The BurmaNet News - 18 March, 1998

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The BurmaNet News, 18 March, 1998
Issue #959 

HEADLINES:
==========

Late Dry-Season Offensive:
AP: KAREN REBELS ABANDON MYANMAR BASE
THE NATION: KARENS DIG BUNKERS AFTER RAID
BKK POST: RENEGADES EXCHANGED FOR VILLAGERS
INDEPENDENT REPORT: KAREN REFUGEE BEATEN TO DEATH

In Other News:
THE NATION: RELEASE DR THAN AUNG
REUTERS: MYANMAR APPROVES $6.87 BLN INVESTMENT 
REUTERS: THAI GOVT SETS DEADLINE FOR ILLEGAL
THE NATION: GOVT'S POLICY TO EXPEL ILLEGAL WORKERS
REUTERS: ANNAN OPENS UN RIGHTS FORUM AMID KOSOVO
BKK POST: BOYCOTT WARNING
BKK POST: POLITICS AND THE PIPE
BKK POST: CONFLICT ON THE HIGH SEAS
VOA: REFUGEES / PUBLIC HEALTH

Human Rights:
CNDF: CHIN HUNGER STRIKE IN PROTEST AGAINST THE
CHIN STUDENTS UNION: STATEMENT ON THE 8TH NATIONAL
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AP: KAREN REBELS ABANDON MYANMAR BASE
17 March, 1998

MAE HLA - Karen rebels in Myanmar abandoned a key base today
after five days of bombardment by government troops. 

One guerrilla was confirmed killed in the battle around the base, 
which was ringed by mines to slow advancing troops. 

Thai military officers and officials of the Karen National Union 
insurgent group said the KNU's 7th Brigade headquarters at Tha 
Ko Sutha, near the Thai border, had been abandoned. 

The 300 rebels defending the base broke into smaller groups and
withdrew deeper inside Myanmar - also known as Burma - to stage 
hit-and-run raids, KNU officials said, speaking on condition of 
anonymity. 

The Karen rebels, who have battled for more autonomy for 50 years, 
have suffered a series of military setbacks in recent years and 
control relatively little territory. Their long-time capital was 
captured in 1994 and last year Myanmar troops seized the replacement 
headquarters. 

Since then, the KNU has avoided fixed bases and favored guerrilla 
attacks. The 7th Brigade headquarters was the biggest post they held. 

Meanwhile, Thai Maj. Gen. Chamlong Photong, responsible for the 
Thai frontier with Myanmar, said his forces were braced for more 
raids of refugee camps. 

Some 100,000 refugees from Myanmar are sheltered in Thailand in 
camps strung along the border. Most are ethnic Karens. 

The camps have been targeted to frighten refugees into returning 
home and to deny the rebels rear-base support. 

Marauders from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a Karen 
splinter group allied with the Myanmar government, crossed into 
Thailand and torched the Huay Koloke refugee camp last week, 
killing three people and leaving 9,000 homeless. Ten mortar rounds
were fired Sunday into the Mae Hla camp, which shelters 30,000 
people, injuring four refugees and a Thai soldier. 

Chamlong said security had been tightened along the frontier but 
noted that the hilly, forested terrain made sealing it off impossible. 
Thai armored personnel carriers and some 400 troops have been 
moved into the Mae Hla area since Sunday's shelling. 

Fearful of attack, refugees have been digging bunkers and sleeping 
outside the camp perimeters. 

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

THE NATION: KARENS DIG BUNKERS AFTER RAID
17 March, 1998

KAREN refugees from Burma dug bunkers yesterday to protect 
themselves from marauders from their homeland, even though a 
Thai officer described the situation at their border camp as "stable".

The refugees began digging bunkers after guerrillas allied with 
Burma's military government fired more than 10 mortar rounds 
on Sunday into the outskirts of the Mae Hla refugee camp, which 
shelters 30,000 people.

The raiders belonged to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a 
faction of the Karen ethnic minority allied with the Burmese 
government against the Karen National Union, which has battled 
for more Karen autonomy for 50 years.

No fighting has been reported since Sunday afternoon, when Thai 
forces guarding the camp fired back with at least 10 mortar rounds 
of their own, apparently chasing the attackers away.

After the shelling, more than 400 additional Thai troops were sent 
to the area to reinforce security, said Maj Gen Chamlong Photong, 
deputy chief of staff of the 3rd Army, which is responsible for the 
rugged border area.

Thai armoured personnel carriers were seen frequently moving up
the roads around the camp late into Sunday night.

Patrols up to the Burmese border were continuing yesterday, 
Chamlong said.

He said four or five refugees were injured in Sunday's attack, in 
addition to a Thai soldier who was slightly wounded.

Private organisations took food to the refugees yesterday and the 
Thai Red Cross was helping to provide medical care, Chamlong said.

More than 100 refugees at the camp are suffering from diarrhea, 
Thailand pendent Television reported yesterday.

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

BKK POST: RENEGADES EXCHANGED FOR VILLAGERS
17 March, 1998 [abridged]
by Supamart Kasem, AP

Locals say officials gave in too easily

MAE HONG SON, TAK - Five armed intruders were returned to 
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army in exchange for three Thai 
villagers yesterday.

The villagers, abducted from Ban Ta Fang, Mae Sariang district, 
on Feb 28, were traded for five DKBA soldiers captured in 
Tambon  Mae Sam Laeb, Sop Moi district, on March 2.

Local people criticised Col Tawatchai Wattana, commander of 
the 7th Infantry Regiment Task Force, and Pol Lt-Col Nitinai 
Sukawiriya, commander of Border Patrol Police's Company 337, 
over the exchange.

Authorities had given in too readily to the renegades' demand 
and were not doing enough to protect civilians, they said amid 
preparations to move 2,000 villagers from four border villages in 
Tha Song Yang district of Tak.

Karen renegades have frequently slipped though Mae La Thai, 
Mae La Yang, Mae Ok Phalu and Mae Ok Hu, in tambon Mae 
La on the Moei river, to attack Karen refugee camps.

Amid rising tension on the border, fighting between Burmese 
troops and Karen National Union rebels has erupted opposite 
the four villages. 

Phongpayom Wassapooti, governor of Tak, said the military 
wanted the villagers moved for their safety, but Veera Phothisuk, 
head of Tha Song Yang district, suggested that only children, 
women and the elderly people be transferred. The men should be
left in the villages to protect their properties and to watch and 
report on unusual activities.

Plans to move the destitute 9,000 refugees to Mae La camp in 
Tha Song Yang were dropped after the renegades fired 10 mortar
rounds into the camp on Sunday.

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

INDEPENDENT REPORT: KAREN REFUGEE BEATEN TO DEATH BY THAI ARMY
17 March, 1998

According to a reliable source, a Karen refugee man returning to the
Maw-Ker refugee camp (south of Maesod in Tak province) in the 
evening of yesterdy, March 15, 1998, was beaten to death by Thai 
soldiers guarding the camp.

The name of the refugee beaten to death  was Nyan Lin (32 years) and 
his wife is Cherry (21). Yesterday, a military officer came to her 
and gave 20,000 baht as compensation and said her husband had violated 
the curfew and both he and the Thai soldiers who beat him to death 
were wrong. 

It is said that no criminal action was taken against the soldiers.

The camp has been under curfew from dusk to dawn, since Huay Kaloke 
refugee camp came under attack on the morning of March 11. The victim 
came back to the camp after 6 pm, which was during the curfew hours. 
He was coming back to see his wife who had just delivered a baby. 

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

THE NATION: RELEASE DR THAN AUNG
17 March, 1998
Letter to the Editor

We call for the immediate release of Dr Than Aung from Burma who 
is believed to be a prisoner of conscience detained solely for 
his political non-violent activity.

Than Aung is a practising doctor for 25 years and a member of the 
National League for Democracy (NLD). On Feb 17, 1997 he treated 
a patient, described as "a vagrant", who suffered from advanced 
tuberculosis and asthma. 

Than Aung gave him an injection to prepare him for emergency 
resuscitation and then directed him to the emergency department 
of Rangoon General Hospital. There the patient was redirected to 
New General Hospital.

Unfortunately the patient died on the way. On Feb 21, Than Aung 
was arrested and charged with causing death by negligence. On April 
12, he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment. We believe that 
Than Aung was imprisoned only because of his leadership role as a 
member of the NLD.

UNITED NATIONS AND MORALITY

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

REUTERS: MYANMAR APPROVES $6.87 BLN INVESTMENT 
SINCE 1988
17 March, 1998

YANGON - Myanmar (Burma) said on Tuesday it had approved 299 projects 
worth about $6.87 billion in foreign direct investment since opening 
up the economy in 1988. 

Myanmar's military government, which allowed foreign investment shortly 
after the previous ruling body -- the State Law and Order Restoration 
Council -- seized power in 1988, said the figures were for projects 
approved through February 28. 

The Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development said the 
figure compared to investments totalling $6.64 billion at the end 
of January. 

Singapore is the largest foreign investor followed by Britain, whose
investments have been made by companies incorporated in the British 
Virgin Islands, Burmuda and the Cayman Islands. 

Thailand is the third largest investor followed by Malaysia. 

About 65 percent of the proposed projects have been implemented, 
ministry sources said. Diplomats and economists say the figure is 
lower and less than half the promised money is actually in the country. 

An official from the ministry said the actual cost for some of the 
completed projects exceeded the proposed amounts. 

Western governments have imposed trade or economic sanctions on 
Myanmar's military regime, which seized power in 1988, for ignoring 
the results of a 1990 election won by opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy. 

The sanctions have also been prompted by charges that the military 
has curbed opposition activities and abused human rights of some of 
its citizens.


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

REUTERS: THAI GOVT SETS DEADLINE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 
17 March, 1998
 
BANGKOK - Thailand has ordered employers to substitute Thais 
for illegal immigrants working in the country, a government 
statement said on Tuesday. 

The statement, issued by a government-appointed sub-committee, 
said employers should cooperate to help solve the unemployment 
problem plaguing the country amid the Asian financial crisis. 

"Concerned government officials will start taking legal action 
against those hiring illegal foreign workers starting from May 1, 
1998,'' said the statement from the committee, which was set up 
specifically to look into unemployment. 

According to the law, employers who hire illegal immigrants could 
face a maximum of five years in jail, a fine of up to 50,000 baht 
($1,250) or both. 

Illegal workers caught remaining in the country after the May 1 
deadline would also face a maximum three-year jail term, a fine
of up to 60,000 baht or both. 

Those bringing in illegal workers into the country would face a 
maximum 10-year jail term and/or a fine of up to 100,000 baht. 

Some 800,000 illegal workers, mostly from Myanmar (Burma), 
are thought to be working in Thailand. 

Thailand, hit by its worst economic crisis in decades, has been 
forced to get rid of illegal foreign workers who are mostly 
employed in the construction, fisheries and agricultural sectors. 

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

THE NATION: GOVT'S POLICY TO EXPEL ILLEGAL WORKERS FAILS
17 March, 1998

THE government's policy to expel illegal migrant workers backfired 
yesterday when five Karens robbed residents in Samut Prakan's Muang 
district, a police source said.

The source said the Karens had committed the crime because they had 
no money after being laid off by their employers. Police said Pong 
Chan, 19, one of the workers, who was arrested one hour after robbing 
Mak Promnee, an employee of Udomphan Steel Factory last night, admitted 
that he and four friends had committed the crime after the nearby 
plastics plant laid them off. The four took Mak's television and radio 
along with Bt27,000 in cash and are still at large, police said.

Chan said that before he came to work in Thailand he and his friends 
had to pay government officials in Tak's Mae Sot district about Bt3,000 
each.

The expulsion policy came under harsh criticism by labour experts 
and academics as well as non-governmental representatives in a public 
hearing last week. They said the policy had not received due consideration 
from all parties involved.

Meanwhile the secretary-general of the Federation of Industry in Samut
Sakhon complained that the policy had resulted in a shortage of workers 
in various industries, especially fishing.

After the recent policy announcement by the Labour and Social Welfare
Ministry, employment representatives from 17 Northeastern provinces 
visited the province in the hopes of filling vacant positions. 

"However, they could find only 10 local workers to fill the positions 
that had been occupied by migrant workers," said Bamrung Ramsri, adding 
that all 10 workers were now returning to their provinces.

The main reason why local workers did not want to work in the fishing
industry was because they considered it dirty and dangerous, he said.

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

REUTERS: ANNAN OPENS UN RIGHTS FORUM AMID KOSOVO PROTEST 
16 March, 1998 [abridged]
by Stephanie Nebehay 

GENEVA - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the annual 
U.N. Commission on Human Rights on Monday as 300 Albanian 
women with children demonstrated silently outside the talks 
against Serbian police repression in Kosovo. 

In a speech to some 2,000 government officials and activist 
groups attending the six-week talks at the U.N. European 
headquarters in Geneva, he called for combating violations. 

The U.N. forum will look into abuses in five continents, 
including massacres in Algeria and violence in Kosovo. 

Other states expected to be in the dock include Afghanistan, 
Burma, Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of 
Congo, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, Sri 
Lanka and Sudan. 

But China appears set to escape censure at the 53-member body 
after the United States joined the European Union at the weekend 
in deciding not to push for a resolution on Beijing's record. 
China has blocked all debate of criticism since 1990. 

Annan did not name any rogue states or specific conflicts. 

"I am here today to tell you that the next century must be the 
age of prevention. I am here to say that we can no longer claim 
that a lack of available resources prevents us from acting in 
time," he said. 

"Today's human rights violations are the causes of tomorrow's 
conflicts. This vicious circle of violations and conflict, 
leading to new violations, can and must be stopped. 

"If we do not speak out, individually and collectively, today 
and every day when our conscience is challenged by inhumanity 
and intolerance, we will not have done our duty -- to ourselves 
or to succeeding generations."

The U.N. chief called for pushing for ratification of human rights 
treaties to make rights binding worldwide. 

"All people share a desire to live free from the horrors of violence,
famine, disease, torture and discrimination," he said. 

But he conceded: "Human rights violations remain a widespread reality 
which we have not been able -- nor in some cases willing -- to stamp 
out." 

Individuals as well as countries had a duty to promote basic rights 
in the 50th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights, Annan said. 

The session named Jacob Selebi, a former African National Congress 
(ANC) activist and political prisoner who is now South Africa's 
ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, as its chairman. 

In an acceptance speech, Selebi called on the Commission to make 
sweeping reforms to its agenda. It should pass a resolution agreeing 
to send a draft declaration on protecting the rights of human rights 
defenders to the General Assembly for adoption. 

"By electing a South African to this most important of international 
human rights bodies, the Commission is sending a very important and 
symbolic message," Selebi said. 

"No country or situation before or since has captured the attention 
of the Commission in the way that apartheid South Africa did," he added.
"Like other societies, we are coming to terms with our past and struggling 
to create our future." 

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

BKK POST: BOYCOTT WARNING
17 March, 1998
Letter to the Editor

Thank you for your excellent editorial on the government's 
heavy-handed treatment of Mr Sulak.

This same government may well be in for a surprise when it 
takes delivery of the gas from Burma some time after the first 
of July. Since the purchase of the gas involves giving large sums 
to the Burmese military dictators in order to fuel Thai industry,
it may well provoke a reaction from Burmese pro-democracy
groups.

Thailand hopes to sell the goods it produces in the US, Canada, 
Australia and Europe. It may be disappointed to find that the same 
small but effective groups which mounted the Pepsi boycott and 
who pressured Texico out of Burma, will mount a boycott of Thai 
products. Thailand's economic recovery would be affected.

A concerned US citizen

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

BKK POST: POLITICS AND THE PIPE
16 March, 1998
Letter to the Editor

With attention being given to Burma's deplorable social record
and the arrest of social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, it seems Slorc
is not the only gunman.

Others have acted in oppressive collaboration with the Burmese
government, namely, the Thai government and economic interests
(such as the PTT), and companies like Total and Unocal.

When will Thailand's politically dead recover and see that their 
inactivity is indirectly leading to inhumanity? By doing nothing
the Thai government continues to support Slorc, which is killing
innocent people.

Once the pipeline is complete it will have a life-line, get paid,
and continue down its merry path of genocide. Slorc should be cut
off 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 conditions.

Jess Luce 
Chiang Mai

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

BKK POST: CONFLICT ON THE HIGH SEAS
15 March, 1998
by Supradit Kanwanich

FISHING: The history of joint fishing ventures between Thailand and 
Burma is rife with conflict.

The adage about good fences making good neighbours is particularly 
apt in the case of Burma and Thailand. The absence of physical and 
figurative fences has resulted in too many difficulties in too many 
cases to mention, and their common history is littered with more gore 
than grins. 

Why can't Burma and Thailand get off each other's backs? They're too 
close to each other, each has something that the other needs, and, 
lastly, they have been through too much to just forget each other.

TOO ATTRACTIVE TO IGNORE
Consider the socio-political landscape. Thais live in a comparatively 
free, open, and stable society while the Burmese find themselves subject 
to fear, force and forfeited rights. Not surprisingly, many find refuge 
within the borders of Thailand.

Watched by the entire world, Thailand was forced to react when Burmese
crossed the border into Thailand to escape the bullets and bayonets. And
Burma's powers-that-be had recently bowed to international pressure after
its admittance into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). 

As a concerted effort on the part of Thai and Malaysian security officers
resulted in the capture of southern separatist movement leaders, Thai
fishermen were released from Burmese jails following high-level talks
between Thai and Burmese officials.

TOO CLOSE TO FORGET
Another reason why these two countries cannot ignore each other is their 
common border. From Chiang Rai to Ranong, over 2,000 kilometres of 
forests, rivers, tributaries and open seas join Burma and Thailand.

This largely imaginary border is patrolled by an inadequate number of
guards. Despite the natural water and mountain barriers, trade, migration,
and travel continue with or without the consent of authorities.

TOO RICH TO SNUB
Another reason the two countries are inextricably linked is due to the 
economic inequality between the two countries: While Thais enjoy a wide 
range of goods on the market, various employment and business opportunities 
and choices of personal lifestyles, Burmese can only dream of such options.

When it comes to fishing, the increasing number of trawlers with modern
fishing gear further decimated marine resources, and many fishing companies
suffered. The Thai forests, rivers and oceans have been depleted almost to 
the point that Burma's greenery looks even greener over the border.

On the other hand, Burma's forests and oceans teem with economic potential; 
their simpler lifestyles do not necessitate the ravenous consumption of 
natural resources as is the case with Thailand's more affluent society. 

>From November 1989 to January 1990, the Chulabhorn research vessel
conducted a joint marine survey with Burma in the Andaman Sea. The
scientists concluded that a sustainable rate of catch in Burmese waters
would be between 1.39 million and 1.75 million tons a year. The survey 
also found that the catch would include 0.9 million tons of high-priced 
shrimp.

In the eyes of trawler operators, the risks are minuscule compared to 
the economic opportunities. Thailand ranked ninth in the world in 1994 
with a marine catch of 3.4 million tons (compared with China's 20.7 
million tonnes). Previously, it had ranked seventh.

FOCUS ON THE HIGH SEAS
Solutions tend to come easier on solid ground than at sea. Out there, 
men battle the elements to make a living. Add the pressures of personal
differences, and sparks fly easily. In the world of water, the world of 
law and order is far away.

Even boundaries and borders are even more nebulous in the water world.
Unsurprisingly, Thai fishermen find themselves being arrested by Burmese
sea patrols for fishing in Burmese waters.

When the two countries agreed to establish more exact territorial
boundaries, the situation remained too fluid for comfort. When commerce
beckons, even politics has to obey, however. To minimise friction between
sea patrols and policemen, authorities agreed to set more realistic and
specific territorial boundaries at sea.

In 1974, Thai fishermen found their fishing area limited by the enactment
of the Convention of the Sea, where territorial waters of each country were
expanded from three miles to 12 miles, and where another 200 miles was set 
aside as each country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Under the convention, Thailand gained 60 percent more in sovereign waters
but lost about 300,000 square miles on the high seas (international waters)
after it was declared part of neighbouring countries' EEZs.

Following the depletion of marine resources in the Gulf of Thailand and the
enactment of the 200-mile EEZ, Thai fishing fleets were forced to enter the
waters of Australia, Burma, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Vietnam - with or without permission.

A LONG-RUNNING PROBLEM
Actually, the current problems stemming from the joint fishing ventures 
between Burma and Thailand did not begin with the establishment of the EEZ 
- they began almost a quarter-century ago.

According to the Fisheries Department, Burma first granted a fishing
concession to Thai companies in 1975. This ended five years later when 
the lack of experience in both parties strained operations.

Thai fishermen were accused of "counterfeiting" trawlers, doctoring boats
that were not authorised to fish in Burmese waters to look the same as
those that were granted permission.

In 1989, Burmese authorities granted a fishing concession to Thailand 
once again. By 1990, the Thai Fisheries Department had set up the 
Thai-Burma Fishery Co Ltd. Fifty-five percent of the company was owned 
by fishermen, fishery businessmen held 22.5 percent and fishery 
industrialists 22.5 percent.

Problems arose again when Thai fishermen were accused of fishing 
outside of the permitted area, using nets more closely woven than what 
was permitted by Burmese authorities (thus enabling the catch of smaller 
fish), hiring more Burmese as crew than permitted and using radio 
communication gear without permission.

Burmese authorities arrested captains and crew of Thai trawlers for
poaching, with punishment ranging from 10 to 47 years of imprisonment.

Eventually, overseas fishing by the Thai private sector in Burma ended in
1993.

In 1995, Burma again granted fishing concessions to Thai fishermen, 
this time in the form of joint investments. Each Thai company had to 
invest in continuous fishery-related businesses in at least three out 
of five alternatives: ice-making, fish meal-making, cold storage, fish 
canning or shrimp farming.

Unfortunately, at the end of that year, Thai crewmen killed six Burmese 
on board a Thai trawler. That prompted Burmese authorities to cancel the
fishing concessions. 

Present estimates say about 500 Thai trawlers are competing for marine
resources in Burmese waters without official permission from the Rangoon
government - only unofficial passes from local Burmese authorities or high
ranking officers. Others make do with a nod from minorities who oppose the 
Rangoon regime.

On January 26, a discussion on fishery ventures in Burma was chaired by
Agriculture Minister Pongphol Adireksarn and Army Commander-in-Chief Gen 
Chettha Thanajaro. Forty-five private and government representatives of 
fisheries and state security sectors attended.

In his meeting with Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, First Secretary of Burma's State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Gen Chettha said he raised the issue
of the 100-plus Thai trawlers in Burmese waters that had been caught
fishing without permission by armed Burmese Navy boats.

Gen Chettha suggested that future intervention by Burmese authorities could 
be handled in a more peaceful and friendly manner. He also proposed that 
suspected Thai poachers be detained in Rangoon rather than in Mergui as 
Rangoon is more accessible to Thai authorities. 

Late last year, Gen Chettha went to Burma to visit the Thai detainees in
Rangoon's Insein prison. Following his request to Burmese authorities, 98
prisoners were released. 

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

VOA: REFUGEES / PUBLIC HEALTH
14 March, 1998
by Cole Mallard

INTRO: War and politics have always been major players in 
determining the conditions and status of refugees. But a medical
expert says refugee health may play a more important role in the 
future.  V-O-A's Cole Mallard attended the International Conference 
on Emerging Infectious Diseases, held recently in Atlanta, Georgia, 
and has this report.

TEXT: To understand the problems of refugee life and migration 
You almost have to start with the term "complex emergency."  The 
Phrase was prominent in the presentation at the conference by Dr.
Frederick Burkle.  He's a professor at the University of Hawaii, 
and director of the Center of Excellence for Disaster Management 
and Humanitarian Assistance.  He says complex emergencies are 
hard to define as such, but they stem from wars, sovereignty 
issues, international legal constraints, and genocide.  

The professor says complex emergency characteristics concern major 
post cold-war political events in emerging nations. They lead to 
unsustainable living conditions and severe public health consequences.  
Dr. Burkle says complex emergencies are politically driven, usually 
over limited resources, and cause the need for massive international 
assistance. 

BURKLE: "The main victims of the complex emergencies are multiple 
ethnic minority and religious groups and the vulnerable 
populations within those groups, like women, children, [and the] 
handicapped."

Dr. Burkle says complex emergencies cause the disruption of basic
human rights such as food, water, and shelter.  The director of 
the Center of Excellence says there has been 50 percent more 
malnutrition in the last 25 years even though there's enough 
food to feed everyone in the world. He says these mostly violent 
political events have allowed infectious diseases to go out of 
control.  

Professor Burkle says individual governments can no longer 
contain these emerging and re-emerging diseases -- they've 
become "transnational".  Another reason for the problem's
 intensity is the sheer magnitude of the increased refugee 
population.  According to the doctor, in the last 16 years, 
the number of refugees has gone from just over 8-million - 
primarily in Asia -- to 56 million, including the internally 
displaced.  Professor Burkle says the countries involved are 
unable to cope.

BURKLE: "By the time the world has been involved in them ... 
The infrastructure is gone ...  Examples, in Somalia if that
country was to recover it needs to start all over again, the 
infrastructure is completely gone. ...  In Bosnia ... a third 
of the hospitals, 50 percent of the schools and 60 percent of 
the homes are gone."

Dr. Burkle predicts that countries will continue to be burdened 
In 1998 based on what he calls "levels of violence."  

BURKLE: "The main ones are of no surprise:  Kosovo and Serbia -- 
90 percent Albanians not represented.  Certainly north Korea, Bosnia 
is still on the list simply because now they have a military force 
and they may strike back ... Sri Lanka, Algeria, Afghanistan, [the]
confederation of independent states.  And certainly we need to look 
at countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and others that have very shaky 
economies at this point, and multi-ethnic situations.  As a matter of 
fact ... Asia is not a homogenious area of the world, ... Yugoslavia 
pales to Asia in its non-homogenicity."

Dr. Burkle says he sees a greater link in the future between 
science and political decision making.  He says this is because 
the public health role in refugee crises around the world is 
becoming increasingly significant.  Professor Burkle says there 
is a strong need for politicians to include public health science
as a tactic in decision-making.  He also warns that the consequences 
of uninformed policy in the future will undoubtedly lead to a 
trans-national public health emergency of catastrophic proportion 
that may be impossible to control. 

Source: Voice of America

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

CNDF: CHIN HUNGER STRIKE IN PROTEST AGAINST THE NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL
16 March, 1998 [English slightly corrected]

Forty-five members of the New Delhi-based Chin National Defence 
Forces, including 10 women, are carrying out a 50 hour long hunger 
strike to protest against the National Students Sport Festival 
which is being held in the Chin State of Burma from 28 March.

The hunger strike commenced this morning 11:00 am Indian standard
time (March 16, 1998) at Jantar Mantar,New Delhi. Many supporters 
from various organisations and media representatives are also 
participating and joining the program. The program consists of 
worship,reading the messages of various organisations and giving 
speeches from respected patriots. Then, the memorandum was submitted 
to the Burmese Embassy. Following is the Statement of Chin National 
Democratic Forces.

CHIN NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FORCES BASED IN DELHI 50- HOURS HUNGER STRIKE 
AGAINST THE 8TH NATIONAL STUDENTS' SPORTS FESTIVAL IN BURMA.

1. The military regime, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) 
is preparing to organise the 8th National Students' Sports Festival 
at Haka, the capital of Chin State, on March 28, 1998.

2. In Burma, following the coup d'etat staged by a group of military 
led by Gen. Ne Win in 1962, a military government, with its name changing 
several times over, has been ruling the country by dictatorship till today.
Throughout this period the dictators have been inhumanly killing students 
who lead peaceful demonstrations to demand the abolition of the dictatorship, 
and the restoration of democracy and human rights. However, the regime
still refuses to recognise the will of the people.

3. The regime has been organising the National Students' Sports Festival 
every year since 1990 in the hopes of: getting the support of the people; 
erasing their image of tyranny; getting student support for the leadership 
of the military; strengthening the Union Solidarity and Development 
Association (USDA , and Pillar of the regime); falsely showing the 
international community that the Union territories are peaceful; and, 
suppressing national spirit of the minorities.

4. The regime is dismantling the peacefulness of Chin State just to organise
the 8th Students' Sport Festival in the State where Chin people have been 
living in harmony. For this festival, the SPDC issues unjust and
suppressive orders, arrest and detains a lot of innocent people. Forced
labour and forced relocation are prevailing in the whole state. The people
have to bear expenses 
for the festival - in cash or provisions. 

Since Chin students are forced to practice dances for months opening and
closing ceremony of the festival, the students are loosing time for
studies. Moreover, the regime has issued an order that those students who
do not participate in the festival will be dismissed from school. In Chin
State, 
where most of the inhabitants are living on jhum-cultivation, an order 
prohibiting the people to go out from their villages was issued. Two women 
who went out to pick some fire-wood were shot dead.

5. The Burma Army stationed in Chin State prohibits religious gatherings;
some churches are forced to shut down and some church sign-boards were
removed. In Chin state, most of the inhabitants are Christians, the people 
are forced to build pagodas. In Burma, the soldiers are encouraged and 
promised promotion if they marry Chin girls and convert to Buddhism. In 
this way the regime is not only violating freedom of religion but also
systematically organising racial discrimination.

6. Because of this inhumane treatment and suppression of the Chin people 
by the junta, Chin students and Chin peoples are sneaking into Mizoram 
State in India to take refuge, and the number is increasing day by day.

7. We, Chin Nationals, based in Delhi are undergoing 50 hours hunger 
strike in order to share our peoples' suffering  and to protest against 
the cruel and ruthless activities of  the SPDC military regime against 
the Chin people.

8. Our demands are as following:-
(a) To stop the 8th National Students' Sport Festival in Burma.
(b) To stop suppression of military dictatorship upon the Chin people.
(c) To give self-determination and human rights of Chins.
(d) To establish genuine Democracy and Federal Union in Burma.
(e) To accomplish the tripartite dialogue between Democratic forces led by
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leaders of all nationalities and SPDC.
(f) To put pressure by international communities in order to eliminate
illegal military dictatorship for establishing democracy in Burma.

16th March, 1998						
Chin National Democratic Forces (Delhi)

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CHIN STUDENTS UNION: STATEMENT ON THE 8TH NATIONAL STUDENTS' 
SPORTS FESTIVAL IN BURMA
17 March, 1998 [edited, English corrected]

1. The military regime, with its most recent name change to State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), is preparing the 8th National 
Students' Sports Festival at Haka, the capital of Chin state on 28 
March 1998.  Students from all the 14th states will participate in 
15 sporting events.

2. The military regime has been killing, arresting and detaining 
students and politically eminent persons for their  role in 
demanding democracy and human rights since the coupe detat in 1962.
On July 7 of 1962, just after four months of the coup, the regime 
named itself Revolutionary Council and started crushing the peaceful
demonstrations of Rangoon university students on campus, leaving 
hundreds of students  dead. The next morning the students union building 
of Rangoon university was blown up by dynamite with students still inside. 
In 1974, Ex-UN Secretary General U Thant's funeral uprising was suppressed 
and hundreds of students were killed by the regime. In 1988, the regime 
cracked down on the nationwide pro-democracy movement led by students -- 
hundreds of unarmed students, common people and even monks were shot dead 
on the streets of the cities of Burma.

3. The military regime has been organising Students' Sports Festivals 
every year in the hope of erasing its negative image; of getting the 
support of the students; to falsely show the international community 
that it's united and can gather  students as its will. In the mean time, 
the military regime still closes all the colleges and universities for 
fear of revealing its treatment of the people.

4. To organise the festival successfully in Chin State, Maj.Tet Toe
Sein has been given responsibility and he is busy issuing unjust and 
illegal orders against the people.  Over a period of three months, 
the major forcefully gathered hundreds of students from all the nine 
districts of Chin State to practice dances for the opening and closing 
ceremony of the festival.  These students, without sufficient food 
supplies, are made to work at construction works of the stadium while 
they are not practising dances. Each student in Chin State has been 
forced to contribute money for the festival since 1996 and some parts 
of teachers' salaries are cut for the festival.  Moreover, the students 
all over the state are threatened with expulsion from school if they 
fail to participate in the festival. Because of the cruel and ruthless 
treatments of the regime more than 150 students have fled to Mizoram 
State of India recently.

5.   We, the Chin Students Union based in India, strongly condemn 
the tyrannical military rule over Chin students and the common people, 
and strongly oppose the organising of the 8th National Students Festival 
which  aims to strengthen the power of the junta.

6.   With regard to the 8th Students Festival, we demand:

a) Discontinuance of the National Students Sports Festival;
b) Rights to education;
c) Total termination of suppression of Chin students and the people;
d) Immediate reopening of all colleges and universities; and,
e) Restoration of democracy and human rights, and establishment of 
a genuine federal union in Burma.

Central Committee
Chin Students Union, New Delhi.
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