Mainichi on Voice of Burma

[carol@xxxxxxx]

Mainichi Daily News, Sunday, April 26, 1998

BURMESE WORLDWIDE GETTING NEWS FROM TOKYO COMPATRIOTS

	No one would ever guess that a small apartment room in downtown Tokyo is
the center for dispatching pro-democracy news to Burmese worldwide.
	Voice of Burma, a weekly newspaper that a group of 10 volunteers launched
three years ago, connects Burmese in 26 different countries.
	Every Saturday afternoon, volunteers come to an apartment in Toshima-ku,
Tokyo, to compile and print the newspaper, which has a circulation of 800.
	About 400 copies of the weekly publication, written in Burmese, are
delivered to Burmese restaurants and stores across Japan.  The other 400
copies are mailed to Burmese in and out of the country.
	Aung Thu, 34, one of the editors of the publication, said the 18-page paper
carries news on politics and information about the Burmese community overseas.
	It also prints news reports from the BBC, Voice of America and [Radio] Free
Asia, a Washington-based station with a news program in Burmese.  What's
more, six staff members translate a monthly column by pro-democracy activist
Aung San Suu Kyi, according to co-editor Kyaw Kyaw Soe, 34.
	The column, "Letter from Burma," has also been carried in the Mainichi
Daily News on a monthly basis.
	Operational costs are covered by the 100-yen subscription fee as well as
donations.
	Voice of Burma was originally published by Burmese dissidents in Thailand,
but its publication ceased when senior editors moved to the United States in
1995.  [Correction:  The newsletter published in Thailand was called Radio
Burma Monitor.]
	Aung Thu and his Burmese supporters decided to start up the newspaper again
to keep overseas Burmese informed.
	Kyaw Kyaw Soe said, "I hope someday I can publish this kind of newspaper in
my country.  I will continue to publish here until the day comes."