The BurmaNet News: July 9, 1998 (pa

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 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: July 9, 1998
Issue #1044

Noted in Passing: " The ASEAN Secretariat should set up a ASEAN task force
to monitor closely the deterioration of the political situation in Burma."
- Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader in Malaysia, DAP
Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong [SEE MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION: STATEMENT
ON BURMA] 

[Editor's Note: This issue of The BurmaNet News is being distributed in two
parts because of length.]

HEADLINES:
==========
(Part 1)
THE NATION: RANGOON QUIET AS FEARS RISE
REUTERS: MYANMAR JUNTA ALLOWS SUU KYI 
SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0492(I/L)
AP: MYANMAR DISSIDENT RETURNS HOME
THE NATION: ASEAN SET TO DISCUSS POLICY MOVE
REUTERS: MYANMAR SAYS COMMENTS REGRETTABLE
(Part 2)
MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION: STATEMENT ON BURMA
SCMP (EDITORIAL): OPENING ASEAN'S EYES
BKK POST (LETTER): MORAL COWARDS SET A BAD EXAMPLE
MYANMAR ALIN: MYANMAR WOMEN'S DAY
DVB: 5 SPDC SOLDIERS KILLED, 15 WOUNDED IN FRIENDLY FIRE
BKK POST: JAPAN AID PAID
BAC: PORTLAND, OR PASSES SELECTIVE PURCHASING LAW
SCMP: ANTI-JUNTA LOBBYISTS NEED A RICHARD GERE
ANNOUNCEMENT: BOOK ON FATE OF BURMA'S MP'S AVAILABLE
ANNOUNCEMENT: RORY MACLEAN'S UNDER THE DRAGON 
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Malaysian Opposition: Statement on Burma 
8 July, 1998 by Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader in Malaysia,
DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong 

ASEAN governments should warn the Burmese military junta of international
and regional censure if it imposes a crackdown on pro-democracy activists
or take any action against Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi,
whether against her liberty or security.

The latest news from Burma reports that Burmese police have prevented Aung
San Suu Kyi from continuing on a trip she is making outside of the Burmese
capital.

The incident began late yesterday when Aung San Suu Kyi was stopped about
80 kilometres north of Rangoon and was asked to return to the capital.
However, she insisted on continuing her journey as she was planning to
visit one of her political party officials who was elected to Parliament in
1990.

The attempt by the Burmese authorities to restrict the freedom of movement
of the Burmese Opposition Leader must be denounced by all right-thinking
people in the region and the world.

Malaysia and the other ASEAN Governments should call in the Burmese
Ambassadors to seek a clarification of the action of the Burmese
authorities and convey in strong and no uncertain terms regional and
international concerns over Aung San Suu Kyi's safety and security.

In the past few weeks, there have been mounting tensions between the
military junta and the Burmese Opposition, with the military junta accusing
Aung San Suu Kyi of trying to foment an unwanted confrontation on the
anniversary of the crackdown on student protesters in 1962.

Recently, after Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon  warned that
the Burmese military junta and opposition looked to be heading towards a
new bout of political confrontation with the "deterioration of the
atmosphere between the government and the National League for Democracy".

The military junta have blamed the opposition for trying to stir up unrest
to coincide with the "forthcoming resumption of the classes of the
universities, colleges and other educational institutions".

Authorities in Burma have regularly hinted that universities, closed in
December 1996 following student unrest, would reopen only when conditions
in the country were deemed stable enough.

The junta last month announced that undergraduate university students were
being permitted to sit exams for the first time since the campuses closed
18 months ago. However, university campuses were to remain closed and
students would sit their exams at schools around the country.

The NLD however linked the clampdown to its recent demands that parliament,
based on the results of a 1990 election won in a landslide by the
opposition, be convened before August 21.

The NLD accused the junta of misusing its power and of violating existing
laws by arresting opposition members and ordering others to report in
daily. It also demanded the revocation of the measures.

The ASEAN Secretariat should set up a ASEAN task force to monitor closely
the deterioration of the political situation in Burma and do its utmost to
uphold respect for human rights and democratic freedoms in the ASEAN region
in general and in Burma in particular.

The Malaysian Foreign Ministry should speak up strongly to ask the military
junta to start of a process of democratisation by engaging Aung San Suu Kyi
in talks to bring about national reconciliation in Burma.

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South China Morning Post (Editorial): Opening Asean's Eyes 
9 July, 1998 

When members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations decided last
year to admit Burma to their organisation, the move was presented as the
best means to bring about a rapprochement between the ruling junta and the
National League for Democracy (NLD) of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Yet still the opposing sides remain polarised. Growing tension in the
country has so alarmed Bangkok that the Thai Government is warning that an
outbreak of violence could hamper the fragile progress toward economic
recovery.

Aung San Suu Kyi's abortive journey to meet supporters in the north, after
giving her "minders" the slip, comes weeks after the military allowed the
NLD to mark the anniversary of its 1990 election victory. But any softening
of the junta's line ended when the NLD set an August deadline to reconvene
the disbanded parliament.

Since then, the state media have issued veiled death threats against her
and insisted on the familiar theme that the people would rather have food
than democracy. After the economic crisis, this argument has been
undermined by the way in which a lack of democratic institutions has
emerged as a real obstacle to prosperity.

Like it or not, Asean members have to face this issue at their conference
in Manila this month. After the events of the past year, the old policy of
affecting not to notice what was going on in other member states is less
and less tenable. The crisis has brought the region together. There must be
a readiness to offer and accept comment from outside - and to judge if
expectations have been met in the case of Burma.

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The Bangkok Post: Moral Cowards Set a Bad Example 
8 July by Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe in British Columbia, Canada 

Letter to the Editor

In his statement reported in the Bangkok Post (July 4), Mr Siazon, the
foreign secretary of the Philippines, gives the impression that the
opposition is as much to blame for Burma's increased tension, or "political
confrontation" as he puts it, and that the opposition, like the military
junta, is habituated to violence.

I think Mr Siazon is well aware of who in Burma is the intransigent party
and who is habituated to and engages in violence on a routine basis.

I wonder why he feels that he has to be even-handed -- to blame both, so to
speak, the perpetrator and the victim.

This Alice-in-Wonderland kind of logic also surfaces when widespread.
military atrocities -- rapes (more accurately, the systematic targeting of
ethnic women), ethnic cleansing, coerced portering, extra-judicial
killings, forcible dislocation in, for example, the Shan State -- are
mentioned.

Leaders of neighbouring countries and all and sundry diplomats imply that
the atrocities are a sad but unavoidable part of counter-insurgency
operations -- thus indirectly absolving the perpetrators and in a sense
blaming the victims for their suffering.

Such attitudes illustrate a lack of moral anchor on the part of responsible
adults. Yet, these same adults frequently deplore the lack of moral values
among the younger generation. How can they expect the young to be good,
behave morally and so on when adults in high positions are moral cowards?
Asians love to assert with much pride that they (and the "East" in general)
are more moral, spiritual, etc, than the West or Europeans who, they
assert, are crassly materialistic, and therefore crude, in comparison to
Asians.

This is a joke, surely? If it is not a joke, let's prove it by deeds, not
by playing fast and loose with the question of what is right and what is
wrong.

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Myanmar Alin: Myanmar Women's Day 
2 July, 1998 

[Myanmar Alin is a government-run, Burmese-language daily newspaper.]

It has been reported that the work coordination meeting no. 2/98 of the
Myanmar Women's Affairs Committee held on 26 June has decided to declare 3
July -- the founding day of Myanmar Women's Affairs Committee which is
working for development of Myanmar Women -- as Myanmar Women's Day.

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Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB): 5 SPDC Soldiers Killed, 15 Wounded in
Friendly Fire 
2 July, 1998 

It has been learned that on 19 June, three supply boats with (indistinct
number) of soldiers from SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] LIR
[light infantry regiment] No. 25 travelling along Tenasserim creek from
Myittha Village in Tavoy Township, Tenasserim Division, were accidentally
shot at by troops from LIR No. 104.  In the incident five soldiers died and
15 others were seriously wounded.  The friendly fire incident occurred near
Htikholay village between Myittha and Ahleinngayin villages, and a villager
from Myittha village said the three boats were sunk and all the supplies
were lost.  The LIR No. 25 supply column had already informed all the
military columns along the route beforehand about their supply mission.

Lt. Col. Lun Tin, regimental commander of LIR No. 25, said Maj. Tayza Kyaw,
the no.1 military column commander of LIR No. 104, should be held
responsible for the incident.  It is also known that the rift between LIR
No. 25 and LIR No. 104 has also widened.

The SPDC forces in the region have been under guerrilla attacks by the KNU
[Karen National Union] forces since early this year. Observers have noted
that this friendly fire incident happened because of the overly cautious
nature of the SPDC forces and their desire for combat readiness against KNU
guerrilla attacks.

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The Bangkok Post: Japan Aid Paid 
8 July, 1998 

The Japanese government yesterday pledged $75,000 (three million baht) to
help relieve the plight of Karen refugee women, children and elderly people
at the Tham Him camp near the Thai-Burmese border under a programme drawn
up by the Burmese Border Consortium.

During a ceremony at their embassy in Bangkok, Japanese officials also
pledged $84,600 (3.4 million baht) to build an indoor stadium for disabled
people in Nonthaburi to serve as the medical and health centre for the Far
East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled taking place in Thailand next
year.

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Burma Action Committee: Portland, OR Passes Burma Selective Purchasing Law 
8 July, 1998 from <maje@xxxxxxxxxxx> 

Portland OR: The City of Portland, Oregon, today joined 20 other
municipalities with Burma selective purchasing laws, in a campaign of
economic pressure on Burma's military regime. In a resolution unanimously
approved by Portland's City Council, the City's purchasing department was
instructed to ban contracts for all professional, technical or expert
services with any firms doing business in Burma. The scope of the law is in
compliance with Oregon State policy, and it is modeled on Portland's
previous civic participation in the anti-apartheid movement for South
Africa. It was sponsored by all four of the City Commissioners present:
Eric Sten, Gretchen Kafoury, Charlie Hales, and Jim Francesconi, and
supported by Mayor Vera Katz.

Commissioner Eric Sten spoke to the Council meeting, which was
well-attended by members of Portland's Burmese community, commenting that
"We pride ourselves in being a global city in Portland...and it's important
to do that with a conscience." Sten referred to the Free Burma Coalition's
motto, "When spiders unite they can tie down a lion," and said that "when a
movement begins to take shape from the grassroots and has support, I think
we can really make a difference by being an active presence in that movement."

"There's a lot of evil in the world, and it appears that Burma has more
than its share," commented Commissioner Jim Francesconi, citing Burma's
production of the heroin which reaches American cities such as Portland as
a reason for his support of economic pressure on the regime. Testifying
before the Council, local author Edith T. Mirante spoke of the partnership
of oil companies ARCO and Unocal with the Burmese junta "condemned by the
State Department for high level complicity with the drug trade."

Portland activist Jensine Larsen told the Council of her travels in Burma,
and said that when she told Burmese "about the passage of selective
purchasing legislation in the United States, their eyes lit up with
excitement and hope; they were inspired knowing that there were others who
were working to help." 

Aung Zin, a dissident scientist from Burma, described the horrendous levels
of human rights abuse in Burma, including the suppression of 1988's
democracy protests, when his best friend was shot dead as troops opened
fire on university students. In his testimony, Aung Win Kyi, an exiled
student from Burma, stated that while the junta "is still holding the state
power under these circumstances, Burmese people will not be able to get
their rights," and called for international pressure "including economic
sanctions toward the Burmese military regime."

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South China Morning Post: Anti-Junta Lobbyists Need a Richard Gere 
8 July, 1998 by William Barnes 

What the anti-Burma lobby in the United States lacks is a Richard Gere,
according to Larry Dohrs, a prominent pro-sanctions activist from Seattle
recently in Bangkok to meet critics of the Rangoon regime.

The movement to isolate Burma's military dictatorship was "growing all the
time", but the campaign could still do with a standard bearer famous enough
to catch the world's attention, he said.

"We've been trying to recruit a high-profile spokesperson . . . the
opportunity is there for somebody to be the Richard Gere of Burma," said Mr
Dohrs, the co-ordinator of the Seattle Campaign for a Free Burma.

Gere, 48, a Buddhist, has used his Hollywood fame on behalf of the Dalai
Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, for many years. His support has
helped make opposition to Chinese rule in Tibet both popular and
fashionable in the US.

Mr Dohrs said that Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was, like the
Dalai Lama, a charismatic and persuasive speaker. But the junta's efforts
to isolate the Nobel Peace Prize winner in her Rangoon home had kept her
from the public eye.

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

Announcement: ABSDF Book on Fate of Burma's MP's Available 
7 July, 1998 

NEW ABSDF BOOK DETAILS FATE OF BURMA'S MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

Amid demands by the National League for Democracy (NLD) for the convening
of Parliament, the All Burma Students' Democratic Front has published a new
book which details what has happened to all of Burma's Members of
Parliament (MPs) since they were elected in the May 1990 election.

In the eight years since the 1990 poll, the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC), now renamed the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), has forced from office well over a quarter of all MPs from the NLD
and jailed, tortured and exiled many others. The book, To Stand And Be
Counted: The Suppression of Burma's Members of Parliament examines the
SLORC/SPDC's campaign of repression and contains biographies of all 485 MPs.

On 24 June 1998, the NLD sent a letter to SLORC/SPDC demanding that the
Parliament of the elected representatives of 1990 be convened within 60
days. Following this demand the SLORC/SPDC instructed township authorities
all over Burma to order all NLD MPs in their area to report to them twice
daily. On 27 June more than 40 MPs were subsequently detained in their
respective townships in connection with the NLD's demand to convene
Parliament.

All NLD MPs are also now required to seek permission to travel outside of
their towns. Last week the SLORC/SPDC also withdrew visiting rights to all
42 NLD MPs currently under detention.

Many of the 42 NLD MPs currently under detention have been given heavy
sentences for trumped up charges, while others have been imprisoned for
promoting democracy. Rangoon MP Daw San San recently had her sentence
increased from six to 25 years for doing an interview with international
media after she refused to end her political activity.

Since the 1990 election, the SLORC/SPDC has used threats and intimidation
to force 46 NLD MPs to resign from Parliament, while the Election
Commission has dismissed another 66 from office. This represents some 28
percent of all NLD MPs.

Following the NLD's landslide win in the 1990 election in which it gained
more than 80 percent of the seats, the SLORC refused to relinquish power
and began a systematic campaign of repression against the elected
representatives. As part of this campaign the SLORC also banned 20
opposition parties which won seats in the election, affecting some 48 MPs.
Twenty MPs from the NLD and from other opposition parties are also
currently in exile, many working for the National Coalition Government of
the Union of Burma (NCGUB).

All Burma Students' Democratic Front
For further information please call 01 654 4984 or 01 253 9082.

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Announcement: Rory MacLean's Under the Dragon: Travels in a Betrayed Land 
8 July, 1998 from <prudence.jeffreys@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Under the Dragon: Travels in a Betrayed Land by Rory MacLean
Hardback, £16.99
Publication: 3 August 1998

"I cannot imagine a better book on the terror and beauty of Burma. But Rory
MacLean is more than a gifted writer. He is a man whose artistry is
underpinned by a powerful moral sensibility. Read it. Read it. Read it."
-- FEARGAL KEANE
Interested press should contact Prue Jeffreys on 0181 307 4509. 
e-mail: prudence.jeffreys@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

8/8/88 is one of the most tragic dates in modern Burmese history. It was on
this day that thousands of citizens took part in a peaceful demonstration
against the SLORC, the ruling military junta. Unarmed, they were cut down,
leaving more than five thousand people dead. This August marks the tenth
anniversary of this terrible event, and UNDER THE DRAGON is published to
commemorate that date and those people. 

It also pays tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi, the human rights activist and
leader of Burma's National League for Democracy, who won the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1991. She has been detained by the SLORC since 1989 and she
remains virtually under house arrest - a prisoner of conscience - unable to
see her husband and children (who live in England.)  In the research for
this brilliant and tender evocation of contemporary Burma, Rory MacLean has
the rare opportunity to meet and talk to Aung San Suu Kyi, and through her
and three other very different women, some fictional, he tells the story of
this beautiful and troubled land. 

Rory decided to write this book after a chance visit to Burma several years
ago made such an impression on him, that he simply could not put it out of
his mind.  He found it a fascinating and compelling country: on the one
hand, a part of the Eastern Empire about which the British are so
nostalgic; and on the other, a lovely, fragile country under the iron hand
of an oppressive military regime. In Under the Dragon, his intense studies
of the lives of the individual Burmese he encounters, from the girls who
work on the building-sites under appallingly exploitative conditions to the
drunken pirates who profit from the chaos, make us feel the weight of the
regime under which they labour.

On returning there, he traveled from a decaying Rangoon to the heart of the
golden triangle, meeting the victims and perpetrators of the uprising. He
rode with a hill tribe warlord, shared tea with a government censor, and
got trapped into a karaoke evening with a group of singing Chinese
businessmen. He learns about the economics of the heroin trade and the
tragedy of child prostitution. He gets under the skin of Burma.

The author has a unique writing style, weaving fact and fiction, real
people and fictional characters together in a style which moved John Fowles
in The Spectator to comment about THE OATMEAL ARK, his second book,  "such
a book as this rather marvelously explains why literature still lives."

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