The BurmaNet News: December 8, 1998

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 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: December 8, 1998
Issue #1154

Noted in Passing: "The cinema is censored, and there are no nightclubs or
live shows.  Beyond smoking there is no entertainment." - U Win Maung (see
IHT: RISE IN CIGARETTE SMOKING DOESN'T BOTHER BURMA GOVERNMENT) 

HEADLINES:
==========
ASIAWEEK: DEALING WITH NE WIN 
TV MYANMAR: NEWS CONFERENCE EXPLAINS NLD RESIGNATIONS 
RHODODENDRON NEWS BULLETIN: CHIN STATE REPORT 
IHT: RISE IN CIGARETTE SMOKING DOESN'T BOTHER GOV'T
XINHUA: CHINA-BURMA LEADER MEETS PROVINCIAL ADVISER 
IHT/NYT: CORPORATE CONSCIENCE 
REUTERS: GAMES - DISSIDENTS BANNED FROM GAMES VENUES 
INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL: PROVING THE PEN IS MIGHTIER
****************************************************************

ASIAWEEK: DEALING WITH NE WIN
11 December, 1998 by Myint Thein 

IN CONTACTS, HE RULED OUT TALKS WITH AUNG SAN SUU KYI

MYINT THEIN is a senior adviser to the Burmese Resistance, based in Dallas,
Texas.

A RECENT REPORT BY UNICEF said that only 27% of Burmese complete primary
school compared with 81% in Vietnam. The U.N. Children's Fund observed that
"Myanmar right after Independence did a very good job in its education and
 . . . this deterioration worries us greatly." Couple this with the closing
of all colleges and universities for eight of the past 10 years and you
have the material for a documentary, "Burma - Death of a Nation," starring
the ruling generals of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The
generals do not seem to realize that they have destroyed a generation of
Burmese. Worse, they do not seem to care.

The Army is the most hated organization in Burma, but there are good and
decent army officers. Almost two years ago, two general officers separately
contacted me. They had seen my letters in Asiaweek and the Bangkok Post and
said Gen. Ne Win had read them. I was told that in 1988 when I suggested in
Asiaweek that Burma needed elder statesmen to guide a transition to
multi-party democracy, Ne Win invited former prime minister U Nu to join
him in talks. U Nu had replied that he would, but only if Ne Win apologized
to him for staging the 1962 coup. That ended the dialogue between them.

The two officers contacted me because they were offended by the bulldozing
of Yangon's Kyandaw Cemetery for property development by corrupt officers
working with ASEAN investors. Like Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C.,
Kyandaw is where the nation's heroes and leaders are buried. The officers
told me that Secretary One of the ruling council, Khin Nyunt, had no
control over these corrupt officers and that I should write directly to Ne
Win. They gave me his address and said that he received regular reports
from Khin Nyunt.

My letter to Ne Win was respectful and polite. I told him that it was
normal for people to have differences of opinion on politics and economics.
However, we should not disagree about what had happened to Kyandaw
Cemetery. Asian values are inconsistent with bulldozing a national
cemetery. The Chinese engage in ancestor worship; it is against Muslim
beliefs to destroy cemeteries. I complained bitterly that his "boys" had
engaged in shameful activity by bulldozing the cemetery.

In May 1997, Ne Win brought out of retirement former military intelligence
chief Gen. Tin Oo and former auditor-general U Tin Aung Hein to investigate
charges of corruption in the cabinet. At one time U Tin Aung Hein had rank
equivalent to prime minister. He is respected by the Resistance because it
was his investigation in 1988 that uncovered the deaths of 40 students who
suffocated in a police van. (I have heard that his son, a doctor, had to
ride the bus because U Tin Aung Hein would not permit him to use the
official government car.) The investigation documented extensive corruption
and Ne Win forced the resignation of 14 lieutenant-generals, a
vice-admiral, major-general, brigadier-general and two civilian ministers.

Last March, I received two telephone calls from Asia in two weeks. A
trusted intermediary told me that a representative of Ne Win was willing to
meet with me anywhere except the United States to explore ways to resolve
Burma's political problems. I replied that such negotiations should be
conducted directly with Aung San Suu Kyi and it would not be appropriate
for me to be involved. I was told in no uncertain terms that Ne Win would
not negotiate with Aung San Suu Kyi because he was offended by a comment
she had made in 1989.

In the second call, I said that I was willing to help secure Aung San Suu
Kyi's approval if the SPDC accepted the following four-point "Settlement
Agreement": A 1958-type caretaker government be formed with 15 cabinet
ministers, the National League for Democracy (NLD), the Army and the
Resistance each nominating five ministers; Aung San Suu Kyi be permitted to
play a role in Burmese politics, which could be Speaker of Parliament or an
important position in governing the country; the release of all political
prisoners; and restoration of the free press.

Ne Win has neither accepted nor rejected my proposal. Instead he sent Brig.
Maung Maung and Brig. Aung Gyi to the U.S. and they met three times with
us. Unfortunately Ne Win's stroke in July suspended our informal dialogue.
If he accepts the "Settlement Agreement," the Resistance will help secure
$200 million in development assistance to rebuild our colleges and
universities. Out first priority will be to pay professors a decent wage in
hard currency.

Aged 87 and not in good health, Ne Win alone can order the military to
return to the barracks. That is the hard reality. Yet Burma cannot afford
another 10 years of political stalemate. We must, and we will, settle this
matter in the very near future. There are only two realistic solutions: a
negotiated settlement with Ne Win or a coup led by young officers. The
generation of 1962, when universities were closed for the first time, was
responsible for a coup attempt in 1976 led by young officers who gained the
support of two regional commanders. The 1988 generation will also produce
young army officers who will try to restore freedom and democracy. 

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

TV MYANMAR: NEWS CONFERENCE EXPLAINS NLD RESIGNATIONS
24 November, 1998 

A news conference was held at 0930 today at the Defense Services Guest
House on Inya Road in Yangon [Rangoon] to explain attempts by the National
League for Democracy, NLD, in collusion with illegal organizations within
the country and certain agencies abroad to bring about confrontation, NLD's
attempts to forcefully convene parliament, and true information on
subsequent developments.

It was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister U Khin Maung Win; Brig. Gen.
Kyaw Win, deputy chief of the Office of Strategic Studies [OSS] and deputy
director of Defense Services Intelligence; heads of departments;
ambassadors; charges d'affaires ad interim and military attaches of foreign
embassies in Myanmar [Burma]; resident representatives and officials of UN
agencies in Yangon; local and foreign journalists and reporters; officials
concerned; and invited persons. [passage omitted on names of journalists]

Lt. Col. Hla Min, staff officer grade-1 of the OSS, first explained matters
relating to the current situation at the news conference.  He recalled the
news conference of 8 October explaining how the NLD acted in collusion with
illegal organizations within the country and certain agencies abroad to
cause violent confrontation and forcibly tried to convene parliament.  He
said the journalists have already been informed on temporary accommodations
for NLD members and elected representatives in guest houses.  He said
today's news conference was called to provide accurate news on subsequent
events.  He said following the accommodation of NLD members and
representatives in guest houses by the government, the NLD has been
continuously issuing statements alleging unlawful detention of NLD members
and representatives, cases of serious torture, and exertion of pressure by
the government to cause resignations.  He said the news conference has been
called to present the situation in response to these allegations.

Lt. Col. Hla Min said convening of parliament is a prerogative of the state
and in the absence of the constitution, it is not possible.  He said the
endeavor of a political party to convene parliament on its own constitutes
contravention of existing laws and the very declaration of its intent may
be regarded as an infringement of the law.  It is the bound duty of the
state to prevent such misguided activity and forestall violent
confrontation and to maintain law and order.  Accordingly, he said,
arrangements were made for NLD party members and elected representatives
from various constituencies to take up temporary residence at state guest
houses in their respective areas from 6 September onwards.  A total of 200
NLD representatives and 651 party members from Yangon and provinces were
included in these arrangements.  He said such an accommodation arrangement
is the most lenient measure in forestalling violent confrontations which
contravene law and which are not permissible under the law. Subsequently,
63 NLD representatives and 321 party organizers who opted not to
participate in such illegal activities were returned to their homes
systematically.  In addition, the guests were allowed to go home for
overnight stays on two separate occasions on 22 October and 7 November to
enable them to take care of outstanding financial and personal matters and
to spend a night with their families.  All throughout their period of stay
at state guest houses, the guests were provided with food, social
arrangements, and medical attention.  Those being accommodated are given
weekly medical examinations by doctors from the Defense Services Hospital
who provided medical treatment for their previous and current illnesses.
They are allowed medical attention not only at places of accommodation but
are allowed to visit medical clinics and hospitals of their choice.
Arrangements were also made for their family members to send them food and
personal effects and attend to their family and social needs.

He then explained the matter of the voluntary closing down of NLD party
offices, resignation of NLD representatives and party members from various
townships from the NLD.  These resignations reflect their own decision and
are in no way due to any pressure exerted upon them. Township NLD party
signboards were dismantled and delivered together with party seals to the
township multiparty democratic general election commissions or NLD offices
concerned. NLD offices in Thanbyuzayat, Sittwe, Bilin, Ponnagyun, Mrauk-u,
Kyauktaw, Seikkyi Kanaungto, Mong Hkak, Pyapon, and Thanatpin Townships had
dissolved on their own volition and a total of 1,259 members had resigned
en masse in these townships.  [passage omitted on number of resigned
members by townships]

Lt. Col. Hla Min explained that NLD members and representatives from Mong
Yang, Tantabin, Pantanaw, Moulmeingyun, and Bogale Townships are in the
process of resigning and dismantling their party apparatus and the relevant
statistics regarding their resignations will be announced by the
authorities in due course. He said a video interview with NLD members from
Thanbyuzayat and Bilin would be shown to journalists to prove there was no
pressure exerted on the NLD members to make them resign. Next, a video film
on the interview with an NLD members of Thanbyuzayat and Bilin Townships
was shown.  The NLD members said they resigned from the party on their own
volition and not because of any pressure and they said they resigned
because they have no desire to continue with party politics.  They said it
is a fact that the Defense Services government is endeavoring to develop
the nation.

Later, journalists, reporters, ambassadors, charge d'affaires, and
officials raised questions which were answered by Lt. Col. Hla Min and
Deputy Foreign Minister U Khin Maung Win.  The news conference ended at 1035. 

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

RHODODENDRON NEWS BULLETIN: CHIN STATE REPORT
5 December, 1998 

Chin Human Rights Organization
50 Bell Street N.#2, Ottawa ON K1R 7C7, Canada
Ph/Fx : 1-613-234 2485 Email : chokhlei@xxxxxxxxxxx
Volume 1 No. 6  December 1998 

[excerpts]

INTERVIEW WITH A BURMESE ARMY DEFECTOR
Name - Zonunpuia 
Nationality - Chin
Religion - Christian
Age - 17 
>From - Lungpi village, Falam township, Chin State
                                 
I was forced to join the Burmese army in 1994.  [Zonunpuia was still a
child when he was forcibly recruited]. When I was tending the cattle near
my village with my friends, Burmese soldiers came to us and try to convince
us to join the army.

Although we refused, they arrested us and sent us to Falam. Then, we were
sent to Kalaymyo, Sagaing Division. Two days later, we were sent to Monywa
where we spent two months. After two months in Monywa, we were sent to
Mandalay, and a week later back to Kalaymyo. There the army gave us basic
military training for four months at Sakhankyi military training fields. As
soon as the training is finished I was posted at a company post in Falam of
Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 268 based in Kalaymyo.

There are many kinds of discrimination among the soldiers. So, most of the
soldiers were morally very frustrated. Our salary is very low and always
cut for any reason. It is hard to say how much my real salary is.  It
happened not only to the private soldiers but also to the Non-Commissioned
Officers (NCO). That's why we all are waiting for a good chance to run away
from the army.

The reason why I defected from the Burmese army is that I was forcibly
recruited into the army and I don't want to fight with my own brethren. For
a long time I was waiting for a good opportunity to run away. When I was
sick, I was hospitalized in Falam Civil Hospital and when I recovered, I
fled away on my way to report to the regiment in March 1997. Lt. Col. Myint
Thwe was LIB 268 commander while I fled.

COMMITTING SUICIDE
                
CHRO was informed that Lieutenant Tin Hlaing Aung, Company Commander of LIB
383 battalion based in Mawleik, had committed suicide.

His Company is directly controlled by Tactical Commander in Haka. He shot
himself dead at 8:00 AM on 22 September 1998 in Tlangrua village, Thantlang
township. While he was sitting in the verandah of the village headman's
house, he started cursing his superiors, then he entered into the house and
shot himself.

According to the villagers, he left a note of dissatisfaction about his
superiors. No soldier could touch the dead body according to the Tactical
commander's order. A company of LIB 226 from Haka arrived at Tlangrua on
September 23 and they arrested all of Tin Hlaing Aung's soldiers. Dr. Hmuh
Thang, a Doctor and MP (elected in 1990), came along with LIB 226, and was
asked to carry out a post-mortem. The troops took Tin Hlaing Aung's dead
body and his soldiers to Haka. Later Tin Hlaing Aung's body was brought to
Falam to establish a second post-mortem with a specialist. All the arrested
soldiers were kept in the Detention Center.

RICE STORAGE FOR WHOM?

Burmese army Light Infantry Battalion 274 is based in Mindat town, Chin
State. Company No 3 of LIB 274 led by Lieutenant Han Zaw Aung is posted in
Lailenpi village, Matupi township, Chin State. The platoon came to Pintia
village of Matupi township in the first week of October 1998 and inquired
about 200 tins of rice stored in the village. They interrogated all the
village headmen of nearby villages. First, they interrogated the headman of
Pintia village with his hands and legs being tied and hung upside down. He
was beaten several times by the soldiers. When they stopped the
interrogation, he couldn't even walk by himself. He was treated by the
villagers in his house. Likewise, the village headman of Sabawngpi was also
tortured and interrogated. When he could not bear the pain anymore, he was
forced to confess that the rice that they had stored were to be sent to the
Indian border. As soon as he confessed, the soldiers forced Pintia and
Sabawngpi villagers to carry and transport this rice to Lailenpi army camp.
The headmen of Tangku, Rekhin, Sumsen, Tisi and Aru villages were also
interrogated and tortured by the soldiers while an inquiry was made to find
out where the rice came from and why the villagers had stored it.  These
village headmen were tortured, because the army suspected them to provide
food to insurgents.

USDA RALLY IN HAKA

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the Burmese military junta,
was organizing the Chin people to attend a USDA rally against the National
League for Democracy party's proposal to convene parliament.

In September 1998, the SPDC forced people from all over Chin State to come
to Haka, the capital city of Chin State, to participate in the rally, to
oppose the NLD's party proposal to convene parliament. They forcibly
brought people from Matupi township to Haka by truck. On the way, there was
an accident. Five people died on the spot and 14 were seriously injured.
Those who got injured were treated in Haka civil hospital.

RAPE OF A WOMAN PORTER 

A platoon of Burmese army led by Sergeant Aung Shwe, from (LIB) 303 based
in Mawleik, Sagaing Division, came to Congthia village, Thantlang township
on September 10, 1998. They collected 6 villagers as porters by force. On
their way to the next village, the Sergeant ordered his troops and 5
porters to go ahead but he ordered Miss Nunau (name change) to stay behind
with him. Then, the sergeant raped her. She reported this to the village
elders.

KILLED BY LAND-MINES 

Since 1997, many land-mines have been planted along the Indo-Burma border
and Bangla-Burma border, especially on most of the mountain ranges and
between villages. Chin villagers are now facing threat of land-mines. They
were afraid and dared not go for hunting, fishing or tending their cattle
as usual.  The presence of land-mines not only causes death and injuries,
but also severely affects the food security of the villagers.

In the first week of September 1998, Salai Ram Hre, 25 years old from
Haka's Farhual block was killed by a land-mine planted by Burmese army at
Lahva stream near the border of India on his way to Mizoram State of India.
The villagers waited for a few days to pick up his dead body because they
were afraid that there could be other land-mines.

The same incident occurred in October 20, 1998 at Ralpel village, Thantlang
township, Chin State. Pu Hmar, aged 60, was killed on the spot by land-mine
planted by Burmese army while he was going to his farm located between
Ralpel and Thingsai village.

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

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: RISE IN CIGARETTE SMOKING DOESN'T BOTHER
BURMA GOVERNMENT
7 December, 1998 by Thomas Crampton 

Mandalay, Burma - When U Soe Thein Oo attended a concert a few months ago
by Iron Cross, the most popular Burmese heavy metal band, he got more than
just an earful of "Desert Moon," the band's hit love ballad.

Along with all the other ticket holders he received free Golden Eagle
cigarettes and a plastic lighter to ignite them.  Like most people at the
concert, he smoked through the pack.

At U Hoke Ho's tea shop, in the town of Shipaw, farther north in Burma, a
haze descends each time young women flock through handing out free Golden
Eagle cigarettes and lighting them up for customers.

"They don't give them to children, but even those who don't smoke try the
cigarettes," the tea shop owner said.  "People always like to get things
for free."

Across the country young people tell similar stories of how they were drawn
to cigarettes by free handouts and slick advertising tactics never before
seen in Burma as tobacco multinationals focus their powerful marketing
machines on potential smokers.

This has led to a rapid increase in smoking among young people in Burma --
and in other countries in Southeast Asia where cash-strapped governments
have a financial stake in tobacco sales.  Tobacco companies themselves also
rely increasingly on profits from the region's poorest countries.

Rothmans Industries of Singapore, whose London brand is the market leader
in Burma, runs a factory in a joint venture with a holding company owned by
the country's ruling military.  The three-year-old venture turned a profit
after just one year, company officials said, and there are already plans to
expand production.

Rapid sales growth in Burma and Vietnam helped push up Rothmans' pretax
profit by 15.4 percent in the first half of 1998, despite shrinking
cigarette sales in Singapore, the company's only other market, according to
a company announcement last month.

The Burmese government likes dealing with multinational cigarette companies
because it can more readily collect revenue from large factories or
importers than it can from small-time producers of hand-rolled smokes like
Burma's traditional cheroots, according to Brigadier General Maung Maung,
head of the foreign investment commission.

After Rothmans, Burma's second-largest foreign investor in cigarettes is
the Indonesian giant Sampoerna, followed by a small South Korean stake in
Myanmar Glacier Tobacco.

Imported cigarettes commonly available in Burma include brands produced by
British American Tobacco -- including 555, Benson & Hedges, Lucky Strike
and Viceroy -- along with Philip Morris's Marlboro and RJR Nabisco's Camel
and Salem.

Domestic production has increased to 4.4 billion cigarettes in the last
fiscal year, from less than 1 billion cigarettes in 1992, to according to
government statistics.

>From zero a decade ago, tobacco imports to Burma rose to more than 1,700
metric tons in 1996.  Tobacco imports in 1995 were worth $142 million and
accounted for about 6 percent of the nation's total merchandise imports,
according to a study by the U.S. government.

General Maung Maung said the Burmese government was very concerned about
the increased number of young smokers and had already begun imposing
controls, such as a recent ban against tobacco advertising on television.

Marlboro cowboys, recently stopped riding across viewer's screens, but
other brands still broadcast ads regularly on television despite the ban,
and few in Burma come in contact with cigarette-pack health warnings.  A
pack of 20 cigarettes costs the equivalent of about one day's salary for
manual laborers, so most smokers support their habit cigarette-by-cigarette
instead of buying packs, many of which have the warnings written in English.

The cigarette companies say their advertising is aimed at adults and is
intended to maintain brand loyalty or to entice those who already smoke to
change brands.  But the young people of Burma have received a very
different message.

"My generation smokes, not my father's," said U Win Maung, a 26-year-old in
the town of Maymyo who began smoking at age 17.  "Cigarettes are modern and
free-style.  I am not so choosy about the brand so long as it has Virginia
tobacco."

U Win Aung said that even strong health warnings would not deter him from
smoking now.  He enjoys spending one evening each weekend drinking Mandalay
rum and smoking with friends at Summer Feelings, a popular new bar along
the dusty main street of Maymyo.

"The cinema is censored and there are no nightclubs or live shows," he
said.  "Beyond smoking there is no entertainment."

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

XINHUA: CHINA - BURMA LEADER MEETS PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ADVISER
4 December, 1998 

Yangon [Rangoon], December 3 (Xinhua) -- First Secretary of the Myanmar
[Burma] State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt
met with visiting Advisor to the People's Government of Yunnan Province of
China Linghu An here Thursday afternoon. Linghu An is also Chairman of the
Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference. The two sides expressed their wish to further strengthen the
neighborly and friendly ties and economic cooperation between the two
countries.

Khin Nyunt said on the occasion that Myanmar would treasure the
relationship between the two countries and attach importance to the
development of goodwill relations with China, he added. He reiterated that
Myanmar would firmly follow the "One China" policy. At the meeting, Linghu
also said promotion and development of the two countries' friendly and
cooperative relations are the common desire of the two sides.

He said that Myanmar's national reconsolidation, social stability, and
economic development would benefit not only Myanmar but also China. Present
at the meeting were Myanmar Minister of Electric Power Major-General Tin
Htut and Chinese ambassador to Myanmar Liang Dong.   At the invitation of
the Myanmar government, the Yunnan provincial goodwill delegation led by
Linghu arrived here Wednesday for a six-day visit to Myanmar.

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

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE / NEW YORK TIMES: CORPORATE CONSCIENCE
7 December, 1998 

Editorial from the New York Times, printed in the International Herald Tribune

Americans are understandably ambivalent about the foreign entanglements of
U.S. business.  Overseas operations can produce profits and support some
jobs at home, but they can also help sustain abusive dictatorships and
labor practices.  In recent years companies like Nike and Unocal have
embarrassed themselves with questionable overseas partnerships, but the
problem extends far back in U.S. industrial history.

The issue was highlighted last week in a Washington Post story on General
Motors and Ford operations in Nazi Germany (IHT, Dec. 3).  The Post
reported that after the nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939, the
chairman of GM, Alfred P. Sloan, told a shareholder that the internal
politics of nazi Germany "should not be considered the business of the
management of General Motors."  The company plant in Germany was highly
profitable.  "We have no right to shut down the plant," Mr. Sloan wrote.

General Motors and Ford deny that they helped the Nazis or significantly
benefited from forced labor.  The Post article and American Ford and GM
executives accepted medals from Hitler.  A GM executive met with Hitler and
participated in converting the German GM plant to military production in
1939 and 1940.

The German Ford and GM plants were the largest producers of trucks for the
German Army, according to U.S. army reports.  Ford has found documents
showing it profited slightly from its German plant during years when the
plant used forced labor.

Ford and GM should give a thorough account of their actions in Germany, and
pay appropriate compensation.  But they were not the only U.S. businesses
to profit during the Third Reich.

The world has no contemporary equivalent to Hitler.  But for the past
decade, U.S. companies have cozied up to the Burmese junta, Afghanistan's
Taleban, Central Asian dictators, African kleptocrats and Colombia's military.

U.S. corporations argue that they can be a positive force in repressive
countries.  This can be true.  They often pay better than local companies,
and bad publicity has spurred some corporations to sponsor health clinics
and other good works.  But these benefits are outweighed by the political
support companies lend to bad regimes.  Few ever criticize their hosts'
policies.  Governments take presence as a U.S. endorsement.

It is unrealistic to expect that corporations will refrain from trade or
investment with bad governments.  But they should hold themselves to some
guidelines.  Their own practices should not be abusive, even if local laws
allow it.  This means giving workers wages they can live on and good
working conditions.  They also should not collaborate with government
repression.

Apparel manufacturers in China and elsewhere have fired workers trying to
organize unions.  Unocal, which is a partner with Burma's government in a
gas pipeline project, is being sued in U.S. courts for alleged use of
forced labor and forced expulsion of villagers.  Last week, Unocal did end
its efforts to work with the Taleban on a pipeline through Afghanistan,
primarily because oil prices are low.

The entanglements of oil, gas, mining and other natural resource companies
with dictatorships are complex, as the businesses sometimes find themselves
keeping repressive governments afloat.  The activities of Shell, a
British-Dutch company, in Nigeria brought in nearly half the nation's hard
currency.

Companies should use their tremendous power responsibly.  Shell's image is
still tainted by its failure to speak out strongly to prevent Nigeria's
execution in 1995 of nine environmental activists.  Some regimes are so
heinous that simply to continue making profits under them is reprehensible.
 Nazi Germany was surely one.  Corporate officials are not only
businessmen, they are citizens of the world.

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

REUTERS: GAMES - MYANMAR DISSIDENTS BANNED FROM GAMES VENUES
6 December, 1998 

BANGKOK, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Thai authorities confined hundreds of Myanmar
exiles to their holding centres on Sunday to prevent them staging protests
against Yangon's military rulers at the Asian Games.

The nearly 600 dissidents housed in holding centres in Thailand's
southwestern Ratchaburi province would be forbidden to leave the centres
for the whole of the December 6-20 Games, provincial governor Manit
Silpa-archa told reporters.

"These people will be confined in the holding centres during the Games in
order to deter them from causing trouble," he said.

An Interior Ministry official said the authorities had received a tip-off
that the dissidents planned to disrupt the Games with protests against the
visiting Myanmar contingent and the ruling military government in Yangon.

This had prompted the action, he said.

The dissidents living at Ratchaburi were among several thousand who fled to
Thailand after the military in Myanmar bloodily suppressed a pro-democracy
uprising in 1988.

They were rounded up and housed in holding centres by the Thai authorities
in early 1995.

The activists have been quick to stage protests during international events
held in Thailand to gain recognition for themselves and their cause.
Similar action has been taken against some of them in the past when they
have tried to demonstrate.

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

INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL: PROVING THE PEN IS TRULY MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD
5 December, 1998 by Tom Knapp 

INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL/LANCASTER NEW ERA : PROVING THE PEN TRULY IS MIGHTIER
THAN THE SWORD  VOLUNTEERS WRITE LETTERS TO PROMOTE GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Emmy Aviles Breton knows of hundreds of people in Mexico who were tortured
simply for being human rights activists.

Now that she's moved from Mexico City to Lancaster, she plans to continue
her work for what she considers to be basic human freedoms.

"Even in a country like the United States, with its reputation for
democracy, there is a need to work for human rights," Breton said Sunday.
"I have been working for more than 10 years on human rights issues, and now
that I've moved to Lancaster, I want to continue that work. It's essential."

Breton was one of a handful of people who spent a gorgeous Sunday afternoon
in the basement of the Friends Meetinghouse on Tulane Terrace. The members
of the Lancaster chapter of Amnesty International spent the afternoon
writing dozens of letters and signing petitions promoting human rights
around the globe.

This is the 11th year the local AI group has gathered for the annual
write-a-thon. For the third year, members have focused on the plight of Moe
Maung Maung, a student sentenced to seven years in prison in Myanmar
(formerly Burma) for publicly supporting democracy.

Maung's case was assigned to the local chapter by the larger AI
organization, Breton said.

"You work on a case until some notice comes that he's been released _ or
that something bad has happened," she said. "The only thing we really know
about him is what we read via the Internet or what news Amnesty sends us.
 ... We really don't know what's going on."

Myanmar, Breton said, "is an extremely difficult country to be involved
with, so I have to admit, our expectations are a little low. But we know
not to get discouraged. It's a country where we have to keep the pressure on."

Besides letters to leaders of the military government in Myanmar, Lancaster
AI members signed petitions and wrote letters on issues such as police
brutality in Yugoslavia and death penalty laws here in the United States.

This year is of particular note, Breton said, because it's the 50th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, enacted by the
United Nations on Dec. 10, 1948.

Amnesty International has chosen this anniversary year to launch its USA
Campaign, which tackles issues at home.

"Usually, local groups work on issues in other countries to avoid the
appearance of conflicts of interest," Breton said. "But now we're also
focusing on abuses that take place within our own borders."

Issues to be addressed include sexual abuses and "bloodsports" in American
prisons, the treatment of refugees seeking asylum in the United States,
police brutality and the death penalty.

The asylum issue is of particular interest here, Breton said, because the
nearby York County Prison, with the completion of a new addition, will
become "one of the largest detention centers in the northeast" for refugees.

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