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The BurmaNet News - 13 March, 1998



------------------------------ BurmaNet -----------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies
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The BurmaNet News, 13 March, 1998
Issue #956

HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION: SUU KYI HITS AT JUNTA FOR 'MANY FLAWS'
PRESS RELEASE: FREE BURMA COALITION LAUNCHES "NO
AFP: US TRADE GROUP TO ATTACK SANCTIONS LAWS IN
BKK POST: SPDC'S LIFELINE TOWARDS SURVIVAL
NLM: MAHATHIR VISIT TO STRENGTHEN ALREADY STRONG
SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET N0.A. 0347 (I) 

Attack on Huay Kaloke Refugee Camp:
AFP: MYANMAR DENIES ROLE IN RAID ON REFUGEES
THE NATION: ARMY ON ALERT AFTER KAREN RAID
BKK POST: TWO KILLED AS KARENS HIT REFUGEE CAMP,
KNU: STATEMENT REGARDING ATTACK ON REFUGEE CAMP
BURMESE RELIEF CENTRE (JAPAN): EMERGENCY AID

Human Rights:
NCGUB: STATEMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
KUKI MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: PRESS RELEASE 

Announcements:
LAUNCH OF 'REOPEN THE UNIVERSITIES NOW' CAMPAIGN
CAMPAIGN PACKAGE: "NO BURMESE DEMOCRACY, NO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

THE NATION: SUU KYI HITS AT JUNTA FOR 'MANY FLAWS'
12 March, 1998

AFP - Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi slammed the 
ruling military junta for economic mismanagement yesterday as 
sources in Rangoon said soaring inflation and mounting social unrest 
was plaguing the country.

"No one can deny that the government cannot handle the economy. 
There's no point putting more into this economy," Aung San Suu Kyi 
said in an interview posted on the Internet yesterday.

"We have been consulting with businesses who have been very frank.
They say there are too many fundamental flaws in the economy - we
have already peaked."

Sources in Rangoon said yesterday inflation was spiralling out of 
control, with the black market price of petrol soaring 40 per cent 
since December.

The cost of living was raising dissent among sections of society in 
Burma, which previously would never have dared to speak out against 
the military junta sources said.

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

PRESS RELEASE: FREE BURMA COALITION LAUNCHES "NO BURMESE DEMOCRACY, 
NO JAPANESE AID" CAMPAIGN
9 March, 1998

Madison, Wisconsin:  Free Burma Coalition (FBC), one of the largest 
Internet-based human rights groups, launches "No Burmese Democracy, 
No Japanese Aid," an international campaign to stop Japanese government's
resumption of its Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans to Burma's 
military junta, by using communication technologies such as phone, fax, 
and the Internet.  The FBC also plans protest demonstrations in front of 
Japanese diplomatic headquarters and outposts in such countries as South 
Africa, India, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Sweden, 
France, United States, Canada, Japan and Australia during the week of 
March 9-13.

"Being a major democracy in Asia herself, Japan should be a leader in
supporting, not undermining, the Burmese peoples' struggle for democracy 
and human rights," said Zarni, Burmese exile and founder of the FBC.  
He added, "the Japanese government's decision indicates clearly it cares 
more about short-term profits for the handful of Japanese corporations 
with economic ties to Burma's militray junta than the sufferings of the 
47 million Burmese peoples."

Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace prize winner and leader of the National
League for Democracy party which won a landslide victory in the 1990 
elections (but which was promptly invalidated by the military regime) 
has appealed to the international community to halt investment and aid 
to Burma until the military demonstrates a genuine return to democratic
government.

Said Yuki Akimoto, Tokyo coordinator of the campaign and Secretary of
People's Forum on Burma, " I feel betrayed!  How can Japanese
officials decide on such a course when it is so obviously against the
principles the government itself has laid out? Our government must not
close its eyes to how large Burma's military expenditures are, or
cover its ears to the incessant  reports of  human rights abuses
perpetrated by the military against its own people."

Japan's aid guidelines require that "full attention should be paid to
trends in recipient countries' military expenditures,...their export and
import of arms" and to "democratization...and the situation regarding the 
securing of basic human rights and freedoms in the recipient country."  
According to the United Nations, Burma's military regime today spends 200% 
more on military projects than social services.  The regime has imported 
almost 2 billion dollars worth of arms from such countries as China, 
Singapore, and Pakistan.  Consistently ranked among the top 5 countries 
in the world for human rights violations, Burma since 1987 has been 
officially recognized as one of the poorest nations, with a per capita 
income of $200 and has one of the largest armies in all Asia.

In response to Japan's February 26 announcement, the Clinton administration
called the planned resumption of ODA "inappropriate" "at this time." The 
United States and Canada have unilateral sanctions against Burma.  Last year 
the European Union (EU) revoked trade privileges for Burma.  Following the 
army's  massacre of students and opposition leaders in the uprising of 1988, 
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund  froze all financial
assistance 
to Burma. 

Contacts:  
Amanda Zappia (Australia) +61-(2)-6297-7734
Yuki Akimoto (Japan): +81-(3)-3263-3881 
Dan Orzech (USA):  (610)-650-7755
Aung Min (USA):  (310)-918 3341 (mobile)
Dr. Khin Ni Ni Thein (The Netherlands):  +31-(15)-256 96 95

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

AFP: US TRADE GROUP TO ATTACK SANCTIONS LAWS IN COURT
6 March, 1998
by Sarah Jackson-Han <sarah.jackson@xxxxxxx>

WASHINGTON, March 6 (AFP) - A major US trade group plans to challenge the 
legality of state and local laws that penalize firms with ties to Nigeria 
and Myanmar, escalating the controversy over unilateral sanctions.

USA Engage, an ad hoc coalition of some 660 businesses, farm groups, and
trade associations, indicated Thursday it would argue that such laws hinder
federal management of foreign relations and trade in violation of the US
Constitution.

The legal outcome could play a decisive role in shaping future sanctions
laws, which angry US allies regard as heavy-handed American meddling.

"Unilateral state and local sanctions are proliferating at an alarming
rate," USA Engage said in a statement to AFP.

"The purpose of a constitutional challenge is to check the threat that
local sanctions pose to the formulation of a single, coherent national
policy," it said, arguing that unilateral sanctions have also proven
ineffective. Eric Thomas, a spokesman for USA Engage, said the organization 
had taken no final decision where or when it would file its lawsuit.

But in a memo leaked last month to a Virginia-based newsletter, Inside US
Trade, National Foreign Trade Council president Frank Kittredge said the
coalition would file two suits in separate jurisdictions by late May. It
also said the initial court challenge would occur in Massachusetts, the
first US state to impose limited economic sanctions against companies doing
business in Myanmar, formerly Burma.

The second would come one to two months later, in a jurisdiction yet to be
decided, the memo said, estimating the cost of the lawsuits at up to
800,000 dollars.

Thomas Barnico, assistant attorney-general for the state of Massachusetts,
said his office had had no contact yet with USA Engage about its planned
lawsuit but would defend the sanctions law.

"Our position would be that the statute is constitutional ... we don't
think it interferes with the conduct of foreign policy by the (federal)
government," he said in a telephone interview.

Similar concerns were raised in the 1980s regarding state and local
sanctions laws targeting apartheid-era South Africa, he said, but those
arguments were never considered by the Supreme Court.

The Washington-based Investor Responsibility Research Center reports 20
sanctions laws aimed at Myanmar, passed in one state, one county, and 18
cities. It also cites 15 aimed at Northern Ireland, four at Nigeria, and
one at Tibet.

Fueled by fast-growing e-mail technology, civic pressure to oppose
Myanmar's human rights abuses led to passage of the Massachusetts law in
1996. President Bill Clinton banned new US investment there in 1997.
Nigeria has also drawn fire from the American public and US officials for
its human rights abuses, notably since the November 1995 execution of
dissident writer Ken Saro-Wiwa.

The Massachusetts law puts companies that invest in or do business with
Myanmar at a competitive disadvantage. After its passage, several large
corporations severed their ties with the Southeast Asian country.

But the law has drawn sharp criticism from Europe and Japan, which want 
the World Trade Organization (WTO) to decide whether it violates a WTO
provision on the granting of government contracts.

The prospect of a lawsuit by USA Engage makes a compromise with Europe 
and Japan on the WTO issue unlikely, according to the Massachusetts 
state legislator who sponsored the sanctions law.

USA Engage "would interpret any amendments on our part as an admission" 
that the state overstepped its authority in passing the provision, Boston 
Democrat Byron Rushing said in an interview. 

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

BKK POST: SPDC'S LIFELINE TOWARDS SURVIVAL
12 March, 1998
Letter to the Editor

The recent arrest of social critic Sulak Sivaraksa shows that
SPDC are not the only gunmen. Others have also acted in
oppressive collaboration with the Burmese government, namely, the
Thai government, Thai economic interests (PTT) and MNC's like
Total and Unocal. When will Thailand's politically dead recover
from their economic tunnel-vision and take notice of their
passive inactivity which is indirectly causing inhumanity? 

Attention apolitical Thai: by doing nothing your government
continues to support the SPDC, who are killing innocent people.
Once the pipeline is complete the SPDC will have a life-line, get
paid and continue down its merry path of genocide. Plus, let us
not turn a deaf ear; Bangkok will receive its future energy
needs. Ideally, the entire process could be accelerated by
cutting off SPDC financially; however, this is bad business for
Thailand which is hungry for the pipeline's drip. Where is your
humanity Thailand? There is more to life than meeting IMF
conditionals. 

Jess Luce 
Chiang Mai

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

NLM: MAHATHIR VISIT TO STRENGTHEN ALREADY STRONG TIES 
10 March, 1998
Editorial

"Good to have you here"

We could have said 'Selamat Datang' yesterday, but a humble 'Good to
have you here' would be more than sufficient for the guests of Senior
General Than Shwe and Daw Kyaing Kyaing, Dr Mahathir and Dr Siti Hasmah. 

With or without State or status-related titles, both hosts and guests stand
out as equally dedicated to the well-being of the people of their nations,
mutual regard and commitment to bilateral and regional well being.

The people of Myanmar take Dr Mahathir to be their strong ally,
heartened as they were when he put up a stiff fight to get Myanmar into the
ASEAN in the face of obstructions by a western group who interfered in
regional affairs and tried to apply their bully-boy tactics, and made
reason prevail.

Short as it was due to having to attend to other onerous duties, the
visit of Dr Mahathir goes down in the history of both bilateral and
regional relations as a milestone, for it helps emphasize the place one
reserves for the other, aware of their common identity and mutual respect
from the standpoint of independent, sovereign nations and also that of
fellow members of the ASEAN as well.

It can confidently be said that the two statesmen must have, in their
discussions, reconfirmed their identity of views on subjects of mutual
concern and the need to work together for peace, prosperity and stability
of the region.

The visit has also further strengthened the already strong ties and
enhanced better understanding of issues of national and regional interest.
Dr Mahathir is a staunch defender of Asian values or ASEAN values and
has been vocal on matters in which others with sinister designs often
dabble.

Many a time, he has been known to be deservedly vitriolic in dealing a
straight hook to those who interfere in the internal affairs of countries
in this region on the pretext of human rights and democracy.

In the face of what westerners term 'economic meltdown' in the region,
the Malaysian Premier openly criticised those who harmed his nation, even
naming names.  Suffice it to say he is an Asian patriot, in the strictest
sense of the word.

Two important documents signed during his visit testify to the will to
work together the Asian way.

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

SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET N0.A. 0347(I) 
12 March 1998

MYANMAR DELEGATION LEAVES FOR THAILAND 

A Myanmar delegation comprising Adviser to the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs U Hla Maung, Adviser to the Ministry of Information U Myat 
Thu, Associate Professor of the Economic Department of University 
for Distance Education and Editor of the New Light of Myanmar Daily 
left here by air this morning to attend a regional senminar on ASEAN 
Response to the Regional Economic Crisis to be held in Bangkok from 
12 to 14 March. The seminar was jointly organized by Asian Institute 
for Development  Communication ( AIDCOM) and Konrad Adenauer Foundation
of the Philippines.

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

AFP: MYANMAR DENIES ROLE IN RAID ON REFUGEES
12 March, 1998

BANGKOK - Myanmar's military government Thursday angrily denied 
US accusations that it was waging a ''campaign of terror'' against 
ethnic minorities in Thai refugee camps after a violent attack this 
week. 

In a terse statement received here, a top official in Yangon's State 
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) rejected accusations from the 
US State Department that the junta was behind Wednesday's attack on 
Karen refugees. 

US State Department spokesman James Rubin Wednesday condemned the 
attack by Myanmar-based troops on civilian refugees in Thailand and 
called on Myanmar (Burma), to halt the "campaign of terror and violence." 

But a senior official in Yangon's (Rangoon's) military council Thursday 
said the United States was speaking prematurely and did not have all 
the facts. 

"Regretfully, the US State Department spokesman has been reading out 
a statement prepared by those who don't have any idea of what they are 
talking about," he told AFP. 

Troops believed to be from the Myanmar-based pro-SPDC Democratic Karen 
Buddhist Army (DKBA) crossed into northern Thailand Wednesday and attacked 
the Huay Kalok camp, killing at least one woman and a child and setting 
fire to more than 1,000 dwellings. 

The Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) and the Karen National Union (KNU) 
Thursday also said Myanmar government troops were involved in the 
assault along with members of the DKBA. 

Huay Kalok, one of three Karen refugee camps in Mae Sot district of 
Tak province, houses almost 10,000 refugees loyal to the KNU General 
Bo Mya, a staunch opponent of the DKBA and the Myanmar government. 

"A month before this attack three SPDC army battalions had moved 
close to the border to plan and support the attack," the KNU said
in a press release, adding three refugees died in the melee. 

"We absolutely condemn the SPDC, the group principally responsible 
for this horrible and outrageous attack." 

The KNU said Christian church buildings and store houses were among 
the raiders' targets at the camp, which had been subjected to a similar 
attack in January 1997. 

The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCR) said it was 
"deeply distressed" by the incident and had sent a team to assess the 
situation. 

A UNHCR statement Thursday said the UN had urged the Thai government 
to take measures to guarantee the security of refugees near the 
Thai-Myanmar border. 

Thai security forces guarding the camp said they engaged the raiders 
in a small arms battle but there were no reports of other casualties. 

The Thai military denied accusations it did nothing to prevent the 
attack against the unarmed refugees, which left about 9000 people 
homeless. 

A US aid group and the KRC Thursday slammed the Thai Third Army for 
alleged inacation, despite having at least two hours warning that an 
attack was immanent. 

"The attackers fired automatic rifles and some rifle-launch grenades. 
There are about 20 wounded refugees, some by bullets and some by fire.
One pregnant woman and child were burnt to death," the KRC said in a 
statement. 

"Apparently there was no resistence by the Thai troops guarding the camp." 

The Myanmar government in exile -- the National Council of the Union 
of Burma (NCUB) -- in a statement Thursday called the raid a "serious 
violation of the sovereignty of Thailand and a direct insult to the 
Thai government and the Thai people."

The Washington-based US Committee for Refugees said Thai troops were 
believed to have "done nothing to intervene."

But Third Army chief of staff Maj-Gen Chamlong Phothong told AFP the 
Thai guards did everything they could. 

"It's not true that we didn't fight back. But during the attack we 
were limited in our ability to shoot back because of the number of 
refugees fleeing the scene," he said. 

He said the military and provincial authorities had agreed to close 
the camp within a week and move the refugees to safer camps further 
from the border, one of which already had about 13,000 refugees. 

Refugees who fled the assault were now being cared for by the 
provincial Red Cross and international agencies. 

Karen refugees living in Thailand have been repeatedly threatened 
with violence in an effort to get them to return to Myanmar and 
give up their resistance against Yangon forces. 

The Thai foreign ministry spokesman Wednesday lodged a request for an
investigation with the Myanmar embassy. 

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

THE NATION: ARMY ON ALERT AFTER KAREN RAID
13 March, 1998
 
The Army yesterday vowed to increase troops along the tense 
frontier with Burma following a raid by marauders who crossed 
the border and torched a Karen refugee camp. 

The attack prompted a protest by the Foreign Ministry but human 
rights groups accused the Third Region Army of doing nothing to 
prevent it. 

Local officials said food, medicine and water were being provided 
by humanitarian groups as households began putting up new huts at 
the 1,613-home Huay Ko Lok refugee camp, which was more than 80 
per cent destroyed in the attack early on Wednesday by Democratic 
Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) that killed two people, wounded 33 and 
left nearly 9,000 without shelter. 

The Foreign Ministry's letter asked Burma's military government to 
take suitable border security measures and said Thai families affected 
by the cross-border raids should be compensated. 

A US aid group and the Karen Refugee Committee have slammed the Third 
Army for alleged inaction during the Wednesday attack despite having 
at least two hours' warning. 

The Burmese government in exile -- the National Council of the Union 
of Burma  (NCUB) -- released a statement yesterday calling the attack 
a "serious violation of the sovereignty of Thailand and a direct insult
to the Thai government and the Thai people". 

It said it had written to Thai authorities to condemn the inaction 
and called on Bangkok to do more to protect the tens of thousands 
of civilian refugees camped along its western border. 

Maj Gen Chamlong Phothong, chief-of-staff of the Third Army that has
responsibility for the area, said the military would beef up security 
along the border to keep an eye out for future incursions. 

Chamlong described the situation along the border as tense, with 
constant rumours of impending attacks on two other refugee camps. 

The general confirmed that the attack had been launched by the DKBA, 
a splinter faction of Gen Bo Mya's Karen National Union allied with 
Burma's military government, which has been at war with Karen 
nationalists for decades. 

Karen refugees living in Thailand have been repeatedly threatened 
with violence in an effort to get them to return to Burma. 

The United States condemned the attack on Wednesday and called on 
Rangoon to halt the violence. 

"We call on the government of Burma to end its campaign of terror and 
violence against ethnic minorities," said State Department spokesman 
James Rubin. 

The spokesman called on Burma to engage in a dialogue with the ethnic 
groups and with the National League for Democracy to bring about national
reconciliation. 

The statement came two days before Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai was to 
meet US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright 
in Washington during his official US visit. 

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

BKK POST: TWO KILLED AS KARENS HIT REFUGEE CAMP,
ARMY WARNS IN FUTURE
12 March, 1998
by Supamart Kasem / AP

MAESOT, TAK - Pro-Rangoon Karen guerrillas attacked a refugee 
camp on Thai soil yesterday, killing two and wounding 27 others
while leaving some 9,000 refugees without shelter.

The attack prompted the army to issue a warning its forces would
in the future make a hot pursuit into Burma if guerrillas of the
Rangoon-backed Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a group which 
broke away from the anti-Rangoon Karen National Union, intrude into
Thailand again. 

The Foreign Ministry also protested against the cross-border
raid.

The warning was issued by the Third Army chief-of-staff, Chamlong
Phothong, after some 150 DKBA guerrillas attacked a Karen refugee
camp at Ban Huay Kalok and set fire to it.

Maj-Gen Chamlong said at a press conference the attack was a
violation of Thai sovereignty.

Also present at the press conference were Naresuan Force commander 
Maj-Gen Chalor Thongsala, Tak Governor Phongpayom Wasapooti and Col 
Chatchapat Yamngarmriab, chairman of the local Thai-Burmese Border 
Committee. 

In the future, Thai military forces would not limit their action
to driving intruders to the border but would continue chasing
them into Burma, said Maj-Gen Chamlong.

After the attack, the intruders crossed the  Moei River about 2
a.m. into Burma from an area north of Huay Kalok Camp, he said.

The Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned Burma's Minister
Counsellor to Thailand Khin Maung Oo to receive an official
protest.

Ministry spokesman Thinnakorn Kannasutra said the protest letter
called on Rangoon to investigate the Huay Kalok raid and also an
incident in Mae Sariang district of Mae Hong Son last month in
which a forest ranger was killed and a police out post was razed
to the ground. 

The ministry further asked the Burmese government to compensate
the families of Thai victims, and to do its utmost to secure the
release of' three Thais captured during the Mae Sariang incident.

Mr Phongpayom said the authorities were thinking of relocating
Karen refugees from Huay Kalok away from the border, probably to
Mae La Luang Camp in Tha Song Yang district. The matter would be
discussed with concerned government agencies and non-government
organisations in the next few days, he added.

The DKBA guerrillas started pounding the camp with mortar fire
shortly after midnight before they crossed the border to attack
the camp yesterday.

Thousands of refugees fled in panic and the raiders then torched
the camp, destroying more than 1,400 shacks and making about
7,000 refugees homeless.

"The whole camp was blazing and we jumped into a trench," said a
68-year-old Karen woman who identified herself only as "Jewel".

"We heard the [DKBA] soldiers saying  'We told you to go back to
Burma'," she added.

Ner Dah, a KNU official, said Rangoon should stop killing Karen
refugees and burning the 'homes' if they are really serious about
peace talks".

"As long as they do this, I don't see why we should make peace.
This shows the international community that the Burmese are not
sincere about peace," he said.

The first group managed to sneak into the camp to loot the
dwellings, while the other two surrounded the camp and
pummelled it with gunfire and grenades before setting it ablaze .
and retreating across the river, he said. 

The attack killed a seven-year-old -Karen boy and a 27-year-old
Karen woman and wounded 27 other refugees, 15 of them
seriously.

Authorities rushed the wounded to a hospital in Mae Sot district
and evacuated thousands of the homeless to a Buddhist temple and
a school, sources said.

Strong winds and chaos in the refugee camp hampered efforts to
control the blaze, which eventually destroyed all dwellings.

The attack prompted Maj-Gen Chalor to set up a special task force
and call for reinforcements to guard the border.

The camp is located only eight kilometres from the border. It has
been attacked twice by DKBA guerrillas whose headquarters is
located just across the Moei River at Kawmoora, a former KNU
stronghold. The first attack was in January last year.

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

KNU: STATEMENT REGARDING ATTACK ON REFUGEE CAMP
12 March, 1998

1. A combined force of the SPDC (formerly SLORC) army troops and its
lackeys, the DKBA, with about 250 men, openly crossed into Thailand and
attacked  Huay Kaloke refugee camp on the morning of March 11, 98, from
00:05  to 01:30 hours, with various kinds of small arms, mortars,
rifle-launch  and rocket-propel grenades.

2. As a result of the attack, 3 innocent refugees including a pregnant
woman were killed and 27 were wounded by fire arms. Many more refugees 
were injured by fire and other causes.

3. More than 1,400  of the 1613 houses in the camp, school buildings,
Christian church buildings, dispensaries and store houses were destroyed 
by fire. More than 8,769 refugees have become homeless and totally 
destitute.

4. This same refugee camp was similarly attacked on January 28, 1997. 
This repeat attack, no doubt, was systematically planned by the SPDC 
and DKBA. A month before this attack, 3 SPDC army battalions had moved 
close to the border to plan and support the attack. We, the KNU, 
absolutely condemn the SPDC, the group principally responsible for 
this horrible and outrageous attack.
 
5. With regard to the repeat attack on Huay Kaloke refugee camp, we, the
KNU, would like to earnestly request:

* All the sympathetic governments, the NGOs and the international 
community to denounce the SPDC and its lackeys, the DKBA;
* All concerned to make arrangement for extending emergency assistance to
victims of  the attack;
* The Royal Thai Government and the Royal Thai Army to take necessary
measures, out of sympathy and kindness, for providing greater security to
the refugees.

Central Committee
Karen National Union

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

BURMESE RELIEF CENTRE (JAPAN): EMERGENCY AID
12 March, 1998

EYE-WITNESS REPORT FROM HUAY KALOK.

"The refugees in the camp are like in hell. The weather is unbearably 
hot; they are without shelter, have very little water, can not go out, 
and are experiencing a lot of depression.

"NGOs are going to provide rice, blankets, mosquito nets, water and 
medical supplies.

"No one knows whether or not the Huay Kalok refugees will have to move
to Mae La refugee camp. Many people think they will have to move there 
because the Thai authorities want then to move there. The people say, "It 
is co-operation between these two govenments to force the refugees to move
to another camp or back to Burma."

"There are 1376 families and an estimated 8000 refugees in Huay Kalok camp.

"Most of the basic supplies will be support by the big NGO's, but the
following things are still needed. 

1) Emergency patient supplies
	- The burned patients need some special food, clothes, etc.
2) Big pots for cooking rice and curry
3) Food containers, bowls, plates, cups, knives, etc.
3) Clothing and basic supplies for women and children
	- Items for children 
	- Supplies for new borns and pregnant women
	- Underwear and hygenic supplies for women.
4) Hygenic supplies
	- Soap for all
	- Toothbrushes and toothpaste"

These are the supplies which Burmese Relief Center--Japan will be 
providing with contributions received.

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

NCGUB: STATEMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
12 March, 1998

NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA

Statement on the Anniversary of Burma's Human Rights Day

On March 13, 1988, the SLORC's riot police shot to death the engineering
student, Pone Maw, right on the campus of the Rangoon Institute of
Technology. In order to raise awareness in the World concerning the lack of
rule of law, safety of person, security of life and human rights in Burma,
the day on which Pone Maw fell has been designated and observed as the
Human Rights Day of Burma. It has been for 10 years now.

(1) As much as a government has to respect and obey the will of the people,
it has to bear the duty to provide, with special attention, security of
life and of person to the people. Additionally, it has to undertake the
work of realizing the opportunity for the people to enjoy individual rights
and raising standard of living of the people. The successive military
dictatorships since 1962, in addition to failing to undertake the
responsibilities mentioned above, have been ruling the country with
repression and prohibitions, and have come to control the right to life of
human persons. 

(2) At the present, the military dictatorship in power is still refusing to
transfer power to the political party the people had voted overwhelmingly
in the 1990 elections. It has been shamelessly repressing those who are
demanding for human rights, democratic rights and ethnic rights. The
members of parliament-elects, in addition to losing the rights to form a
government, are being denied even the right to draft the state
constitution. On the other hand, the people have been increasingly
subjected to the scourge of slave labor, under the name of "voluntary
contribution of labor", forced portage, deprivation of the protection of
law, the disproportionately extensive damage to social and economic fabrics
and displacement by war to other lands for refuge.  Thousands of people in
towns and cities have been driven out to the paddy fields under the
military clique's urban projects and thousands upon thousands in the Shan
and Karen States, where the civil war is raging, have been forcibly
relocated. 

(3) Sadly, we have to witness the military clique's manipulation and
damaging of the advancement of students, for its own self-interest, in the
field of education which is vital for the future of the country.  The
military clique's closing or opening of schools arbitrarily as a means of
preventing strikes and students' movements for their legitimate rights, is
nothing short of destroying the entire future of the country. Though the
military clique is arbitrarily closing or opening civilian centers of
learning, it has continued to open full time the centers of learning
controlled by the military establishment, and thus it is creating unequal
opportunities even in the area of education. This is high treason, which
those ruling the country should never do. It is nothing but systematically
stunting the growth of new generations and to ensure non-progress of the
country, in the future.

(4) If we were to use the international standards of judgement, Burma in
such a deplorable state, would be judged as a country with the worst human
rights records.  The woeful economic situation and the lack of individual
rights of the country cannot be improved by changing the name of the
military clique or transferring power from one military clique to another.
Only by destroying the old system and transiting to a new system, we will
be able to realize the basic human rights of the individuals which are
based on the democratic ideals.  Therefore, we, the NCGUB, earnestly urge
all citizens of the Union of Burma to join hands with us and fight against
the military clique, in order to regain our lost human rights.

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KUKI MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: PRESS RELEASE 
11 March, 1998 [English slightly corrected]
Ref. No. 02/08/KMHR/98                                       

The atrocities meted out to the innocent villagers of Valpabung (Myanmar) 
by the Myanmarese Army are highly condemnable. Because the villagers have 
nothing to do this with the incident on 7th March '98, where the service 
rifle of a Burmese solider was learnt to be snatched away by an unknown 
youth.

Since then, the innocent villagers have been put under heavy pressure 
to retrieve the weapon and have been threatened with dire consequences 
if they fail to do so. So far, the villagers are confined and they are 
not allowed to attend to their daily chores. On the day following the 
incident, the villagers - including the women, children and the aged - 
were kept for a whole day under the scorching sun. The threats also 
include torching the village along with other properties.

Of all the past atrocities, the most serious is that of the Phailen 
incident. The villagers of Valpabung have been once again been threatened 
with the same kind of treatment meted to Phailen village (Myanmar). It must
be remembered that in 1993 three villagers, including the chief and the 
pastor, were killed in the most ghastly manner after third degree torture. 
One of them was roasted alive. Other kinds of tortures perpetrated on the
villagers, including the women folk, included scalping of the nails and 
fleecing of their flesh with sharp bamboo splinters. The villagers of Phailen 
were punished just because two Burmese soldiers deserted the army with
their weapons.

The villagers of Valpabung have been once again threatened with the same 
kind of punishment as that of Phailen village just because a weapon has 
been snatched away from a soldier. The coming of the State Peace and 
Development Council (SPDC) in Myanmar was a welcome step and viewed 
positively. The whole world was happy about the changes in Myanmar. However, 
it is unfortunate that such inhuman acts still prevail in this remote border 
area.

The Kuki Movement for Human Rights therefore appeals to all right thinking
individuals, groups and nations to join us in condemning such violation of 
Human Rights and uphold the dignity of every human being, weak and strong.
Valpabung villagers have not committed any crime and do not deserve such
harassment and torture.

[Publicity Wing, Kuki Movement For Human Rights
Church Road, PO Box 52, Imphal-795001, Manipur State]

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ANNOUNCEMENTS:

LAUNCH OF 'REOPEN THE UNIVERSITIES NOW' CAMPAIGN
12 March, 1998

SEND AN EMAIL AND A LETTER ON FRIDAY!

In Burma, the schools and universities have been closed for the past 16
months, since December 1996. Now, the students in Burma are asking for 
your support for their campaign to reopen the universities.

On Friday 13 March, Burma-groups in Norway and Sweden (The Burma Group 
in Uppsala, The Burma Support Group/Norway, The Norwegian Burma Council,
PDBurma) will launch a campaign to support the demand for the reopening 
of the schools and universities in Burma. The campaign is being initiated 
by the All Burma Federation of Students' Union (ABFSU) and the Democratic 
Party for a New Society (DPNS). 

Schools and universities in Burma have been closed since December 1996 
when students demonstrated for the right to form independent student 
unions. The military, however, has closed down education institutions 
off and on since General Ne Win first seized power in 1962, in order to
avoid student unrest and public dissent to the regime. It is a pattern of
reactions with dire consequences for the future of the young people in
Burma, the result of which has been a systematic destruction of the
education system in the country. In the 10 years since 1988, however, 
the universities and schools have only been opened for slightly over 
2 years! This means that the junta has systematically prevented a whole 
generation of Burma's youth of higher education, while the junta's own 
children have received their education in special army schools or abroad 
at government expense.
 
For further information, please contact:

The Burma Group in Uppsala: burmagruppen@xxxxxxxxxxx  or sara_c74@xxxxxxxxxxx
Burma Support Group/Norway: camillab@xxxxxxxxxx or bsgnor@xxxxxxx
The Norwegian Burma Council: burma@xxxxxxxxx
PDBurma: pdburma@xxxxxxxxx

For background information, please contact DPNS: 
mingla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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CAMPAIGN PACKAGE: "NO BURMESE DEMOCRACY, NO JAPANESE AID"
8 March, 1998

To get your email campaign package, including:

I.  FBC Press Release for "No Burmese Democracy No Japanese Aid"
II. Sample Letter (To be emailed/faxed to the campaign targets)
III. ELECTRONIC CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES
IV. List of Suggested/Specific Actions (demos, banner hanging, etc.)
V.  Talking Points: Why the FBC opposes resumption of aid to Burma's junta
VI. Background Info
VII. TARGETTED OFFICIALS AND POLITICIANS IN JAPAN
VIII. Some Addresses of Japan's diplomatic outposts in US and Canada

CONTACT THE FREE BURMA COALITION AT zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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