The BurmaNet News - 19 March, 1998

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------------------------------ BurmaNet -----------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies
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The BurmaNet News, 19 March, 1998
Issue #960

Noted in passing:

"Marrickville Council is to be congratulated for being the first Council 
in Australia to pass such a resolution and for their commitment to treat 
this as the start of a Australian campaign to isolate the military regime
in Burma". - Ms Tinzar Lwyn, spokesperson for the Burma Support Group
(see FBC MEDIA RELEASE: MARRICKVILLE COUNCIL BANS)

HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION: ASEAN TALKING TO SUU KYI
TOKYO KYODO NEWS: BURMESE DISSIDENTS STAGE RALLY TO
THE WASHINGTON POST: CLOAKED IN MORAL INDIGNATION 
THE WASHINGTON POST: BURMA'S DRUG LORDS
THE NATION: THAI ARMY KILLS 7 RANGOON ALLIES 
FBC MEDIA RELEASE: MARRICKVILLE COUNCIL BANS
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: A CASE FOR RESTRAINT ON
AWSJ: SINGAPORE WILL DEMAND MYANMAR

NLM: INFORMATION SUBCOMMITTEE FOR FAO'S 24TH ASIA
NCGUB MEDIA RELEASE: BURMA IMPROPER VENUE FOR
SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A-0353 (I)
NLM: PERSPECTIVES

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THE NATION: ASEAN TALKING TO SUU KYI
18 March, 1998
by Aung Zaw

MALAYSIA HAS THE PHILIPPINES IN MEETING BURMA'S OPPOSITION LEADER 
AUNG SAN SUU KYI. IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF AN ASEAN 'CONSTRUCTIVE 
INTERVENTION' OFFENSIVE?                            

The opposition to the military regime in Burma has often viewed
Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as a staunch supporter
of the generals in Rangoon. The reason: last year the prime
minister strongly backed Burma's application for membership of
the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean) despite
stringent protests and the junta's pariah status in the global
community.

On his arrival at Rangoon airport last week, Mahathir was given a
l9-gun salute. That was a stunning gesture on the part of the
military junta, and it showed the generals' eagerness to forge a
special relationship with Asean. But Mahathir had a surprise for
the generals. During his two-day visit, he asked his foreign
minister, Ahmad Badawi Abdullah, to play host to some special
guests at the Malaysian embassy in Rangoon.

On the morning of March 10, four special visitors came to the
compound, Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and three
other senior leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was accompanied by
Aung Shwe, Tin Oo and U Lwin, and together they met Badawi for
two hours.

However, the meeting was not mentioned in the state-controlled
media in Rangoon. NLD sources and government officials
acknowledged that the engagement had taken place, but they both
refused to give any details of the meeting. This was the second
meeting between high-ranking Asean officials and the Burmese
opposition group following last year's meeting with Philippine
Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon.

Just before Mahathir's arrival, Suu Kyi issued a statement
expressing her willingness to meet the visiting prime minister.

"I will be very happy to meet him if he is willing to meet me,
because I do believe in communicating with people," she said. 
"I do believe that if we have different opinions, we should talk
about these differences and come to an amicable understanding."   
   
Burma became a member of Asean last year despite strong criticism
and reservations over its entry. Asean leaders say they will
continue to practice its  "constructive engagement" policy with
Burma, where the military leaders are unpopular and fast losing
public confidence.

A spokeswoman of NGO Alternative Asean for Burma (Altsean)
commented: "We are pleased that Badawi had met with Aung San 
Suu Kyi, but we are also a little bit hesitant to be so optimistic."

Not surprisingly, looking at Burma's ongoing political deadlock
and economic hardship, no one can be optimistic. The junta, now
known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), recently
launched a massive crackdown on student activists and opposition
members, and a political prisoner who was an adviser to the NLD
recently died in prison.

"They are still hunting some students and activists, accusing
them of being communists and pro-West," said activist Ko Htet,
who fled to the Thai border. Indeed, since Burma became a member
of Asean, the situation within the military-ruled country has not
improved.

"In fact, the situation in Burma has actually worsened," said
Debbie Stothard, coordinator of Altsean. "[Philippines]
President Ramos went to Burma last year, and since then we 
have seen mass arrests and human rights violations. 

Stothard hoped that the recent meeting between Badawi and Suu 
Kyi had not been simply "for show".

"What's the point of going to have tea with Suu Kyi if the
human-rights violations, political and economic instability
continue in Burma?"

Analysts and dissidents in Thailand said that while they welcomed
the meeting they also wanted to see some positive outcome that
would benefit the people of Burma. Yet Suu Kyi thinks that having
dialogues with Asean leaders will help both sides to understand
each other. In a statement, the opposition leader said she would
be happy to meet any member of Asean who wished to talk to the
NLD and "who wish to know what we are doing and why we are doing
what we are doing." She also stated that the NLD and Asean were
working toward the same goal but might differ in their approaches.
                                                                  
"What the NLD is working toward is peace and prosperity, therefore
peace and prosperity for the region. I do not think Asean members
would say that they do not want peace and prosperity in our region,
so ultimately we are working toward the same goal. Perhaps we do
not agree on how we should how we it," she said.

Back in Rangoon, Burma's military leaders took great pains to
exploit Mahathir's presence, though his trip was part of Asean's
protocol to visit its newest member.

"The main problem is that the military junta considers such state
visits an encouragement and as a legitimisation of what they are
doing in the country, That is why we have strong reservations
about these kind of visits," Stothard said.

Some in Rangoon agreed. There is no point in visiting Burma if it
is not going to bring improvements to the general situation," a
veteran journalist said.

Perhaps Asean leaders have begun ending some kind of signal to
the regime to change. "If Burma continues to be ruled by the
military junta, which does not have a clue about what it is doing
and continues clinging on to lower at all costs, in the end the
ultimate cost of this will be paid for by the people of Burma and
the rest of people in the Asean region," Stothard said. 

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

TOKYO KYODO NEWS: BURMESE DISSIDENTS STAGE RALLY TO PROTEST JAPAN AID 
13 March, 1998

Tokyo, March 13 Kyodo -- Some 80 Myanmar [Burma] dissidents and 
their supporters staged demonstrations Friday in Tokyo against 
the Japanese government's decision to resume Official Development 
Assistance (ODA) loans to Myanmar.

Ye Htut, a member of the National League for Democracy (liberated 
area-- Japan), said the aid will only benefit Myanmar military rulers, 
their cronies and Japanese businesses, not Myanmar's people.

Ye Htut's group is a Tokyo-based dissident group that supports the
National League for Democracy led by pro-democracy leader Aung San 
Suu Kyi.

On Wednesday, the Japanese Government said it will resume ODA loans
to Myanmar for emergency maintenance of Yangon's [Rangoon] international 
airport.

The low-interest loans, totaling 2.5 billion yen, are the first since
Japan suspended official aid to Myanmar following the 1988 military 
coup.

Officials said the ODA loans are part of a total of 27 billion yen
that Japan pledged to Myanmar to expand the international airport 
but suspended its disbursement in 1988.

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

THE WASHINGTON POST: CLOAKED IN MORAL INDIGNATION 
17 March, 1998 / Page A20
Letter to the Editor

While I was quoted accurately in R. Jeffrey Smith's Feb. 24 news 
story as not discussing client matters in public ["Burma's Image 
Problem Is a Moneymaker for U.S. Lobbyists"], The Post's March 6
editorial "A SLORC by Any Other Name" alleges that I am somehow 
responsible for repression, torture and drug trafficking in Myanmar. 
Such a personal attack on my reputation cannot go unanswered.

The Post finds it "most astonishing" that a former assistant 
secretary of state for international narcotics control would 
be part of an effort to bring Burma out of its 35 years of 
self-imposed isolation. The Post also questions Japan's recent 
decision to resume foreign assistance and presumably was opposed 
to Burma's entry to ASEAN last year.

What I find "most astonishing" is that The Post has so blindly 
endorsed an isolationist policy in Burma against all evidence that 
engagement, dialogue and open trade are the key ingredients to 
peaceful change in Asia -- indeed around the world. One wonders 
why The Post has supported most-favored-nation status for the 
People's Republic of China or the Four-Party Talks between the
two Koreas, the United States and China -- positions I also support.

Since the editorial also references the "junta's ties to drug 
trafficking," let's look at the recently released State Department 
report on international narcotics efforts. The report notes that 
"there is no evidence that the government, on an institutional level,
is involved in the drug trade. However, there are persistent and 
reliable reports that officials, particularly army personnel posted 
in outlying areas, are involved in the drug business."

That statement is essentially true for every country where narcotics 
are produced, trafficked or consumed.

The report also notes that "Burmese counter-narcotics efforts improved 
during 1997, especially with regards to heroin and opium seizures as 
well as the destruction of heroin refineries." Further on it notes that 
"most of the refineries were located using information provided by DEA 
[Drug Enforcement Administration] from the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon." 
This kind of cooperation - which is in its infancy - is the kind of 
engagement that will make a difference in the supply of heroin on U.S. 
streets. If The Post is consistent in its editorial position, then it 
will oppose this cooperation and prefer instead to stand on the sidelines 
and point fingers at those engaged in the real work of achieving change. 
By cloaking itself in moral indignation, The Post only covers its eyes 
and leaves exposed the ineffectiveness of its position.

ANN WROBLESKI
Washington

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

THE WASHINGTON POST: BURMA'S DRUG LORDS
18 March, 1998 / Page A20
Editorial

IN A LETTER published on this page yesterday, Ann Wrobleski takes
issue with a recent editorial on Burma. A former assistant secretary 
of state for international narcotics control, Ms. Wrobleski in her 
private capacity now represents a firm with close ties to Burma's 
rulers, according to a Post report. She defends such work in part by 
arguing that Burma has improved its counter-narcotics efforts and 
that Burma's government is only marginally involved in the drug trade, 
for both of which points she cites a State Department report as evidence.

While the letter's citations from the 1998 report are accurate, they 
are incomplete. The report does cite a marked improvement in Burma's 
efforts to seize and control heroin and opium "in percentage terms." 
However, the same sentence continues, "but even so, the total seized 
was less than one per cent of Burma's estimated annual opium/heroin 
output." In fact, according to the State Department report, Burma's 
opium and heroin production doubled after the current dictators took 
power in a 1988 coup, and it has remained stable ever since. Burma 
is now the major global supplier of opium and heroin, accounting for
more than half of world supplies, and it produces enough "to satisfy 
the U.S. heroin market many times over," the report states. "Overall, 
the Burmese drug control situation remained bleak during 1997."

As to the regime's role in this, the report does not confine its remarks 
to officials in outlying areas. "The government systematically encouraged 
leading drug traffickers to invest in infrastructure and other domestic 
projects," it says.  Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was even more 
direct last summer. "Burma is also the only member of ASEAN [the 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations] where the government protects and 
profits from the drug trade," she said. "In fact, Burma's top traffickers 
have become leading investors in its economy and leading lights in its new
political order."

Even setting moral issues aside, then, an important question is whether
"engagement" with such a regime and attempts to burnish its image
constitute an effective anti-drug strategy. It is true that sanctions and
diplomatic isolation are blunt diplomatic tools that work only sometimes.

Burma represents an unusual case, in part because it is run by a
dictatorship but -- unlike Indonesia, say, or China -- already has a
legitimate democratic leader. Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Burma's
post-colonial independence hero, heads a party that won in a landslide 
in a 1990 election; Burma's dictators have kept her under house arrest 
ever since, refusing to honor the election results. Aung San Suu Kyi 
has the support of many ethnically non-Burmese tribes, which have
battled the central government for decades but say they accept her 
vision of democratic federalism. The current regime, by contrast, has 
bought peace with many of these insurgencies only by allowing them 
to grow and sell heroin unhindered.

Burma's ruling regime, corrupt by birth and dependent on drug money 
for survival, cannot satisfy U.S. hopes for meaningful efforts against 
heroin. The best counternarcotics strategy is to support those forces 
inside Burma that truly believe in the rule of law.

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

THE NATION: THAI ARMY KILLS 7 RANGOON ALLIES
18 March, 1998

MAE HLA REFUGEE CAMP, Thailand - At least seven members 
of a guerrilla group affiliated with the Burmese government were
killed by Thai artillery following an attack on this refugee camp, 
Thai army sources said yesterday.

The Thai army had fired 33 artillery shells into the Burmese jungle 
in retaliation after the guerrillas shot eight mortar bombs into the 
Mae Hla camp, about 9 kilometres inside Thai territory, which 
houses more than 30,000 refugees, he said.

The Thai shells had landed in the jungle camp of the Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army (DBA) in eastern Burma, killing at least
seven guerrillas and wounding several others, an army source
said.

One Karen refugee was wounded in Sunday's attack on the camp,
officials said.

Thousands of Karen refugees were now living in a state of fear at
the camp following the Thai attack because the DBA has threatened
retaliation witnesses and the army source said.

"We learned that seven DBA men were killed, and they vowed to take
revenge by burning all the refugees camps inside Thailand," said
an army officer.

Meanwhile, Karen rebels in Burma abandoned a key headquarters
yesterday after five days of bombardment by government troops.

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

The 300 KNU defenders broke into smaller groups-and withdrew
deeper inside Burma to stage hit-and-run raids, said KNU
officials. One guerrilla was confirmed killed in the five-day
battle. Mines have been laid to slow pursuit by Burmese forces.

Maj-Gen Chamlong Photong, chief of staff of the Thai 3rd Army,
responsible for the Thai side of the frontier, said his forces
were braced for more incursions by the DKBA, a Karen splinter
group.

DKBA  marauders crossed into Thailand and torched the Huay Koloke
refugee camp on March 11, killing three people and leaving 9,000
homeless. Ten mortar rounds were fired on Sunday into the Mae Hla
camp, which shelters 30,000 people, injuring four refugees and a
Thai solider.

KNU officials said DKBA raiding parties were believed to have
crossed the border under cover of darkness on Monday, taking
positions to raid Mae Hla, Huay Kolok and Maw Ker, a camp with
6,000 people.

Chamlong said security had been tightened along the frontier but
noted that the extremely hilly, forested terrain made completely
sealing it off impossible.

Aid workers expect the threat against the camps to stay high
until March 27, when Burma's military government celebrates Armed
Forces Day.

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

FBC MEDIA RELEASE: MARRICKVILLE COUNCIL BANS BUSINESS WITH 
COMPANIES IN BURMA
17 March, 1998

Marrickville Council has become the first local Council outside 
of the United States to prohibit the purchase of goods and services 
from companies which do business in Burma. This action is part of an 
international campaign to call to account the illegal military junta 
on its repressive human rights record.

The Sydney-based Burma Support Group, a pro-democracy activist group 
were the proponents of the legislation. The Australian Labour Party, 
the No Aircraft Noise Party and the Independent members of Marrickville 
Council unanimously backed the proposal at its meeting on Tuesday 
March 17.

"The military government is heavily dependent on foreign investment. 
This action will contribute to forcing it into dialogue with the 
democratically elected government" said Ms Tinzar Lwyn, spokesperson 
for the Burma Support Group. "This international campaign is supported 
by the democratically elected government in Burma, the National League
for Democracy and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. In Burma, foreign 
investment does not 'trickle down' to assist the immense poverty being 
suffered by the Burmese people. Profits from foreign investment stays in 
the hands of the corrupt military elite", she said.  "Marrickville Council 
is to be congratulated for being the first Council in Australia to pass 
such a resolution and for their commitment to treat this as the start of 
a Australian campaign to isolate the military regime in Burma".

As a concrete commitment to this aim, Marrickville Council passed a
resolution to encourage local Councils, through the Local Councils & 
Shires Association of New South Wales (NSW) to pass similar resolutions. 
The Burma Support Group and the Australian umbrella group, the Australia 
Burma Council, will continue to work with Councils in Australia to 
implement such selective purchasing policies.

"We will also engage in discussions with Regional Organisations of 
Councils (ROCs) to look at bulk purchasing contracts with companies 
doing business with the illegal Burmese regime", Ms Lwyn said.  
"The actions of the Council are both symbolic of their support for 
democracy in Burma and immensely practical in forcing companies trading 
with Burma to pull out, thereby cutting off the life-blood of foreign 
investment which is sustaining the Burmese junta", she said.

Media contacts:
*Assoc. Prof. Denis Burnham, Burma Support Group (Sydney):  
(02) 9385 3025 or (02) 9810 8582
*Ms Amanda Zappia, Australia Burma Council:  
(02) 6297 7734  (02) 6297 4801
*Mr Simon Billenness, Franklin Research & Development Corp., Boston:  
(617) 423 6655 X225 or (800) 548 5684.
For additional information contact the website address:
http://sunsite.unc.edu/freeburma/index.html  
(selective purchasing option is on the left)

[Free Burma Coalition, Australia]
Working for the:
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
Federation of Trade Unions, Burma
Australia Burma Council

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

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: A CASE FOR RESTRAINT ON TRADE SANCTIONS 
8 March, 1998 

AMOXICILLIN can be hard to find in Karbala to treat a youngster's 
painful infection. Rice and cooking oil are scarce in Basra unless 
a buyer can pay the high price. Engineers and professors drive cabs 
in Baghdad to earn a meager wage. These are the side-effects of tough 
sanctions lowered on Iraq by the U.S. and the United Nations. 

Behind the bombs-away rhetoric on dealing with Iraq is a debate over
sanctions designed to undercut Saddam Hussein's lawless behavior by
hamstringing his country's economy. Should the cork be kept tight on 
Iraq's commerce with the outside world? Or does this blockade miss 
the point by punishing the average Iraqi while Saddam's entourage 
remains unscathed? The discussion points up a new reality in modern-day 
diplomacy. Sanctions are growing in numbers with the United States a 
major player. 

American sanctions circle the globe. They range from a recently lifted 
ban on the sale of fighter jets to Latin America to a deep-freeze 
ostracism against age-old foe North Korea. The sanctions can be the 
result of peacekeeping missions (Serbia and Haiti), drug interdiction 
(Pakistan), human rights campaigns (Burma and Nigeria), anti-terrorism 
(Iran) and Cold War history (Cuba). They can be a politician's delight 
because the get-tough measures pacify a persistent voting bloc, but 
they are a diplomat's nightmare because sanctions can be impossible to 
lift and hard to peddle to allies. By one count, of 140 international 
sanctions launched this century, 110 were U.S.-sponsored. Economist 
Gary Hufbauer, co-author on a major study on sanctions, lists 38 
measures of varying scope still in place. 

The real test is whether they work, and the answer is mixed. Examples 
abound for almost any theory. North Korea remains an outcast nation, 
but its people are starving. Cuba is still led by Fidel Castro although 
the island failed to export its Communist economy to South America. An 
American-led boycott of Libya creates friction with oil-needy Italy. The 
world of sanctions can become a puzzle palace with evidence to support 
or knock down any argument. 

Hufbauer estimates sanctions cost American business $20 billion per 
year for a smallish result. "We don't find zero bang, but the trend 
has been distinctly downward in terms of changing a country's foreign
policy," he said. Fighting in Bosnia ended with the Dayton peace accords, 
achieved at the point of sanctions against trade with Serbia, he noted. 
South Africa changed from apartheid to multiracial democracy after 
worldwide sanctions. But proposed heavy sanctions against the People's 
Republic of China by the United States would be a disaster if other 
nations swooped in to land business contracts, he said. 

For Hufbauer and other policy experts, sanctions work when the targeted
government is weighing which way to go. South Africa was a success story
because its leaders were open to change. But Burma and Nigeria showcase 
the opposite situation. "Nobody in those places is listening," he said.
Hufbauer favors targeting tyrants for prosecution such as the seizure of
foreign assets or arrest if they leave their own country. 

The current wave of sanctions has peculiar origins. The end of the Cold 
War makes it easier to impose the punishments because the target country 
cannot run to the Soviet Union. American politics are well-suited to 
activist groups such as Cuban emigres or Chinese dissidents who can 
pressure Congress and the White House for help. Also, the moralist or 
flag-waver has always played a major role in American foreign policy, 
and the present era of U.S.super-strength has enlarged this personality 
trait. 

Sanctions are also a blunt weapon. The Duvalier family in Haiti parked 
their money in Swiss accounts, shopped in New York boutiques and drove 
down the island's dirt roads in BMWs, unhindered by a U.S. sanctions. 
Meanwhile, the average Haitian suffered shortages of food and medicine. 
The collapse finally came, but everyone in Haiti paid the price for the 
sins of a few. 

The crazy quilt of restrictions and barriers are subject to the laws of
unintended consequences. America's boycott of Cuba, dating back to 1960,
settled into an exercise in Cuban emigre politics until Congress approved
the Helms-Burton law. The measure, unenforced so far, punishes other
countries who make use of property such as land or factories once owned by
Americans. The law has infuriated down-the-line U.S. allies such as Canada
who are not caught up in the anti-Castro obsession of American politics. To
be effective, sanctions need to be carefully chosen with reasonable goals
plainly stated. With Iraq, the constant testing by Saddam needs the reality
check that sanctions and containment provide. Human suffering could be
alleviated if the U.N. could provide food. This instance should underscore
tough resolve by sanctioning country or world body, but it needs full
cooperation and support to succeed. 

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THE TARGETED COUNTRIES 
These are the countries that are currently under some form of active
foreign-policy sanctions by the United States government. 

ANGOLA / AZERBAIJAN / BURMA / CAMBODIA / CAMEROON / CHINA / CUBA
GAMBIA / HAITI / INDONESIA / IRAN / IRAQ / LIBERIA / SUDAN / LIBYA
NIGER / NIGERIA / NORTH KOREA /PAKISTAN / SYRIA / VIETNAM / 
REPUBLICS OF EX-YUGOSLAVIA / ZAMBIA 

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AWSJ: SINGAPORE WILL DEMAND MYANMAR
17 March, 1998

Singapore will demand Myanmar and Bangladeshi visitors post 
bonds as part of a crackdown on foreigners overstaying tourist 
visas, an official said. 

No other details were available. Singaporean officials had said 
last week they planned new visa requirements for citizens of 
some countries.

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

NLM: INFORMATION SUBCOMMITTEE FOR FAO'S 24TH ASIA AND PACIFIC 
REGIONAL CONFERENCE MEETS
18 March, 1998

YANGON, 17 March-The Information Subcommittee for the UN Food and 
Agriculture Organization's 24th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference 
held its meeting No l/98 at the News and Periodicals Enterprise Head 
Office on Theinbyu Street here this afternoon.

Chairman of the Subcommittee Managing Director of NPE U Tin Kha said 
the subcommittee will gain the first experience of a conference which 
will be attended by delegates of 33 countries. It will also be the 
first conference of its kind to be hosted by Myanmar, he said.

He spoke of the need for departments concerned to work in cooperation 
for the success of the subcommittee's functions. Members of the 
subcommittee are to discharge duties in cooperation with the officials 
concerned. He then called for open discussions to be free from flaws.

Secretary of the subcommittee Director (News) of NPE U Hla Tun presented 
the subcommittee's work programme (draft).

A general round of discussions followed on the draft programme. The
meeting also discussed finance and strength of staff to be assigned 
during the conference.

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

NCGUB MEDIA RELEASE: BURMA IMPROPER VENUE FOR UNITED NATIONS BODY MEETING
17 March, 1998

NCGUB Urges Change of Site or Boycott of April FAO Regional Conference 
- Junta Abuses, Assaults Must Not Be Condoned

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma urges countries,
organizations and individuals supporting respect for human rights and
democratic reform in Burma to refuse to attend the scheduled Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Asia and the
Pacific in Burma from April 20 to 24.

The NCGUB asks the United Nations to act at the highest level to change 
the venue of the forthcoming meeting, and for invitees to make clear they 
will not attend the meeting if it is held in Burma.

"We strongly believe it is highly inappropriate for any United Nations 
body to today hold such meetings in Burma, especially at the very moment 
the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva will be considering 
a strong resolution deploring the ongoing and very serious human rights
abuses by the country's military regime," NCGUB representative for United
Nations Affairs, Dr. Thaung Htun, said in New York.

"The UN Special Rapporteur for Human rights is barred from Burma, yet 
very senior UN officials appear ready to be hosted by the junta's 
generals," Dr. Thaung Htun added. "The selection of Burma as the venue 
for the FAO Regional Conference raises serious questions whether there 
is a coordinated strategy within the UN in dealing with the appalling 
human rights situation in Burma."

The NCGUB remains opposed to expansion of any aid activities and other
cooperation carried out in conjunction with military authorities. Army
abuses continue daily throughout Burma, and the junta regularly 
manipulates and mismanages international assistance as a tool for 
political control.

"An FAO meeting in Burma is particularly inappropriate," Dr. Thuang 
Htun explained. "Our country's small farmers today suffer arbitrary
expropriation of their crops and land, and forced relocation and 
compulsory labor at the whims of army authorities who mock the rule 
of law. "

These abuses, and murder, torture and rape by soldiers are especially
prevalent in border areas inhabited by non-Burman minorities. Burma's 
army is today conducting a broad offensive in Karen State, and has 
repeatedly attacked refugees in Thai soil  who fled military assault. 
On 11 March, two women refugees were killed and over 39 other refugees 
wounded when junta troops attacked the Huay Koloke Refugee Camp near 
Mae Sot in Thailand. Four more refugees and a Thai solider were wounded 
when the Mae Hla camp was attacked on Sunday, 15 March.

"International pressure, not international recognition, will force 
Burma's junta to obey the United Nations resolutions urging it to 
respect human rights and to accept a transition to genuine democracy," 
Dr. Thaung Htun said. The UN must not send mixed signals the generals 
could claim to be support for their rule."

BACKGROUND

Burma is a resource rich country once known as "rice bowl" of Asia. 
Under army rule since 1962, it had dropped to the level of 
UN-designated "least developed country" by 1987. The Asian Development 
Bank estimates 40% of the population lives below the poverty line. 
Draconian paddy procurement and extortion by the Burmese army are 
basic reasons for rural impoverishment, which includes extensive 
malnutrition and high infant and maternal mortality rates.

The situation of Human Rights in Burma has been discussed at the Third
Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) annually since 
1991, and resolutions have been adopted by consensus of the General
Assembly. Successive resolutions have been highly critical regarding
ongoing grave human rights violations in Burma. They have urged Burma's
military rulers to take all necessary steps towards the restoration of
democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the 
May 1990 general elections, which was won overwhelmingly by the National 
League for Democracy (NLD). 

Since 1993, each session of the UNGA has requested the UN Secretary-General 
to assist in the implementation of the resolution. Based on that mandate, 
UN Secretary-General sent a special envoy led by Deputy Secretary-General 
Mr. Alvaro de Soto to Burma to open dialogue with the junta as well as 
leaders of the election-winning NLD. Unfortunately, the generals have 
rejected a mediation role for the United Nations or any third party to 
bring about a substantive political dialogue leading to national
reconciliation and restoration of democracy in Burma. The military 
regime flatly denies all human rights violations and has denied entry 
to the UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur to perform his mandate of UN 
human rights monitoring.

"The failure of the military regime to comply with the terms of the
resolutions and lack of cooperation with good offices of the
Secretary-General and UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur are clear
violations of articles 55 and 56 of the UN Charter that require member
States to 'pledge themselves to take joint and separate action' to 
promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and 
fundamental freedom for all. An irresponsible and repressive regime 
that has taken the UN seat against the will of Burmese people should 
not be permitted to play host to the high-level FAO regional forum", 
Dr. Thaung Htun added.

The FAO states that the organization since its inception it has 
"worked to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting agricultural 
development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security". 
There can be no food security in Burma today, where general 
insecurity has been brought by a military regime that terrorizes 
its own citizens. 

For example, on 28 December 1996, 1,500 farmers from Depayin Township
staged a protest over military agriculture policies. Instead of 
resolving the problems faced by farmers, the army arrested about 
50 farmers.

The military regime recently announced the nominal abolition of the 
paddy procurement policy that required farmers to supply 12 baskets 
of paddy per acre at an army-dictated price well below market rate. 
But practice on the ground is still tightly controlled, with severe 
restrictions on when and where farmers may sell their crops. Despite 
the hardship of farmers, consumer rice prices have risen by about 50% 
in the past year.

The Burmese army's practice of massive forced relocation, looting 
and destruction of food and other human rights violations, especially 
in non-Burman ethnic areas, has resulted in internal displacement of 
2 million people, destruction of the socioeconomic fabric of village 
life, widespread malnutrition and deaths, and large flow of refugees 
to neighboring countries. "The junta clinging to power at the expense 
of general populace is itself the principal impediment to alleviation 
of poverty and hunger", Dr. Thaung Htun said.

In Burma today, it is clear that sustained engagement with the military
regime and aid provided by UN agencies have been counterproductive to 
human development and democratization of Burma. Instead, it has given 
strength and legitimacy to a regime that has been governing the country 
against the will of people.

The NCGUB strongly urges the Conference Secretary of the FAO Regional
Office for Asia and Pacific to move the venue of conference to another
country in which exists the minimal precondition for fulfilling the 
mandate of the FAO. Should the FAO persist in its decision to hold that 
conference in Burma, we urge the governments and international NGOs 
affiliated to FAO to boycott the conference.

[For further information, please contact: Dr. Thaung Htun  
Tel: (212) 338 0048]

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SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A-0353 (I)
          18 March, 1998

MYANMAR DELEGATION LEAVES FOR MALAYSIA

A Myanmar delegation comprising Chairman of Asia Express (Ygn) 
Co Ltd, Managing Director of Aye Yeik Mon Company and architect 
of Myanmar Constructors Association left Yangon by air on 17 March 
to attend ASEAN Constructors Federation (ACF) Meeting held in 
Malaysia from 18 to 21 March, as observers at the invitation of 
Chairman of ASEAN Constructors Federation Tant Yahon.
 
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NLM: PERSPECTIVES

WITH SUCH GOOD FRIENDS...
2 March, 1998

The truth has been laid bare, though not for the first time. The 
NLD's underground connections, if one would call them that, or the 
covert connection with the ABSDF insurgent group, and the schemes 
overt and covert to foment trouble.

The ruthless terrorist plots were exposed with corroborative evidence,
concrete and irrefutable, directly related to their persistent
destabilization campaign, act bordering upon inciting unrest, contacts 
with insurgent groups and collaboration with the Ba Ka Tha and BCP-UG 
remnants.

These and other facts relevant to the expose were amply made known at 
the news conference held by the Office of Strategic Studies at the MRTV
building yesterday.

Those attending it were given a complete wrap-up of the NLD-insurgent
connection and developments starting from 1988 when civil unrest was
stirred up to anarchic proportions and the Union was pushed to the 
verge of disintegration.

The misadventures of Ko Thein alias Thein Tun, a trained saboteur and
organizer who would, with his cohorts, assassinate State leaders, blow 
up public buildings and set off explosions in main streets in Yangon 
and other towns and how and when he set about the tasks as conceived by 
his masters have been fully exposed.

The plots and connivances even find an old politician of questionable
character and a foreign woman of doubtful credibility getting messed 
up in underhand political tactics.

Also revealed at the news conference was corroborative evidence of how
closely the Daw Suu Kyi-ABSDF clique had worked throughout the years 
since 1988.

Moreover, the latest expose has also brought to light how the Ba Ka Tha 
had worked to subvert through BCP UGs, how anti-government activists and 
those behind them, egging them on to more dirty tricks to drag the country 
into a mire in which the masses stand to suffer.

While the State Peace and Development Council, with the backing of the
people, has been making good strides in its endeavour to bring the Union 
on the path of discipline-flourishing democracy and the emergence of a
peaceful, prosperous, modern new nation, those with evil intent seek to
throw sand in its eyes.

Street violence, turmoil, devastation and all evils which the NLD has
planned and executed have been thwarted due to the vigilance of the 
people and the Tatmadaw.

With such good friends, who needs enemies?

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TRUE PICTURE
1 March, 1998

The true picture of Myanmar is one of peace and tranquillity, of 
accord and harmony, with great potentials for trade and investments, 
of security and pleasure.

Yet this picture, or rather Myanmar's image, is tarnished by those 
who wish us ill, those whose grudge is fanned by external subversives 
who cannot bear to see peace and progress.

Distorted pictures and warped minds go together.  The warp in the 
mind drives those with ulterior motives to present to the world a 
picture that is just the opposite of what Myanmar really is, the 
kind of image that would frighten visitors and investors away.

Difficult as it is to get people of other lands to gain proper
understanding of Myanmar, the vast array of print and electronic 
media available to those who wish to present a distorted picture 
can, within hours, if not minutes, create misunderstanding and 
misconception.

Seeing is believing, it is said, and to help others see Myanmar for
themselves and get a firsthand account of what it really is like, the
members of the Young Presidents Organization have been ushered in to 
see for themselves Myanmar at close quarters.

State Peace and Development Council Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt 
welcomed the group and gave an extensive explanation of events past 
and present, alluding to what today are pages from the history book, 
carefully making sure that no part of significance is left out.

In giving them the true story about our preparations for a
discipline-flourishing democracy, the Secretary-1 took up point 
by point the events that had been perpetrated by subversive elements 
and politicians looking for short-cut to power.

Health, education and welfare and all other aspects of endeavour in 
which the people, the Government and the Tatmadaw have been engaged 
in were explained.

He also took up ample time to correct what has been unfair and 
lopsided human rights allegations and attempts to bash Myanmar in the 
name of democracy as well as the ongoing campaign to eliminate the 
menace of hard drugs.

Our friends of YPO, we are confident, will be able to assess the 
situation as is, and give our side of the story a fair hearing and 
the correct publicity we deserve.

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