The BurmaNet News: February 22, 199

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Subject: The BurmaNet News: February 22, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: February 22, 1999
Issue #1212

Noted in Passing: " We are interested in what song he will sing for us when
he's here because for too many years the people in Thailand, the people in
Asean and even the people in the Burmese movement have been hearing the same
old song from many different singers," - Debbie Stothard on Burmese Foreign
Minister Win Aung (see THE NATION: WIN AUNG PUTS THAILAND'S LOYALTY TO THE
TEST)

HEADLINES:
==========
ABSDF: SPDC DETAINS THREE NLD MPS 
SCMP: SOLDIERS FLEE AFTER SHOOTING BULLIES 
NLD: STATEMENT 20 (2/99) 
THE NATION: THAILAND'S LOYALTY PUT TO THE TEST 
BKK POST: WIN AUNG BLASTS EU OVER MEETING 
SMH: EU SANCTIONS TO STAY AS ACTIVIST IS JAILED 
BKK POST: JUNTA ACCEPTS SURAYUD PLAN FOR EXCHANGE 
REUTERS: US, OTHERS NEGLECTING DRUG WAR 
ASIAN AGE: BURMA REBELS AT HOME WITH GEORGE
BKK POST: BURMESE TROOPS AND REBELS CLASH 
****************************************************************

ABSDF: SPDC DETAINS THREE NLD MPS
16 February, 1999 from lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Media Release - 13/99 

Burma's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has detained three more
Members of Parliament (MP) from the National League for Democracy (NLD),
according to sources in Moulmein.

The three MPs were arrested on the night of February 8, 1999 as they were
preparing to attend a meeting of the Committee to Represent People's
Parliament
scheduled to be held at the NLD headquarters in Rangoon.

The three MPs are Naing Thaung Nyunt from Paung Constituency 2, Daw Khin Htay
Kywe from Chaungsone Constituency 2 and retired Lt. Colonel Hla Maung from
Kyar
Inn Seikkyi constituency 1 who belongs to the Patriotic Veterans Group. This
group which is mainly composed of former army officers makes up the core of
the
NLD in addition to intellectuals.

The military has charged the three under the section 5 (j) of the 1950
Emergency Provisions Act, citing them as threats to the national security.

The MPs are currently held at Mataban Police station opposite Moulmein in Mon
State.

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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: SOLDIERS FLEE AFTER SHOOTING BULLIES
20 February, 1999 by William Barnes

Three Burmese soldiers killed their sergeant-major and a corporal before
fleeing to the Thai border where they complained of "cruel" army life.

This desertion, and others, confirms reports that the Burmese army runs on
fear
to produce brutal individuals, said one opposition group yesterday.

The three soldiers were with the 430th Light Infantry Regiment, based in
Bawlake in Kayah State, until they shot their bullying superiors seven days
ago.

The three fled across the border immediately after the killings.

A sergeant with the 282nd Regiment was killed in January after beating a
private during sentry inspection near the Thai border at Nat-E Tong, according
to the All-Burma Students' Democratic Front.

The Front claims that "extremely violent and abusive" officers had
triggered an
increasing number of desertions from the army over recent months.

Soldiers are often very young and inexperienced conscripts who are "toughened
up" by brutal treatment and by being kept apart from civilians.

"Ordinary soldiers are virtual slaves for their superiors," said Aung Naing
Oo,
the student group's foreign affairs spokesman.

"They are often beaten and made to work under extreme conditions. The soldiers
take extreme measures in the end."

In a report titled "School for Rape" issued by the human rights group
Earthrights International, the military was described as "an army of
children .
 . . that schools its soldiers in masculinity, militarism and brutal
exploitation".

It noted that soldiers and officers were required "to act out this abusive
ideology on a daily basis".

"The result is an immature force that is unable to distinguish between control
and violence."

It said that the soldiers who had inflicted these "horrible abuses" suffered
severely in the organisation themselves.

The economic crisis ravaging Burma has merely exacerbated the frequent food
shortages faced by soldiers and the non-delivery of wages, increasing
unhappiness in the ranks and encouraging more abuse.

The Students' Democratic Front issued an appeal to all armed ethnic groups and
pro-democracy organisations along the Burmese border to shelter and protect
army deserters.

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

NLD: STATEMENT NO: 20(2/99)
10 February, 1999 from nldburma@xxxxxxxxxxx

Statement NO: 20(2/99)

1. Immunisation against polio is being carried out in the whole country and
the
vaccine for this has been supplied free of charge by the World Health
Organisation.

2. We have been informed that in December 1998 and January 1999, at the
medical
centres in Kyaukpadaung Township, Mandalay Division the parents were charged a
fee of Kyats 10/- per child at the medical centres where the vaccine was being
administered orally.

3. Therefore the very poor parents could not have their children protected
against this disease because of their inability to meet the demand. Our
information is that the authorities in the villages are forcing payment.

4. In a certain ward, because of this demand for payment, only 300 could get
the oral dose whereas 500 had been given a previous dose.

5. This demand for payment of medication given free of charge by the WHO is
wrong and should never be resorted to. It will surely have a deleterious
effect
on the health of these children in the future. We denounce this and urge the
higher authorities to take immediate action to halt the above process.

6. What is happening in Kyaukpadaung is something that requires investigation
and monitoring by an independent body (not the administration) to prevent the
misuse of aid given by the international community.

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THE NATION: WIN AUNG PUTS THAILAND'S LOYALTY TO THE TEST
19 February, 1999 by Rita Patiyasevi

THE EUROPEAN UNION'S REFUSAL TO SIT AT THE SAME TABLE WITH BURMA HAS THAILAND
IN A DILEMMA: DOES IT SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH ITS ASEAN PARTNER OR TURN ITS BACK
IN ORDER TO WIN EU ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.

Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung's one-day official visit to Thailand
tomorrow
will have wider implications than just strengthening diplomatic ties and
fostering closer cooperation to prevent conflicts at sea.

Win Aung's arrival in Bangkok tonight marks the final leg of a four-day
tour of
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which included Brunei,
Indonesia
and Singapore. The visit will attest to Asean's solidarity and Thai foreign
policy amidst the mounting uncertainty and widening rift between the Asian
grouping and the European Union (EU) which has soured since Burma's admission
in 1997.

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and Win Aung will focus on enhancing ties and
cooperation including the establishment of "interim measures" to diffuse
potential conflicts in overlapping sea-claims off Thailand's Ranong province.
Also high on the agenda will be the issue of next month's Asean-EU Ministerial
Meeting (AEMM).

EU member countries and the United States are highly critical of human rights
record and strongly opposed the country's entry into Asean. Thailand and
Asean,
on the other hand, have continued to argue for a policy of "enhancing
interaction", earlier termed "constructive engagement" with Burma, arguing
that
this policy would bring improvements in the military junta and progress in the
development of democracy in the country.

Subsequent events in Burma have proven Asean wrong, however, and some
association members are beginning to realise the consequences: that the
Burmese
issue could well hamper relations with the EU - its oldest dialogue
partner. If
relations are severed over the issue, it could affect future Asean-EU
cooperation which is much needed to help stimulate the region's economy and
prevent it from sinking even further as a result of the economic crisis.

Thailand, as Asean co-ordinator for the Asean-EU consultation meeting,
believes
it can work out a formula so discussions on technical cooperation between the
two blocs can proceed. Despite Surin's repeated attempts to push for the Joint
Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting, however, a technical consultation meeting
of senior officials of the two blocs was earlier this year postponed for the
third time.

Thailand and Germany - which currently holds the EU presidency on a rotating
basis, are now trying to save the Asian-EU Ministerial Meeting (AEMM),
scheduled on March 30, from the same fate.

The earlier postponements of the JCC meeting clearly signaled the EU's
position
that unless there was tangible progress in human rights within Burma, the EU
would not allow that country's senior officials to sit at the same table with
their own.

Some Asean officials have criticised the EU for double standards, saying its
members have attended meetings when Burma participated - namely Asean's annual
Post-Ministerial Meeting (PMC) and the Asean Regional Forum (ARF). The Asean
officials maintain that the EU's position was creating all sorts of
difficulties regarding the JCC meeting.

The EU's position is that while the PMC and ARF were meetings held in Asean
countries, it will not allow Burmese senior officials to attend meetings when
an EU member country played host.

Foreign Minister Surin is determined to resolve the issue and plans to discuss
it with Win Aung tomorrow. The best resolution would be one that allows
face-saving on both sides.

Win Aung is visiting Thailand for the first time since his appointment last
November during a major cabinet reshuffle in Burma. He replaced Burma's former
foreign minister Ohn Gyaw who held the post since 1991. Win Aung's appointment
is seen as an attempt to inject a fresh face into Burma's foreign policy.

Asean will have to make a decision even more difficult than when it accepted
Burma into the grouping. This is because the Burmese issue has created two
schools of thought: one is that since Burma is now an Asean member, the
grouping should maintain solidarity in demanding that the two groupings
participate in the AEMM at the same ministerial level. The other view is based
on foreign policy priorities, which call for a decision that best serves the
national interest. This would imply compliance with the EU's demands and a
back
down on the issue of Burma.

The EU's position on Burma has remained unchanged despite earlier signs of
compromise. In October last year, during Austria's presidency, the EU
agreed to
an Asean-EU consultation to be held by the end of the year. At the same time,
however, the grouping toughened its sanctions against the ruling junta over
its
worsening human rights record.

In a statement issued by Luxembourg, the EU said because of the importance it
placed on its relationship with Asean, they would accept the presence of
Burmese representatives at the next JCC meeting held under the 1980
Asean-European Commission Economic Cooperation Agreement. The EU also extended
the 1996 sanctions against the Burmese regime to reflect its concern over the
deteriorating human rights situation in the country. The EU-Asean compromise
would then enable the JCC to be held in November after being put off for
over a
year.

The JCC meeting, however, was rescheduled and recent statements by British
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook clearly point to the EU's tough stand on the
Burmese issue. The Burmese junta has done little to improve its human rights
record and continued to detain some 182 National League of Democracy (NLD) MPs
elected in 1990, and 701 party cadres.

Burma's regime also recently engaged in a systematic campaign to pressure and
intimidate the NLD through the printing of letters by ethnic minority groups
that have already reached a cease-fire agreement with the government, which
were critical of the political actions of the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi.

The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, an instrument of the ruling junta, also
printed editorials and quoted citizens calling for Aung San Suu Kyi's
expulsion. The mounting pressure has led to the closing down of the NLD's
regional offices, along with the resignation of members of those offices from
the NLD.

On November 22, 1998, the government claimed that NLD regional offices in 12
towns had been closed and more than 1,200 NLD members had resigned. The NLD,
however, said the closures and resignations were not valid without the
authorisation of the NLD Central Executive Committee in Rangoon.

Many western countries including EU member nations believe that such actions
are part of a concerted effort to undermine and eventually destroy the NLD.

The EU, and the Scandinavian countries in particular, are not likely to forget
Leo Nichols, their honorary council who died in a Burmese prison in June 1996.

Burma must make a profound move to improve its situation, and the best
would be
to seize the opportunity when Alvaro de Soto, political affairs assistant to
the United Nations secretary general, visits the country again next month.

De Soto visited Burma in October last year with the aim of providing
assistance
on humanitarian grounds. During that visit, De Soto met both Lt Gen Khin
Nyunt,
secretary one of the State Peace and Development Council, and Aung San Suu
Kyi.
He informed both leaders that the UNSG was willing to coordinate with
international financial institutions such as the World Bank, to consider
provide the Burmese government with technical assistance to develop the
country's economy.

De Soto did not mention to either the government or the opposition whether
there would be specific preconditions attached to the assistance package, and
the response was positive from both sides.

Considering Asia's current vulnerability due to the economic situation and
dwindling trade and investment in Burma as a result of the economic crisis,
the
Burmese junta would be wise to show significant progress in human rights and
political reform.

Burma's economy is in ruins with the region's economic decline affecting
investment in the country. The country's foreign currency reserve is estimated
to be below US$150 million. There have been reports that Burma has already
mortgaged potential revenue from the Yadana gas pipeline project for the next
two years. In August last year, the World Bank suspended lending to Burma
because the country has defaulted on repayment of past loans. This lead to
alarm bells ringing m the ears of foreign investors and left the country at
considerable economic risk.

Considering all the scenarios, the Burmese junta should in good conscience
release all its political prisoners, not just one or two. If the country's
regime remains obstinate, though, Asean will be forced into a dilemma: should
it show solidarity and support Burma, or follow its conscience, laced with
national interests, and turn its back on the regime in order to secure the
benefits to be gained from Asean-EU cooperation.

The Bangkok Post adds:

Burma's anti-Rangoon government in exile and its allies yesterday saw few
prospects for warmer Thai-Burmese relations to emerge from the visit of
Burmese
Foreign Minister Win Aung.
Mr Win Aung replaced the veteran U Ohn Gyaw in a mini-reshuffle last November
by the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

But that may not mean much unless he can prove something on this trip, said
Debbie Stothard from Alternative Asean Burma, a non-governmental organisation
strongly promoting democracy in Burma.

"We are interested in what song he will sing for us when he's here because for
too many years the people in Thailand, the people in Asean and even the people
in the Burmese movement have been hearing the same old song from many
different
singers," she said.

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

BANGKOK POST: WIN AUNG BLASTS EU OVER MEETING
20 February, 1999 

BURMA 'WILL ATTEND AS SOVEREIGN COUNTRY'

Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung last night said his Asean colleagues would
find "difficulties" in attending a meeting with European Union counterparts in
Berlin if Burma were excluded.

Speaking after a half-hour discussion with Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, Mr
Win
Aung emphasised Burma's right to attend the bloc-to-bloc meeting between Asean
and EU foreign ministers.

Burma also would attend as "a sovereign country" and on "equal terms" with
others, he added. Blasting the EU for imposing conditions on Burma's
participation, he asked if EU members would comply "if we put conditions to
the
EU".

The talks took place two hours after Mr Win Aung arrived from Singapore on the
last leg of a tour of four Asean member states which earlier took him to
Brunei
and Indonesia. Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam are also in the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations which admitted Burma in July 1997
despite fierce opposition from Europe and the United States.

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan, who also took part in the talks, today takes
the Burmese minister to Ranong on a trip that will highlight the need for
Thailand and Burma to settle maritime boundary disputes and fishing
problems in
the Andaman Sea. Mr Surih hoped that neighbouring relations would improve now
that Burma is in Asean.

Mr Surin leaves tomorrow for Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany in a bid to
mend ties between Asean and the EU.

He expressed hope that the Asean-EU Joint Cooperation Committee, which has
postponed scheduled meetings in Bangkok twice, would be able to convene before
the ministers meet.

Mr Surin is scheduled to meet Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Lena Hjelm Wallen
and Deputy Foreign Minister Pierre Schori on Monday. Meetings with his Dutch
and German counterparts - Jozias van Aarsten, and Joschka Fischer - are
scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Germany is the current president of the 15-member EU while Bangkok is
coordinator for Asean.

Singapore, the current Asean chairman, yesterday emphasised that it would
support efforts to find a way out of the current impasse and get ASEAN-EU
relations back on track "without compromising ASEAN's principles".

The EU has banned travel to its member countries by Burmese government
officials and their families because of the government's repression of
political opposition.

In an interview with Reuters in Singapore, Mr Win Aung accused the EU of
reneging on a deal that would have allowed Myanmar to attend the Asean-EU
meeting.

He said he had agreed to an EU proposal to talk about human rights and other
thorny issues on the sidelines of the Berlin meeting if he were allowed to
participate.

"But nearer the day we have found many, many conditions coming out of the EU.
First they said if you are willing to meet, there will not be a problem, then
they change their mind," he said.

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SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: EU SANCTIONS TO STAY AS ACTIVIST IS JAILED
17 February, 1999 by Craig Skehan

A Burmese democracy activist has been sentenced to 5 1/2 years in jail with
hard labour, increasing pressure on the European Union to maintain sanctions
against the country's repressive regime.

The sentencing of 51-year-old U Yaw Hsi, on what critics maintain was a
blatantly trumped-up drugs charge, is the latest in a spate of long prison
terms imposed on members of the country's National League for Democracy (NLD),
and comes at a particularly sensitive time.

[....]

U Yaw Hsi, elected to an aborted 1990 national parliament, was arrested at his
home in October. Police seized a cloth, soaked in opium oil, which is used
as a
traditional treatment for dysentery and other stomach disorders.

Such small pieces of cloth are commonly kept by people in the area for medical
use and have nothing to do with narcotics abuse, supporters of U Yaw Hsi said
yesterday.

They said his conviction was ironic given that a number of foreign governments
had accused senior figures in the military regime of involvement in
large-scale
heroin trafficking. The All Burma Students' Democratic Front said yesterday
that a myriad of technical violations of the law had been used by the
country's
security forces to incarcerate opponents of the junta.

In one case, an NLD stalwart was arrested for illegally possessing foreign
currency after a raiding party of police found two Singaporean coins among his
children's toys.

While the Burmese Government has, during recent months, released several
well-known dissidents who had already spent years behind bars, hundreds of
others have been arrested and imprisoned.

The junta has said it intends to introduce a new constitution this year in
preparation for national elections to be held next year.

But the NLD said the constitution, based on the presidential model which kept
Indonesia's President Suharto in power for more than three decades, was
designed to entrench Burma's military rule.

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

BANGKOK POST: JUNTA ACCEPTS SURAYUD PLAN FOR EXCHANGE
22 February, 1999 by Wassana Nanuam

Military officers will learn Burmese tongue

Burmese military leaders have agreed with the army chief's idea to pilot an
exchange programme where the officers of the two countries can take up
language
and educational training to foster military ties.

The programme, targetting lieutenant-colonels and colonels, could start
immediately, an army source said, adding that the idea was raised by Gen
Surayud Chulanont during his three-day official visit to Burma which concluded
last Friday.

The source said the army chief wanted soldiers to be able to speak each
other's
language to ease communication barriers and forge better relations.

Gen Surayud foresees that in 10-15 years these exchange officials will reach
the upper echelons of their forces. With close personal relations and no
language difficulty, they will find it easier to establish dialogue and
coordination.

The source added the army chief hailed his first official visit to Rangoon
as a
success. The delegation of five persons also included Gen Surayudh's wife, Col
Jitaravadee and Maj-Gen Ronnajak Sawadkiat, the intelligence directorate
director, and toured Shan State and Mandalay, the ancient Burmese capital.

The army commander-in-chief paid a courtesy call on Burmese Prime Minister Gen
Than Shwe, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, the State Peace and Development Council
secretary
one, and met his counterpart Gen Maung Aye.

There were no in-depth discussions on the problems regarding the
overlapping of
maritime territory off the coast of Ranong, where armed Burmese boats
reportedly fired on Thai trawlers on several occasions.

The Burmese leaders downplayed the issue and suggested the conflict could be
mitigated by a joint regional-level border committee which is due to meet next
month in Phuket, the source said.

Gen Surayud declined to press for further talks on the dispute, as it was the
army's policy to let the Foreign Ministry handle the conflict and intervene
only at the latter's request.

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

REUTERS: U.S., OTHERS NEGLECTING DRUGS WAR DUTIES -MYANMAR
19 February, 1999 

SINGAPORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung accused the
United States and many European nations on Friday of neglecting their role in
battling drugs by boycotting an Interpol anti-narcotics meeting to be held in
Yangon.

``By not coming and participating in (the meeting) they are neglecting their
responsibilities...to humankind,'' Win Aung told Reuters in an interview.

``We are doing this not for the public relations, we are doing it with the
collaboration of Interpol to fight against the menace of the drug trade,'' he
said.

The United States said last week it would not attend the meeting because it
believed Myanmar's military government might use the event to give a false
impression of its drug suppression efforts.

Britain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have joined the United
States in boycotting the conference, scheduled for February 23-26.

Australia, Austria, Brunei, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore,
South Africa, Switzerland and Thailand, among others, have said they will
attend the meeting.

Many diplomats have been shocked by Interpol's choice of venue for the
conference as Myanmar is one of the world's leading producers of heroin.

Washington said Yangon's counter-narcotics efforts were improving but remained
``far from what is necessary.''

Overseas officials working to stem a flood of drugs from Myanmar's refineries
have expressed doubts about the government's commitment to wiping out the
narcotics industry in the country.

Win Aung, in Singapore on a four-nation tour of Southeast Asia, said Myanmar
was serious about eradicating drugs and would destroy all poppy plantations by
2014.

``We are seriously doing this, we have the political will to do that, we have
strong determination to do that. We are achieving this gradually,'' he said.

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THE ASIAN AGE: BURMA REBELS AT HOME WITH GEORGE
19 February, 1999

Dissident Burmese students, who describe defence minister George Fernandes
as a
father figure, have almost complete run of his official residence.

The Delhi headquarters of the All Burma Students League is located in the
outhouse of Mr Fernandes' official bungalow at 3, Krishna Menon Marg, near the
South Block, and four members of the organisation have been living in a
room in
the outhouse for the last few years.

Persons wishing to make telephonic contact with ABSL members are even
connected
to them when they call up the defence minister's residential number. The
contact address given in the official stationery of the ABSL, as well as
visiting cards of its members, is that of the defence minister.

Mr Myint Aye, joint general secretary of the ABSL, said: "Mr Fernandes is like
our father. He is always there with us in spirit, even though he could do much
more to support Burmese pro-democracy activists when he wasn't a minister."

Burmese dissident groups first established an office in Mr Fernandes residence
in 1992, and this was later converted into the headquarters of the ABSL when
that organisation was formed in 1994. The ABSL has some 30 members in New
Delhi, and a total of about 100 members spread out all over India.

The BJP-led Union government, which has never opposed the activities of
Burmese
pro-democracy activists based in India, came in for some embarrassment when
Burma's militunta recently lodged an official protest against Mr Fernandes'
alleged support to the dissidents. In a meeting of senior home ministry
officials of the two countries held in Burma last month, Burmese officials
complained about financial assistance allegedly provided by Mr. Fernandes to
members of Burmese student groups who were "absconding" from the country.

That Rangoon attached a great deal of importance to the issue was obvious from
the fact that it was listed as the first item on the agenda drawn up for the
meeting by the Burmese authorities. Such meetings between home ministry
officials of the two countries are usually a forum for discussing matters like
insurgent activities, trans-border crimes, drug trafficking and smuggling.

"The Indian officials were taken aback when the matter was raised by the
Burmese," government sources said. Mr Aye, however, denied the allegations
about financial assistance provided by Mr Fernandes. "These allegations are
totally wrong. He has only given us political support, and we survive on
subsistence allowances provided by the UNHCR, collections taken up by our
supporters within Burma and donations from friendly Indian organisations," he
said. Mr Aye also said the BJP-led Union government's stand on the
pro-democracy movement in Burma did not appear to be very clear. "We don't
know
about their higher policy, as the Indian government appears to be supporting
the pro-democracy movement and trying to build gook relations with the
military
junta at the same time, as it is concerned about the economic and military
activities of the Chinese within Burma," he said.

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BANGKOK POST: TENSION RISES AFTER BURMESE TROOPS AND REBELS CLASH
20 February, 1999 by Supamart Kasem 

TAK

Tension has mounted and security has been stepped up along the Thai-Burmese
border in Tak since yesterday in the wake of fighting between the
anti-Rangoon
Karen National Union guerrillas and Burmese troops opposite Tha Song Yang
District.

An army source said the Third Army yesterday sent two battalions of rapid
movement forces, more tanks and artillery guns to Tak's border areas opposite
the KNU's 7th Division in Ta Doh Tu Ta, Burma, which has been surrounded by
some 700 Burmese soldiers and breakaway 300 pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army troops since Tuesday.

The Thai soldiers are ready to fight to protect the sovereignty of the country
in case of encroachments by foreign troops, the source added.

According to the source, the KNU guerrillas led by Lt-Gen Htay Maung have
launched artillery attacks on the Burmese soldiers of the 44th Infantry
Division and the DKBA troops since Thursday but the Burmese troops armed with
10 mm artillery guns and 120: n mortars have not fought back yet;

Some 6,000 Burmese troops from more than 20 battalions under the Southeastern
Force, 22nd and 44th Infantry divisions have been posted along the border
opposite Tak since late last year for a operation to suppress the KNU.

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