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Burma News Update #51



Refugees Attacked

Death in Detention

Exiles Blast Japan Aid Plan

Burma's Image: Free Advice

Karen Refugees Attacked
On March 11, at 1:00 AM local time, Hway Kaloke refugee camp in Thailand's Mae
Sot district was attacked by a group of about 100 Burmese and Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops. Two people are confirmed to have died in the
attack, and at least 30 others were seriously injured by bullets and fire. A
total of 1,300 shelters in the camp, or approximately 85 per cent of the camp's
area, were razed to the ground, leaving some 8,700 people homeless. The attacks
appear to be part of a long term strategy of the Burmese army to terrorize the
refugees into returning to Burma and to force the armed Karen National Union to
enter into a cease-fire agreement. The attacks came as Thai Prime Minister Chuan
Leekpai was due to arrive in the U.S. for a three-day visit. There was no report
of resistance by the Thai troops guarding the camp. A now homeless victim of the
attack said, " We will return again to build our community, but we will plead to
the Thai authorities for another location since this is the second time this
camp has been burned. We are refugees who were forced to flee our homeland due
to the atrocities committed by the Burmese troops. We entered into a refugee
camp inside Thailand believing that we would be safe and protected on Thai soil.
We can no longer feel safe here."[Huay Ka Loke has a population of 8,769
refugees and was last burnt down on 28 January 1997-Ed.]
(Human Rights Watch; Maesot, Eyewitness sources, 11 March)

Junta Announces New Arrests 
The arrest of at least fifteen alleged "terrorists" announced by Burma's army
junta on 3 March is cited by diplomats and analysts as evidence that Burma's
military regime is little changed despite efforts to polish its image. The junta
claimed those arrested were planning bombings in Rangoon.
(Bangkok, Reuters, 8 March)

Death in Detention
A jailed senior member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) died after
suffering prison torture, Burmese exiles in Thailand reported. U Thein Tin, a
leading NLD organizer in Rangoon, died on 18 February, after nearly two years in
Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison on political charges. A junta statement
claimed U Thein Tin died of blood cancer. [On 3 March, Amnesty International
issued an Urgent Alert fearing possible ill-treatment of U Ohn Myint, an 81-year
old advisor to National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
U Ohn Myint has not been heard from since he was seized by military intelligence
agents on 23 February-Ed.]
(Bangkok, Reuters, 9 March)

Exiles Blast Japanese Aid Plan 
The Burmese government-in-exile harshly criticized Japan's proposal for Official
Development Assistance (ODA) to rebuild Rangoon's airport. Japan's bi-lateral
aid program has been suspended since the current junta seized power in 1988.
"Funding the military junta at this sensitive moment will send the generals
exactly the wrong message," said Sein Win, prime minister of the Washington-
based National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). "They may
believe they are being rewarded for ongoing repression and their refusal to
enter into dialogue toward democratic reforms in Burma." An NCGUB statement was
encouraged by opposition to the aid in the Japanese Diet and in Washington.
(Washington, Agence France-Presse, 3 March)

Burma's Image: Free Advice 
A Washington Post editorial titled "A SLORC by Any Other Name" commented on the
Burmese army junta's recent efforts to improve its image, saying in part:
"Increasingly isolated, Burma's rulers have caught on that they have an image
problem in Asia and the West. . . . [C]ompanies with close ties to the junta
have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on U.S. public relations firms and
lobbyists, including former television journalist Jackson Bain and - most
astonishing, given the junta's ties to drug trafficking - Ann Wrobleski, a
former assistant secretary of state for narcotics control. . . . [F]or far less
than what their lobbyists charge, we could give [the generals] a few hints on
how to improve their image: Put an end to the practice of forced labor and
press-ganging of peasants to become military porters. Stop torturing political
prisoners. . . . Open a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and let her meet freely
with her supporters." 
(Washington Post, 6 March)

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