The BurmaNet News: August 6, 1999

[strider@xxxxxxx]

------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: August 6, 1999
Issue #1331

Noted in Passing: "Frankly, no one has ever been arrested for contacting
local political parties and even those foreigners who come into Burma to
create civil unrest are just being deported." - Lt. Col. Hla Min (see THE
NATION: BURMA DENIES ARREST OF FRENCH TOURIST) 

HEADLINES:
==========
THE NATION: EXILES SEEK REVOLUTION IN RANGOON 
MYANMAR ALIN: WHOEVER JUMPS, IT WON'T SEND UP DUST 
THE NATION: BURMA DENIES ARREST OF FRENCH TOURIST 
JANE'S INTELLIGENCE: BURMA CASTS WARY EYE ON CHINA 
AAP: CAUTIOUS RESPONSE TO SIDOTI'S HR PROPOSALS 
ANU REPORTER: AUSTRALIAN STANCE ON BURMA REGIME 
*****************************************************

THE NATION: EXILES SEEK REVOLUTION IN RANGOON 
6 August, 1999 

Pro-democracy activists urge overthrow of military leaders

AFP

BANGKOK - Exiled pro-democracy activists yesterday called for a mass
uprising against the Burma junta and revealed detailed plans to incite
unrest on September 9, a day of numerical significance.

Dissidents and exiled politicians said expectations were high that civil
unrest would break out around Burma on that date, with monks and students
planning acts of disobedience this week to encourage a "revolution."

Sunday is the 11th anniversary of the August 8, 1988 uprising in which
hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators were gunned down and a junta took
over the government of former military dictator Ne Win.

Opposition groups said the Burma people felt they had an "appointment" with
9-9-99 -- nine is a powerful figure in Burmese numerology -- to repeat the
events of 1988 and end the military's 37-year domination of politics.

"No one can predict the future but there is an atmosphere of possibility
all over Burma, that this period will be the beginning of a wave of force
that will topple the regime," All Burma Students Federation Union spokesman
Min Zin said.

"The expectations of people in the street in Burma are high everywhere."

Exiled student activists in Bangkok said underground pro-democracy networks
inside Burma were planning to instigate a general strike on the uprising
anniversary to encourage unrest on September 9.

All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) spokesman Aung Thu Nyein said
activists were also asking people to wear yellow and light candles in
support of democracy.

"We are calling for a strike.  We are calling for a people's campaign on
that day to honour those who sacrificed themselves in 1988," he said.

"The revolution started then has not finished and the Burmese people will
accomplish their goal this time," he told reporters at a press briefing.

"The atmosphere in Burma is very conducive to another general uprising."

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma spokesman Teddy Buri
said Burma was in worse shape now than in 1988.

He said drug addiction was "rampant," the economy a shambles, hospitals had
run out of medicine and 300,000 youths were waiting to attend universities
which had been closed since 1996.


Meanwhile, the opposition party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
which won 1990 elections only to be denied power by the generals, was
stronger than ever, he said.

"The junta is feeling very jumpy and has begun taking precautions (against
social unrest in the next two months)," he said.

The opposition spokesmen said civilian militias were being equipped and
trained to counter demonstrators, while provincial officials were being
warned to look out for any signs of pro-democracy activity.

Open dissent is met with lengthy prison terms in Burma and pictures of Aung
San Suu Kyi are banned.  Hundreds of political prisoners are believed to be
held in Burma's jails, although the regime denies this.

The junta, known as the State Peace and Development council, brands Aung
San Suu Kyi a traitor working for foreign governments and blames
"terrorists" for most efforts to bring about democratic change.

It regularly calls the ABSDF an "armed terrorist group."

"These quarters are obviously trying to highlight and attract attention by
method of fabrication, exaggeration and speculation," a junta spokesman
said yesterday.

"We do not anticipate any unusual happenings on the so-called 9-9-99," he
added, calling the opposition groups "numerically obsessed."

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

MYANMAR ALIN: WHOEVER JUMPS, IT WON'T SEND UP DUST
12 July, 1999 by Su Naing Thu 

[Translated from Burmese; excerpted. Myanmar Alin is an SPDC-run newspaper
in Burma.]

I, Su Naing Thu [Conqueror of Su or Aung San Suu Kyi], was told that
whenever I write, some people would yell out in pain as if a stick hit
their sore point. I just cannot help it. If truth hurts, they should
reconsider the things that they have been doing. That is all I can say. 

Now also, people tell me about radio stations, about how a certain station,
which tried to incite unrest in the country in 1988, has at times been
interviewing political fugitives. So many things were reported to me and
the people who talked to me believe that they could do nothing about it. I
told them, yes, the leaders of the State as well as the people have been
hearing about it and know about it as well. 

Let me tell you about a speech made to the public and the departments by
Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development
Council, at a meeting with responsible officials of the Yangon City
Development Committee on 30 June 1999. He said: 

"After Myanmar regained its independence, national unity disintegrated
because of the work of imperial colonialists. Successive Myanmar
governments were unable to fully establish the fundamentals needed for
national development because while constructive work was being carried out
acts of destruction were simultaneously being perpetrated to negate the
achievements. It is like the saying, whatever the doe breeds they get eaten
by the tiger. The situation left the nation lagging behind neighboring
countries in development. 

"It is common knowledge that during the 1988 unrest, the nation was on the
verge of losing its sovereignty due to anarchic activities and incitement
by left-wing and right-wing destructive elements at home and abroad. The
Defense Services saved the nation in time and since then it has been
focusing its efforts on establishing national peace and national
reconsolidation. The result of those endeavors has paved the way for the
efforts to build a peaceful, tranquil, stable society today." 


On hearing this speech, Su Naing Thu understood who practically took
charge of the nation and was responsible for developing it. I hope that the
other people would also see as I did. To put it in more plain terms, it was
the Defense Services who did all that. Is it not so? They have done so much
for the progress of the nation, giving directions and guidance very
closely, even visiting the border areas. It is plain for all to see. 

What do the destructive elements say at their roundtable meetings? They
resolve to oppose everything, say something critical about and spread false
propaganda among the people, no matter how good the state has been doing
things. 

Then there is also that small group of national traitors who for their
livelihood report to their masters abroad. They shed tears and give false
information about things happening in Myanmar and beg for dollars. They are
using politics to earn their living. I do not even dare to think what will
happen if Myanmar accidentally gets into their hands. I shudder with fear
for harboring that thought. 

Like witches, ghosts, and ghouls hearing the recitation of parittas
[religious incantations at times used for exorcism], the destructionists at
home sweat with fear and become restless as they hear that Myanmar is
getting on the same level with the other Asian nations. They then approach
their foreign voodoo masters for mantras that will enable them to continue
to live their evil entities. What a pitiful life they lead. 

Their masters perhaps chanted the mantras "continue to destroy the nation,
create unrest, and terrorize the people by collaborating with political
fugitives abroad." As soon as this is done, false propaganda and incitement
by foreign radio stations directed at Su Naing Thu and the people are heard
all over. The others also informed Su Naing Thu immediately about this. I
have become quite used to such fabrications and do not think much of them.
I would say nothing would come out of them. The reason is because compared
to before Myanmar has progressed greatly and I would like to drag them by
their necks to show them that. But, of course, how can they see if they are
completely blind or are blinded because of possession by alien influence. 

During the meeting with officials of the Yangon City Development Committee
on 30 June 1999, Secretary-1 Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt said, "Today the state has
become stable and peaceful and as successes are being achieved in the
national reconsolidation efforts, development work can be done with great
momentum in the remote border regions and this has improved the standard of
living in the areas. People are witnessing this and practically enjoying
the fruits of these efforts. 

"While good conditions for progress are being created, destructionists at
home and their masters abroad are concertedly resorting to tricks and
attacks on all fronts to try and slow down development, disrupt stability
and peace, weaken the economy, and lower the prestige of the government in
the eyes of the world." 

Su Naing Thu wants to laugh out loud because they think that their
orchestrated war of words will hamper the progress in Myanmar, create
problems for the people, and disrupt the unity between the nationalities.
The lay people of all nationalities, including the ethnic brethren and
monks, already know who are destroying the nation. 


Su Naing Thu would like to tell that handful of destructive elements, and
it is just a saying, mind you, that "a jump by a dog's flea will not cause
a dust storm." I even dare to say that there will be no dust storm whoever
the jumper is. 

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

THE NATION: BURMA DENIES ARREST OF FRENCH TOURIST 
6 August, 1999 

Agencies

BANGKOK -- Burma's military junta confirmed yesterday that authorities were
searching for a Frenchman who went missing in Mandalay a month ago but
denied reports that the tourist had been arrested.

The All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), a Bangkok-based
organisation of exiled Burmese students, yesterday claimed in a statement
circulated in Bangkok that Frenchman Haeo Noiricxel went missing in
Mandalay on July 1 and "may hove been arrested by the Burmese junta's
military intelligence for discussing the Burmese democratic struggle with
local people."

Government spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Hla Min said Burmese authorities
had recently conducted a search in Mandalay for the missing Frenchman and
had now expanded the manhunt nationwide.

"Unfortunately, we are not quite successful yet," said Hla Min in a faxed
message to Bangkok.

Responding to ABSDF's claim [sic] that the Frenchman had been arrested, Hla
Min said, "Frankly, no one has ever been arrested for contacting local
political parties and even those foreigners who come into Burma to create
civil unrest are just being deported."

Burma authorities blacklisted 32 foreigners last month and barred them from
entering the country in anticipation of opposition protest actions next
month, ABSDF also said yesterday.

Burma's intelligence authorities prevented the entry of people of at least
10 different countries, most of them Thais, Americans, and Filipinos,
according to ABSDF.

The blacklisted foreigners have been involved in political campaigns in
support of the opposition in Burma, it said.

Among them were 18 individuals who launched a campaign for democracy and
human rights during the 10th anniversary of an uprising in August last year.

Those 18 foreigners were arrested in Rangoon one year ago for distributing
a "goodwill message" to the Burmese people on small cards, expressing their
solidarity with Burma's stifled pro-democracy movement.

They were initially sentenced to five years imprisonment with labour, but
their sentence was immediately reduced to deportation.

August is a politically sensitive month in Burma because it includes the
anniversary of the August 8, 1988 (8-8-88) mass protests in Rangoon marking
the apex of anti-military demonstrations that shook the capital 11 years ago.

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

JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW: BURMA CASTS WARY EYE ON CHINA 
1 June, 1999 by Anthony Davis

Burma's decade-long alignment with the People's Republic of China gave
Burma access to weaponry and investment capital and gave China a way to
increase its influence in the area. However, this cosy arrangement appears
to have come to an end, as Anthony Davis reports.


For much of the current decade, the entente between China and Burma
(Myanmar) has stood out as one of the most significant developments in the
geopolitics of Southeast Asia. Many countries in the Asian region, not
least India, watched in alarm as the junta in Rangoon abandoned Burma's
traditional neutrality and appeared to embraced a strategic alliance with
China. It has allowed Chinese influence - military, commercial and
political - to extend throughout Burma, into the Bay of Bengal and towards
the approaches to the Straits of Malacca. Indeed, some strategic analysts
have come to view Burma as a virtual Chinese satellite. Far less commented
on, however, has been the recent cooling in the relationship. Wariness in
Rangoon has begun to push the ruling military into attempting to step back
from the embrace of its giant northern neighbour and broaden its strategic
options. 

After decades of suspicion, during which Beijing threw its weight behind
the armed insurrection of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) against
Rangoon, three events in the late 1980s propelled the two states into the
strategic partnership of the 1990s. 

First came the ruthless suppression by the Burmese military of the
democracy movement of 1988 and the establishment of the widely reviled
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) in September of that year.
This was followed in 1989 by the crackdown by the Chinese authorities on
their own democracy movement in Tiananmen Square. The final disintegration
of the Maoist CPB, the last obstacle in the path of improved political and
commercial ties, came at almost exactly the same time. Thus, Rangoon's
SLORC increasingly started to look to the Beijing regime - similarly
authoritarian and embattled by Western criticism and sanctions - for
sustenance. 

Internationally, the military aspect of the relationship attracted the most
attention. During 1988-98, Chinese military sales to Rangoon, estimated at
between US$1-2 billion, provided the sinews for Burma's armed forces to
grow from 180,000 to 450,000 men. The sales involved fighter aircraft, main
battle tanks, infantry combat vehicles, artillery, naval vessels and other
items. China was also involved in training Burmese military officers. By
1992 Chinese technicians were building radar installations and upgrading
facilities at various Burmese naval bases (see JIR, March 1998). 

There was also significant Chinese investment in Burma's domestic transport
infrastructure. Chinese-funded and -assisted projects included bridges,
dams, roads and ports. There were sales of riverine and coastal vessels, as
well as ocean-going container ships. In 1996, fisheries agreements were
signed that gave up to 300 Chinese trawlers access to Burmese waters and
led to the opening of a joint-venture cold storage facility. 

Following a border trade agreement in 1988, border trade duly began to
boom, turning towns such as Ruili and Mandalay into major commercial [sites]. 

The demographic worry 

Beginning in 1997, however, concern grew in the upper echelons of the SLORC
over the dangers of excessive dependency on China. There has been
apprehension over the extent to which the regime is seen as actively
facilitating China's increasing presence in Burma, particularly in the
north of the country. 


The demographic factor remains ill-quantified and little appreciated
beyond Burma, but promises to become an increasingly troublesome facet of
the broader Sino-Burmese relationship. Since the liberalisation and growth
of cross-border trade, there has been a large influx of Chinese businessmen
and migrant workers into northern cities, in particular Mandalay. Much of
the prime commercial property in the centre of the city as well as new
residential developments on the outskirts are now owned by Chinese
entrepreneurs. In fact, 30-40% of Mandalay's population of around 1.2
million is estimated to be ethnic Chinese. 

This growing Chinese presence is not only an urban phenomenon. Following
two years of severe flooding in southern China, large numbers of Chinese
farmers have moved into northern Burma. Accurate statistics do not exist,
but informed sources in Rangoon are in no doubt that the recent influx has
involved hundreds of thousands of migrants. Some estimates run to over one
million in the past two to three years. This virtually unreported
population influx is, as one analyst puts it, "changing the whole
demographic balance in northern Burma". Despite its concern, Rangoon can do
little, as it occurs within and into border zones that it only barely
controls. 

Kokang District - run by former CPB insurgents (ethnic Chinese) - and areas
of northern Shan State - controlled by the heavily armed United Wa State
Army (UWSA) - are the most affected. Deeply embroiled in the narcotics
trade, both groups are currently in cease-fire arrangements with Rangoon:
precarious pacts on which the stability of the Rangoon regime depends.
Typically, Chinese migrants bribe their way across the border into these
'Special Areas' where they can buy Burmese identity cards from the families
of deceased Burmese citizens. These can later be used to purchase property
in urban areas. In other cases, whole new villages are springing up inside
Burma as Chinese migrants take over cleared hill country and begin growing
rice. 

Burma acts 

The first and most striking indication of a new mood in Rangoon came in
late 1997, shortly after the SLORC was replaced by the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC). Within days, the new ruling body moved to
institute a new regime for border trade. Against the backdrop of a collapse
in the Burmese kyat currency, the policy was prompted by a widening trade
deficit, the uncontrolled hemorrhaging of natural resources (notably
timber, jade and precious stones) and a perceived need to protect local
consumer goods industries from being swamped by cheap Chinese imports. With
a view to increasing and regulating the inflow of hard currency,
cross-border trade was henceforth to be financed through letters of credit
in US dollars, although the rudimentary banking infrastructure in the
border areas made such a scheme all but unworkable from the outset. 

Of all of Burma's neighbours, China was hardest hit. Amid considerable
confusion, Burma imposed bans on the export of certain goods in November
1997. The estimated 250-300 trucks that passed through the Burmese border
town of Muse daily enroute to Lashio and Mandalay shrank to between 10-50.
As a result the Chinese town of Ruili, which owed its prosperity entirely
to the border trade, found itself facing economic collapse. Anger on the
Chinese side was palpable and heavy pressure was exerted on Rangoon to
regularise trade policy. 


In early 1998 an official list of restricted items for both export and
import was announced. Despite continuing one-off deals in these products,
the overall impact of the new policy has been a marked drop in the volume
of trade. From an official estimate of $659 million in 1996 and $749
million in 1997, trade with China plummeted to around $400 million in 1998.
Indeed, in the past year, friction over trade policy has entirely
overshadowed the earlier irritant in Sino-Burmese ties: the flow of illicit
narcotics from Burma into China. 

Significantly, Rangoon has now also backed away from an earlier much-touted
scheme to open a trade route from Yunnan in China through Burma along the
Irrawady River to the Bay of Bengal. The project envisages building a
container port at the northern Burmese town of Bhamo close to the Chinese
border. Chinese goods could then be shipped down the Irrawady on barges to
the riverine town of Minhla and thence trucked to the Arakan coast and a
projected deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu. Such a link-up would avoid the port
of Rangoon, which has been long plagued by silt and a shallow draft. It
would also give southwest China as a whole a potentially vital outlet into
the Indian Ocean region. As Indian strategic analysts have also noted, it
would also afford China a strategic foothold on the Bay of Bengal.
Rangoon's initial enthusiasm appears to have cooled and negotiations have
been halted since early last year. The development of the Kyaukphyu
deep-sea port identified by the government in 1994 as a key national
infrastructure project has also apparently been shelved. 

After the massive spending spree of the early 1990s, military acquisitions
from China have also declined sharply. In the past year, Rangoon has
purchased some main battle tanks and ordered seven China-Pakistan
co-developed Karakorum K-8 jet- trainers. Significantly, however, the junta
has turned down an offer of a credit for military purchases worth $100
million. The decision appears to have been the result of both a
determination to diversify and reduce dependency on China as well as
dissatisfaction with some Chinese systems already in Burma's inventory. 

Equally symptomatic of the new prickliness in the Sino-Burmese relationship
is a sharp drop in high-level visits. Last year both SPDC Secretary No 1
Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt and army chief General Maung Aye apparently
declined invitations to visit Beijing. When Lt Gen Khin Nyunt finally does
travel to Beijing this month (June) he will be the first ranking junta
member to visit the Chinese capital since Maung Aye's visit in October 1996. 

The wariness is not just unilateral. Chinese investments have fared badly
in Burma's economy, which continues to founder amid rising prices for
essentials and an inflation rate now estimated at 70-80% in urban areas.
The Bank of China has reportedly ceased lending to Chinese companies
interested in investing in Burma. 

Burma's new alignment 

Although relations with China have cooled, ties with other neighbours have
broadened. Since July 1997 Burma has been a member of the Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Much to the delight of New Delhi,
relations with India are also improving after a long freeze. New Delhi has
been keen to both minimise China's influence in Burma and at the same time
foster co-operation with Rangoon as a key component in dealing with its own
northeastern insurgents, who frequently take shelter on Burmese soil. Since
1996 India's army-led Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been upgrading a
110-mile road inside Burma between Tamu and Kaleymyo in Sagaing Division.
In February this year Indian Foreign Secretary K Raghunath visited Rangoon
in the first such visit for five years. 


Yet it remains unclear whether Rangoon's efforts to impart greater balance
in its foreign policy will be sustained over the long term; or whether, on
the other hand, continuing economic growth in southwest China and the sheer
extent of Chinese penetration of Burma to date will serve to reinforce
Beijing's predominant influence. What is very clear, however, is that the
honeymoon of the early 1990s is over: from here on in, the relationship
promises to be far more complex with far greater grounds for friction. 

Anthony Davis is a freelance Asia specialist based in Bangkok.

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

AAP: CAUTIOUS RESPONSE TO SIDOTI'S HUMAN RIGHTS PROPOSALS 
5 August, 1999 by Ron Corben 

BANGKOK, Aug 5 AAP - Diplomats and Burma human rights groups have given
cautious approval to Australian proposals to improve Burma's human rights
but warn the plans may be used as propaganda by the military regime. 

The proposals, which include steps towards setting up an independent human
rights commission, police training and a joint Burma-Australia health
project, were announced by Australian human rights commissioner, Chris
Sidoti. 

Mr Sidoti set down the proposals in Sydney after a four-day visit to Burma
where he met with senior officials as well as opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi's deputy, Tin Hlaing. 

London-based Burma Campaign director, Yvette Mahon, said the main risk was
the possibility of the Burmese junta "setting up the commission to stop the
critics as another propaganda tool," 

"(But) if its an independent commission and has the sanction of the NLD
(National League for Democracy) we wouldn't object," Ms Mahon told AAP by
telephone. 

She said she doubted that the commission would have independence. 

"I would be extremely surprised if any commission would be independent and
have a free rein," she said. 

Ms Mahon said she would prefer that instead of the police being trained,
the junta's leading generals should get the training. 

"My concern is that it might be pure propaganda on the part of the regime.
I'd be very cynical about it. We would have to see what the NLD (opposition
National League for Democracy) says before we welcomed it," she said. 

A Bangkok-based Burmese refugee aid worker, who asked not to be identified,
said that given the scale of human rights abuses in Burma, "it seems
impossible" for the proposals to succeed. 

A recent visit by a delegation from the European Union to Burma had also
discussed the country's human rights situation. 

"It is a good thing, at least there is some discussion. But you should not
read too much into (the proposal) or be too dismissive," the aid worker
said. "It just seems impossible (the junta) could be sincere about it." 

"The junta's backs are against the wall. I think people should keep trying,
so you shouldn't be too dismissive," he said. 

A Bangkok-based diplomat, with responsibilities covering Burma, said there
needed to be close monitoring of the program.

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

ANU REPORTER: AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT STANCE ON BURMA REGIME 
4 August, 1999 by Tania Cutting 

[The ANU Reporter is Australian National University's official newspaper.]

The federal government was attempting to gloss over the involvement of the
Burmese leadership in the country's drug trade by using fine semantic
distinctions, according to ANU defence strategist, Professor Desmond Ball. 

In a paper entitled "Burma and Drugs: The Regime's Complicity in the Global
Drug Trade" just released, Prof Ball from the Strategic and Defence Studies
Centre refutes the federal government's claim that the military regime in
Burma was not deliberately fostering drug trafficking. 

In contrast Prof Ball describes Burma's military dictatorship as Asia's
most brutal and corrupt. "A major dimension of the corruption is the
involvement of the regime - from the most senior members of the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC), which rules the country down to the
infantry soldiers stationed in border areas - in drug trafficking." 

"The Australian Government's position is: 'Oh yeah, Burma accounts for 60
per cent of the world's drugs' and 'Oh yeah, members of the government are
involved in the drug trade and yes there's no doubt that the regime
benefits immensely from drug sales, but on the other hand that doesn't mean
that the government as a whole is complicit in this'," Prof Ball said. 

"They're using very fine semantic distinctions because they don't want to
disrupt the diplomatic relations with the regime so they can't say the
regime is made up of a whole lot of drug runners and criminals which is
basically what they are. They can't deny the regime's involvement in drugs
but they are trying to give it a clean sheet." 

Prof Ball asserts that Burma, already one of the world's biggest drug
suppliers, will also soon have one of the largest armed forces in southeast
Asia. 

"The Burmese are up at the moment to around the 400,000 mark, which is a
massive armed force. The question is how do we deal with a country from a
defence or strategic point of view, that has one of the largest armed
forces in this part of the world yet at the same time a country that
violates any principal of international law and civil society whenever it
wishes." 

Issues such as these will also be the topics of discussion at Australia's
first ever Burma Update organised by PhD students Emily Rudland and Morten
Pedersen from the Department of Political and Social Change at the Research
School of Pacific and Asian Studies. 

The Update, from 5/6 August, is a result of growing interest at the ANU and
around Australia in Burma studies, and an attempt to bring together almost
all of the world's leading authorities on Burma for a substantive
examination of the contemporary issues facing the country. It is also the
first step towards establishing a Burma Studies Centre at the ANU. 

Ms Rudland, who had anticipated a much more low-key conference than now
appears to be the case, believes the difficulties associated with doing
research on Burma is one of the main reasons why the Update has attracted
so much attention. 

"It looks like we'll easily reach our aim of 100 people," Ms Rudland said.
"It is a pretty impressive list of speakers and we didn't expect anything
this big when the update was proposed - it's taken off. I think there's a
lot of interest mainly because people doing Burma studies don't get too
many opportunities to discuss Burma in a forum like this." 


The speakers include Bertil Lintner who is widely regarded as the world's
leading political commentator on current political developments in Burma,
David Steinberg, arguably the foremost academic in Burmese studies and
Andrew Selth, an authority on Burma's armed forces.

[The ANU web site can be found at http://www.anu.edu.au/external.html]

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