The BurmaNet News: August 11, 1999

[strider@xxxxxxx]

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

The BurmaNet News: August 11, 1999
Issue #1334

Noted in Passing: "There are just two areas to write on, either pop music
and fashion or propaganda for the MIS's own state-run media." - Maung Tha
Ya (see THE NATION: MUZZLED MEDIA PURSUE GOALS)

HEADLINES:
==========
DVB: ARRESTS, PRICES RISE IN BURMA OVER 9-9-99
THE NATION: MUZZLED MEDIA PURSUE GOALS 
REUTERS: MYANMAR DENIES IT POSES THREAT TO REGION 
IFEX: RSF NAMES 20 ENEMIES OF THE INTERNET 
ASIAWEEK: THAILAND BATTLES FOR ITS SOUL 
THE STAR (MALAYSIA): DEMO OUTSIDE MYANMAR EMBASSY 
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DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA: ARRESTS, PRICES OF GOODS RISE IN BURMA OVER
9-9-99 RUMORS 
5 August, 1999 

Rumors of the 9-9-99 mass uprising on 9 September 1999 are circulating
widely in Burma. Increasing number of politicians arrested by the State
Peace and Development Council, travel restrictions, religious and social
problems, and widespread dissemination of propaganda leaflets are prompting
the general public to believe that the 9-9-99 uprising will take place. It
was also learned that the people are hoarding commodities, especially rice
and cooking oil. The price of 1 pyi [about 2 kilograms] of rice increased
from 190 kyat at the end of June to 220 kyat at the end of July and the
price of cooking oil increased from 620 kyat to 710 kyat. According to the
Democratic Voice of Burma [DVB] correspondent Ne Myo Aung, the rise in
prices is more perceptible in the major towns such as Rangoon, Mandalay,
Sagaing, Pegu, and Henzada which were most affected by the 8-8-88 uprising. 

It was also learned that the No. 19 military intelligence unit is arresting
those suspected to be involved in the 9-9-99 mass movement in Tenasserim
Division. The intelligence unit is reported to have arrested three National
League for Democracy members, one student leader, and some persons
suspected to have contacts with the foreign-based pro-democracy activists.
The No. 19 military intelligence unit, together with members of the [Union
Solidarity and Development Association] and the Fire Brigade, searched the
homes of NLD members in Shwe Pyithar Ward, Kawthaung Township, on 1 August
for NLD membership cards, pins, pictures of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and NLD
documents. They took away Ko Zaw Latt, an NLD member, and two young
children. The parents are searching for their children who were taken away.
They have no information on where they are being detained and tortured. 

It was also learned that Ko Soe Min Aung, son of U Tin Aye of Kanbaungyoe
Ward, Mergui, is also being detained by the No. 19 military intelligence
unit. Ko Soe Min Aung was arrested last year in connection with the 10th
anniversary of the 8-8-88 movement in Mergui and was released later after
posting a bond. The military intelligence agents are believed to have
detained him again to prevent him from organizing the 9-9-99 movement. 

The military intelligence unit is reported to have detained over 40 persons
in Kawthaung and 20 in Mergui as preemptive measure against the 9-9-99
movement. 

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

THE NATION: MUZZLED MEDIA PURSUE GOALS
9 August, 1999 by Win Htein 

EDITORIAL AND OPINION

What constitutes a free media is hotly debated by dissident Burmese
journalists

During the height of the Kosovo War, US-led Nato aircrafts bombed a Serb
television station in Belgrade, resulting in the deaths of 12 media
workers. Many journalists condemned this as an outrageous act. In Bangkok,
for example, a group of Thai journalists sent a protest letter to the US
Embassy. But their counterparts in the Burmese dissident movement who work
for the opposition radio, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) in Oslo, Norway,
supported Nato's targeting of the Serbian media. 

''We agreed with Nato because they (Serb media workers) are not real
journalists. They are just working as propagandists for the Serb military,
just as journalists in Burma do. Burmese journalists were trained by the
psychological warfare department of the Military Intelligence Service
[MIS],'' complained Aye Chan Naing, the chief editor in DVB. 

But who qualify as real journalists? 

Maung Tha Ya, 69, the best-selling Burmese writer who recently fled to the
Thai-Burma border, recently made this comment on DVB: ''Real journalists
only focus on real facts, not just what is on paper. Realism involves
writing the truth, and not following the propaganda of the authorities.'' 

Maung Tha Ya fled from his Rangoon home to Mae Sot -- a difficult
300-kilometre journey -- despite his age and having a history of heart
attacks. This is because he was ordered not to write any more articles. 

''Last month, the MIS officer on the censorship board gave me the final
warning. The permission for my own Tha-ya magazine had already been
withdrawn since 1989. As a professional writer, how can I live without
writing? If I delayed leaving home, I would have been arrested, like Win
Tin,'' he added. 

Win Tin is a prominent Burmese editor who has been in Insein prison since
1989 for joining Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party. There are seven
journalists in the country's jails, and Burma is one of the world's most
repressive countries where journalists are concerned, according to a report
by Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers. 

''The country's media has collapsed. Everything is controlled by MIS. There
are just two areas to write on, either pop music and fashion or propaganda
for the MIS's own state-run media,'' explained Maung Tha Ya. In recent
months, the MIS has ordered that every journal must print an article from
them. If not, the journal will be denied permission to continue publishing. 

Maung Tha Ya was also not allowed to accept invitations from Japan and
Thailand for journalism seminars. This is because the junta worries that
journalists would talk about the suppression of the media in Rangoon.
Moreover, salaries earned by journalists are extremely low, much like the
level of manual workers. A recent report in a Rangoon-based magazine said:
''They (the publishers) give just 1000 kyat per article while a meal is 200
kyat each. No journalists can live without a spare job''. 

Still, what constitutes a free media is very much hotly debated by
dissident Burmese journalists. One question is, a free media for whom? 

''We did not choose to report on our radio about disunity in opposition
groups. We only reported the military regime's weak points,'' lamented a
border-based reporter for DVB during a media training workshop. Some 15
young journalists were trained by Western professional media teachers at
the workshop, and the free-media debate was a focal point, pitting Western
journalists against their Burmese counterparts. 

Ko Aung Zaw, a Burmese exiled journalist who attended the training, said:
''We must report any news which is of interest to the people. I report all
news, even when I know it will have a bad side effect on pro-democracy
groups.'' Aung Zaw is one of the few Burmese journalists in exile who
decided not to join any political organisation. 

Another Burmese radio journalist from the BBC explained that the Burmese on
both sides do not understand the role of the media. He said: ''The SPDC did
not issue a visa to me because I have interviewed Gen Bo Mya in Manaplaw.
On the other hand, the border groups are suspicious of me because I have
interviewed Gen Khin Nyunt in Rangoon.'' 

There are more than a dozen publications in the border area and they have
to be smuggled into central Burma. It is clearly a risky business. Anyone
arrested with these papers in their possession will receive seven years in
jail. Radio journalists, however, are having a relatively easier time. And
their listeners in Burma are growing. 

A recent report in Dana, a business magazine in Rangoon, said: ''A
Chinese-made pocket-size shortwave radio has become the top-seller in
Rangoon markets, priced at 2,400 kyat.'' 

Apparently, the people's interest in foreign-based Burmese radio stations
is increasing as the ''9.9.99'' date draws closer. 

During the 8888 movement 11 years ago, BBC gave wide coverage to the
uprising. Today, there are two more broadcasting stations which support the
democracy movement -- the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma, which went
on air in 1992, and the Washington-based Radio Free Asia, which began its
broadcast in 1997. 

Meanwhile, Khin Nyunt, the chief of the MIS and a powerful leader in the
ruling junta, lambasted the ''neo-colonialists'' and ''axe-holders'' who
work for foreign-based radio. They are now inciting people to protest on
Sept 9, he said. 

''They are just obeying their Western masterminds who want to destroy this
country like the former Yugoslavia,'' he added. Khin Nyunt has alerted all
officials to watch for any unrests come Sept 9. 

Is this the time for a battle of words on free media? No doubt, there is a
growing media campaign being fought by both sides -- the ruling junta and
the opposition. Will this be the skirmish that may precede the final battle
in Rangoon. 

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

REUTERS: MYANMAR DENIES IT POSES THREAT TO REGION
10 August, 1999 

YANGON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Military-ruled Myanmar has denied that it poses
a threat to Asian security, saying it seeks friendly relations with all
countries. 

In an apparent response to U.S. concerns, the nation's intelligence chief
was quoted by official media on Tuesday as saying suggestions Myanmar was a
regional threat were groundless. 

"Some Western countries that have negative views on Myanmar have made
unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations, saying that certain developments
in Myanmar can pose a threat to the peace and security of the region,"
Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt said. 

"Such allegations are completely groundless," he said at the start of a
course on diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry on Monday. 

Khin Nyunt, considered the most powerful figure in the ruling military
council, was apparently responding to remarks made last month by U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. 

She said Myanmar was a security threat to the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member. 

Impoverished Myanmar has 435,000 personnel under arms. Diplomats say it has
strengthened its armed forces in recent years even as problems with ethnic
insurgencies receded. 

"A review of the past will show Myanmar had always avoided actions that
could be regarded as posing a danger to other nations," Khin Nyunt said. 

"The same will hold good for the future. We would like to state
categorically that Myanmar will never allow its territory to be used for
threatening the nations of the region." 

He said Myanmar aimed to develop friendly relations with all nations,
especially neighbours. He said relations with neighbours had been
strengthened by growing economic cooperation and trade. 

He said trade volume, including border trade, with Thailand, Laos, China,
India and Bangladesh was worth billions of dollars. 

The 1998-1999 edition of The Military Balance, published by the
International Institute for Strategic Studies, puts the total strength of
Myanmar's armed forces at 435,000, including paramilitary units, out of a
population of around 47 million. 

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

INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION EXCHANGE: RSF NAMES 20 ENEMIES OF THE
INTERNET 
10 August, 1999 

RSF NAMES 20 ENEMIES OF THE INTERNET, LISTING MANY COUNTRIES IN ASIA, THE
MIDDLE EAST, CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS 

According to a new report by Reporters sans frontières (RSF), 45 countries
restrict Internet access and 20 of them may be termed "real enemies" of the
medium. RSF calls the following 20 countries "enemies of the Internet
because they control access totally or partially, have censored websites or
taken action against users." They are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia and the Caucasus,
along with nearby Belarus. In Asia, Burma, China, North Korea and Vietnam
are cited. In the Middle East and North Africa, RSF highlights Saudi
Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Tunisia, along with Sierra Leone and
Sudan in the rest of Africa. In Latin America, RSF singles out Cuba. 

"On the pretext of protecting the public from 'subversive ideas' or
defending 'national security and unity,' some governments totally prevent
their citizens from gaining access to the Internet," says RSF. "Others
control a single Internet Service Provider (ISP) or even several,
installing filters blocking access to websites regarded as unsuitable and
sometimes forcing users to officially register with the authorities,"
continues RSF. For example, in Belarus, the state controls access through a
single ISP called Belpak. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, 37 private companies
have permission to operate as ISPs, says RSF, but "all traffic at the
moment goes through the servers of the Science and Technology Centre, a
public body, which is equipped with filters banning access to sites that
provide 'information contrary to Islamic values.'" The Saudi government
views the Internet as "a harmful force for westernising people's minds." 

RSF calls the Internet "a two-edged sword for authoritarian regimes,"
because while it provides free access to international sources of
information and thwarts some authorities' control, it also promotes
economic growth through online transactions and the sharing of information.
RSF points out, "The economic argument seems to be winning the day in
countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, where controlling 'dangerous'
sites is proving difficult for the authorities." Other ways to evade
censorship include the use of encoding, using servers offering anonymity
and by connecting via cellphones. 

Yet in Burma, for example, RSF says "censorship is total, due to a state
monopoly on access." Anyone owning a computer must declare it to the
government or face 15 years in prison, under a September 1996 law.
Likewise, in Iraq, Libya and North Korea, there is no direct access to the
Internet. In Vietnam, RSF notes, "Anyone who wants to access the Internet
has to ask for permission from the interior ministry and sign up with one
of the two state-owned ISPs. Access is blocked to sites maintained by
Vietnamese organisations based abroad and international human rights
organisations."

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

ASIAWEEK: THAILAND'S BATTLE FOR ITS SOUL 
13 August, 1999 by Julian Gearing 

TABLETS OF YABA, AMPHETAMINES, ARE FLOODING IN FROM MYANMAR, HOOKING
MILLIONS AND CORRODING SOCIETY

BAN HUAI SAN 

Laota Saenlee was all smiles when the Thai army's Maj.-Gen. Pathompong
Kesornsook came to Ban Huai San on July 21 for a visit to encourage the
former village chief in his efforts to combat illegal drugs on the
Thailand-Myanmar border. On the face of it, Laota was a good guy in the
authorities' books, part of a program to develop villages and keep people
off drugs, and twice awarded by Chiang Mai province as best village
headman. "Every week I warn our youth of the dangers of drugs," he told the
general. But six days later, a grim-faced Laota was dragged out of his
village in a dawn raid by heavily armed soldiers, accused of being a
financial middleman for Golden Triangle drugs baron Wei Hsueh-kang. No
illegal drugs were found at his house, but hidden recesses held secret
bankbooks. Laota and his nephew, Ahlepa Saenlee, are now in jail under
tight security in the nearby town of Fang as the authorities search for
evidence to nail him for trafficking. 

Here on the frontline in Thailand's war against drugs, the battle is
heating up as the authorities desperately try to hold back a new foe. Where
opium and heroin were once the main enemy, now hundreds of millions of
tablets of yaba - illegal amphetamines - are pouring across the Myanmar
border from factories in territory controlled by Wei's United Wa State Army
(UWSA). The scourge is trapping millions of users, corrupting government
officials and undermining Thai society. And if Laota's case is anything to
go by, the authorities' "hearts-and-minds" anti-drug policy has failed
miserably. Bangkok's patience has snapped. In a massive military operation
over the last month, 1,000 soldiers and anti-narcotics militiamen,
supported by armored cars and helicopter gunships, have attempted to seal
off a 50-km stretch of the porous, 2,400-km border with the Wa-held
territory and engaged in firefights with drug traffickers. But the outcome
is far from certain. 

Laota's arrest shows the difficulties Thailand faces when a "team player"
may very well be playing for the other side. For two decades, the
62-year-old former headman had been feted by officials, winning development
funds that brought his hillside settlement of about 500 souls paved roads,
brick houses, satellite dishes and pick-up trucks. Such was his stature
that Ban Huai San was often called Ban Laota. Days before his arrest,
drinking tea with pipe-smoking Maj.-Gen. Pathompong, he boasted that
Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej had visited his village 15 times
and that Princess Sirindhorn had drunk oolong tea with him, swapping
stories about life in the hills and his efforts to keep his village
drug-free. Slogans outside stressed "Development of the Motherland" and
threatened caning for those caught with drugs. And he waved off any
suggestion that he was involved in the illegal trade. "This talk of yaba, I
don't know, I just see it on TV," he told Asiaweek then. 

But Laota's prosperous life in his tiny village 2 km from the border seemed
to tell a different tale. While the headman explained how his 200 acres of
lychee and tea plantations brought in an acceptable income, Maj.-Gen.
Pathompong's aides could hardly contain their amazement at the size and
luxury of his house: "Have you seen the bathroom, the kitchen, and what
about the BMW parked at the back!" one whispered. And what about his new
European-style mansion close to being finished up on the hill, his
residence in Fang, the houses he owns in Chiang Mai and the $2 million in
the bank? Add to that a small supermarket and a gasoline station under
construction on the nearby main road. Not to mention his 23 wives, the
youngest being 18 years old. "They keep me young," he quipped. A
diamond-studded Rolex wristwatch caps the display. Laota admitted he used
to be an opium trader, with links to former drug warlord Khun Sa, but he
insisted his hands were clean today. Maybe so. But Thai anti-drug officials
now call him "one of the biggest figures in the world of drugs in the
Golden Triangle" and are red-faced about how he avoided arrest for so long. 

In Bangkok, tempers are fraying. Army Chief Surayudh Chulanont is growing
desperate over the size of the drug problem as yaba factories over the
border churn out millions of tablets for seemingly insatiable users in
Thailand. The UWSA is lapping up money from the drug trade to fund
infrastructure projects on their territory while turning Thais into drug
addicts, he says. "How long can we endure this - until we become emaciated
and pale?" And the Wa are constantly pushing the limits. On July 29, a Thai
ranger unit fought a 30-minute battle with UWSA soldiers at Mae Fa Luang, 5
km inside Thailand, and seized four million yaba tablets and 14 kg of
heroin. Former army chief Chetta Thanjaro, now an adviser to the interior
minister, says Thai troops will henceforth shoot first, ask questions
later, if the Wa venture across the frontier. And Prime Minister Chuan
Leekpai said Thailand will close one border crossing in Chiang Mai province
and may close others. 

In a campaign with an intensity not seen since the anti-communist programs
of the Cold War, television commercials, posters and school assemblies are
railing against yaba - the "crazy drug." But while the message is slowly
sinking in, Thailand's economic crisis and lax law enforcement are helping
push thousands into buying, taking and selling this drug that at one time
was the refuge only of tired long-distance truck drivers. The Office of
Narcotic Control Board (ONCB) says Thailand has 500,000 heroin addicts, but
estimates yaba users in the millions. 

Sophon, 27, is one. Up in the hills of Chiang Rai, just 20 km from the
Myanmar border, he is on the first line of customers. Inhaling deeply from
a makeshift pipe as a pickup truck full of M16-toting anti-narcotics agents
roars by his shack, Sophon is a stone's throw away from being caught, but
he pays little heed. "Heroin is good but this yaba is what I need, and it's
cheap," he says. Sophon spends a little over $5 a day on drugs, and at less
than a dollar a tablet, yaba is his vice of choice. He pays for his
addiction by selling drugs in his village. 

Bangkok is also turning up the rhetoric against Myanmar, accusing Yangon of
backing the Wa's drug trade. (Yangon currently has a ceasefire with the
occasionally rebellious UWSA, which is said to have more than 5,000 armed
men to protect its border trade.) "There is evidence of Myanmar's
involvement in amphetamine trafficking," says Samai Charoenchang, chairman
of the House Committee on Parliamentarian Affairs. "Once the ASEAN
countries learn about these facts, they will definitely not be willing to
befriend a country which allows its ethnic minorities to produce goods,
drugs, that genocidally kill mankind." Thai troops are reported to have
destroyed several drug laboratories in cross-border raids early last month.
Yangon not surprisingly denies all charges and claims to have destroyed 13
million amphetamine tablets, 4,000 kg of heroin, 30,000 kg of raw opium and
90,000 acres of poppy fields in the 10 years up to 1997. It also recently
renewed a designation for the Wa town of Mong Yawn, on the other side of
the border from Laota's village, as a special administrative zone - what
Thais view as a license to mix and stamp millions of yaba pills. 

But the hardest battle may be yet to come: the fight against the corrupt
soldiers, policemen and officials who are turning a blind eye to the trade.
Thousands are alleged to be on the take. Wrangling among the authorities
over the closure of border crossing points is said to be as much about
keeping drugs moving as with keeping legitimate trade flowing. Pinyo
Thongchai, director of the northern bureau of the ONCB, claims that at
least 20 politicians are on the board's blacklist, but the authorities do
not have enough hard evidence to nail them. Corrupt politicians are
believed to want drug money to buy votes ahead of the general election,
forecast to take place next year. While Prime Minister Chuan, army chief
Surayudh and others in high places may have the right intentions, they are
battling against not just wealthy criminals but also powerful entrenched
interests who could destabilize the less-than-solid government. 

In the meantime, Laota Saenlee sits in prison. But how long will he remain
there? His alleged boss, Wei Hsueh-kang, was arrested by Thai authorities
in 1987 and later sentenced to death for masterminding a shipment of 680 kg
of heroin - but prior to sentencing was granted bail and promptly
disappeared. Wei is now back in business on the Wa side of the border,
despite a $2-million price on his head offered by Washington. Laota's
assets may be seized, says Jurin Laksanavisit, the Prime Minister's Office
Minister. But the authorities' hold on their suspect at the moment is
tenuous - illegal possession of bullets. Laota may be sitting grumpily
behind bars. But he understands the weaknesses of the Thai law-enforcement
system and he has friends in high places. Too often, the big boys break
free. For Laota it may just be a matter of time.

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THE STAR (MALAYSIA): DEMO OUTSIDE MYANMAR EMBASSY 
9 August, 1999 

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 20 people, claiming to be Myanmar refugees, staged a
short and peaceful demonstration outside the Myanmar Embassy in Jalan
Ampang here yesterday. 

They claimed the demonstration was to commemorate the 11th anniversary of a
bloody student uprising in Myanmar. 

They handed over a memorandum to embassy security guards before dispersing. 

Group spokesman Mohammad Sayed said the memorandum, among others, urged the
Myanmar government to release all political prisoners and recognise the
result of the country's 1990 general election.--Bernama

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