in fact, the meeting was
dominated by human-rights issues. Downer was furious and he wants Dauth to
provide him with advice on a possible change in policy to take account of a
regime that is even prepared to break the code of honour between foreign
ministers.
Dauth's biggest problem will be that from the moment he sets foot in the
country until he leaves, he will be under constant surveillance, his
conversations will be bugged and he will get nowhere near any of the grim
realities of the place such as the appalling border refugee camps or the
torture cells at places such as the notorious Insein prison.
In May this year one of the military strong men running Burma's military
government, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council,
Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, said, ''It has become especially necessary to
contain the undisciplined import of foreign beliefs under the pretext of
democracy and human rights, unfettered freedom, the Western style behaviour,
such as individualism, which undermines the family or union spirit which the
Myanmar [Burma] people cherish.'' He went on to say that it was necessary to
contain efforts to promote the spread of Western behaviour and culture in
the country.
In a comprehensive working paper on Burma's intelligence apparatus published
by the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies
Centre, strategic analyst and former SDSC visiting fellow Andrew Selth
paints a detailed picture of just how Khin Nyunt and his ilk keep
destructive notions such as freedom, democracy and human rights at bay.
Khin Nyunt is one of the most feared and reviled leaders of the Burmese
junta. He runs the peak intelligence body, the Directorate of Defence
Services Intelligence, which controls the Military Intelligence Service (the
acronym MIS sends a shiver down the spine of most Burmese) and all other
intelligence agencies.
It is no exaggeration to say that the DDSI, MIS or one of the other agencies
has spies on virtually every street corner in Burma as well as in many
overseas diplomatic missions and within Burmese expatriate communities in
key countries such as Australia.
The SLORC has not been acting alone in its quest for oppression through
observation and fear. According to Selth's paper China, Singapore, Russia
and Israel have all played a role in providing Khin Nyunt and his shadowy
agencies with technical equipment and training. China is the leading
provider of equipment (and arms) to the SLORC.
''Singapore has developed a close relationship with the SLORC in recent
years and is thought to be training large numbers of Burmese secret police
at an institution in central Singapore. There have also been persistent
rumours that Israel's Central Institute for Intelligence and Security
(Mossad) has provided training for Burma's intelligence agencies,'' Selth
says. According to the paper, it is also believed that Israel trained
Burma's anti-terrorist unit and the SLORC's personal bodyguards.
Both Singapore and Israel are suspected of providing signals interception
and encryption equipment to the DDSI along with training packages. There is
also good reason to believe that the SLORC has acquired equipment, possibly
from Singapore's Defence Technology Group, to protect domestic
communications from hostile interception.
China, India and Thailand reportedly monitor Burmese radio traffic on a
regular basis. The DDSI is focused on gathering information about the
structure, membership, policies and methods of numerous organisations.
According to Selth, enormous amounts of the country's scarce resources have
been put into building up personal dossiers on known and suspected
dissidents in Burma, members of the diplomatic community and even foreign
critics of the regime who live abroad.
Intelligence agencies have a considerable capacity to monitor organisations
and individuals believed to constitute a threat to the regime. They are also
able to collect large amounts of information, both within Burma and abroad.
As well as employing a vast network of spies they utilise the full range of
listening techniques, including secret listening devices, phone taps, mail
interception and unauthorised access to local bank accounts. According to
Selth, it is even possible that the DDSI interferes with diplomatic bags.
In fact, diplomatic personnel posted to the capital, Rangoon, complain of
being watched and assume as a matter of course that their phones are tapped.
They must obtain permission to travel more than 25km from the General Post
Office and their domestic servants are subject to interrogation about the
activities and personal beliefs of particular diplomats.
THE INTELLIGENCE services pay particular attention to the activities of
influential opposition political figures, such as Nobel laureate and
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Her house is under constant and
obvious surveillance and visitors and people gathering outside to hear her
speak are photographed. Anyone calling on her is required to log in at an
office maintained by the DDSI outside her compound. Her telephone
conversations are monitored and if the conservation is not to the SLORC's
liking, it can be cut off. This happened in May 1996 during a phone
interview with the BBC World Service.
Selth argues that since 1989 resources devoted to Burma's intelligence
services have increased immensely. ''This effort seems aimed at stamping out
any challenge to continued military rule, through an overwhelming monopoly
of information about military, political, economic and social developments
in the country.
'The cost to Burma of this massive intelligence effort are impossible to
calculate, but they must be considerable. The SLORC's allocation of scarce
resources (including precious foreign exchange) to the blanket surveillance
of the entire population means that other critical areas of Burmese society,
such as education and health services, suffer the consequences.
'Human-rights issues aside, serious questions must also be raised about the
stability and ultimate survival of a system which depends to such an extent
on its security services.''
*************************************************
BKK SIAM RAT: BURMESE STUDENTS WANT EXTRADITION OF STUDENT CANCELED
August 14, 1997 [translated from Thai]
A group of Burmese student representatives yesterday submitted a letter to a
UN office in Bangkok calling for the cancellation of the extradition of Ye
Thiha San Naing, a political prisoner, to Burma. They also called on
Thailand to halt the opening of the Mae Sot-Myawadi Friendship Bridge
scheduled for 15 August.
The letter, addressed to the UNHCR offices in Bangkok and Geneva, asks for
assistance for Ye Thiha San Naing, who was arrested by Thai authorities and
later sentenced to 5 years for possession of arms. Ye joined in the uprising
in Burma in 1988 and fled into Thailand after the Burmese military junta,
known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC], seized the
power. He and his friend fled into Thailand in a hijacked Burmese plane.
The letter asks the UNHCR to recognize Ye as a person whose life is in
danger and press Thailand to cancel the planned extradition of Ye to Burma
and to ask Thailand to protect Ye as a person whose life is in danger.
Another letter has been sent to the Thai government. It says that the group
has learned that the Thai authorities have reached an agreement with SLORC
for the extradition of Ye, who was arrested in 1993 on charges of possession
of arms and ammunition. The letter says that the decision is unfair for Ye
who has fought against SLORC in order to call for the restoration of
democracy in Burma. It is inappropriate to send dissident students to SLORC
which opposes democracy and human rights in Burma.
The opening of the Thai-Myawadi friendship bridge on 15 August will step up
SLORC's oppression of the Burmese people. The Thai government should not
help build up SLORC's strength.
As a result, the students called on the Thai government to refrain from the
following: supporting SLORC in oppressing the movements fighting for
democracy; sending students back to SLORC; and, supporting the direct and
indirect oppression of the Burmese.
In addition, the group wants the Thai government to do the following: for
long term benefit, the government should cancel Ye's extradition and
guarantee his safety on Thai soil; halt the opening of the friendship
bridge; and, support Burmese students living in Thailand who are fighting
for democracy and against the military government.
**********************************************
BKK POST: CROSSING AT NEW BRIDGE STILL LIMITED
August 18, 1997
Supamart Kasem
Burma not yet able to take vehicular traffic
Mae Sot, Tak -- Use of the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge linking Mae Sot and,
Myawaddy is still limited despite its official opening last Friday.
People of both countries were "allowed to cross the border without" having
to use a border pass for three days following the opening of the bridge. But
from today they will be required to obtain proper travelling documents.
The first convoy of 20 cars crossed the bridge on Saturday, taking 51 Thai
businessmen, led by Tak Chamber of Commerce vice president Paniti Tangphati,
from Mae Sot to Myawaddy. After the convoy returned to Mae Sot on Sunday, no
other vehicles were allowed across the bridge as the Burmese said they were
not yet ready to handle vehicular traffic and travelling documents involving
vehicles and passengers.
The Thai businessmen were welcomed on arrival at Myawaddy on Saturday by Lt
Col Khin Maung Win, chief of Myawaddy border trade.
The lieutenant colonel took them to see some of the areas designated
industrial zones under a Thai-Burmese industrial cooperation agreement along
Mae Sot-Myawaddy Moulmein-Rangoon Road.
A 10,000-acre area has been set aside for investment by private firms along
Myawaddy-Kawkareik Road and another 40 acres near Myawaddy town for the
construction of a transport centre.
Under the Thai-Burmese cooperation agreement, there would be 33 projects
worth about 48,000 million baht along the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Moulmein-Rangoon
Road. Thirteen of the projects, worth 21,429 million baht, will be on the
Thai side and the rest worth 26,626 million baht in Burma.
*********************************************
BKK POST: DEMARCATION PLAN CLOSER TO APPROVAL
August 18, 1997
Nussara Sawatsawang
Burma is today expected to endorse Thailand's proposal for demarcating the
two countries' 2,400 kilometre border without touching on disputed areas, a
senior Foreign Ministry official said.
The proposal, approved in principle when senior officials met early last
month in Rangoon, will be tabled at a meeting in Bangkok tomorrow of the
Joint Boundary Committee, co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Pitak
Intrawithyanunt and his Burmese counterpart Nyunt Swe.
Somboon Sa-ngiambutre, director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs
Department, and Burma's U Aye Lwin win chair today's meeting.
Mr. Somboon said the ministers were likely to assign legal experts and
technicians to demarcate the ill-defined boundary by bypassing spots where
both sides were unable to resolve conflicting claims.
The aim is to break a long-standing deadlock and pave the way for
site-specific negotiations once the entire border has been surveyed, he added.
'This is totally different," he said. "In previous talks, both sides made
contentious points the priority.'
*******************************************************
BKK POST: BURMESE ECONOMY AT 'TURNING POINT'
August 18, 1997 [slightly abridged]
22 countries bring in More than $6.2 bn
Rangoon, AFP -- Foreign investment in Burma is growing, bringing the
country's economy to a turning point, the state-run press reported.
Some 22 countries had invested a total of more than $6.2 billion through 260
firms, with oil and natural gas the biggest sector for foreign involvement,
the New Light of Myanmar said in a commentary.
The country was no longer operating a socialist or centralised economic
system, the paper said, and now welcomed foreign investment. State-owned
companies were being gradually privatised.
"Today's national economic system is totally different form the past's
centralised economic policy as Myanmar (Burma) has changed to
market-orientated economic system," the daily said.
"Thus it can be said the nation's economy is at a turning point.
The number of foreign firms allowed to invest in Burma in fiscal 1996 was
78, double the 39 admitted the previous year. The 78 firms invested $2.8
billion, up from 668 million the year before, the paper said.
Britain ranked highest in the latest list of foreign investors, with 29
firms bringing $1.32 billion into the country.
Singapore ranks second, investing $1.22 billion, followed by Thailand with
1.13 billion and the United States with $582 million.
Malaysia was investing 524 million and France $470 million, the paper said.
The figures stand up to the end of June 1997.
"Now the private businesses are being promoted to Play a crucial role in the
nation's economy while the cooperative firms and state-owned enterprises
have become second and third economic sectors of the nation respectively" it
added.
"State-owned enterprises are being privatised gradually."
The most popular sector for foreign investors is oil and natural gas,
followed by production, although the paper did not give details, as well as
housing, hotels and tourism.
"Foreign investments are rising rapidly as foreign investors have much
confidence in Myanmar's political stability. The nation's rich natural
resources and fair labour charges are also its other advantages," it said.
*******************************************************
NLM: WHAT THE COLONIALISTS' FOREIGN AID MEANS
August 12 - 13, 1997 [abridged]
by Maung Hmat Kyauk
[12 Aug, p 5] The US mostly employs the dollar as weapon to realize its
ignoble objective. Spending those dollars it has made use of print media,
radios and TVs. Then, it has launched the disinformation campaign by
withholding authentic news, disseminating concocted news and sowing
discord. It has tried to mislead and deceive the world public.
The double standard policy of the Western print media to follow the
dictates of the dollar in disregard of ethics meant for the Press and to
black out the authentic news is called Black Journalism. As the Fascist
Hitler of Nazi Germany employed the Black Journalism during the World War
II, the Americans are practicing it today.
Personalities of both the West and the East who have come to Myanmar
are amazed to witness the progress and stability in Myanmar today.
Extending dollars in aid for spreading rumours, the US government has
created upheavals in international affairs. Another kind of assistance of
neo-colonialists is money and weapons extended to the opposition elements,
expatriates and insurgent groups of target nations to destabilize the
situation there. In many nations around the world, armies were lured with
assistance to seize power and topple ruling governments. Millions of
dollars were given in aid to opposition parties in times of elections. The
US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) usually takes charge of such tasks.
The print media has repeatedly disclosed CIA involvement in the elections
using dollar.
The CIA is skilled in breeding internal axe-handles, cohorts and
mercenary politicians in a country, feeding the expatriates of that country
and providing assistance in money, weapons and training in acts of
terrorism to armed insurgents in the jungles and making use of them.
Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt
on 27-6-97 clarified how Western powers had been aiding and abetting
terrorism committed by certain organizations operating in the guise of
democracy and human rights by giving them assistance in both cash and kind.
He did so with firm and complete evidence. The nature of internal and
external subversives has thus been brought to light inside the country and
outside because of the Secretary-1's sound and precise clarification. I have
stated a rough picture of how budget appropriations are passed by the US
Congress and directly administered by the US State Department, and how CIA
is extending such assistance through semi-government and non-governmental
organizations to the Myanmar expatriates, axehandles, their stooges and
terrorists in the article "Those who are harnessed by the dollar".
No one can deny that there are links and connections between the CIA
and Sein Win (expatriate), between Sein Win and expatriates in Japan and
Bangkok, and between expatriates and axe-handles of Daw Suu Kyi inside the
country and that those destructive elements have committed bomb explosions
and killed people in Myanmar. Still, Daw Suu Kyi refuted that she would not
accept terrorist acts and explosions in any way and had not committed such
acts since her father (Bogyoke Aung San) himself was assassinated by
terrorists. Then, there arises the need to ask Daw Suu Kyi a question who
said she would not accept terrorist acts because Bogyoke Aung San was
assassinated by the terrorists. The question is: "If so, why did she marry
an English man of the British colonialists who Bogyoke Aung San hated much?"
Please answer through the BBC. Let's hear the answer. Do not answer that she
married an English man because she stayed in England for long. It will not
be a sound answer. Why didn't she follow the example of her brother who
lived in the US for long but married a Myanmar woman?
Her acceptance of US$ 80,000 from a US citizen Philip Robertson and
US$ 5,200 from another John Vincent Osolnick then surfaced with evidence.
Daw Suu Kyi flatly denied in spite of the undeniable fact. How shall we
trust such a person who denied facts. Parasites of Daw Suu Kyi also echoed
her voice in denying the fact. Such refutations and denials have become
best jokes of 1997.
I have already presented the figures concerning how the US State
Department with the approval of the US Congress had assisted dollars
through various organizations every year to destructive elements sabotaging
Myanmar. The figures covered financial assistance extended from 1990 to
1996. I have also written that arrangements are being made to provide US$ 5
million in aid in 1997. [13 Aug, p 5] I have also presented the names of
the organizations that have provided aid and those which distributed it. The
Americans have been extending aid to their destructive stooges and
opposition groups all over the world every year. I have stated that the
American government officially gave aid to Myanmar expatriates and armed
insurgents 40 times beginning 1990.
It does not mean that the number 40 represents all. There have been
many instances in which the aid was extended secretly or indirectly, or
bribes given by the CIA. I will again present the 40 occasions how the US
Congress and US government in collusion gave the tax money of US citizens to
Myanmar expatriates and axe-handles.
National Endowment for Democracy (NED) provided Myanmar anti-
government groups with US$ 36,325 through International Republican
Institute in 1990 during the latter's visits to Myanmar, Nepal and Hong
Kong. The funds were allocated under the headings (a) public affairs
policy, (b) education, (c) elections, (d) legislative affairs and (e) the
rule of law. (An indication that there was interference in the elections
held in Myanmar in 1990 with the use of dollar.)
NED provided NLD (Liberated Area) or expatriate Sein Win and the group
with US$ 15,000 in 1991.
ICHRDD provided US$ 9,000 (for 12 months) to underground human rights group
in 1991 for promoting human rights and bringing out publications.
NED provided US$ 10,000 to Association to Develop Democratic Burma
(ADDB) in 1992 for development of democracy and bringing out
publications.
NED gave US$ 45,000 to 21-member DAB group in 1992 to undergo combat
training under the heading, education.
NED gave US$ 75,000 to Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) in
The fund was to be used for taping in Bangkok under the supervision of
NCGUB (expatriate government) for the broadcasting station in Norway
established by CIA for expatriate Sein Win's group.
NED gave expatriates US$ 50,059 through IRI in 1993 to carry out
activities in Bangladesh at Myanmar border in the name of NLD/Liberated
Area.
NED gave US$ 15,000 to DAB in 1993 to bring out Burma Alert
publication.
NED gave US$ 10,000 to Karen Youth Organization (KYO) under the KNU command
in 1993 for convening a conference.
NED gave US$ 111,636 to NLD (LA) through IRI in 1993 as training costs
under the heading, public affairs policy.
ICHRDD gave US$ 6,049 to Burma Action Group (BAG) in 1993 for securing the
release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and standing for the costs to establish
connections under the heading, human rights.
ICHRDD gave US$ 10,000 to the funds of NCGUB or expatriate government of
expatriate Sein Win and Bo Mya in 1993 through Canada- Burma Working Group
(CBWG).
ICHRDD gave US$ 39,000 to Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB) and ADDB in 1993
(for 24 months) to stand for costs of NCGUB military engagements.
ICHRDD gave US$ 12,000 to expatriate Sein Win and Bo Hla Tint of NCGUB to
stand for their travelling costs to Canada in 1992.
ICHRDD gave US$ 200,000 to NCGUB in 1993 (for 24 months) to enable it to set
up offices in Bangkok and New York to maintain international
organizations including UN.
ICHRDD gave US$ 25,000 to ADDB in 1994 (for 12 months) as funds for the
NCGUB and political brokers and mediators.
ICHRDD gave US$ 45,000 to Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) in 1994 (for
36 months) as funds to overcome difficulties in the Philippines,
Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Nepal, East Timor and Taiwan through a
solidarity network.
ICHRDD gave US$ 15,000 to CFOB in 1994 (for 12 months) to seek
mediation of the Canadian government and Canadian Parliament for the
release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to promote democracy.
ICHRDD gave US$ 10,000 to international human rights law group in 1994 (for
six months) as funds to take action against Myanmar government for HR
violations and to find ways for the UN General Assembly to take
action.
NED gave US$ 120,066 to NLD (LA) through IRI in 1994.
NED gave US$ 10,000 to International Relations Foundation in 1994 as
funds for production of video features on Myanmar human rights to be shown
on TV stations throughout the world.
NED gave US$ 30,000 to ADDB in 1994 to bring out Burma Alert monthly
featuring news about Myanmar democratic movement.
NED gave US$ 115,000 to NCGUB in 1994 to use in translation and
broadcasting programmes of DVB.
NED gave US$ 15,000 to KYO through ADDB to train and educate Kayin
youths along Thai-Myanmar border.
ICHRDD gave US$ 1,072 to Canada-Burma Friends Department for a month in 1995
to publish education pamphlets and produce video tapes.
NED gave US$ 247,786 to International National Democratic Party for 12
months in 1996 under a six-month programme to assist Myanmar democracy
movement in Asia Network.
NED gave US$ 40,000 to ADDB in 1996 to publish 5,000 copies of Burma
Alert journal.
ICHRDD gave US$ 1,500 to Canada-Burma Friends Association as a 12-month
assistance for public relations in 1996.
ICHRDD gave US$ 15,000 to Canada-Burma Friends Association for 12
months in 1996. The aid programmes was for the Canadian government to
interfere in Myanmar's human rights affairs.
ICHRDD gave US$ 16,000 to Bangkok-based NGOs for 12 months in 1996 to
conduct activities along the border.
ICHRDD gave VCF US$ 2,000 for three months in 1996 to use by 19 NGOs in
making connections with Canada and Asian nations in carrying out human
rights activities.
ICHRDD gave US$ 20,000 to Asia Forum for 12 months in 1996 to
collectively take part in Myanmar's democracy affairs.
ICHRDD gave US$ 2,500 to committee to hold a conference on rebuilding
democracy in Burma as funds of secretariat of New Delhi- based Burma
political donors.
ICHRDD gave US$ 15,000 to FTU for 18 months in 1996 concerning force
labour and for Myanma democracy front.
ICHRDD gave US$ 50,000 to NCGUB for nine months in 1996 for political
rivalry and to transfer power.
ICHRDD gave US$ 15,000 to Shan human rights foundation (secretariat of
Burma political donors) for 12 months in 1996 for the secretariat to assist
in democracy and human rights affairs of minorities of Shan State of Mae
Hong Son-based national races.
NED gave US$ 14,780 to Burma bar council in 1997 for education plans on law
and principles of Myanmar and on human rights.
NED gave US$ 5,000 to NCGUB in 1997 to upgrade documents of
Bangkok-based human rights record group.
NED gave US$ 45,000 to Albert Einstein Institute in 1997 to use in
refresher course for staff of political defiance committee and two-week
course for members of democracy front.
Foundation Jean Jaures gave 50,000 French francs to Janata Party of
India in 1997. Janata Party will organize a regional conference in New
Delhi or in Hydrabad in 1997. The aid-programme is aimed at organizing
democracy leaders of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka
and Myanmar to attend it.
Not a penny of the above stated 40 assistance programmes are for the
people of Myanmar. They are the funds to create disturbances in Myanmar, to
destroy her, to install a puppet government of America in Myanmar and to
interfere in her internal affairs. The total amount of these 40 programmes
is just a very small percent of the actual expenditure of neocolonialists in
their attempts to destroy Myanmar.
I have stated these as the evidence of the interference of American
Congress and the American President in Myanmar's internal affairs by paying
large amount of dollars to their minions.
*****************************************
ANNOUNCEMENT: FBC OCTOBER CONFERENCE AT UCLA
August 14, 1997
Dear Free Burma Supporters,
The conference is scheduled to be from Oct. 4 thru 6 (Saturday through
Monday). Advance registration forms page will be up at our webpage at
http://wicip.org/fbc/ very soon.
The conference organizing is going well, our colleagues from outside of the
U.S. are planning to attend. We are all excited about the prospect of
seeing the old spiders again, as well as meeting the new ones.
Please contact us if you are interested in making financial contributions
to this conference. We solely depend on our own Free Burma community
resources rather than seek corporate sponsorship and contributions.
Individual contributions, donations from Burmese exiled-dissident
communities and American University Community helped pay for all the
expenses for the conference.
Finally, please note that there are a few minor changes in the conference
announcement.
Again, sorry for any inconveniences.
peace,
FBC Conf. Registration Group
ANNOUNCEMENT: Free Burma Conference '97 at UCLA
October 4-6, 1997
Type of conference:
Not a typical "conference." We will participate in public demonstrations
in front of UNOCAL HQ in addition to attending workshops,
brainstorming sessions, and organizing break-outs. This conference will
build on the tremendous success of our conference last February at
American University.
Who is invited:
We are inviting everyone who is active working in the Free Burma
movement, in addition to others who have worked for democracy and
human rights in other social movements and countries. We are also
inviting anyone who is interested in the struggle for democracy in Burma.
This includes all Burmese living around the world, university students
around the world, and community activists and professionals working for
human rights.
The maximum number of attendees who we can feed and accommodate is
300. So please do register as soon as possible. If you register by Aug 31st
and mail the registration fee, you will receive a newly designed Free
Burma T-shirt, specifically for this conference when you arrive..
Objectives:
1). to help build a better coordinated grassroots movement
internationally
2). to create a sense of a worldwide Free Burma community
3). to deal with some technical issues involving economic activism
4). to educate non-Burmese activists about our struggle both inside and
outside
5). to use it as a recruitment forum for the U.S. campaign
6). to send a message to those inside Burma that we are doing
everything we can in order to aid their movement inside
7). to help concentrate Free Burma movement in California and to pass
Los Angeles and its state sanctions,
5). to put more pressure on UNOCAL and ARCO
Activities:
During the evening, we will have music and concerts performed by the
Free Burma activists with artistic and musical talents. During the day,
workshops and seminars on economic activism, international media and
Free Burma movement, histories and cultures of Burma, ethnicity and
nation-building, heroin production and trafficking under the current
SLORC regime, the plight of refugees, women's issues with special
reference to sexual slavery of women in Burma, policy perspectives and
international lobbying, and so on.
Cost:
A small registration fee of $20 is required.
Transportation and Food:
Air fare and travel expenses are on your own. Directions from LAX airport
to conference site (UCLA) will be posted. Bus tokens for public
transportation (from housing place to the campus and vice versa) will be
provided. Chinese, Indian, Mexican and different delicious vegetarian
foods will be served for free of charge.
Housing:
As you know Los Angeles is an expensive place. We don't have enough
funds to provide housing. So we ask attendees to pay their own. We have
reserved some housings as low as $10 a night. There are some hotels and
motels we have checked. Details of these housing options will be posted
soon. Or if you have friends and relatives, we would like to request you to
put their place as first option. Also, if you know of any one who can host
a few people at their place, please let us know.
What to bring:
Sleeping bags, musical instruments, tooth brushes, coffee mugs, etc.
Request of sponsors:
Since we are really tight in funds, we are looking to raise a little
money to help make this conference 100% successful. If you know of
anyone who might like to help sponsor a portion of this event, please let us
know.
Scholarship:
If you want and can come to the conference but having financial problem
for housing, please let us know. We will try to work that out.
During the push to end apartheid in South Africa in the 1980's, US
influence became most powerful when students and other across the nation
mobilized at a national level. Now with more than 150 universities around
the world working to help restore democracy, human rights, and freedom
in Burma, incredible influence can be achieved through coordinated action.
When over 50 universities and 13 high schools participated in the "Free
Burma Fast" in October 1996, national attention was brought to the plight
of Burma through local organizing.
The Free Burma Coalition's conference in Los Angeles in October seeks to
further transforming awareness into constructive action across the globe.
REGISTRATION:
For advance registration, we will make web-registration available for
those with access to the worldwide web. Please send the check to the
FBC-Los Angeles (payable FBC-Los Angeles).
Finally, we will update on the status of the conference very often. If you
need more information, please contact:
The Free Burma Coalition - Los Angeles
P.O. Box 341196
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 838-8721
(310) 450-5375
(310) 399-0703 (fax) *pls. call ahead to fax
bfla@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
asmin@xxxxxxxxxxx
aliburma@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST
BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different topics
related to Burma. If you have questions on any of the following subjects,
please direct email to the following volunteer coordinators, who will either
answer your question or try to put you in contact with someone who can:
Campus activism: zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boycott campaigns: ai268@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission: brelief@xxxxxxx
Chin history/culture: [volunteer temporarily away]
Fonts: tom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
High School Activism: [volunteer needed]
History of Burma: zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
International Affairs: Julien Moe: moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Karen history/culture: Karen Historical Society:
102113.2571@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Naga history/culture: Wungram Shishak:
z954001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Burma-India border Aung San Myint:
aungsan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pali literature: "Palmleaf": c/o burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
Pipeline Campaign freeburma@xxxxxxx
Resettlement info: refugee_help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rakhaing (Arakan) history/culture
Kyaw Tha Hla:thisthis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rohingya culture volunteer needed
Shan history/culture: Sao Hpa Han: burma@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Total - France Dawn Star: cd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tourism campaigns: bagp@xxxxxxxxxx "Attn. S.Sutcliffe"
volunteering: refugee_help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
World Wide Web: FreeBurma@xxxxxxxxx
Geographical Contacts:
Massachusetts simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage]
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FREE BURMA WEB PAGES:
http://FreeBurma.org
This single page serves only as an easy to remember URL and departure
point to resources promoting the establishment of democracy in Burma.
Please write to FreeBurma@xxxxxxxxx to add a site or for further
information." - Glen, system administrator
FREE BURMA COALITION:
to get involved in the Free Burma Coalition, send a message to:
zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
or visit their homepage, accessible through: http:// FreeBurma.org
There is also an e-mail list-server especially for Free Burma activists
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(NOTE: all lower case letters, last letter is a lower case "L", not the
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