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The BurmaNet News: December 30, 199



Subject: The BurmaNet News: December 30, 1998

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 "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: December 30, 1998
Issue #1169

HEADLINES:
==========
THE BANGKOK POST: BURMA STARTS DRIVE TO SUPPRESS REBELS 
ABSDF: FARMER STRIKE IN SHAN STATE 
ASIAN AFFAIRS: BURMA - LITTLE HOPE FOR DEMOCRACY 
THE BANGKOK POST: POLICE FOXED BY CONFUSING ORDERS 
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THE BANGKOK POST: BURMA STARTS DRIVE TO SUPPRESS REBELS
29 December, 1998 

Kanchanaburi 

Burma yesterday began its dry-season offensive against ethnic minority rebels
along its border with Thailand. 

Burmese troops were sent to border areas opposite Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi and
Prachuab Khiri Khan provinces as part of its suppression drive against ethnic
minority groups hiding along the border, said a source. 

The two-week crackdowns, which kicked off yesterday, will last until February
10. 

The United Wa State Army, the Karen National Union and the Shan State Army,
are
expected to be the main targets of attacks, said the source.
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ABSDF: FARMER STRIKES IN SHAN STATE
27 December, 1998 

In December, the SPDC ordered farmers to sell eight tins (about 290 kg) of
rice
per acre at the SPDC's collecting stations as "responsible rice". The price at
those stations is much lower than the market price.  Farmers from Lin Khae
Township, Shan State marched to Lan Khae town on December 24 and objected to
the authority's order. 

On December 24, U Than Lwin, secretary of the local SPDC, arrived at Pong Hton
village and ordered the farmers to sell their rice quota. Farmers replied that
they could afford to sell only half of the quota since they can barely feed
themselves. However, U Than Lwin did not resolve problem. On the same day,
about 150 unsatisfied farmers marched to the residence of U Joseph Sein Paint,
Chairman of the local SPDC in Lin Khae Town.

An eyewitness said the farmers dispersed around 9 p.m. even though they were
disappointed after the Chairman replied that he would submit the case to the
authority. However, the SPDC authority, saying that there is an instigator, is
preparing to arrest Sai Ba Thein, a farmer at Pong Hton village as well as
former Taunggyi college student who was dismissed from the school because of
his involvement in student movements of 1974. 

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ASIAN AFFAIRS: BURMA - LITTLE HOPE FOR DEMOCRACY
December, 1998 

(From Volume 3, Number 26, December 1998 issue of Asian Affairs, a monthly
magazine published in U.K)

If I were asked to describe the current political situation of Burma in one
sentence, I would say that it is a political deadlock. The stand-off between
the ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and
the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel laureate Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi has led to an atmosphere of uncertainty which is building up
in the country.

Political tension between the government and the NLD started building up in
May
this year when the NLD party Congress resolved to formally ask the military
regime to implement the result of the 1990 elections in which the party won a
landslide victory. While the congress set a deadline for the Government to
respect the will of the people or face their wrath, the latter responded by
cracking down on elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and other NLD activists.
Over the last five months, some 1,000 NLD members and supporters including
more
than 200 Members of Parliament have been arrested. The government officially
announced that these Members of Parliament were being "invited" to work
towards
national peace and stability in the country. Actually they were put under
illegal detention. Meanwhile, the NLD decided to intensify its agitation by
pressing for the convening of Parliament. Together with its allied ethnic
parties, the party formed a 10-member committee, which is said to have the
mandate of more than 250 elected MPs, including the arrested lawmakers. The
committee includes Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Meanwhile, the military junta has stepped up its tirade against the NLD and
Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi. The state-controlled media have been describing Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi as "traitor". "Traitors within the country are paving the way for
neocolonialists to interfere in our internal affairs," said General Than Shwe,
leader of the junta on the same day when the NLD formed the 10-members
committee.

Though, no one from the committee has been arrested yet, the junta has
resorted
to other means to denounce the leaders of Burma's democratic movement. They
have been organizing "public rallies" in various towns, denouncing the NLD and
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Some of the military-sponsored rallies, which were
attended by more than 20,000 people, have raised the demand for the
deportation
of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Since 1992, the United Nations General Assembly annually has been passing
resolutions on Burma regarding its human rights situation. It has adopted
resolutions in favour of restoration of democracy in the country and urged the
military regime to enter dialogue with NLD and ethnic nationalities for
restoration of democracy in the country. But the Burmese Government has
persistently refused to co-operate with the United Nations. The UN Special
Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma (Myanmar), Judge Rajsoomer Lallah has not
been allowed to visit Burma since his appointment in July, 1996. The
Government
refused to accept the visit of Ambassador Razali Ismail, the personal emissary
of United Nations Secretary General, early this year.

In his interim report submitted to the current 53rd UN General Assembly, the
Special Rapporteur Rajsoomer Lallah says: "Violations of human rights remain
extremely serious".

The military Government maintains that the UN should not interfere in its
internal matters. "There are those who would like to use the United Nations to
interfere in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of
Myanmar (Burma)," the junta's then Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw told the UN
General Assembly in October.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Alvaro de Soto was allowed to visit Burma in the
last week of October. He met both military Government and NLD leaders.
Although
his report to the Secretary-General Kofi Annan has not been made public
yet, it
is unlikely that he achieved a break-through in the current political
stalemate
in Burma.

The exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) called
on the on-going UN General Assembly to pass a tougher resolution this year to
allow greater international sanctions to force the junta to comply with the UN
resolutions. It wants the UN General Assembly resolution to contain
action-oriented measures against the military regime.

The United States and Canada have already slapped economic sanctions on Burma.
The European Union, in its foreign ministerial meeting in October, decided to
tighten sanctions, including bans on transit visas for the junta members.

ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) allowed Burma to join the
association in July 1997. It is also beginning to reconsider its policy
towards
Burma in order to maintain harmonious relations with the European Union and
other western countries in these times of economic crisis. "The junta in
Rangoon is increasingly becoming a problem for the Association of South East
Asian Nations, whose members are split publicly over whether or not they
should
criticize Burma's internal politics," wrote Bertil Lintner, a Burma specialist
and correspondent of the Far Eastern Economic Review in November.

The Burmese government has been releasing some of the detained NLD members
since November. The junta said it had released about 300 NLD members and it
described the release as "returning home" after fruitful discussions with the
Government. In fact, some of the NLD members and Members of Parliament have
resigned from the party. Some town-level NLD offices have also closed down.
The
NLD says that the arrested leaders were subjected to brutal mental and
physical
torture to force them into quitting the democratic movement.

Many among Burma's democracy activists feel that all efforts at urging the
military leaders for a peaceful and smooth transition to democracy would be
futile. "What we need now is a popular upsurge of the people to force out the
military leaders from the seat of power," said Dr. Tint Swe, South Asian
Affairs Minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
(NCGUB). The military regime is also facing problems of its own making. The
country is reeling under severe economic crisis. Recently, the cabinet was
reshuffled to include a new foreign minister and new deputy ministers.
Opposition groups say that the power struggle going on within the military
Government is getting intensified and the Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt-led faction is
gaining an upper hand. Khin Nyunt, known to be the second most powerful man in
the regime, is the chief of the military intelligence. He also heads a
political committee formed with 16 top military leaders by the junta in
September last. "And hopefully, the power struggle among the generals may pave
the way towards a substantive dialogue between the Government and the
opposition", hopes Dr. Tint Swe.

(Soe Myint is a Burmese journalist living in India.) 

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THE BANGKOK POST: POLICE FOXED BY CONFUSING ORDERS
28 December, 1998 by Onnucha Hutasingh 

'Superiors to blame for rough treatment'

Conflicting state orders are being blamed as the reason why alien victims of
human trafficking rings are being treated so coldly by the authorities. 

International human rights organisations have called on officials to strictly
abide by a 1997 Act which clearly defines anti-human trafficking measures as
well as punishment for those engaged in human rights abuses. 

It is clearly stipulated in the act that upon arrest, illegal aliens who are
victims of trafficking rackets must be treated as damaged parties rather than
wrongdoers or suspects under the Immigration Act. 

But in practice, most are locked up to await deportation. Law enforcers either
say they are unaware of the law or cite a December 11 Royal Thai Police Office
regulation requiring the victims to face due action before they are sent
home. 

The confusion has impeded efforts to protect the victims' basic rights and
also
denied them the assistance and care they so badly need. 

While the act clarifies the victims' status, the police regulation does
exactly
the opposite, frustrating officials with contradictory orders, said a Songkhla
immigration police officer who declined to be named. 

"I find it so confusing, I don't know what order to adhere to," he said. 

Although he is in favour of following the act, he cannot afford to disobey the
directives from his superiors. 

Child and women welfare advocates, however, are making moves to ensure the act
is strictly observed and implemented accordingly. 

Saisuree Chutikul, chairman of the Senate Committee on the Affairs of Women,
Youth and Elderly, is drafting a memorandum to address the urgency to protect
the rights of victims, particularly women and children, many of whom were
forced into prostitution. 

The memo to be acknowledged by relevant agencies such as the police, the
Labour
and Social Welfare Ministry and the Public Health Ministry, also emphasises
the
importance of expanding to the full the state's caring capacity in offering
temporary shelter to the victims of human trafficking. 

Ms Saisuree insisted victims should not be charged and instead accommodated at
the state-run or private welfare homes before they are deported. 

But her main concern lies with the negative attitude of police towards the
victims who are put behind bars as suspects. 

In the past, these foreign sex slaves were refused state assistance for the
simple reason that they were not Thai citizens. 

They would be arrested for illegal entry and confined to cramped cells at the
Immigration Police headquarters while their deportation procedures were being
processed. No psychological aid or counseling was given. 

Kemporn Virunrapan, director of the Foundation for Children's Development,
said
the authorities argued they did not know they had to refer the children or
women victims to social welfare agencies. 

Even if the offices were contacted, the aliens would be kept there for only a
short period. They would only be returned to the immigration police cells a
few
days before deportation. 

The wrong attitude the authorities harbour must change, she said, adding these
sex slaves had already suffered enough at the hands of traffickers. 

Special Branch Police Bureau statistics showed that every year over 300,000
foreign victims pass through Thailand en route to a third country where they
are either forced into the flesh trade or end up as illegal labourers. 

The highest number originated from Burma. 

Children of the victims also cause a mountain of problems. Some 200,000 of
them
have been orphaned or are known to have lost contact with their relatives in
their mother countries. 

They end up having nothing. No citizenship, no access to schooling or families
to care for. They have to live off the streets as beggars and are being drawn
into the underworld the same way as their parents.

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