The BurmaNet News: July 21, 1998

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News: July 21, 1998
Issue #1053

HEADLINES:
==========
NCGUB: POLICE STOP DAW SUU FROM TRAVELING
VOA: ANOTHER STANDOFF 
BKK POST: MOVEMENT LIMITED "TO STOP TROUBLE" 
THE NATION: SUU KYI MARKS FATHER'S DEATH 
THE NATION: SUU KYI CALLS FOR FOREIGN INTERVENTION 
BKK POST: SUU KYI SEES HOPE FOR NEW PARLIAMENT 
THE NATION: JUNTA LEADERS PUT VISITORS ON EDGE 
TV MYANMAR: TIN OO [SPDC] URGES FARMERS 
CNF: STATEMENT ON CEASE-FIRE 
THE NATION: NO ASEAN CONSENSUS EXPECTED
BKK POST (COMMENTARY): TURNING A BLIND EYE 
ANNOUNCEMENT: 8888 T-SHIRT AND REPORT CARD AVAILABLE 
ANNOUNCEMENT: TRANSPARENCIES OF ETHNIC GROUPS NEEDED
****************************************************************

NCGUB: POLICE STOP DAW SUU FROM TRAVELING TO PANTANAW 
20 July, 1998 from <ncgub@xxxxxxxxxxx> 

The ruling military junta has again stopped the car of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
from traveling to a nearby town. The Nobel Peace laureate, who left her
home this morning was traveling to Pantanaw and was stopped by a roadblock
of riot police near the Shwe Tagaw cemetery in Hlaing Thaya Township.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to turn back and is still at the roadblock
at 11:30 Rangoon time (0600 GMT).

The National League for Democracy (NLD) officials were traveling to meet
the wife of Dr. Tin Min Htut, an elected NLD representative of Pantanaw
Township, who is being detained for violating the Habitual Offenders
Restriction Act by the military junta.

The NLD Executive Committee has said that as of July 17, a total of 79
elected representatives have been detained by the military authorities for
refusing to report daily to police under the Habitual Offenders Restriction
Act.

The act, which is designed to restrict the movement of hardened, habitual
criminals, is being used against the elected representatives to restrict
their travels.

On July 7, the military authorities also set up a roadblock to prevent Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD Chairman U Aung Shwe from traveling to Minhla to
meet an NLD representative.  The representative was brought to the
roadblock for a meeting when the NLD leaders refused to turn back. 

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

VOICE OF AMERICA (VOA): ANOTHER STANDOFF
20 July, 1998 by Gary Thomas 

Intro:  Another standoff between the government and the pro-democracy
movement is taking place in Burma.  For the second time this month,
authorities stopped pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from meeting with
local leaders of her party outside the capital.  As VOA correspondent Gary
Thomas reports from our Southeast Asia bureau, the government accuses the
democracy leader of trying to deliberately provoke a confrontation.

Text:  According to a government statement, Aung San Suu Kyi and members of
her party were stopped 32 kilometers from the capital by local police, who
noticed the absence of her usual accompaniment of government security
agents.  The government says she was enroute to Pantanaw Township, 80
kilometers from the capital, to meet with a local official of her national
league for democracy, the NLD.

Rangoon-based western diplomats say when Aung San Suu Kyi refused to turn
back, authorities put up barricades to prevent her from proceeding further.

A similar confrontation occurred July seventh, when she was also trying to
meet with a local party leader outside Rangoon.  Then, too, she refused to
turn back.  The standoff lasted for nearly 24 hours, ending only when
authorities brought the party official to her.

In recent weeks, the government has imposed new restrictions on NLD
politicians, ordering them to remain in their townships and to report in to
local authorities twice a day.  Analysts say the government fears some kind
of explosion on August eighth, the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy
uprising that was ruthlessly crushed by the military government.

The NLD is also demanding that the parliament elected in 1990 be convened
by August 21st.  The results of the 1990 elections were thrown out by the
government, after the NLD won a landslide victory.

In its statement, the government accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of adopting a
confrontational stance.  It says some countries and foreign media are
trying to portray Burma as an unstable country on the brink of civil unrest
and ethnic rebellion.

/// Rest opt ///

The government also accuses the NLD of working in concert with foreign news
agencies to fan rumors and blow minor incidents out of proportion.  It says
the NLD and like-minded exile groups will continue to bombard the
international community with what it calls "political predictions,
hallucinations, fabrications, and rumors." 

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

THE BANGKOK POST: MOVEMENT LIMITED "TO STOP TROUBLE" 
18 July, 1998

Burmese ruling military junta denied yesterday it had detained opposition
members of parliament, but said they had been confined to their respective
townships to prevent them causing political trouble.

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said on Thursday that 79
of its MPs had been detained by the ruling State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) for defying government restrictions.

"As a matter of fact, not a single person has been arrested," said a
government spokesman in a statement obtained in Bangkok by Reuters.

"They have just been temporarily prevented from leaving their respective
townships so that the process of resuming of classes of the institutions of
higher learning can proceed without being disturbed and politically
exploited by certain quarters," he added. The SPDC plans to re-open next
month universities closed after widespread student unrest in December 1996.

Separately, the exiled All Burma Students Democratic Front said the
military government had set up special riot police units nationwide to
counter protests expected to take place on the 10th anniversary of the
August 8, 1988, pro-democracy uprising which was crushed by the military. 

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

THE NATION: SUU KYI MARKS FATHER'S DEATH ON MARTYR'S DAY 
20 July, 1998 

RANGOON -- Burma pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday placed
flowers on the tomb of her father, who is revered in the country, in
Burmese capital Rangoon at an official ceremony marking the 51st
anniversary of Martyrs' Day.

Martyrs' Day is a national holiday commemorating the assassination of Gen
Aung San, six other ministers and two officers at the hands of gunmen
during a Cabinet meeting on July 19, 1947.

After a formal homage ceremony to the accompaniment of military buglers,
Culture Minister Win Sein and other officials laid wreaths on the tombs at
the Martyrs' Mausoleum near the Shwedagon pagoda in Rangoon on behalf of
the government.

Win Sein was followed by Suu Kyi, who placed three flower baskets on Aung
San's tomb, knelt and prayed before leaving.

The family members of the other slain leaders, coming forward in groups,
also laid wreaths and knelt to pray before the respective tombs.

Heads of diplomatic missions in Burma and representatives of various
organisations also laid wreaths.

After the official ceremony the mausoleum was opened for members of the
general public to pay their respects to the martyr.

Suu Kyi later held a religious ceremony in which monks were fed at her
house. About 400 people attended the ceremony.

Burma's state-owned media have repeatedly attacked Suu Kyi, saying the
government will take legal measures against her and other pro-democracy
activists after her National League of Democracy (NLD) demanded in June
that a parliament be convened within 60 days.

In a Foreign Ministry statement on Friday Japanese government expressed
concern over the intensified friction between the junta and the NLD, urging
both sides to exercise tolerance and restraint.

The NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 general election, but the junta
refused to honour the results.

Suu Kyi spent six years under house arrest after she tried to hold a
demonstration with her supporters on Martyrs' Day in 1989. 

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

THE NATION: SUU KYI CALLS FOR FOREIGN INTERVENTION 
19 July, 1998 

BURMESE pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called in the
international community to support her demand that the Parliament elected
in 1990 be allowed to convene by Aug 21.

"The international community can do a lot to help accelerate the process of
dialogue if they have the will to do so," said Suu Kyi in an interview with
Alt-sean, a Southeast Asian non-government organisation supporting the
pro-democracy movement in Burma.

"The first thing they can do is to support the convening of our
Parliament," said Suu Kyi on Wednesday in the taped interview seen in
Bangkok yesterday.

The demand looks unlikely to break the deadlock between Nobel Peace
laureate Suu Kyi and the military government.

It marked the first time the National League for Democracy (NLD) had set a
deadline for the military to convene Parliament. It was unclear what would
happen if the ruling council of generals refused to comply, as is likely.

The Parliament was formed following a landslide victory of the league in
the 1990 general elections, but the military refused to convene the body
and moved to crush Suu Kyi's supporters.

"We are only asking for what is due to the people of Burma. That should not
be looked upon as a provocation or a confrontation, particularly in view of
the fact that we have waited patiently for eight years," said Suu Kyi.

The military, which has ruled Burma since 1962, said in a press statement
on Friday that "dissidents, criminal and terrorist groups" from abroad and
within the country were trying to create an "imaginary scenario where Burma
has become a nation about to explode with political tension, ethnic
rebellion, economic turmoil and social unrest and the only way to prevent
the explosion from happening is for the government to have a dialogue with
the NLD".

In 1995 the NLD walked out of a constitution-drafting assembly it said was
rigged in favour of prolonged military rule. The body has not met since
March 1996.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: SUU KYI SEES HOPE FOR NEW PARLIAMENT 
20 July, 1998 

Martyr's Day appeal for fresh junta talks

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi hinted Burma's parliament may be
convened in defiance of the junta, in comments released yesterday as the
country marked the anniversary of the death of her revered father.

"This is not something I can answer now, but what I can tell you is this
that we consider it our responsibility to implement the will of the
people," Mrs Suu Kyi said, when asked if her National League for Democracy
(NLD) would convene parliament.

The NLD chief also renewed a call for dialogue with the junta, saying the
party had a "transitional plan" to bring democracy to the strife-torn country.

"It's a flexible plan," she said, declining to go into more detail but
adding the NLD "have always said we don't want a zero-sum solution".

In the interview conducted last week and distributed by the pressure group
Altsean, Mrs Suu Kyi urged Asean foreign ministers who will meet in Manila
to throw their weight behind her party's call for a parliament.

"I think the first thing they can do is support our call for convening a
parliament," she said.

Rangoon was quiet yesterday as hundreds paid respects to Aung San and his
cabinet who formed a budding government in the lead-up to Burma's 1948
independence.

Mrs Suu Kyi led a delegation of families of those killed on July 19, 1947,
when a cabinet meeting was sprayed with bullets. Mourners laid wreaths at
the Martyrs' Mausoleum.

She was taken to the ceremony by a junta car. The junta was represented by
Culture Minister Sein Win.

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

THE NATION: NERVOUS JUNTA LEADERS PUT VISITORS ON EDGE
18 July, 1998 

Foreigners visiting Burma these days are facing all sort of problems,
especially with nervous custom officials, military intelligence and
plainclothes police. Security at Rangoon International Airport has been
very tight, fearing that incoming tourists will take home with them
pictures and other impressions of downtrodden Burma.

A group of pro-democracy supporters in Burma visited Rangoon early this
week and met with Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday. She was in high spirits
despite all the treatment she's received from the military junta. She told
well-wishers that the Burmese people are under suppression, and the junta
leaders continue to instill fear in the population. But she said the
military and uniformed officials are also afraid of the Burmese people
because they know the common people are determined to see the growth of
democracy in Burma.

On the way out of Rangoon airport, customs officials confiscated all used
and unused film from a German visitor. His pockets, checked luggage and
hand luggage were searched. He was not allowed to contact the German
Embassy. Later, the customs officials tried to strip search him, which he
refused. Shocked by the experience, the German tourist has written to the
German Embassy in Rangoon to pursue the case with the junta leaders.

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

TV MYANMAR: TIN OO [SPDC] URGES FARMERS TO "CRUSH DESTRUCTIONISTS"
14 July, 1998 

[TV Myanmar is the State-run television in Burma.  This article refers to
Lt. Gen. Tin Oo of the SPDC, not to be confused with U Tin Oo of the NLD.]
Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council
[SPDC], attended and delivered an address at the inauguration of Weilaung
Dam at 0815 this morning.  Weilaung Dam is situated near Weilaung Village
in Taungtha Township, Mandalay Division.

Lt. Gen Tin Oo said the arid townships like Taungtha face scarcity of
drinking water and water for cultivation purposes.  He said the people in
the region face many difficulties for they have to rely on a mere 20-inch
annual rainfall for cultivation. [passage omitted]

He explained the government has utilized large sums of money to build dams
and reservoirs and implement river-water and underground-water pumping
irrigation projects for agricultural purposes for development activities.
Tin Oo noted Weilaung Dam is the 22d dam to be built and commissioned into
service in Mandalay Division since 1988, with others including Sindewa,
Kyauktalone, Taungtha, Sunlun, Taungpinle, and Myaukpinle dams. He stressed
the need to effectively use water for agriculture, to expand the acreage
under cultivation, and to make innovations for boosting crop production.
[passage omitted]

Tin Oo continued by saying that harmonious and cooperative efforts between
the peasants and the entire nation will ensure rapid progress of the
agriculture sector, which in turn will lead to national economic development.

He added that a modern and developed nation cannot be built with words.  It
should be built with goodwill and enthusiasm combined with zealous efforts.

He warned all should be aware of the undesirable consequences caused by the
conspiracy of some destructive elements, who have no sincerity and goodwill
towards the nation and have chosen the confrontational path.  He said,
these destructive elements, who are physically pushing the country into
servitude to become a puppet regime by creating undesirable consequences,
are not just minions of aliens but destructionists as well trying to
destabilize the nation and hinder development.  He urged the entire nation
including farmers to crush the destructionists without allowing them a
place to hide in the nation.

The Secretary-2 finally thanked the personnel of the Irrigation Department
who built the dam and regional people who rendered assistance, stressing
the need to maintain the facility, to ensure proper flow of water in
canals, and to effectively use the irrigated water. [passage omitted]

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

CHIN NATIONAL FRONT: STATEMENT ON CEASE-FIRE 
13 July, 1998 

The Burmese military regime has talked about a cease-fire with the ethnic
armed forces in Burma since 1989 with the objectives of creating disunity
between the ethnic forces and the democratic groups, and among the ethnic
groups. On four occasions, the regime approached Chin pastors and offered
to talk for a cease-fire with the Chin National Front (CNF) from 1994 to
today. But the talks between the CNF and the military regime could still
not occur after four meetings with the pastors sent by the military regime
for the reasons stated below.

1. The pastors sent by the military regime met with the CNF on four
occasions: September 25, 1994, January 25-26, 1997, April 20-21, 1997, and
July 9, 1997.

2. The military regime's prerequisites for the talks were as follows:
(a) We will not talk on political issues
(b) We will talk only rural development issues
(c) The CNF should surrender their arms
(d) The CNF should not represent the talk as a member of the Democratic
Alliance of Burma or National Democratic Front
(e) The CNF should not have relationships with other opposition groups once
the cease-fire agreement is signed with the military regime

3. The CNF's position has always been the same, as follows:
(a) The CNF always wants peace and harmony in the country
(b) The CNF always wants a national cease-fire to be able to talk on
political issues
(c) The talk with the military regime should be a political dialogue
without pre-conditions

The CNF maintains its policy that the cease-fire offered by the Burmese
military regime does not include political dialogue and therefore it would
not establish genuine peace in the country. Therefore, the CNF believes
that the political problem being encountered today can only be solved
through a tripartite dialogue called for by the United Nations and
supported by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Central Committee
Chin National Front

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

THE NATION: NO ASEAN CONSENSUS EXPECTED
19 July, 1998 

MANILA -- Asean ministers attending a meeting in the Philippines next week
will discuss the proposed "flexible engagement" policy informally but are
not expected to reach a consensus, the Philippine foreign secretary said
yesterday.

Domingo Siazon said he did not expect a consensus to be reached on the
policy but insisted:  "The time has come to think about it." "We're going
to talk about it during the informal dinner, but you will not get a policy
shift now. At least you start talking about it openly," he said.

Meanwhile diplomatic sources disclosed that Thai Foreign Minister Surin
Pitsuwan had urged Siazon to do more to convince other Asean members to
adopt the flexible engagement policy, which would weaken the rule of strict
non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

The sources said they expect Indonesia and Burma to strongly reject the
flexible engagement proposal.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

An Asean founding father on Friday denounced a Thai-Philippine proposal
that Asean adopt flexible engagement in such transnational matters as
drugs, the environment and migrants.

Former Thai foreign minister Thanat Khoman told Kyodo News that the new
policy contravened Asean's core principle of non-intervention in the
affairs of member states. "Asean was created to prevent intervention from
outside powers, so it is not for Asean to intervene somewhere else," said
Thanat, 84.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: TURNING A BLIND EYE TO RIGHTS VIOLATIONS 
19 July, 1998 by Thongbai Thongpao

Commentary

Bangkok Post reported last week that Burma's ruling junta had arrested and
detained Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy
(NLD), while she was on her way to attend an NLD meeting upcountry.

Although what she was trying to do is a very normal political activity and
is not considered a threat from a democratic point of view, the military
junta apparently found it offensive and denies its dissidents such
opportunities. However, what Burma's dictatorial government has done came
as no surprise as it is typical of dictatorships, the enemy of freedom and
human rights.

Years back, convinced it could control the opinion of the people as well as
the fate of Burma, the junta allowed for a general election to, be held. To
their surprise, Suu Kyi's NLD won a landslide victory. This forced the
junta to reverse its democratic attempt by refusing to respect the opinion
of the public who had already decided they wanted as their leader Suu Kyi
and her NLDP.

The junta arrested her and other key members of the party and limited all
the political movements of the party. Suu Kyi is alive only in her home.
She can't move without prior approval from the junta.

If they could kill her, they surely would. But the whole world is standing
by her side. The world's Human Rights Organisation shows its strong support
for Suu Kyi, for democratic principles, and for her respect of human
rights. It is the democratic world and the Burmese people who have saved
her and her democratic party.

What is interesting is the role of Asean, including Burma's close neighbour
Thailand. Although no one agrees with Burma's junta, neither does it dare
do anything, even to talk or criticise, not to mention taking more concrete
moves to protect human rights.

Asean holds fast to its resolution "not to interfere with Burma's internal
affairs." It continues to turn a blind eye to human rights violations in
the country for the sake of the so-called "constructive policy." It allows
the stronger to prey on the weaker and destroy the rights and freedoms of
human kind as if it couldn't care less.

Its reaction reminds me of an old folk tale of the Northeasterners when I
was young. The tale is about a hermit, a large snake, and a frog. The story
goes like this:

In a large forest, while a hermit was praying in seclusion, he heard a frog
screaming in pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw that a large snake was
eating the small frog. The snake was slowly swallowing the frog alive while
the poor frog was struggling out of its deadly mouth. Unable to witness
such a cruel scene, the hermit closed his eyes while praying for them both.
Although he felt pity for the frog, he could not help it because that would
mean obstructing the interests of the snake. Resolving this, the hermit
closed his eyes and prayed for the snake to hold on tight to its prey while
at the same time praying for the frog to succeed in its struggle. Finally,
he felt relieved when the screaming of the frog died down. He opened his
eyes again in time to see the large snake crawl away happily with the frog
in its stomach.

The Asean and other human rightists react to the suppression of the junta
just like the hermit who closed his eyes to the scene right under his nose. 

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: 8888 T-SHIRT AND ALTSEAN REPORT CARD AVAILABLE 
20 July, 1998 from <altsean@xxxxxxxxxx> 

Available NOW from Altsean-Burma:

BILINGUAL 8888 T-SHIRT
Black, in one (large) size with yellow and red lettering.

Features fighting peacock logo and slogan: "8888 - Don't Forget - Don't
Give Up" in English AND Burmese

Price US$ 15 each includes postage or bulk order of US$400 for 40 T-shirts
(delivery one week)

REPORT CARD: BURMA'S MILITARY REGIME ON THE EDGE
[includes chronology March 1 - June 30]
Price US$ 5 each includes postage

A L T S E A N - B U R M A
Alternative Asean Network on Burma
Tel/Fax: 66 2 693 4515 * <altsean@xxxxxxxxxx>

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: TRANSPARENCIES OF ETHNIC GROUPS NEEDED 
15 July, 1998 from <cpa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 

Teak House Books is searching for transparencies of Karen, Kachin and Lisu
for a series of forthcoming books on ethnic groups in Southeast Asia.  The
target audience for the publications is primarily academic, and the series
will be looking at ethnic groups across borders.  If anyone has any of the
following pictures please contact us at cpa@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

1. High quality transparencies of Kachin and scenery in the Putao area
2. High quality transparencies of Karen in Burma and Thailand in non border
areas
3. High quality transparencies of Lisu in Burma, Thailand, and China
This series is due to be published very shortly and this is a last minute
posting.  A fee per picture will be paid for photographs used, and full
credit given.

Regards,
Frank Douglas
Photo Editor

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