The BurmaNet News: July 17, 1998

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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: July 17, 1998
Issue #1051

HEADLINES:
===========
BBC: BURMA MPS DETAINED FOR DEFYING ORDERS 
AFP: MYANMAR TROOPS CLASHED WITH REBELS 
AI: OPEN LETTER TO THAN SHWE 
BKK POST: JUNTA SAYS SUU KYI IS NO MANDELA 
BKK POST: RANGOON "WON'T BROOK CRITICISM" 
THE NATION: ALATAS WARNS AGAINST CRITICISM 
THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE): BAD THINGS HIT
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BBC: BURMA MPS DETAINED FOR DEFYING ORDERS 
16 July, 1998 

The National League for Democracy in Burma says about eighty of its elected
members of parliament have been arrested in the last two weeks for defying
restrictions imposed by the military government.

The NLD vice-president, Tin Oo, told the Reuters news agency the MPs had
refused to comply with an order to report twice daily to police and local
officials.

There's been no confirmation of the arrests by the Burmese authorities.

Earlier this month, the military government said it would increase
surveillance of NLD MPs to ensure they would not disrupt the re-opening of
colleges shut in 1996 after student protests.

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AFP: MYANMAR JUNTA TROOPS CLASH WITH REBELS
14 July, 1998
  
A series of clashes between Myanmar government forces and guerrillas near
the Thai border has left at least 17 junta troops dead and 10 injured, an
opposition group said Tuesday.

The fighting followed a build-up of Yangon troops opposite at least two
Karen National Union (KNU) bases in preparation for new offensives, the
Thailand-based All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and the rebels
said.

The clashes came after three government light infantry regiments were sent
about three weeks ago to an area some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the
KNU's Fourth Brigade base in Karen state, which borders Thailand, ABSDF
foreign affairs secretary Aung Naing Oo told AFP.

Regiments 380, 372 and 373 had previously been based at Minpya town in
Arakan state, he added, citing KNU sources on the border.

The regiments were undermanned and were believed to have 200 to 400 troops
each, Aung Naing Oo said.

The base was southwest of the Thai border town of Kanchanaburi, he added.

KNU spokesman Nerdah Mya Monday said up to 1,500 junta troops were moving
into positions opposite Mae Sot district in Thailand's northwestern Tak
province in preparation for an assault on the rebels' Seventh Brigade base
there.

He said he was "70 percent sure" they were poised to attack the 500 to 600
soldiers at the KNU's base.

"We're expecting an attack within a week," he added, saying reports from
local villagers, intelligence sources and radio intercepts pointed to the
same conclusion.

Nerdah Mya said the Seventh Brigade -- one of the KNU's largest fighting
forces -- was well trained and the base was surrounded by mines and
boobytraps.

"We are confident that we can hold on," he said.

He said the situation in the contested area was quiet Tuesday.

The reports of fighting and troop movements could not be independently
confirmed and junta officials were not immediately available for comment. 

The KNU is one of the last ethnic guerrilla forces to be holding out in
their struggle for independence from Myanmar's ruling military council.

They have been fighting for decades but in recent years have lost swathes
of territory in eastern Myanmar after a series of junta offensives.  

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: OPEN LETTER TO THAN SHWE
16 July, 1998 by Pierre Sane

Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman
State Peace and Development Council
c/o Ministry of Defence
Signal Pagoda Road
Yangon
Union of Myanmar

OPEN LETTER TO SENIOR GENERAL THAN SHWE FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
SECRETARY GENERAL PIERRE SANE

Dear General,

The 8 August 1998 will mark the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy
movement in Myanmar, a day that holds great symbolic significance for the
Burmese people and for the international community.  Amnesty International
is deeply concerned, therefore, about the potential for heightened tension
at this time between the authorities and political activists.  This has
been reflected over the past few weeks by political arrests and increased
restrictions and surveillance of opposition leaders in Myanmar. In
particular we are referring to the incident on 25 June 1998 when the
security forces prevented a group of National League for Democracy (NLD)
members from entering the compound of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon.
According to credible sources, the security forces severely beat several of
them merely for peacefully attempting to attend a meeting there.

Amnesty International is further concerned that an unknown number of NLD
members of parliament-elect have also been arrested recently and asks that
you make public their names, their place of detention, and the charges
against them. Reports also indicate that those MP's-elect who have not been
detained must report twice daily to the local authorities and are not
permitted to travel to other parts of the country.  Such restrictions on
freedom of movement and assembly clearly constitute harassment by the
authorities of people engaged in legitimate peaceful political activities.

As this important anniversary approaches, we hope that you will begin to
defuse possibilities for conflict by taking immediate steps towards
improving the human rights situation.

For example, the release of those prisoners of conscience who are elderly
or sick, such as U Win Tin, would go some way to establishing an atmosphere
of trust between the military and political activists.  Improvements in
prison conditions and a commitment to ending forced labour and other human
rights violations against members of ethnic minorities would also be
positive steps towards establishing better relations among the government,
the opposition, and members of ethnic minorities.

At this time last year, Myanmar was admitted to the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and joined regional dialogues on the basis
of a clear expectation that there would be some concrete improvements in
the human rights situation there. As ASEAN and its partners prepare to meet
in Manila, we urge you to take prompt action to improve Myanmar's human
rights record, which will not only help defuse the potential for serious
conflict, but earn your government greater respect in the eyes of the
international community.

Yours sincerely,
Pierre San Secretary General  

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THE BANGKOK POST: JUNTA SAY SUU KYI IS NO MANDELA 
16 July, 1998
 
Rangoon -- Burmese opposition figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi is "no Nelson
Mandela" and didn't deserve the Nobel peace prize awarded to her in 1991,
the country's junta said yesterday.

"Aung San Suu Kyi, emboldened the Nobel prize bestowed upon her, has been
acting like a prima donna and has been challenging the government at every
turn," it said in a letter firmly rebutting a July 13 Washington Post
editorial titled "Courage in Burma".

"Aung San Suu Kyi is no Nelson Mandela. The two do not bear comparison.

"One is a disgruntled housewife-turned-politician who desperately seeks to
be popular and who covets power at all costs. The other is a self-effacing
nationalist who has devoted his entire life free his people from the
shackles of apartheid imposed by a white minority."

The letter noted Mrs Suu Kyi had married a Briton and spent years outside
Burma, and said she "had no inkling of the complexities of the situation in
the country". 

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THE BANGKOK POST: RANGOON "WON'T BROOK CRITICISM OVER ITS POLICIES" 
16 July, 1998
 
Neighbours warned to keep barbs to selves

Burma is happy with its membership of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean), but criticism from its regional partners is intolerable,
according to a junta official.

Burma's Asean membership benefitted the grouping as well as the
military-ruled state, he added in a lengthy statement on the subject to AFP
in Bangkok before next weeks Asean annual meeting in Manila. 

"Myanmar [Burma] acceded to membership in Asean because of our desire to
contribute to regional security," it added.

"Myanmar's participation in Asean, in my view, can only be that of a
constructive, positive nature.

"The enhancement of the cordial relations with our Asean colleagues will
facilitate our process of political, economic and social reforms, and help
us catch up with the fast pace of growth and development that is now so
characteristic of Asean," the statement said, noting member states had
engaged in a flurry of high-level exchange visits with Burma since it
entered the bloc last July.

Membership would also bring economic benefits to Burma, one of the poorest
nations in the world, the official said, while skirting the devastating
impact of the continuing regional economic crisis on his country.

"As a country with major natural gas reserves and hydro-electric potential,
we think we can contribute meaningfully to this cooperation and benefit
mutually," he added.

"Gifted with fertile soil, abundant rainfall and huge tracts of cultivable
land, we can contribute to the food security of this region, and benefit
from it."

The official stressed Burma had enjoyed good relations with its neighbours
even before its admission to Asean, but warned against the grouping
dropping its long-standing hands-off policy towards developments within the
borders of its member states.

"These principles and traditions are time-tested, and the adherence to
these principles saw Asean grow in solidarity and coherence," it added. 

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THE NATION: ALATAS WARNS AGAINST CRITICISM WITHIN ASEAN 
16 July, 1998 

JAKARTA -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas has urged fellow members
of the Association of South East Nations (Asean) against adopting a Thai
proposal which would allow members to criticise one another.

Alatas said that Indonesia "clearly did not agree" with the proposal that
the nine-member regional grouping modify its long-standing practice of
nonintervention in each other's affairs.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the comments, made at the
inauguration of an Asean foundation here on and widely reported by
newspapers yesterday, were in line with Indonesia's long-standing policy.

"I implore my colleagues in Asean be  hasty ... don't be rash in changing
words and changing the principle. It will only create controversy among us
because Indonesia is not willing to change this principle," The Jakarta
Post quoted Alatas as saying.

The non-interference principle, he added, was not only adhered to by Asean,
but by the United Nations.

Asean, formed in 1967, now comprises of Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Thai proposal for "flexible" engagement is believed to have won some
support from the Philippines and Malaysia.

In Australia on Monday, Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said Asean
needed to be able to discuss issues "more openly and frankly", adding that
its current concept of "constructive engagement" was seen as too negative
and passive.

Constructive engagement was the principle used by Asean to admit Burma to
its membership, despite strong western criticism of human rights abuses by
the military junta in Rangoon.

Meanwhile, Burma is happy with its membership of Asean, but criticism from
its regional partners is intolerable, according to a junta official.

Burma's Asean membership benefitted the grouping as well as the
military-ruled state, he added in a lengthy statement on the subject in
Bangkok before next weeks Asean annual foreign ministers meeting in Manila.

"Burma acceded to membership in Asean because of our desire to contribute
to regional security," it added.

"Burma's participation in Asean in my view, can only be that of a
constructive, positive nature.

"The enhancement of the cordial relations with our Asean colleagues will
facilitate our process of political economic and social reforms, and help
us catch up with the fast pace of growth and development that is now so
characteristic of Asean," the statement said, noting member states had
engaged in a flurry of high level exchange visits with Burma since it
entered the grouping last July.

Membership would also bring economic benefits to Burma, one of the poorest
nations in the world, the official said, while skirting the devastating
impact of the continuing regional economic crisis on his country.

"As a country with major natural gas reserves and hydro-electric potential,
we think we can contribute meaningfully to this cooperation and benefit
mutually," he added.

"Gifted with fertile soil, abundant rainfall and huge tracts of cultivable
land, we can contribute to the food security of this region, and benefit
from it."

The official acknowledged that Asean members were suffering as a result of
the regional economic crisis but expressed confidence they would bounce back. 

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THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE): BAD THINGS HIT GOOD PEOPLE TOO
13 July, 1998 

By Tan Sai Siong

DO BAD things happen to bad people? Those who conduct moral lessons for the
very young will no doubt answer "yes" without hesitation.

And their belief will find good support if they use what has been happening
to the Association of South-east Asian Nations ever since Myanmar was
admitted last year as an illustration.

After all, all the ingredients of a medieval morality tale are there.

Hadn't the United States, the standard bearer of liberal democracy, and its
hand-maiden, the European Union, been counselling Asean against welcoming
the military regime with its scant regard for human rights into its fold?

Liberal democracy good. Disrespect for human rights very bad. 
See?

But the association, with its constructive engagement and non-interference
with members' internal affairs policies, went right ahead and conferred
membership on the pariah of the Western world this time last year.

A good Asean, by insisting on associating with baddies, risks being tarred
with the same brush. Since then, Asean has been reaping the whirlwind.

Sure, the economic typhoon lashing three of its original founding members
-- Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia -- and the rest to varying degrees was
already in the making before Myanmar came on board.

So, strictly it is not one bad action unleashing this torrent of horrendous
consequences. They were already in the pipeline.

Press clippings from last July were replete with question marks over
Thailand's financial viability and political soundness and Dr Mahathir
Mohammad's furious lambasting of currency traders, in particular George Soros.

However, it must also be noted that the Americans and Europeans did not
begin making cautionary noises only in June or July last year but long
before that, when it became obvious that Asean planned to enlarge the
grouping to 10 by its 30th anniversary.

If there are gods who dish out bad things to people who refuse to listen to
good advice, then they would have had plenty of notice to prepare the most
dire punishments for the heretics.

Had Asean listened to good counsel, who knows but that it might have been
spared divine retribution. Alas, it refused to listen.

But what has been happening to most of Asean would defy even the
imagination of those brought up on warnings of the fire and brimstone which
await those who get off the path of righteousness. Asean's 30th anniversary
celebrations last December were a grim affair, wracked by uncertainties and
ruined by the pall of financial miasma that had descended precipitously on
many members.

Thailand and Indonesia were forced to go, cap in hand, to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) which, in exchange for loans delivered drip-style, acts
as an effective scourge of the gods, exacting more than a metaphorical
pound of flesh.

In the name of reforms and restructuring, wholesale bankruptcies and
unemployment are demanded, with scant attention to the possibility that
when changes are made cepat, cepat, [sic] whole countries could be
destabilised, economically and politically.

Not a peep is heard from human rights champions regarding the human rights
of those deprived of livelihood and even food as a result.

Thailand saw a change of government while Indonesia lost its longest ruling
president, Suharto, considered by many to be the cornerstone of Asean
solidarity.

Thai and Malaysian currencies lost some 50 to 60 per cent of their value
within a year while their stock and property markets are in shambles.
Inflation is also rising and their people are poorer.

Yet whatever woes they face, they are not anything as mind-numbing as those
confronting the Indonesians.

The rupiah is 84 per cent lower, hyperinflation is brewing, millions face
starvation and tens of millions will not have enough to eat. Riots and
looting have become common as the per capita income shrivels to under
US$500 (S$860) a year.

"We will face a living death type of situation for the next four to five
years until the economy recovers," a senior economist with the government's
statistics department was quoted saying in a newspaper last week.

These calamities might be what some of the rebuffed Americans and Europeans
would have prayed for, to teach a disobedient Asean a lesson for consorting
with Myanmar renegades.

Yet had they done so, none, no matter how much they believe in the efficacy
of praying, could have expected their prayers to be answered in as
far-reaching and devastating a manner as the financial crisis that has hit
Asean.

But if Asean's troubles stem from divine justice, then how does one explain
the sufferings of the South Koreans who had to borrow from the IMF and
suffer similar draconian conditions, too?

South Korea is not part of Asean and so could not have offended the heavens
by holding out a hand to Myanmar.

The answer is the same given time immemorial to all good people who wonder
why bad things happen to them.

The rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, making no distinction
between good and bad.

And the whirlwind which Asean is reaping probably has nothing to do with
divine justice and everything to do with a very earth-bound opportunistic
move to administer a karate chop to those who have tripped and so pre-empt
roaring tigers from nursing a new one out of the despised Myanmar. 

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