The BurmaNet News, August 22, 1997

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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"     
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The BurmaNet News: August 22, 1997        
Issue #803

Noted in Passing:

The people in my village voted for democracy [in the 1990 general election].
They did not vote for portering and forced labour.

--A plaintiff suing Unocal and Total for gross human rights abuses  
(see SCMP: ESCAPEES TELL OF PIPELINE'S SLAVE LABOUR) 

HEADLINES:        
========== 
SCMP: ESCAPEES TELL OF PIPELINE'S SLAVE LABOUR 
REUTER: 13 KILLED IN BURMA FLOODS
BKK POST: BURMESE SOLDIERS RAID KAREN VILLAGES
REUTER: U.S. CONDEMNS SENTENCES ON BURMA OPPOSITION
REUTER: BRITAIN CONDEMNS SLORC'S ILLEGAL SENTENCES
REUTER: UK' S COOK TO VISIT ASIA
REUTER: ROHINGYAS' DREAM
REUTER: ANOTHER BURMESE OPPOSITION MP QUITS
REUTER: MAHATHIR RENEWS CRITICISM OF SOROS (FORTUNE)
NATION: BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN BURMA AND ASEAN
ABSDF-WB: INDO-BURMA BORDER NEWS
THE STAR (MALAYSIA): KEDAH CEMENT PLANS MOVE 
NATION: FRIENDS LIKE BURMA, THAILAND NEEDS NO ENEMIES
BKK POST: PALACE NOT TAKING SIDES IN PIPELINE DEBATE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCMP: ESCAPEES TELL OF PIPELINE'S SLAVE LABOUR 
August 21, 1997
William Barnes in Bangkok 

Two Burmese villagers have been smuggled into Thailand to tell the world how
forced labour on a controversial US-backed gas pipeline destroyed their lives.

Their evidence is part of a unique legal bid to prevent Western companies
from denying responsibility for the actions of foreign partners.

One of the men said that "a foreigner" he exchanged greetings with while 
working on the pipeline must have known he was being forced to carry "huge,
huge loads" for the Army.

American lawyers representing ethnic Karen, Mon and other Burmese villagers
in the southern region are hoping that the pair, who cannot be identified,
will help to persuade a Los Angeles judge that urgent action is needed.

The judge might then use a preliminary injunction to order the American 
partner in the project, Unocal Corporation, to suspend its participation 
before the full human rights case comes to court.

The two witnesses said they were abducted from their homes to endure long
weeks of forced toil for the brutal Burmese Army guarding the US$1.2 billion
(HK$9.3 billion) project, designed to deliver vital hard currency to the
military junta in Rangoon.

Both men rejected the claims of the French Total group and Unocal that the
scheme benefits the region.

"The people in my village voted for democracy [in the 1990 general
election]. They did not vote for portering and forced labour," said one of
the men, who used to grow cashew nuts.

The other escapee, a Karen, was a rubber planter.

They are two of 15 plaintiffs who are suing Unocal, Total and two named
Unocal executives for their links to gross human rights abuses - beatings,
forced labour, murder and relocation - associated with the pipeline.

Their lawyers claimed a huge success in March when a Los Angeles court made
legal history by declaring that private companies could he held responsible
for the actions of their foreign partners - in this case Burma's military
dictatorship.

Previously, only governments and officials could be held liable.

The case has now gone into discovery, a process of information exchange 
between the two sides that could take years. So the plaintiffs are attempting 
to take out a preliminary injunction against Unocal.

They hope to persuade a judge that the human rights abuses are so bad that
the court must take action quickly rather than wait for the outcome of the
full court case.

One of the plaintiffs is a baby who died after her mother refused to be
driven out of her house on the pipeline route. Burmese soldiers attacked the
baby who died of her injuries two months later. Her parents are suing on her
behalf.

Unocal and Total vigorously deny any involvement in human rights abuses,
claiming that economic development can only benefit the Burmese.

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

REUTER: 13 KILLED IN BURMA FLOODS
August 21, 1997

RANGOON, Burma (Reuter) - Burma's worst floods for decades killed at least
13 people and left thousands homeless, government officials said Thursday. 
	There were no details on damage to this year's rice crop but the state-run
media has advised rice farmers to replant as soon as the floodwaters recede. 
	An official in one of the hardest-hit areas, Pegu Division, some 60 miles
north of Rangoon, said at least 13 people had died there in the flooding and
the toll could rise. 
	``In Nyaunglebin township floods left 33,768 people from 6,629 households
homeless, killing 13,'' the local official told Reuters. ``We're still
trying to survey the damage and I think the number could rise when we're
finished.''
	The flooding, the worst in almost 30 years in some areas, has followed
heavy rains since early July. 
	The Meteorology and Hydrology Department (MHD) issued a warning Wednesday,
saying the water level in some rivers was expected to rise past danger
levels in the next few days. 
	Average total rainfall between July 1 and Aug. 20 was 47.48 inches compared
with 115.33 inches for the whole of 1996, the department said. 
	Among the rivers swelling to danger levels and beyond were the Irrawaddy,
the Chindwin, the Salween and their tributaries, an official at the
Meteorology and Hydrology Department told Reuters. 

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

BKK POST: BURMESE SOLDIERS RAID KAREN VILLAGES
August 21, 1997

Mae Hong Son-About 300 Karen civilians fled into Mae Sarieng district here
yesterday after Burmese soldiers torched six villages in Burma's Doi Kor
province. 
     
The Karens said the troops wanted to restrict villagers living along the
Burmese-Thai border opposite Mae Sarieng to only one location to prevent
them from giving aid to Karen rebel fighters.

The Karens, who were later sent to Ban Mae Kongka Camp, said they escaped
into Thailand after many of their relatives and friends were tortured by the
Burmese troops.

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

REUTER: U.S. CONDEMNS SENTENCES ON BURMA OPPOSITION FIGURES 
August 19, 1997

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuter) - The United States on Tuesday strongly
condemned the jailing of four opposition figures in Burma and denied that
Washington was involved in sponsoring terrorist attacks in the Asian
country. 

Burma's military government announced on Sunday that three relatives of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been sentenced to 10 years each, in
part for breaching the country's Unlawful Associations Act. 

A fourth person, Myo Aung Thant, was jailed for life for high treason and
allegedly smuggling explosives into Burma. 

``The U.S. strongly condemns the lack of due process in the trial and
sentencing of these four individuals,'' State Department spokesman James
Rubin said. 

``The fact that these harsh sentences were imposed after closed trials once
again illustrates the completely opaque judicial process in Burma,'' Rubin
said in a statement. 

He said the United States ``also rejects once again the outrageous charge
that the U.S. was involved in sponsoring terrorist attacks in Burma.'' He
did not say who had made the charge. 

Among the charges against the three relatives of Aung San Suu Kyi was that
they helped U.S. non-governmental organizations smuggle $82,200 to her. 

The U.S. statement noted that Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads
the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), had denied receiving any
money from such U.S. organizations. 

The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990, but the military rulers
in Rangoon refused to recognize the result. 

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

REUTER: BRITAIN CONDEMNS SLORC'S ILLEGAL SENTENCES
August 21, 1997 [abridged]

LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuter) - Britain's Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on
Wednesday joined international condemnation of jail terms for four Burmese
opposition figures and called on Burma's military rulers to free political
prisoners. 

``I strongly deplore the harsh sentences passed on four members of the
National League for Democracy (NLD) on 15 August,'' Cook said in a statement.

``I call yet again on the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) to ensure full respect for human rights in Burma, including right to
a fair trial, and to release political prisoners immediately and
unconditionally.'' 

Cook said Britain's ambassador in Rangoon called on the Burmese Foreign
Ministry on Wednesday to convey Britain's dismay at the sentences and to
protest at the secretive nature of the trials. 

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

REUTER: UK' S COOK TO VISIT ASIA
August 21, 1997
By David Ljunggren 

LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuter) - Foreign Secretary Robin Cook will visit four
Southeast Asian countries next week to stress the importance of human rights
and boost business ties with Britain, officials said on Thursday. 

Cook will travel to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore
between August 26 and September 1. It will be his first trip to the region
and the first by a British foreign secretary since 1988. 

``I will set out this government's foreign policy priorities, which include a
deepening of our relations across Asia and ensuring respect for human
rights,'' Cook said in a statement. 

Cook, who says he wants Britain's foreign policy to revolve around human
rights, said he would stress to Indonesia the need to make progress in
ending a protracted conflict in the rebel East Timor region. 

Human rights groups estimate that 200,000 people have died in the former
Portuguese colony since Indonesia invaded in 1975, mostly through famine and
disease. 

Jakarta annexed East Timor in 1976 in a move not recognised by the United
Nations. The United Nations is conducting talks between Indonesian and
Portuguese officials in a bid to end the deadlock. 

``In Indonesia I will emphasise the need for progress on East Timor, and
demonstrate my strong support for the U.N. process,'' Cook said. 

On taking office Cook vowed to ban arms sales to countries with poor human
rights records, raising hopes among British campaigners that he would clamp
down on lucrative arms sales to Indonesia. 

But they were disappointed when, acting on the advice of lawyers, he refused
to withdraw more than 21,000 existing licenses. These included one for the
sale of 16 British Aerospace (BA.L) Hawk jets and another for armoured
vehicles. 

Cook said in the statement that he would also discuss recent violent events
in Cambodia and British efforts to promote reform in Burma, where the
military government has clamped down on pro-democracy activists. 

``The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made extraordinary
progress in the last 30 years. It is now established as a significant global
player in both economic and political terms,'' he said. 

``British interests in the region are extensive and continue to grow. We are
the leading European investor. I intend to use my visit to give new impetus
to Britain's relationship with its Southeast Asian partners.'' 

Cook will also discuss a forthcoming October meeting of Commonwealth leaders
while in Singapore and Malaysia and will deliver a speech in Kuala Lumpur on
Britain's relations with Southeast Asia.  

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

REUTER: ROHINGYAS' DREAM
August 20, 1997
By Anis Ahmed 

TEKNAF, Bangladesh (Reuter) - The rain fell heavily, sending water swirling
down the hills into the cascading Naf River that marks the border between
Bangladesh and Burma's western province of Arakan. 

Winds blowing at 30 mph swept the trees on the hills of Arakan, overlooking
the Naf, and in Bangladesh's Teknaf region, the site of Burmese Muslim
refugee camps. Although their homeland is just on the opposite bank, the
narrow river might as well be a vast gulf for many of the Burmese who have
lived in the Teknaf camps for more than five years. 

``Life will never be the same for us again,'' Mariam Banu said as her eyes
wandered over the unending range of hills in Arakan, home to some 250,000
Muslims known as Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh in early 1992. ``They (the
hills) seem so near but are so far.'' 

The Rohingyas flooded across the border, saying they were being persecuted
by the Burmese military. Refugees say the situation in Burma remains
unchanged today and, while all but 21,000 of the camp inmates have returned
home, the number of illegal Burmese immigrants who have not registered in
refugee camps has swelled in the past four months. Estimates of their number
vary widely from 15,000 to 100,000. 

``We have reports from those who had been repatriated that things have
turned worse now. Many of them have come back and maybe others will
follow,'' Banu said. 

Supervised by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the repatriation has
to be voluntary, but complaints of Rohingyas being sent back by force
triggered clashes in the camps last month, forcing a temporary suspension of
the process. 

REFUGEES LAMENT FOR HOMES 

All but 21,000 Rohingyas in the camps were sent home under an agreement
between Dhaka and Rangoon when clashes erupted at Nayapara camp on July 20
as refugees resisted repatriation. 

``They assured that Burmese authorities would treat us humanely and return
our land, but soon we found the amount of torture had increased,'' Dil
Mohammad said. ``So we crossed into Bangladesh again but this time did not
report to the refugee camps because they might force us back to Myanmar
(Burma).'' 

``I have left there (Burma) everything -- two children and many relatives. I
don't know what has happened to them,'' a weeping Banu, 45, said. She said
her husband was dead. She now lives in Nayapara camp in Teknaf with more
than 12,000 others and dreams of going back when her native land is at peace. 

``But that appears to be a wishful thinking,'' one of her camp mates said.
``There can be no peace (in Burma) until we have a civilian government
powerful enough to keep the military confined to the barracks.'' 

Refugees armed with sticks, stones and slingshots have chased away security
personnel trying to enter the Nayapara camp twice this week. Rohingyas man
the camp gate and greet anyone approaching with: ``Halt, show your identity
card.'' 

They have reaffirmed their vow not to take food from authorities and attack
anyone who might try to use force. 

``The situation is completely out of our control,'' one senior government
official said this week. ``They (Rohingyas) are virtually running a parallel
administration in the camp.'' 

REFUGEES HAVE TWIN GOALS 

A low-key insurgency by Muslim rebel groups has kept alive a feeble hope
that Arakan, with its vast forests and other natural resources, would emerge
as an independent homeland for the Rohingyas. The refugees are backed by
Muslim insurgent groups pursuing twin goals -- a transfer of power by
Burma's military rulers to the National League for Democracy led by Aung San
Suu Kyi and an independent homeland for Muslims in west Burma's Arakan
province bordering Bangladesh. 

A majority of the Nayapara refugees have refused food rations provided by
Bangladesh authorities for nearly a month as part of a campaign to stay in
Bangladesh. Bangladesh has turned down their plea, saying it could not
shoulder the burden for an indefinite period. 

The refugees want Bangladesh to launch a diplomatic drive, in cooperation
with the UNHCR, to relocate them to a third country. But that too seems
unlikely. 

One government official said: ``No country today is in a position to invite
any unnecessary problem.'' He cited the 400,000 Urdu-speaking Bihari Muslims
stranded in Bangladesh for more than 25 years trying to go to Pakistan. 

``How long can we shelter the Rohingyas while we have been hosting so many
others already?'' asked the official, who declined to be identified. 

The refugees believe staying put in Bangladesh and drawing support from the
UNHCR will enable them to highlight their cause worldwide. 

``In Myanmar we are like a caged bird, having no link with the outside
world. So we want to use our time as refugees to tell the world that the
SLORC (Burma's ruling State Law and Order Council) must be condemned in the
toughest possible language and be treated as killers of human and civil
rights,'' refugee Syed Kashem Master said. 

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

REUTER: ANOTHER BURMESE OPPOSITION MP QUITS PARLIAMENT 
August 21, 1997

RANGOON, Aug 21 (Reuter) - Another elected member of parliament (MP) from
Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party has resigned from his post, the
Burmese government said on Thursday. 
	The Multiparty Democracy General Election Commission said Ba Nyein, an MP
from Benmauk Township, Sagaing Division in northwest Burma, resigned of his
own volition for health reasons. 
	Ba Nyein, an MP from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party,
was about the 40th opposition MP to have resigned from his post. Most of the
resignations have come over the past 18 months. 
	The NLD swept a 1990 general election, winning 392 of the 485 contested
seats. But the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) never
allowed the NLD to take power. 
	Instead it began cracking down on elected MPs, driving many out of the
country into exile. Over the past 18 months the SLORC has increased pressure
on elected MPs to resign their posts. REUTER 

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

REUTER: MAHATHIR RENEWS CRITICISM OF SOROS (FORTUNE)
August 21, 1997

SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (Reuter) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has
renewed his attack on U.S. based-financier George Soros in the latest issue
of FORTUNE, the magazine said in a statement on Thursday. 

FORTUNE said that in a recent interview, Mahathir repeated his claim, first
made about a month ago at the height of speculative attacks that hit all
major southeast Asian currencies, that Soros was involved in the currency
selling. 

``We have definite information that he (Soros) is involved. Of course he is
not the only one...but he started it,'' Mahathir was quoted saying. 

``He had this idea that by applying pressure on Thailand and Malaysia he
could prevent Myanmar from joining ASEAN (the Association of South East
Asian Nations),'' Mahathir said. 

Soros has previously denied such accusations, saying that during June and
July, barring $10 million in sales of the Thai baht, his group did not sell
any other regional currency. 

But in the FORTUNE interview, due to hit the newsstands on August 25,
Mahathir claims, ``He (Soros) has wiped out billions of dollars from our
economy'' by deterring foreign investors. 

FORTUNE's press statement said: ``Mahathir believes Soros' aim is to punish
Malaysia for its support of Myanmar's ruling military junta, the State Law
and Order Restoration Council, the anti-democratic activities of which
Soros' New York-based Open Society Institute opposes.'' 

Mahathir is quoted as saying: ``We believe Myanmar should be given time to
make the necessary adjustments. If you want to act against the government,
act against the government... If you apply sanctions you punish the poor for
the (alleged) sins of the government.'' 

In the interview, Mahathir also defends the reporting on Soros by Malaysian
newspapers. He is quoted as saying, ``We are not anti-Semitic... The Arabs
are also a Semitic people. But when a person of Jewish origin does this kind
of thing (currency speculation), the effect is the same as when a Moslem
carries out something that is akin to terrorism.'' 

Asked in the interview what he would say if Soros were right in front of
him, Mahathir replies, ``Go somewhere else.''  

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

NATION: BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN BURMA AND ASEAN
August 21, 1997 
Comment/Vitit Muntarbhorn 

The author outlines a ?Dialogue for Reconciliation? that the regional
grouping could use to prod the junta towards progressive action. 

Burma?s membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is
now a fait accompli. However, democratic objectives in that country remain
regrettably an unaccomplished feat. 

Should ASEAN be building bridges on that front and how? 

It is all too well known that Burma?s recent history has been plagued by
authoritarian rule. The results of democratic elections, which were a
landslide victory for democratic groups, were stolen from the people by the
military junta in 1990. It has been that way ever since. 

The situation has worsened in several directions. Many political leaders
remain imprisoned. Although Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratic leader, has
been released from house arrest, the current strategy of the junta is to
clip her wings via the arrests of those close to her ­ most recently, her
relatives. 

Violations of human rights, such as torture, summary executions, forced
labour, political repression, constraints on freedom of association and
expression, and persecution of minorities continue unabated. These are all
well documented by the United Nations, most evidently in the annual reports
of the UN special rapporteur with a mandate covering the country. 

Add to the above the question of the drafting of the new constitution by the
National Convention established for this purpose. Granted that the latter
was established by the junta, it should be obvious whether the drafting
process represents the voice of the people or the diktat of the autocrats. 

In many ways, the tactics of the junta have become more insidious; there are
frequent uses of various undemocratic laws to subvert the rule of law,
whereas laws are supposed to protect the people, and due process of law,
such as access to lawyers, an independent judiciary and basic safeguards for
the accused, are supposed to be guaranteed. 

There is a morass of junta-friendly laws on this front. The 1950 Emergency
Provisions Act can lead to charges for spreading false news, including jokes
concerning the junta. By Order 2/88 of the junta, gatherings of more than
five people are forbidden, and this has been used to arrest those attending
meetings with Suu Kyi. Law No 5/96 of 1996 with the title "Protecting the
Stable, Peaceful and Systematic Transfer of State Responsibility and the
Successful Implementation of National Convention Free from Disruption and
Opposition" is long enough to muzzle any opposition to the drafting process
of the junta?s constitution. Those opposing the process can be imprisoned
for up to 20 years. 

Burma?s Computer Science Development Law 1996 is a perverse model for
authoritarian regimes to follow in this era of globalisation. Far from
"developing computer science", it inhibits this by establishing extensive
controls on the ownership of computers and computer links. Basically, a
government licence is needed to own a computer and to operate a computer
network. Those deemed to be undermining national security, face 10 years
imprisonment. 

Meanwhile, the Television and Video Act 1996 takes the same path in relation
to videotapes. Foreign missions are required to acquire permits to show
video tapes at ??public exhibitions", while private video operators must
seek a licence to do so. Government censorship boards abound to screen
videos, both local and foreign, and their permission is required before the
release of the videos. Likewise, a government licence is needed to own a
television transmitter. 

In this atmosphere, we are tempted to ask: is there a role for ASEAN as
mediator between the junta and the democratic groups in Burma? If ASEAN is
now offering its talents as a mediator for Cambodia, why is it shunning the
Burmese issue which has, for so long, been waiting for mediation and
remediation? 

ASEAN?s all too well-known policy towards Burma for the past few years has
been the constructive engagement policy of ??no see, no hear, no comment"
towards what ASEAN classifies as the ??internal affairs" of Burma. This is
irrespective of the UN classification of the Burmese situation as one of
international concern. The ASEAN policy has been subject to slight
variations in the case of humanitarian dilemmas such as the persecution of
Muslim minorities in Burma and refugees from Burma where some comments have
been made by ASEAN. 

Now that the junta and ASEAN are (strange) bedfellows, are there no
possibilities for a change of heart? The process will be difficult, and it
will depend on civil society to provide some options for the future to help
orientate policy-makers seeking an alternative to the obsolescent
constructive engagement policy. 

A new pro-active policy should be promoted in the whispering corridors of
ASEAN or in the grand venues of their communiqués and public statements. It
could be termed a ??Dialogue for Reconciliation", encouraging the junta with
the following components: 

* Initiate dialogue with democratic groups not later than six months from now; 

* Promote reversion to democracy based upon the results of the 1990
elections within the next year; 

* Release political prisoners; 

* Ensure a broad-based process for the drafting of a new constitution; 

* Establish a truth commission to help in the national healing process; 

* Respect human rights and fulfill the international human rights
obligations binding on Burma, as represented by the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, Geneva. Conventions on rules concerning armed conflicts,
Convention No 87 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on freedom
of association, ILO Convention No 28 against forced labour, and Convention
on the Rights of the Child; 

* Reform insidious laws, particularly those mentioned above which destroy
the rule of law; 

* Ensure the safe homecoming of those who are displaced and seek guarantees
of safety for these persons from the junta; 

* Phase in the return of the military to the barracks. 

For too long, the people of Burma have been subjected to the yoke of
misdeeds and misfits. To have faith in ASEAN means that it can and should
help build the human bridges to overcome these misfortunes.

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

ABSDF-WB: INDO-BURMA BORDER NEWS
August 21, 1997 [abridged]

The heroin trade in Myanmar thrives as the powers that be in that country
are in no mood to put a check on it. One opinion is that the government
itself is involved in the trade as a means to gain monetary resources. The
international community has to come forward to deal with this country
suitably. Occurrences in Myanmar have important affects on India. The
Indo-Burma Border States, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh,
are the gateways through which heroin flows outside.  Manipur's position is
perhaps the worst in this context. Even before the opening of Moreh as the
Indo-Burma trade point, the Imphal Tamu routes had been an active trade link
for decades with or without legal sanctions either way. The story of
clandestine trade began with precious stones and other smuggled foreign
goods. Not much harm was done except that some smugglers thrived on the
illegal trade.
 
Exchange programme with Myanmar soon
 
A cultural and sports exchange programme between Manipur and Myanmar will be
held soon. 
The decision was taken in the Contact Level Meeting at Indo-Myanmar border
at Tamu town of Myanmar according to an information furnished by the Myanmar
authority to Buddhachandra, DC Chandel.
The programme will be confirmed within a fortnight. The seven member of
the delegation of the contact level meeting was led by Major Thura Shwe
Hla. Three officials from Nagaland also participated in the meeting.
The meeting also identified three Nagaland villages which are, Lungwa
(Mon), Pangsha and Mimi (Tuyenshang).
  
Indo-Myanmar drugs talks concludes
Three major agreement regarding the control drug trafficking in the
Indo-Myanmar border were signed today at the concluding day of the two-day
fourth contact officers meeting held here at the state guest house.
The agreement signed were tightening of the security forces in the border
areas to check and control drugs trafficking in between the two countries,
to give full cooperation between the two countries in the act of
controlling drug trafficking and to hold contact meetings regularly to
root out drug trafficking. The 25-member Myanmarese delegate was led by
Colonel Tin Cho and the Indian team by DGPManipur, GS Grewal.
  
ABSDF (Western-Burma)
 
********************************

THE STAR (MALAYSIA): KEDAH CEMENT PLANS MOVE INTO MYANMAR
August 20, 1997

KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah Cement Holdings Bhd (KCHB), which has long  harboured
ambitions to expand into the ASEAN market, is including new member Myanmar
in its immediate plans. 

The company, which has a cement plant in Langkawi, plans to build a RM50
million cement service terminal in Myanmar to play a role in the
reconstruction of the country. 

"We are looking at several possible sites in Myanmar. Once the site has
been identified, we expect work on the terminal to start soon and for
completion in 18 months," joint managing director Datuk Tik Mustaffa told
reporters after the company AGM in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. 

Tik Mustaffa is confident the Myanmar project would prove to be a good
investment because the country was short of one million tonnes of cement
annually. 

The company's other joint managing director, Lim Yen Haat, said the
decision to invest in Myanmar was based on the positive outlook for the
building industry there, with the government going into tourism development
in a big way. 

"The cement terminal will be used to distribute surplus cement produced in
Langkawi and also those imported from countries like Japan and Taiwan," he
said. 

Lim added the Myanmar venture was the beginning of its expansion into ASEAN
to take advantage of the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (Afta)
by 2003. 

Other than the integrated cement plant in Langkawi, KCHB has a  cement
service terminal in Prai, a clinker grinding plant in Batu Caves, two
service terminals in Port Klang, and a service terminal in Pasir Gudang. 

Malaysia is expected to import 2.5 million tonnes of cement this year, up
from one million tonne last year. 

The country needs some 14.5 million tonnes of cement this year mostly for
the construction of mega projects and houses. 

Demand for cement is projected to reach 20.5 million tonnes by year 2000.
KCHB has a 25 per cent share of the cement industry. 

KCHB posted a 53 per cent higher group pre-tax profit of RM122.62 million
for the year to March 31, 1997. 

This was achieved on a 65.9 per cent higher turnover of RM561.1 million. 

After-tax profit for the group stood at RM117.28 million. 

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

THE NATION: LETTER - WITH FRIENDS LIKE BURMA, THAILAND NEEDS NO ENEMIES
August 21, 1997

After a great deal of petty conflict the so-called "Friendship Bridge"
linking Mae Sot in Thailand and Myawaddy in Burma, was finally opened on
August 15. While much excitement was evident on this side of the river, the
same cannot be said for Thailand's counterpart. The Thai administration has
spent more than Bt79 million in constructing the bridge so that it might
accelerate its trade relationship with Burma, a country claiming to be in
the process of developing a "market economy". It is yet to see any tangible
benefits.

How can these two countries possibly engage in serious trade? Three days
before the opening of the bridge the exchange rate between the Burmese kyat
and the baht in Mae Sot was halved from 8:1 to 4:1. Meanwhile, in other
areas along the border it remained set at nine to 10 kyat for a single baht.
It has since risen to 7.5 kyat for every one baht. Such deliberately
engineered attempts to boost Thai merchants' confidence do little to ease
their skepticism. It is difficult for anybody to ignore the enormity of
Burma's internal problems, not the least of which being the steady depletion
of food among the civilian population.

Furthermore, Burma has a hopelessly inadequate economic structure with which
to withstand the storms currently reeking havoc among its trading partners
throughout Southeast Asia. For example, the recent collapse of the baht also
had a severe impact upon black-market money exchangers in Burma, to the
extent that one of the most senior among them, a man closely linked to
Slorc, has apparently vanished along with five billion kyat.

The recent behaviour of the Slorc regime, particularly in snubbing its
supposed "partner" at the opening of such a potentially significant trading
link, shows that Burma is neither ready nor inclined to engage in serious
trade with Thailand. However, as Karen refugees are well aware, a bridge can
at least be used as a tool in the process of forced repatriation. One
truism is that the military government's perspective on the bridge as a
mechanism open to multifarious manipulations, rather than as a route to free
trade, surely does not concur with that of the Thai authorities, and most
certainly is not within the conventional definition of the word "friendship". 

Hsaw Wah Deh
CHIANG MAI

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BKK POST: PALACE NOT TAKING SIDES IN PIPELINE DEBATE
August 21, 1997
Boonsong Kositchotethana

Letters to PM clarify confusion

The Royal Household has denied siding with environmental activists in
opposing the Thai section of the Yadana gas pipeline, part of which will run
through pristine forest in Kanchanaburi.

The Palace has also told the government to handle the project, which will
carry gas from Burma, as it deems necessary to best serve the national interest.

Thanphuying Suprapada Kasemsant, private secretary to Her Majesty the Queen,
conveyed the messages in two letters sent recently to Prime Minister
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.

The letters were sent in response to two petitions forwarded to Her Majesty
earlier. The petitions said that part of the Thai section of the pipeline
would damage a forest reserve in the western province.

Activists have been demanding that the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT)
reroute the initial 50-kilometre stretch of the line near the border so that
it avoids the forest reserve.

Last March, Thanphuying Suprapada wrote to Gen Chavalit asking him to
"review" the project which could pose some threat to Kanchanaburi forests.

Her latest letters to the Premier seemed to clarify that wording, which had
been interpreted in some quarters as a royal opinion in favour of the
pipeline opponents.

Thanphuying Suprapada also made it clear that the issue had not been
formally brought to Her Majesty the Queen's attention, according to the
letter sent to the Prime Minister and seen by the Bangkok Post. 
     
The content of the March letter was seen at the time as complicating PTT's
attempts to complete the 260 kilometre line to take natural gas from the
Yadana field off the coast of Burma by the middle of next year.

Under a 30-year gas-sale contract with the Yadana consortium led by Total of
France, PTT must pay for the gas starting on July 1, 1998, even if it cannot
start taking delivery. Industry Minister Korn Dabbaransi has said that the
cost would be 41 million baht per day.

PTT, the natural gas distribution monopoly, maintains that the most
sensitive area in Kanchanaburi was only a six-kilometre stretch, from
kilometre markers 18 to 24. Surveys have classified it as "true jungle".

It has said that the effects on the environment would be minimal and
temporary, and the affected area would be restored after the pipeline is buried.

Opponents continue to disagree, and recently four environmental groups
approached the Law Society of Thailand about the possibility of suing PTT.
     
The groups are the Wildlife Fund of Thailand, the Green World Foundation,
The Sueb Nakasathien Foundation and the Friends of Elephants Foundation.

The law society "summoned" PTT officials to provide information on the
issues raised by the groups. But PTT officials said the company was not
answerable to the society, though they would welcome its members to visit
the PTT to obtain the information.

Attempts by others concerned about the pipeline to examine the contract with
the Yadana consortium have also been rebuffed. They were told by a
Kanchanaburi provincial official that they could read the contract only if
they brought a lawyer, and they could not make copies.

A senior PTT executive confirmed that the laying of the pipeline was
continuing on schedule and on the original route, with one-quarter of the
line completed. The work is being done by Tasco-Mannesmann, a Thai-German
consortium whose chairman had earlier sent a petition to Her Majesty the Queen.

In his petition, Prasit Supaskorn proposed a new, longer route, which he
said would cause less environmental damage. PTT countered that sections of
the new route would cause more damage than the one it had chosen.

PTT executives also suggested that because the proposed new route would be
70 kilometres longer, Mr Prasit's company stood to make more money.

Mr Prasit is known to be a major financier of several political parties.
Tipco, the company in which he is the majority shareholder, has a virtual
monopoly on supplies of bitumen for most government road construction projects .

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