Burma News Update No. 82

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The Burma Project
Open Society Institute

Burma News Update No. 82
21 April 1999


UN Deal Dying?

A United Nations proposal reportedly tying $1 billion in aid to political
liberalization in Burma has apparently faltered for lack of interest on the
part of Burma's ruling generals. A scheduled March visit to Rangoon by U.N.
special envoy Alvaro de Soto was canceled after pre-negotiations produced no
progress. Asian officials who have recently met with senior officials of the
military regime say they "express no sense of urgency" regarding a change in
policy.

"Asiaweek," 16 April 



Suu Kyi Asks UN Action

Repression of Burma's democratic opposition has "worsened greatly" over the
past year, opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi warned in a video address
to
the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva, and urged the international
community to add action to its usual words of sympathy. Daw Suu Kyi said
Burma
is suffering a slowly intensifying oppression that includes the detention of
at least 150 elected members of parliament.

Bangkok, "Agence France-Presse," 08 April 



Censorship Tightened

The international freedom of expression group Article 19 has issued a new
report condemning continuing abuse of civil rights and freedom of expression
by Burma's military regime. The report, "Acts of Oppression," details the
ruling junta's so-called legal framework for pervasive repression that
includes censorship of books, magazines, song lyrics and severe restrictions
on computer use. The report says hundreds of journalists, writers, poets,
playwrights and cartoonists, as well as pro-democracy activists have been
arrested, detained or sentenced to long prison terms, tortured, ill-treated
or
otherwise harassed. Tens of thousands of ordinary people have been punished
simply for peacefully expressing their views

"International Freedom of Expression Exchange," 15 April



Junta Dismisses Aids Fears

Burma's junta has dismissed UN fears of a growing and highly dangerous AIDS
epidemic and rejected reports that AIDS is spreading from Burma to
neighboring
countries. UN figures estimate there are over 440,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers in
Burma, about 20 times the army regime's estimate, which claims the number is
minimal because "Burma does not have a sex industry and the number of drug
users compared to other countries is very much less." Peter Picot, executive
director of the United Nations' Aids program, said recently that the Burmese
regime could not address the extremely serious AIDS problem in Burma because
it refuses to even recognize the epidemic's existence.

Rangoon, "Agence France Presse," 11 April 



Foreign Investment Plummets

New foreign investment in Burma dropped over 80 percent in 1998 to $247
million, according to official statistics released in Rangoon. Officials
blamed the Asian economic crisis for the sharp decline, and announced that
26
companies, most from East and Southeast Asia, had recently pulled out of the
country.

Rangoon, "Xinhua News Agency," 16 April




Fire at Shwedagon

State-owned media in Burma have accused opposition groups of starting a
fire at Rangoon's Shwedagon Pagoda, the country's holiest Buddhist shrine
and
largest tourist attraction. The small fire in a roof area of the massive
structure was quickly extinguished. The regime-controlled media blamed
student
dissidents, ethnic Karen rebels, and "above-ground destructive elements," a
term commonly applied to the National League for Democracy, for the
incident,
which caused little serious damage.

Rangoon, "Reuters," 11 April




Junta's "Straight Language"

Burma's state-controlled media has stepped up its campaign of vilification
aimed at democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, using harsh racist and degrading
language that some analysts see as laying the groundwork for her eventual
expulsion from Burma. Senior junta officers are believed to have ordered the
campaign, which one army officer admitted might seem "very unreasonable" and
"irrational" to outsiders but is actually "straight language" required to
communicate with "unsophisticated peasants." [Official media is also
carrying
daily accounts of allegedly voluntary mass resignations from the National
League for Democracy, which Daw Suu Kyi heads, and mass demonstrations
against
the party. On 16 April alone, the "New light of Myanmar" reported 388 new
resignations from the NLD and claimed "no confidence" rallies against
elected
members of parliament had drawn over 125,000 people. - Ed.]

Rangoon, "The Wall Street Journal," 12 April