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The BurmaNet News: June 11, 1999



------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------

The BurmaNet News: June 11, 1999
Issue #1291

HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION: SSA UNITS LAUNCH FIERCE ATTACK 
THE NATION: KNPP UNDER THAI PRESSURE 
THE DAILY YOMIURI: EMBASSY MUM OVER BEATING 
BKK POST: SALWEEN FOREST IS THREATENED AGAIN 
XINHUA: MYANMAR TO RECLAIM MORE VACANT LAND  
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AFP: SSA UNITS LAUNCH FIERCE ATTACK ON BURMA TROOPS
10 June, 1999 

SHAN State Army (SSA) troops have launched a fierce attack on Burmese
government units in the town of Hua Muang, once a stronghold of former Burmese
opium warlord Khun Sa who surrendered to the government three years ago in
return for amnesty, Thai army and rebel sources said yesterday.

It was reported that seven Burmese soldiers were killed, and 15 injured.

Commander of Thai Army's 7th Special Task Fore Col Surachet Chaiwong said the
figures could not be independently confirmed. There were no details of rebel
casualties.

SSA has in the past weeks been mobilising its troops at Hua Muang, which is
about 20 kilometres away from a checkpoint in Mae Hong Son province, he said.

A senior official from the SSA told The Nation on condition of anonymity that
the SSA is trying to regain some of the territory lost to Burmese government
troops and cut off the government's supply routes.

A battalion of 1,500 SSA troops was involved in the attack and seized a
significant portion of land from the army, according to another rebel source.

"The SSA will carry on attacking the enemy until they retreat," Shan State
Army
Major Kam Laeng was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.

The engagements prompted Burmese authorities to impose a night-time curfew in
the border districts and close all frontier checkpoints with Thailand, the
sources said.

A group of around 300 refugees fled the fighting and was stranded near the
border, they added.

The SSA has around 6,000 men under arms and joined renegade factions of Khun
Sa's Mong Tai Army which fought a 20-year struggle against Rangoon before
1996.

Since the surrender of Khun Sa, SSA has launched a series of attacks against
drug trafficking groups in Shan State in an effort to convince the

international community that they are drug-free.

It's leader, Col Yawd Serk, said he's willing to work with the Thai Army to
put
a stop to drug trafficking and production along the Thai-Burmese border.

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THE NATION: KNPP UNDER THAI PRESSURE TO END ATTACKS
10 June, 1999 by DON PATHAN

THAI Army units along the northern Thai-Burmese border are putting pressure on
one of the Burmese rebel groups to cease their offensive against Burmese
government soldiers, a rebel source said yesterday.

The Thai military overseeing security along the border of Mae Hong Son
province
and Burma's Karenni state are pressuring the Karenni National Progressive
Party
(KNPP) to stop their attacks against Burmese government troops, said the
source.

The motives behind the Thai Army are not clear as previous attacks against
government troops attracted virtually no reaction from the Thai military who
deemed the conflict to be Burma's internal matter, he said.

It is believed that the Burmese army commanders in the region have sought Thai
Army assistance in the matter he said.

According to the source, KNPP's top two leaders, Bee Htoo and Gen Aung Myat,
are keeping a low profile, believing the Thai Army will try to squeeze out of
them intelligence information about KNPP's military operation in Karenni
state.

The Karennis, also known as the Kayah, have in recent weeks stepped up their
attacks against the government troops as the State Peace and Development
Council, the ruling junta mobilised a number of units to the east of the
Salaween River in the Karenni state, the source said.

The KNPP wanted to hit them first before the government could get too close to
the rebels' strongholds, he said. There were also reports alleging the Burmese
troops were preparing to attack refugee camps in Thailand.

Ceasefire talks between the KNPP and Rangoon have failed in the past two
years.
The KNPP leadership accused the junta of going back on its word by increasing
the number of troops in the Karenni state instead of withdrawing them, as
agreed upon.

The KNPP has been fighting a war of independence since 1948, shortly after
Burma gained independence from Britain, under whom the Karennis had enjoyed
self-rule. The group has in the past year forged alliances with other rebel
groups, namely the Karen National Union, the largest insurgent force fighting
the Rangoon government. 

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THE DAILY YOMIURI: EMBASSY MUM OVER CONCERT BEATING RAP
9 June, 1999 

Three Myanmar nationals living in Japan filed a complaint Tuesday with the
Kanda Police Station against five Myanmar Embassy staff members, including
three who were not identified, on the grounds that they were beaten up when
they appealed for democracy at a concert.

The Myanmar Embassy refused to be questioned over the incident, using its
diplomatic privilege, and police are considering the use of diplomatic
channels
to request Embassy cooperation, police said.

According to the complaint filed by the three Myanmars, including a
pro-democracy activist, immediately after a friendly concert of traditional

cultures between Japan and Myanmar in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, ended on May 23,
the
three yelled that they would triumph in the struggle for democracy.

They were then beaten up by several Myanmar nationals near them, sustaining
head and facial injuries, the complaint said.

The three said that the perpetrators were staff members of the Myanmar
Embassy,
but the Embassy has not responded to The Yomiuri Shimbun's inquiry.

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BANGKOK POST: SALWEEN FOREST IS THREATENED AGAIN
10 June, 1999 

A forestry department directive to grant permission to four Thai timber
companies to hauls "leftover" Burmese logs across the border into Mae Hong Son
has raised fears illegal logging will flourish again in Salween Forest.

About a year after the Salween logging scandal swept through the forestry
department with a vengeance, the lush forest in Mae Hong Son has been spared
the chainsaws of big-time illegal loggers although minor illegal logging
continues unabated. But the reprieve appears to be short-lived now that the
forestry department is set to grant permission to four Thai timber
companies to
haul 120,000 cubic metres of "leftover" Burmese logs across the border into
Mae
Hong Son.

Apparently, the forestry department has been under heavy pressure from
different vested interest groups, including the four timber firms which have
threatened lawsuits, to allow them to haul the "leftover" logs. Bowing to the
pressure, the forestry chief, Mr Plodprasob Suraswadi, reportedly said that
the
four importers must meet his tough conditions to ensure that the logs to be
brought in actually originated in Burma. He also proposed the introduction
of a
bar-code system to identify the origin of the logs.

The four timber firms, namely Thai-Korean Veterans' Welfare Organisation, B&F
Goodrich, SA Pharmaceuticals and Phol Phana, have reportedly accepted the
terms
set by the department. All claimed they had been losing heavily ever since the
border was slammed shut a year ago. Given the poor track record of most timber
companies as far as illegal logging is concerned, the agreement of the four
importers to comply with all the terms set by the forestry department is
anything but a trustworthy promise. Only a pathetic soul will be tempted by
such an empty promise from the loggers whose extreme disregard for the forests
has been clearly manifested by the wanton destruction of forests in Thailand,
Cambodia and Burma. Also, the track record of forestry officials in Mae Hong
Son is anything but reliable. 

Aside from the logging scandal last year that badly dented their reputation,
new allegations have recently emerged from villagers implicating some of the
officials of involvement in renewed illegal logging following the discovery of
freshly-cut teak logs close to the Salween forest. 

Last but not least, the terms of condition appear to be flawed in-a way that
will enable the importers to take advantage at the expense of national
forests.
There is no specific time frame for the cross-border logs hauling. 


A deadline must be given after which the border will be shut and all log
imports from Burma via Mae Hong Son banned. Mr Plodprasop may believe that
tough conditions, including his proposed bar-code system, will be imposed on
the four timber importers and these will work effectively to ensure that the
companies will not play tricks again. But he seems to have forgotten one major
factor which will contribute to the success or failure of his carefully
devised
measures, that is the enforcers. 

For the time being, it is doubtful that the department can deliver enough
personnel who are, and, above all, honest and incorruptible, to do the job.
Granted that most of the forestry officials assigned to carry out the task in
Mae Hong Son are honest and that they have done a great job, there is no
guarantee that illegally-cut logs would not be adulterated with the "leftover"
logs from Burma when they are declared at the various checkpoints. There are
many other officials who have the authority to oversee the log imports. These
include the customs officials, local police, forestry police, the army and
security officials. Their past performance is, after all, on a par with
that of
the foresters.

The forestry chief may be willing to gamble his reputation by allowing the
four
importers to bring in the Burmese logs. But the fate of the Salween forest
should not be put at risk unnecessarily. Unless there is a firm commitment
from
the four timber firms that they will bring in only the leftover logs from
Burma
and unless there are assurances from other governmental agencies that they
will
strictly follow the law to the letter, the decision to lift the import ban
should be reversed.

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XINHUA: MYANMAR TO RECLAIM MORE VACANT LAND
9 June, 1999 

YANGON (June 9) XINHUA - Myanmar is planning to reclaim a total of 291,600
hectares more of vacant, virgin, fallow and wet lands in the country's Mon and
Kayin states following the reclamation made in six states and divisions since
the beginning of this year.

Study is being made on the two states if these lands are suitable for growing
perennial and seasonal crops, according to the Myanmar Ministry of Agriculture
and Irrigation.

A total of 467,370 hectares of such lands have been reclaimed in Myanmar's
Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Magway and Tanintharyi divisions and Shan state to
cultivate crops to boost the country's agricultural production.

The move is also part of Myanmar's efforts to recover from the effects of the
Asian financial crisis.

In the reclamation activities, private entrepreneurs are allowed to export
half
the agricultural products to earn hard currency for importing farm machinery,
fertilizer and pesticide.

The government is also extending 30-year land grants to growers, which are
extendible with land lease free of charge.

Myanmar's paddy production dropped steadily over the past few years, falling
from 19 million tons in fiscal 1995-96 to 17.66 million tons in 1996-97 and
again to 17.3 million tons in 1997-98. In the meantime, rice export dropped
from 354,000 tons to 93,100 tons and then to 28,300 tons correspondingly.


The figures of paddy production and rice export for fiscal 1998-99, which
ended
in March, remain to be published.

Myanmar's agriculture accounts for 36 percent of the gross domestic product
and
35 percent of the export value.
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