The BurmaNet News: January 15, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: January 15, 1998
Issue #1186

Noted in Passing: "It can be concluded that the military offensive threatened
by the regime will largely be a "search and destroy" operation, or series of
such operations, that seek out and kill villagers and destroy villages; it
will
not change the military equation in any way. It would therefore not be
wrong to
portray the impending military offensive as waging war against the defenseless
ethnic population, aimed at sowing terror and emptying the land of unwanted
ethnic groups which, from the regime's viewpoint, constitutes an obstacle to
unity and/or pose a- threat to 'national solidarity'." - Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe
(see The Nation: Burmese Politics of War)

HEADLINES:
==========  
BBC: SUU KYI SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ARBITRARY ARRESTS 
ABSDF: REFUGEES FLEE FROM NEW BURMESE ARMY STRATEGY 
AFP: NLD SUES JUNTA INTELLIGENCE CHIEF 
THE NATION: BURMA PROTESTS INCIDENT WITH THAI NAVY 
THE NATION: BURMESE POLITICS OF WAR 
BKK POST: FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE AND STATE 
REUTERS: TOTAL CHIEF REJECTS SHAREHOLDER CONCERNS 
BKK POST: UNOCAL DENIES AID STORY 
BKK POST: SIX BURMESE ARRESTED WITH RIFLES IN RAID 

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

BBC: AUNG SAN SUU KYI SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ARBITRARY ARRESTS OF NLD MEMBERS
13 January, 1999 East Asia Today

With a continuing political stalemate in Burma between the military junta and
the National League for Democracy - which won the l990 elections - the NLD has
started legal action against one of the junta's leaders Lieutenant General
Khin
Nyunt. The party says he is responsible for arbitrarily arresting its members
and forcing them to resign from the NLD. 

Last weekend the Burmese press reported that the authorities were considering
whether to arrest NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of making contact
with
illegal groups, including Karen guerrillas. East Asia Today's Larry Jagan
spoke
to Aung San Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon - and he asked her first what the
state of play was in terms of resignations from the party: 

Aung San Suu Kyi: The business about the resignations from the party is in one
way a hilarious business. In another of course, it's a reflection of how much
oppression there is in this country. It's hilarious because some of the people
who resigned, or who were supposed to have resigned, are people who have
hardly
had anything to do with the NLD for years and years. Also, I understand
that in
some townships they are forcing people who have never been members of the NLD
to resign as members of the NLD. 

Larry Jagan: So are you saying that this is a publicity stunt as far as the
government is concerned and that most of the NLD members are still very
strongly committed to the party? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: It's not entirely a publicity stunt on their part. I am sure
they would like the members of the NLD to really resign, but if they can't get
members of the NLD to resign - and in most cases they can't - they simply
trump
up these resignations. It's a real farce because if you consider the fact that
we had literally membership in the millions in 1989 and now they announce
things like twelve members of the NLD from such and such a township resigned,
you can see how farcical the whole thing is. 

Larry Jagan: But this must still be putting pressure on you and the central
committee and making it harder for the NLD to operate as a legal party? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: No, because these so-called members of the NLD who
resigned -
as I said I'm not even sure that some of them are really members of the NLD -
are not only few but also those who are not doing anything in the line of
party
organizational work. So their so-called resignations don't affect us in
anyway.


Larry Jagan: I understand that the NLD has issued legal action against the
Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt because of the pressure that is being brought to
bear on the NLD and the arrests that have happened. 

Aung San Suu Kyi: I don't know that it's actually addressed against Lieutenant
General Khin Nyunt but it's addressed against the military intelligence
because
they have been exercising undue influence to force members of the NLD party to
resign and to destroy township committees of the NLD. This is against the law.
Everything we do is within the bounds of the law as it stands today. 

Larry Jagan: What do you think is actually going to happen to this writ? Is
the
government going to take it seriously? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: We have to wait and see. This is not the first time we've
brought out a writ against the government. 

Larry Jagan: What happened to the previous ones? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: We've heard nothing about those so we'll have to see what
the
next step is because in accordance with the law you can't just ignore
something
like that when it is put up. 

Larry Jagan: Apart from the pressure on NLD members to resign, what other
actions is the government taking to try and curtail NLD activity? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: The usual things. They're making it difficult for our
township committees to carry on with their everyday party organizational work.
It's just pressure and arrests. They don't seem to know any other way of
dealing with the party. 

Larry Jagan: What effect is that having on the party? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: A lot of our people are under detention - members of
parliament as well as active members of the NLD - and in some ways, of course,
that means that those who are left outside have to work harder. But another
effect of this is that we gain a lot of sympathy from the public because it is
so obvious the unfairness of the tactics of the authorities, that we find that
we've had a lot of public sympathy. This is expressed not just in words, but
also in the form of donations etc. 

Larry Jagan: This impasse between the NLD and the military authorities has
been
going on for many years now. Is there any way it can be broken? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: Yes of course. Impasses have always existed between
dictatorships and those opposed to dictatorships. But they do get broken. 

Larry Jagan: Is there anything that you can see in the near future that might
actually lead to some kind of dialogue between yourself and the NLD and the
military government? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: No particular event, but as I've always said, there's no
other way except dialogue, and we'll get there in the end, in spite of the
intransigence of the military authorities. 

Larry Jagan: When the UN representative de Soto was in Burma last year, I
understand there was some discussion about ways in which the international
community might help to broker some kinds of talks, and part of that might
have
been World Bank funding for projects. Has that got anywhere? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: I don't know. That is something you'll have to ask Mr de
Soto
about. 

Larry Jagan: What is the NLD position as far as the carrots and sticks type
strategy that the UN might be trying to adopt, is concerned? 

Aung San Suu Kyi: I think we'll need to know more about the particulars of the
carrots and sticks, if such a tactic exists, before we decide what stand we
want to take on it.

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

ABSDF: REFUGEES FLEE FROM NEW BURMESE ARMY STRATEGY
14 January, 1999 

Media Release - 03/99

A new batch of more than 300 refugees from Burma began arriving at a refugee
camp in northern Thailand on January 11 following widespread and
indiscriminate
looting and killing by Burmese army troops. 

According to the refugees, at the beginning of December 1998 the Burmese army
began using guerrilla-style smaller units instead of regular infantry columns
in the military operation against the Karen National Union (KNU). The units,
with code-names such as "Sweeping Broom", "Dragon" and "Tempest", are
commanded
by Burma's Southern Military Region. 

Human rights violations by the Burmese army have been reported in this area
for
a number of years. Sources report that these new units, however, have been
given express permission to loot and burn villages and to kill any
villagers in
sight. Refugees report that rape by the new units is commonplace. 

All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) Foreign Affairs Secretary Aung
Naing Oo says the new strategy is much crueler than the use of regular
military
columns. 

"The Burmese troops are known to have previously abused villagers on suspicion
of supporting the Karen movement. They now consider any Karen villagers to be
hard-core supporters of the KNU." 

The refugees, mostly Karen, have taken refuge at Mekkhakhee Refugee Camp in
Mae
Hon Song Province. They fled from 10 villages in Shwe Kyin and Kyaukgyi
townships in eastern Pegu (Bago) Division, bordering Karen State. The villages
include Shansuu, Maubin, Lelwar, Khalekhee and Hteemehta. 

According to sources in Mae Hon Song the new refugees, particularly children
and the elderly, are facing health problems. These are due to the lack of
medical care, shortage of food and absence of warm clothing to cope with
winter
mountain temperatures encountered during the long journey. All Burma Students'
Democratic Front 

For more information please contact 01-654 4984

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

AFP: NLD SUES JUNTA INTELLIGENCE CHIEF
15 January, 1999 

AUNG San Suu Kyi's opposition party is suing Burma's feared military
intelligence chief for "destroying" the party and intimidating members into
resigning, a statement said yesterday. 

The National League for Democracy (NLD) said in the statement received in
Bangkok that the action was lodged against Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt,
whose
official title is Secretary Number One of the junta. 

It was filed by NLD chairman Aung Shwe with Burma's chief justice Aung Toe
under the Criminal Procedure code and the Judiciary Law late last month, said
the statement smuggled out of Burma. 

"Despite the fact that the National League for Democracy is a legally
constituted political party ... engaged in legitimate political duties, the
rulers ... are illegally interfering, preventing, destroying and extinguishing
the party," said the statement 

"In so doing, the military intelligence authorities have committed criminal
offences." 

The complaint cited as evidence the resignations and arrests of party members
which started last year, following an NLD call for a meeting of a parliament
elected in 1990. 

The NLD won those polls in a landslide victory, but the military has
refused to
hand over power. 
Burma's government has in recent months waged a concerted campaign against the
NLD, which diplomats, say is designed to crush it. 

Thousands of party members have resigned, many after spending time in military
"guest houses". The NLD accuses the military of coercing the members and of
stage-managing mass rallies held to denounce Aung San Suu Kyi's leadership. 

The crackdown has prompted some analysts to discuss whether the government
will
soon formally ban the party. 

Other analysts say it is unlikely the government will risk creating a catalyst
for more opposition by banning a party it has already effectively put out of
action at grassroots level.

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

THE NATION: BURMA PROTESTS SHOOTING INCIDENT WITH THAI NAVY
15 January, 1999 

BURMA has protested against a Thai Navy vessel firing on one of its naval
ships
on Tuesday and charged that the incident had occurred in its territorial
waters, a Thai Foreign Ministry official said yesterday. 

The official said Thai Ambassador to Burma Pensak Chalarak had been
summoned on
Tuesday and given an aide-memoire by U Nyunt Maung Seng, the Burmese Foreign
Ministry's director general for political affairs. 

She Burmese Foreign Ministry protests against the action of the Thai Navy
vessel in Burmese waters and expresses the hope that a recurrence of a similar
nature will not take place again," the official said. 

On Wednesday, the Burmese Foreign Ministry also informed the Thai Embassy that
the shooting had damaged a pagoda on Salon Island. The second band of the
lower
base of the pagoda's bell-shaped structure was hit by shell shrapnel. 

Even though the Thai Navy claims that its vessel had fired on an unidentified
boat off the west coast of Khome Island in Thai waters, Burma charges that its
vessel Yan Naing 510 was travelling within Burmese waters west of Thahtay Kyun
Island when it was attacked. 

According to the aide-memoire, the incident occurred at 11.30 am on Tuesday
when Yan Naing 510 arrived in the disputed area and was fired upon by a Thai
Navy vessel for about 20 minutes. 

It charged that during the incident, the Thai Navy vessel was in Burmese
waters. The shooting also damaged the Burmese ship, which returned to
Kawthaung
or Victoria Point at 1.15 pm. 

The aide-memoire said "it is presumed the Thai Navy vessel, upon sighting the
Burmese naval vessel Yan Naing 510 leaving Kawthaung, sailed from the the
vicinity of the lighthouse towards Burmese territorial waters and fired upon
it". 

It added that the Kawthaung Township Border Committee had lodged a protest
with
its Thai counterpart in Ranong province. In response to Burma's charges, the
Thai envoy told Nyunt Maung Seng that the attack had taken place in Thai
waters. 

Pensak was quoted as saying that the unidentified "trawler carrying modified
arms", without a flag, was chasing three Thai fishing boats when the Thai Navy
vessel Tor 99 responded to distress signals from the fishing boat Duangsap 9. 
The envoy said the Thai Navy vessel had opened fire about 2.30 pm and had
apparently hit an unidentified vessel, which eventually fled towards
Kawthaung.


Following the intervention by the Thai Navy vessel, the three boats managed to
escape despite being pursued by the Burmese vessel. 

According to intelligence information, the unidentified boat was later found
berthed at Kawthaung, said a statement from the Thai Navy. 

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said yesterday that the two countries should
begin implementing measures to help prevent further incidents from occurring,
namely by establishing joint patrols and setting up a "hot-line" between the
concerned agencies. 

The Burmese Ambassador to Thailand U Hla Maung is expected to meet deputy
permanent secretary Saowanit Khongsiri early next week to discuss the issue.

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

THE NATION: THE BURMESE POLITICS OF WAR
14 January, 1999 by Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe

THE NEXT OFFENSIVE AGAINST THE WA REBELS COULD BE 'READ' AS A SHOW OF DEFIANCE
ON THE PART OF THE TATMADAW'S COMBAT WING, LED BY THE FACTION OF GENERALS
MAUNG
AYE AND TIN U, AGAINST THE INTELLIGENCE WING UNDER GEN KHIN NYUNT, WRITES
CHAO-TZANG YAWNGHWE. 

With regard to the Rangoon regime's impending military offensive against
rebels
- if it is directed against the Karenni, Karen and Shan rebels - the
significance of it is: more trouble for the civilian populace. It will result
in further displacements of thousands of villagers and loss of civilian lives.
Some will lose their life as porters - either beaten and killed by the
military, blown up by mines, or from being caught in the crossfire. 

In addition, the already internally displaced villagers hiding in the bushes
will be trapped or caught by military patrols and killed as rebel sympathisers
(for having been found in the "freefire" or killing zones). The women among
them will be gang-raped and killed. Losses among combatants on both sides will
likely be very light, however. This has for long been the pattern of the
regime's "military offensive" against rebel forces in the ethnic areas. 

What is not clear is whether the targets of the planned military offensive
will
include the Wa armies. There are three such armies: the northern Wa army, the
southern Wa army, and the smaller Wa forces on the Thai-Shan border. The
latter
army is small and is able to easily slip into Thailand, and any military push
against this small, very mobile guerilla force will be ineffective ant
militarily meaningless. 

The former two Wa armies are well-armed ant are under the control of or are
heavily influenced by cross-border Chinese drug trafficking syndicates
(forming
a network of trade and finance straddling five countries: Burma-
China/Yunnan-Thailand-Laos-Cambodia). The two Wa armies have as well have
signed ceasefire agreements, in particular with General Khin Nyunt and the
Military Intelligence/MI establishment of the army (or the tatmadaw). 

It is reported that the tatmadaw's field commanders and General Maung Aye's
faction are unhappy with the protection afforded the two powerful Wa armies by
Khin Nyunt and the MI camp, ant also with the subsequent clone, ant mutually
beneficial, relations thus established (for more than ten years) between these
elements. 

Another inducement for Maung Aye and the tatmadaw's combat wing factions to
take on the two Wa armies is to convince the international community (the
United States in particular) that the military (minus the intelligence camp,
that is) is seriously committed to fighting the war on drugs - the
opium-heroin
trade. 

According to diplomatic sources in Thailand, this kind of thinking is also
being advocated,.paradoxically, by elements within the OSS (Office of
Strategic
Studies headed by Khin Nyunt, and staffed mostly by MI officers). 

It remains to be seen whether the Maung Aye's faction will dare to take on the
two Wa armies. Burma-watchers are of the opinion that if the impending
military
offensive also targets either of the two ' la armies, this will be politically
most significant. It can be "read" as a show of defiance on the part of the
TATMADAW's combat wing against the long dominance (since 1962 or even earlier)
over the military as a whole by the intelligence wing. It will also
represent a
power-play by the Maung Aye-Tin U faction against Khin Nyunt. However, close
observers of the politics of war in Burma maintain that a show of defiance by
the tatmadaw's combat wing in this manner - taking on tough, well-armed Wa
warriors - is unlikely. It is unlikely because the Wa are better armed, better
commanded, better disciplined, and more battle experienced than the tatmadaw. 

The enlarged and now bloated tatmadaw is, military experts (including military
attaches posted to Burma) agree, is no match for the Wa armies, which are in
addition well-connected with intelligence elements of cliques (in Yunnan) of
China's PLA (People's Liberation Army). 

It can be concluded that the military offensive threatened by the regime will
largely be a "search ant destroy" operation, or series of such operations,
that
seek out and kill villagers and destroy villages; it will not change the
military equation in any way. It would therefore not be wrong to portray the
impending military offensive as waging war against the defenseless ethnic
population, aimed at sowing terror and emptying the land of unwanted ethnic
groups which, from the regime's viewpoint, constitutes an obstacle to unity
and/or pose a- threat to "national solidarity".

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

THE BANGKOK POST: FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE AND STATE
11 January, 1999 by Nusara Thaitawat and Subin Khuenkaew

SHAN STATE IN BURMA HAS A REPUTATION AS A MAJOR OPIUM GROWING AND EXPORT
CENTRE-A MAJOR BURDLE FOR THE STATE'S NEW INDEPENDENCE ARMY CHIEF IN
ATTRACTING
FOREIGN BACKING. 

There is renewed hope within the Shan independence movement that after half a
century of fighting, freedom from Burma could be within reach. 

The Shan State Army (SSA), which was formed in 1964, is counting on the
credibility of its new commander-in- chief, Col Yawd Serk, and the ap -
peal of
its proposal to help Thai and United States authorities fight illicit drugs in
Shan state in return for support for its independence struggle. 

"We have 10,000 men and we're in control of 40 percent of Shan state," said
Col
Yawd Serk. "We're ready to move against the Burmese occupation forces and to
help the world fight illicit drugs. 

"We have made known our position to all ethnic groups involved in drug
trafficking, including the Wa. So far none have reacted. If they did it would
be to admit they were drug dealers." 

Col Yawd Serk addressed his first press conference last month at a temporary
base across from Chiang Mai's Vieng Haeng district, three years after his
predecessor, charismatic opium warlord and self-styled Shan independence
fighter Khun Sa, abandoned Shan fighters under his Mong Tai Army (MTA) and
surrendered to the Burmese government. 

The new man in charge said he had spent these last three years regrouping and
strengthening Shan fighters and establishing the framework for cooperation
with
the notoriously factionalised Shan intellectuals who work from city bases in
their adopted countries such as Thailand, the United States and Canada. 

It was not easy. Khun Sa, who had used his drug money to build the MTA into
the
strongest and best equipped ethnic army in Burma, left nothing to the Shan
fighters when he surrendered. He took good care only of his mostly ethnic
Chinese inner circle who, unlike the Shans, knew of his plans to surrender. 

It also has been impossible to get any outside help because the Shan
independence movement has long been associated with the drug trade. 

Col Yawd Serk's policy statement differed little from earlier versions by Shan
independence groups since World War Two. 

It included solidarity, adherence to the Panglong Agreement which guarantees
the rights of the Shan and other major ethnic groups in Burma, democracy and
human rights, free trade, quality of life, and cooperation with the United
Nations and friendly foreign governments. 

Col Yawd Serk again "opened the doors to the Shan state" for the United
Nations, United States, Thai and any other interested friendly governments to
come to see for themselves the realities which keep the drug business going. 

Private organisations are invited to provide humanitarian assistance to the
Shan people, displaced or jobless because of the Burmese. 

The only clear difference is the SSA's military strategy: small units for
quick-manoeuvring, guerrilla warfare. 

Col Yawd Serk, 40 does not have the charisma of a strong leader: he is slim
and
stands about 150 cm, and he speaks softly, his eyes hidden behind dark
glasses.
But those who come in contact with him can easily sense an inner strength,
determination and possible sincerity for the Shan cause. 

There appears to be a genuine belief that Shan state can regain its
sovereignty
quite soon. 

A Thai military officer familiar with the issue said it would be ideal to
use a
small but strong ethnic group using funds from a Western government to help
stop the influx of drugs from Shan state. 

"We know who are the dealers and-where their bases are, but they are outside
our jurisdiction. This group could get to them," he said. 

The officer said the economic crisis meant there were simply not enough
resources for the army and the police to effectively seal off the border. 

"But this is only for strategic purposes. Burma is now part of Asean
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and our priority is our relations
with
the government in Rangoon," he said. 

The official US position is to have no contact while the United Nations deals
only with its member states. The same-Thai officer also warned that the claims
made by Col Yawd Serk were yet to be verified. 

"He and his SSA are still to prove that they are serious in their struggle for
independence and against drugs, and that they have the potential to do so
effectively with some help from the outside." 

More details are needed of the SSA structure. Col Yawd Serk's deputies are
unknowns even to long-time observers in the North. 

"He seems to have made progress on the battlefield but he still has a lot to
prove in his bigger role as a Shan leader," said one watcher. 

One thing is certain though: Col Yawd Serk had the courage and the political
vision to write to Khun Sa in November 1995 telling him to quit the drug
trade,
retire and let the Shan fighters come to the forefront. He also did not want
the former warlord to surrender to the Burmese but to try to negotiate with
Thailand. 

Had Khun Sa agreed, the MTA and the Shan independence movement could have
avoided the conflicts threatening to break up the organisation. 

Col Yawd Serk knew of the consequences if his letter had angered Khun Sa, a
man
he had met only three times during his 10-plus year s with the MTA. 

But the warlord had his own way of doing things, which eventually led to more
defections from the MTA and his final surrender to the Burmese government in
January 1996. 

Col Yawd Serk has been a Shan fighter all his life. He left school at 15
because he was "savagely" punished by his Burmese teacher for being late. He
also witnessed acts of Burmese cruelty against his family, friends and
village.


His training began in 1977 after he left his home town of Mongyai in Loilaem
province's Mongnang district. He was a communications officer for three years,
1978-80, before becoming an army intelligence officer operating in Mandalay
and
Taunggyi. He became a unit commander in 1981. 

"I first heard of Khun Sa's reputation in 1973. But as a young soldier, I went
along," he said. "Much later I developed my own political beliefs but there
was
nothing I could do under the MTA." 

He refers to Gon Jerng (aka Mo Heing), the respected one-armed leader of the
Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA), as his political mentor. The SURA
merged
with Khun Sa's Shan United Army (SUA) to form the MTA. 

"He taught me to work for the good of the community and for the solidarity of
the Shan people. He taught me to be generous and just in one's leadership." 

Col Yawd Serk said he today leads his SSA based on this philosophy. 

"I have fought 221 battles so far. The Burmese side have lost some 2,000
soldiers in these battles, including a deputy central region army commander. 

"The SSA will be strong because of the will of the Shan people and the Shan
people themselves. I don't intend to build my army from drug money like Khun
Sa. The MTA had an image of strength, but MTA soldiers did not have a true
cause to fight for." 

Two weeks after his first press conference, Col Yawd Serk held a small
ceremony
in which he burnt nearly 300,000 amphetamine tablets and a kilogramme of
heroin
seized from Kachin traffickers as they were heading for the Thai border. 

He claimed his forces had raided more than 40 refineries inside Shan state. 

Reporters showed up to witness the ceremony but there were none of the foreign
representatives, including from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, who
reportedly had been invited. Thai troops also warned SSA soldiers not to enter
Thai territory. 

Col Yawd Serk and close aides were disappointed their offer was-ignored but
say
the struggle must go on and so much more needs to be done. 

"I'm determined to clean up the image of the. Shan people. We're not involved
in drug trafficking and we're ready and able to fight until we get
independence." 

He said his army's funds come from the sale of precious minerals, logs and tax
revenue. He hoped the United States government would lend a hand through a
private organisation. 

Col Yawd Serk does not believe that Aung San Suu Kyi, the main opposition
leader in Rangoon, will ever come to power. 
But he said he was prepared to talk to her regarding the status of Shan state
should she somehow manage to win the day. 

In the meantime, the SSA is holding talks with other ethnic groups at war with
Rangoon, including the Karenni, and it is expected that new alliances could be
forged very soon.

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

REUTERS: TOTAL CHIEF REJECTS SHAREHOLDER CONCERNS ON MYANMAR 
14 January, 1999 

PARIS, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The French energy group Total SA brushed off
shareholders' questions about its investment in military-run Myanmar on
Thursday and questioned the usefulness of trade embargoes imposed by the
United
States. 

``We are not participating in any money laundering, drug trafficking or any
other illicit trade,'' Total chairman Thierry Desmarest told a special
shareholders meeting called to approve its planned share bid for Belgium's
PetroFina. 

``I don't think that slapping economic embargoes on countries is the way to
make them change.'' 

Total has a major stake -- 31.24 percent -- in the $1.2 billion-plus Yadana
offshore gas field project, which is due to produce an average of 525 million
cubic feet per day within 15 months of its start. 

Human rights groups have been pressuring Unocal, which has a 28.3 percent
stake
in Yadana, to quit Myanmar because they claim Yangon violated human rights
while building the pipeline linking the gas field to its market in Thailand. 

Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner and head of the country's harassed
opposition movement, urged foreign companies last year not to invest in
Myanmar
-- formerly known as Burma -- until military rule ended. 

In a show of support for her, the European Union tightened its sanctions on
Myanmar last October to ban arms sales, non-humanitarian aid and high-level
government visits. But it did not rule out new investment or providing
services
to Yangon. 

Desmerest admitted Total worked ``with a certain number of developing
countries
where one could say the political and social situations were not ideal.'' 

His group respected international agreements restricting investment in certain
countries, he said, adding: ``When there are no such restrictions, we think we
can work in those countries.'' 

Desmerest said he did not think Total, which will become the world's
sixth-largest oil group when its merger with PetroFina goes through, did not
expect to be hit by consumer boycotts in the United States or Scandinavian
countries because of its work in Myanmar.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: UNOCAL DENIES AID STORY
14 January, 1999 

Unocal has categorically denied a Bangkok Post report that the firm and Total
have provided financial backing for Burmese military activities to protect the
Yadana gas pipeline and to suppress Burmese minorities near the Thai-Burmese
border. 

The denial was issued by Unocal chairman Roger Beach after the Post reported
the story on Jan 6. 

"The story is baseless. There is no unusual activity in the pipeline area. We
are most certainly not a party to financing anyone's military activity," Mr
Beach said in a statement received by the Post. 

The statement has been released to all Unocal employees.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: SIX BURMESE ARRESTED WITH RIFLES IN RAID
15 January, 1999 

KANCHANABURI

OFFICER BELIEVES THEY ARE SPIES
Six Burmese men were arrested with weapons and ammunition at a Sangkhla Buri
district house yesterday. 

The men were initially charged with illegal entry and possessing weapons
without permits. They were subsequently sent to the 9th Infantry Division
headquarters for further questioning. 

The search of the house near Srisuwannaram temple in Nong U tambon was made by
army personnel from the Surasee Task Force of the 9th division and Muang and
Sangkhla Buri police with a warrant issued by the Kanchanaburi Court. 

The authorities seized three rifles, a shotgun and a quantity of assorted
ammunition. 

Source said the action was conducted in secret as the Burmese, one of them
said
to be a captain identified as Yang Chu, were believed to be operating
intelligence work. 

Ninth Infantry Division commander Maj-Gen Sanchai Ratchatawan confirmed the
arrest. 

The six were initially charged with illegal entry and possession of war
weapons
but no further charges have been made pending further investigation. 

"We believe they are spies, but cannot put that officially for fear that it
may
affect relations with Burma," said Maj-Gen Sanchai, also commander of the task
force in charge of security at the Thai-Burmese border in Kanchanaburi. 

Border sources said that the six could have been sent to gather intelligence
information prior to a military drive against minorities across the border.

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