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Burma News Update No. 51 (r)
- Subject: Burma News Update No. 51 (r)
- From: ccraig@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 14:40:00
Burma News Update No. 51
26 February 1998
Spinning the Junta
Another Elected MP Jailed
Karen Leader Seeks Talks
Renowned Writer Dies
Spinning the Junta
In a detailed article titled "Burma's Image Problem Is a Moneymaker for
U.S. Lobbyists," Washington Post reporter R. Jeffrey Smith reports that at
least two Washington, DC-based lobbying firms are receiving over $650,000
to conduct "a campaign on Burma's behalf in classic Washington style _
producing upbeat newsletters, arranging seminars and interviews and funding
all-expense-paid trips _ partly to persuade the Clinton administration to
lift trade sanctions against the [Burmese military] regime." The lobbying
firms Jefferson Waterman, headed by former assistant secretary of state for
narcotics control Ann Wrobleski, and Bain and Associates, run by former NBC
News White House correspondent Jackson Bain, are being paid by companies
within Burma which US officials say have business ties to the military
regime. The article also describes funding by corporations investing in
Burma for "fact-finding" missions to the country, organized by the
Burma/Myanmar Forum, and for a seminar on Burma at Georgetown University.
Jackson Bain and Francis Zwenig of the Burma/Myanmar Forum are also
reported to have cooperated closely with Washington representatives of the
Burmese junta in organizing their activities.
(Washington Post, 24 February)
Junta Head Heckled in Manila
The head of Burma's military junta, General Than Shwe, slipped into a side
entrance of the Manila Hotel to avoid
noisy, banner-bearing protesters on his arrival in the Philippine capital.
Philippine President Fidel Ramos told reporters, "The objective to be
attained here is precisely to get Myanmar to see the operation of an open,
deregulated, free and democratic society like the Philippines." Than Shwe
responded to Philippine diplomatic calls for increased efforts at national
reconciliation in Burma by saying that the junta's goal was to install "a
disciplined democratic system."
(Manila, Agence France-Presse and Reuters, 17-18 February)
Another Elected MP Jailed
Nan Khin Htwe Myint, an elected member of parliament of the National League
for Democracy (NLD), was arrested in Burma's southeastern Mon state on
February 10 and sentenced to two years' imprisonment the following day
after a closed trial, according to NLD sources who said she was charged
after protesting a search of her belongings by military intelligence
officers.
(Rangoon, Reuters, 18 February)
Karen Leader Seeks Talks
The Karen National Union (KNU) said peace talks with leaders of Burma's
military regime may begin soon, but that the group would continue its
guerrilla war unless demands for Karen autonomy are accepted. KNU leader
General Bo Mya urged members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) to apply pressure on the Rangoon regime to open peace talks. Over
100,000 Karen refugees live in camps in neighboring Thailand, where they
have fled intensified Burmese military offensives over the last several
years.
(Thukyakwee, Burma, Reuters, 19 February)
Renowned Writer Dies
One of Burma's most famous authors and best-known ex-political prisoners
has died in Rangoon of a brain hemorrhage. 69-year old Mya Than Tint was a
prolific author and translator. He was jailed from 1963-72 by the army
regime that seized power in 1962, serving time in Rangoon's Insein Prison
and on the Coco Islands penal colony in the Indian Ocean. Author of
numerous poems, stories, and novels, Mya Than Tint was a five-time winner
of Burma's National Literary Award. On the Road to Mandalay, his most
recent collection of writings, which describes the hardships facing common
people in Burma, was published in Thailand in 1996.
(Reuters and Associated Press, Rangoon, 18 February)
Tour Operators Lose Licenses
Burma's military regime has revoked the licenses of most of the country's
private tour operators. A total of 135 companies "failed to make monthly
reports as required [and] also have kept away from official meetings for
long periods of time without any kind of explanation," according to a junta
statement. The official "Visit Myanmar Year" in 1996, failed to produce a
tourism boom, and hundreds of residences turned into guest houses and
hotels are now vacant.
(Rangoon, Agence France-Presse, 21 February)
BURMA NEWS UPDATE is a publication of the Burma Project of the Open Society
Institute. 400 West 59th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019 tel:(212) 548-0632
Website:www.soros.org/burma.html