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The BurmaNet News: September 15, 19 (r)



Subject: The BurmaNet News: September 15, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: September 15, 1999
Issue #1359

HEADLINES:
==========
FEER: TALK TO BURMESE GENERALS 
AFP: MYANMAR SOLIDARITY WITH INDONESIA "BROTHERS" 
MYANMAR ALIN: JOKES BY DIM-WITTED RUMORMONGERS 
NATION: BURMA ALLOWS EMBASSY ACCESS TO UK ACTIVIST 
GEMSTONE FORCASTER: BURMA AUCTION REPORT 
SHAN: CURFEW IN CEASEFIRE AREA  
NATION: GREEN GROUPS FEAR SALWEEN DANGER FOR LOCAL 
ANNOUNCEMENT: "BURMESE DAYS" ON-LINE AUDIOBOOK 
****************************************************************

FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW: TALK TO BURMA'S GENERALS 
16 September, 1999 by David I. Steinberg 

THE WRITER IS DIRECTOR OF ASIAN STUDIES AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY AND SENIOR
CONSULTANT TO THE ASIA FOUNDATION. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED HERE ARE HIS OWN.

Can anything alleviate Burma's political and economic problems? Foreign
countries and groups have tried contrasting approaches. The United States
is trying to strongarm the military into honouring the results of the 1990
election. Until it does, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on new investments.
But while this focus on democracy is morally appealing, it is unrealistic.
At the other extreme, Asean, which admitted Burma to membership in 1997
over strong U.S. objections, has been trying appeasement, though its
"constructive engagement" is nothing more than a euphemism for exploiting
economic opportunities. Both initiatives, along with others involving
nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations have failed.

At first brush, future progress seems equally doomed. The State Peace and
Development Council, the latest incarnation of Burmese military rule, is
unlikely to make the changes necessary to ensure progress on democracy and
economic reforms. It has no intention of loosening control; its leaders
find anathema the idea of sharing power with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi and the opposition National League for Democracy. Meanwhile, as the
military refuses to negotiate with the opposition, and as the opposition
itself creates conditions the military cannot accept, a stalemate ensues,
forcing Burmese to continue to suffer in misery.

Into this have come the Australians with a proposal seeking both change in
Burma and dialogue with the military. In early August, the Australian
commissioner for human rights, Chris Sidoti, travelled to Rangoon to
discuss with military authorities and the opposition the possibility of
establishing an independent Burmese Human Rights Commission. The
initiative, linked to the seven member Asia Pacific Forum of National Human
Rights Institutions, is modeled on the Indonesian human rights commission
that began work under adverse conditions -- long before President Suharto's
fall. On behalf of the secretariat of the forum, Sidoti invited Burma to
attend its meeting in Manila this month. He also made two suggestions for
cooperative action: training Burmese government officials in human rights
and a joint project on access to healthcare.

Surprisingly, the authorities welcomed this initiative, going so far as to
call Sidoti's visit both fruitful and successful. In addition, the
opposition, expected to oppose any engagement with the military and which
would have been understandably doubtful of the initiative's potential
effectiveness, proved less critical than anticipated. While this may not
amount to concord, it remains true that no other initiative has ever
elicited this level of approval from both sides.

A Burmese organization of whatever stripe -- political, social or economic
-- that is independent of state control is a contradiction today. With
civil society destroyed, institutions exist only to serve state goals, or
if not then they are under strict surveillance. Thus, despite the initial
guarded approval of the Australian proposal, it would seem doomed to
failure. But then, note that the needs of Burmese society are ever growing
even as the government has neither the competence nor the ability to
deliver. Thus, as the population becomes more exposed to new ideas --
through the Australian initiative itself -- and as the regime begins to
recognize its limitations, it is possible that state control over any group
deemed not overtly political will gradually erode. This will herald the
reintroduction of facets of civil society, and even perhaps a modest
pluralism. The Australian initiative, thus, is potentially the start of a
tortured, tedious process, without which only stasis can be expected to reign.

Even if the commission were to be established, its effective operation
likely will be delayed. Still, the very existence of a body to which human
rights protests can be lodged -- if not yet acted on -- can begin an
incremental process towards change. Many say that such a commission would
only serve as a propaganda tool for the military, as well as prove
ineffective. For the near term, they are likely to be right, But neither
Burmese nor foreigners are fools and over the longer term the military will
not be able to keep up the propaganda charade. Indeed, it is best to
remember that the initiative represents only a modest first step in
engaging the military -- a "toe in the water," as Sidoti put it. Others
worry that the Japanese, for example, may follow up on this to renew major
economic assistance. But this underrates donors' understanding of the
dynamics of power in Burma and the lack of economic reforms urgently needed
before assistance may be employed effectively.

Australia, a mid-sized power, has taken a step the major powers have been
reluctant to take. It should be complimented. Even if this initiative
proves less successful than intended, or even fails, the effort is
nonetheless noteworthy and important. What Australia has done is to show a
way to deal with Burma that involves neither confrontation nor appeasement,
but rather engagement. Further engagement along this line may be the only
way to wrench Burma out of its political and economic morass. 

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

AFP: MYANMAR EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY WITH INDONESIAN "BROTHERS"
13 September, 1999 

YANGON, Sept 13 (AFP) - Myanmar expressed sympathy with its Indonesian
"brothers" on Monday and hinted at uneasiness that some ASEAN members were
keen to join a peacekeeping force in East Timor. "We have followed closely
the developments in East Timor and greatly regret the loss of lives and
destruction of property," said a government spokesman in a statement to AFP.

"We fully sympathise with our Indonesian brothers. Myanmar and Indonesia
have always enjoyed a special relationship dating back to the days of the
struggle for independence."

The statement also distanced Myanmar from the involvement of some
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members in a proposed
peacekeeping force for East Timor.

"The decision of some ASEAN countries to be involved in peacekeeping
operations in East Timor is not a coordinated ASEAN position and
accordingly we would not like to comment on it."

Some analysts say that the unprecedented scenario of ASEAN nations
deploying troops on the soil of a fellow member could weaken the grouping's
cardinal principle of non-interference in one another's internal affairs.

That could expose Myanmar, which is accused by Western nations of gross
human rights abuses, to more intense scrutiny on its own human rights
performance.

Myanmar is accused by many foreign governments of gross human rights abuses
and of suppressing the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

"It is our consistent policy that the deployment of an international
peacekeeping force in a territory should be implemented only with the
concurrence and agreement of the government concerned," said the statement.

Thailand, as the current chair of ASEAN's policy-making body, has been at
the forefront of Asian efforts to put together a Timor peacekeeping force.

ASEAN members Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand
have offered troops for a UN force. The other states in the group are
Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Indonesia, under former president Suharto was one of the few states to have
even irregular contact with isolationist Myanmar under reclusive dictator
General Ne Win who ruled from 1958-88.

Both countries were dominated by the military and have been close on the
conservative wing of ASEAN since Myanmar joined the organisation two years
ago.

Should Indonesia make a full transition to democracy, Myanmar could lose a
close ally in the organisation, diplomats in Yangon say.

"To try to draw too much comparison between the situations in two countries
lacks relevancy," the spokesman said however. 

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

MYANMAR ALIN: JOKES BY DIM-WITTED RUMORMONGERS 
14-15 August, 1999 by Sein Gyit Tu 

[Myanmar Alin is a Burmese-language, SPDC-run newspaper.  The article
appeared in two installments, and translated excerpts of both appear hear.]

"Haven't seen you in a while and I am stopping by while in Yangon on an
errand. I left home early and haven't had my breakfast yet. I knew with
certainty that you were going to feed me if I stopped by your house. Please
ask your wife if her plastic rice is already cooked. Ha, ha, ha!"

Sein Gyit Tu's friend seemed to be laughing at his own joke after
explaining about plastic rice rumors. That started off our conversation
about rumors.

"Brother Tu, that rumor is the best joke for 1999. Those who spread that
rumor are quite dim-witted. How can they say there is plastic rice around
and that people should be cautious about it when buying rice? They say that
that plastic rice was sent into Myanmar by that big neighboring country
[reference to China]. It was said that after consuming that rice, an adult
only lasts six months while a child lasts only three months before they
die. Some people claim to have seen that rice. How shallow can they be?
Plastic means that when exposed to heat or boiling water, it would melt and
then solidify. How can it turn into rice? Those male and female
rumormongers who started the rumor must be dim-witted. That is all I have
to say."

"My friend, even though such rumors have no sound reasoning behind them, it
seems those who spread the rumors have a big ulterior motive. It is
intended to make the Myanmar people get the wrong idea about that
neighboring country which has had good relations with us and then to
destroy the bilateral friendship between our two countries. Dry season and
wet season rice crops are flourishing all over the country today and rice
is being planted on tens of thousands of acres of reclaimed fallow and
virgin land and wetlands. There is no need to worry about rice. Once rice
could not be planted in dry areas of central Burma. Today, rice is even
being planted in those areas because irrigation projects using river
waters, dams, and new reservoirs have been completed. Rice is actually
there in the market and there is no reason for rice prices to rise, even
though circumstances are such that people's lives are being made miserable
and fear is being instilled in their minds to the extent they dare not buy
rice from the rice shops even. There must be some big motive behind all of
this. The rumors are spread to exploit the people."

"Yes, Brother Tu, I would say that the motive is more evil than big."

[passage omitted]

"Yes, my friend, I would say that colonialists, particularly Westerners,
are the champions in spreading rumors with ill intention. It is the same
Western clique that spread the rumors to Myanmar for political purposes.
News spread by word of mouth has been there since ancient times, some
accurate and some wrong. What was heard was honestly conveyed back from
people to people. Later, political elements began to use it as a tactic.
Business people also do these things to undermine the competition."
[passage omitted]

"I remember one time there was a sheet of paper posted at the top of a
street in Kyauktada Township. In it, there was an accusation that a certain
person in that street was the son of Hmong Gyi, the assassin who took part
in the assassination of Gen. Aung San. It was an attempt by a person who
had a grudge and he wanted others to behead that accused person. The person
who wrote it once had a fight with the other person." 

"In Thingangyun, an old man, as it was his regular practice, sprayed
insecticides in his Morning Glory plantation. A person who once had an
argument with the old man over financial matters went around and spread a
rumor that that old man was poisoning the water used by the ward. The
bloodthirsty crowd dragged the old man away to an intersection and beheaded
him. About 60 people who got beheaded during the 8-8-88 unrest were killed
because of false accusations and rumors."

"Brother Tu, can you explain about how rumors are spread using technology?"

"Do you remember the two posters pasted at almost every street corner
during the unrest? They said, "Thank you, BBC" and "BBC is our hero." Also,
newspapers sold on the sidewalks and street statements then said Radio
Myanmar did not report accurate news and only BBC reported accurate news."

"Yes, yes, I remember, Brother Tu. BBC was being listened to both morning
and night. There was also a bulletin on BBC broadcasts so that people who
missed them could read about them. A British correspondent from the BBC,
Christopher Gunness, also came to Myanmar then. He was sent in on a special
mission. He met lawyer Nay Min, who introduced him to Tin Maung Htwe, Htay
Aung, Ko Ko Latt, and Htwe Kywe. Ko Ko Latt and his group brought a girl
student who was attending the fourth year zoology class for Gunness to
interview. Gunness later reported from BBC about security personnel abusing
and raping girl students in prison."

"Yes, that girl student felt guilty because she had told lies to the BBC.
To clear her conscience, she wrote a letter in her handwriting to
newspapers on 23 August 1989 to explain about the event. You can read about
it on page 169 of the book, 'The Conspiracy by the Traitorous Ax-handles in
Myanmar and the Partners in Crime Abroad,'" published here.

[passage omitted]

"BBC broadcast the interview with that fourth year zoology student on 18
July 1988. On the evening of 6 August 1988, it rebroadcast that interview.
BBC had long been broadcasting about and instigating a general strike on 8
August 1988. That broadcast on 6 August about girl students being raped in
prison was like pouring gallons of gasoline into the 8-8-88 fire. That is
why the 8-8-88 unrest can be said to have been started by rumors."

"Gunness caused pandemonium then."

"Yes. When one or two people got killed, it was Christopher Gunness who
exaggerated the news and reported that 100 or 200 were killed. The BBC
reported that protests had started in a certain city in lower Myanmar even
though that was not the case. It was an attempt to instigate protests in
Upper Myanmar cities. It was the BBC that spread rumors about the protests
and created unrest in the whole country. That is the reason I say that
rumors can be spread not only by word of mouth or on paper but also by
using machines like radio transmitters. Western radio stations once
broadcast news, songs and general knowledge programs. They are now
broadcasting rumors. They hide or ignore real news and good news and
transmit false news and misinformation to instigate and brainwash the
people. My friend, Western radio stations have become rumor spreading
centers today."

"Brother Tu, it's true that rumors were widespread during the 1988 unrest.
I remember one incident. A statement came out on 12 September and sidewalk
newspapers and bulletins carried it. It said that by 1 pm on 13 September,
the lead news story in Radio Myanmar would be about the Burma Socialist
Program Party giving up power and about the formation of a transitional
government. If there were no reports about it by 1:05 pm, naval boats would
start to pound the city with artillery rounds and aircraft would start to
bomb. Places that had been selected as targets were reported in those
papers. Signatures purported to be those of the Naval Chief of Navy and the
Air Force Chief of Staff were on that statement. Wasn't that an attempt to
break up the Defense Services?"

"My friend, you know only about that. On 12 September 1988, five American
naval vessels, including an aircraft carrier, intruded into Myanmar waters.
They were positioned about 190 nautical miles south of Yangon at 14 degrees
57 minutes North Latitude and 96 degrees 33 minutes East Longitude. The
'Ava' belonging to the Myanmar Five Star Line Shipping Company put the
incident on record with photographs and videotape. Landing craft were
already being used for training exercises. The actual bombardment was not
going to be by the Myanmar Navy and Air Force, but by those foreign
warships! They left only after the Myanmar Government forced them to leave.
Destructive elements in the country were setting up a scenario through
rumors and foreign warships were planning to destroy Myanmar! My friend, I
could easily have written a book just about destructive rumors during the
1988 unrest."

"In the post 1988 era, political activities are being conducted through
rumors spread by the NLD ax-handles inside the country and through radio
stations. When rumors about normal events and about misunderstandings are
spread by mouth, they usually die down at a certain point. But if an
organization or a group systematically spreads the rumors with a certain
intention, they tend to spread more. Rumors that feed on expectations and
fear tend to spread even more. For example, rumors about public service
personnel getting their salaries raised on a certain date give hope to the
workers who want more money. But they are purposely spread to create
dissatisfaction among the workers against the government because no salary
raise is actually forthcoming on the date mentioned. Rumors urging people
to buy rice and cooking oil because certain things were going to happen on
certain days, or rumors about currency notes about to be demonetized, feed
on the fear and naivety of the people. Rumors are also spread to test the
waters."

"What sort of things do they want to test?"

"When they intend to stage certain events on certain dates and when they
want to create instability to gain power through short-cut means, they
spread many rumors to see how much people believe in or accept the rumors
as fact. It seems that if a large number of people believe in their rumors,
they believe that they can use those people to create some sort of unrest.
Such rumors can be said to be investigational rumors. It is also possible
to write a book about the rumors spread today by the national traitors and
the foreign neo-colonialists.

"Why bother to write about these rumors, Brother Tu? After all, some are
comparing rumors to air bullets. How can you hurt someone by firing air
bullets? Some say rumor politics are like soap bubbles because they simply
break up and disappear quickly. If we give too much attention to these
rumors and write a book about them, our book will be all air and soap
bubbles."

"Ha, Ha, you are right my friend. They may spread rumors by radio
transmitters, through satellites, via the Internet, or by fax but very few
people in this world will believe them. Just listen to my wife. When I
asked her if she had heard about plastic rice rumors, she said, 'I have
brains, don't come and tell me that, only fools will believe them.' Yes, my
friend, if rumors are being spread by political organizations or by
individuals, it only goes to show that those organizations and individuals
no longer have the ability to do politics and have to resort to lowly rumor
spreading as a means to conduct politics."

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

THE NATION: BURMA ALLOWS EMBASSY ACCESS TO UK ACTIVIST 
14 September, 1999 

RANGOON - Burma yesterday granted the British Embassy consular access to a
British woman arrested last week for shouting pro-democracy slogans in
downtown Rangoon.

Rachel Goldwyn, 28, of Barnes in southwest London chained herself to a lamp
post in an abortive protest last Tuesday, and was being held in the city's
Insein Prison. It was not yet known if charges would be pressed against her. 

"She is in good spirits and said that she is treated well and has access to
a doctor," a British Embassy spokesman said.

Karen Williams, vice consul at the embassy was able to hand over a bag of
food, a mosquito net and soap during the morning visit.

Burma authorities have also indicated that consular access would be granted
to another jailed activist from England, who was sentenced to 17 years in a
summary trial nearly two weeks ago.

British Embassy officials would visit James Mawdsley, 26, of Lancashire,
"some time this week" at Keng Tung Prison in northeastern Burma, the
spokesman said. Both were arrested as they tried to rally support for
so-called 9-9-99 protests that dissident opponents of the military regime
touted for Sept 9, but which failed to materialize in the face of high
security and government threats to "annihilate" agitators.

Diplomats have estimated around 100 Burma nationals were arrested in the
run-up to 9-9-99, although the military authorities say about 40 were
detained and dissidents claim over 500 were arrested.

Mawdsley, who also holds an Australian passport, was arrested on Aug 30 for
entering Burma illegally and passing out anti-government pamphlets in
Tachilek, a town near the Thai border. It was his third arrest in Burma in
two years.

Last year he served three months of a five-year term, after being picked up
by authorities in southern Burma handing out pamphlets. The government has
said it would be "difficult to show leniency this time."

The British ambassador in Burma has requested a meeting with the Burma
Foreign Ministry to discuss Goldwyn's case, the embassy in Rangoon
spokesman said.

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

Gemstone Forcaster: Burma Auction Report
Spring, 1999 

The annual rough auction was recently held by the Union of Myanmar Economic
Holdings, Ltd., a government-private mining joint venture in Yangon. The
primary bidders were Burmese. Only one westerner was bidding, a few Thai
buyers for the Mong Hsu material, and a few Chinese buyers bought jade.
Stones that would yield a one carat, "4" color rating, MI1 ruby sold for
prices approaching $11,000 per carat. Rough that would yield 2+ carat
stones of lesser color and MI2 or worse clarity were being bought for
$10,000 to $15,000 per carat. There were only a few sapphires, but their
pricing was similarly high. A 46 carat piece of blue rough which would
yield about a 10 to 12 carat stone went for more than $67,000.

Why are prices so high at the source?

The material is getting harder to come by. Even the UMEHL announced
publicly that production from the famous sapphire mine at Kaday-Kadar is
way down, and while ruby production at mines such as Lin Yaung Kyi and
Shwepiaye is steady to good, the pieces mined are fairly small.

The Burmese believe they set the market price. If they pay $10,000+ carat,
the world will have to pay that, plus profit, if they want Mogok material.
Since many of the buyers were Mogok mine owners, the pricing may reflect
their inability to obtain sufficient material from their own mines. The
mine owners are constantly complaining about the lack of yield from their
mines.

http://www.primenet.com/~rgenis/gfspr99.html

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

SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS: CURFEW IN CEASEFIRE AREA 
15 September, 1999 

Curfew was ordered by the local SPDC commander in an area that has been
under control by a Shan ceasefire group, said a S.H.A.N. source from
southern Shan State.

The source said on 12 September 1999, Maj. Aung Naing, commanding a company
from 296th Infantry Battalion, stationed in Kali, Kunhing Township, Loilem
District, issued a 21:00 - 04:00 curfew. Anybody seen on the streets during
curfew hours would be shot on the spot, the order said.

In addition, household registers were ordered hung inside houses for the
inspecting officials to see. Anyone whose name is not stated in the
household register found would face instant arrest, said the order.

Near the village is the headquarters of the 7th Brigade, the Shan States
Army (North), a group that signed a ceasefire pact with the junta since
1989. The Shan States Army South, whose peace offers were turned down by
the junta, is reported to be active in the area also.

[S.H.A.N. is a non-profit making, independent Shan media group. It is not
affiliated to any political or armed organizations.]

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

THE NATION: GREEN GROUPS FEAR SALWEEN WORKSHOP SPELLS DANGER FOR LOCAL
INHABITANTS 
13 September, 1999 

A GROUP of 35 Thai and Burmese civil and environmental organisations
yesterday expressed their grave concern that the four-day ''closed door,
confidential'' workshop on the Salween River basin would be a forum ''to
legitimise'' gigantic economic developments which could adversely effect
the livelihood of many thousands of multi-ethnic people as well as damage
the environment.

In an open letter distributed yesterday, the group demanded that any
planning for large scale hydroelectric and water diversion projects on the
river remain ''fully open, transparent and honest'' about all controversial
issues that had dogged the planned development in the basin areas.

They also demanded that planning must ''fully recognise and respect the
human, civil and political rights of all the development-affected people,
ensuring their informed participation and fully compensating them for any
losses incurred''.

''Any such plans or projects that fail to meet the conditions must be
abandoned without delay,'' they added.

Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday, Chainarong Sretthachau,
director of the Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN), said his
organisation had rejected an invitation to attend the workshop starting
today on the grounds that it ''deliberately excludes the participation of
affected indigenous people, the real stakeholders'' in any
multi-million-dollar projects on the Salween.

He charged that the workshops would be attended by representatives of Thai
and Burmese government agencies, major international financial institutions
such as the World Bank and the Manila-based Asian Development Bank and
private developers, all of whom ''are virtually supporters of constructing
dams''.

He said that a giant Thai construction firm, which has won nearly all major
construction contracts here and in neighbouring countries, was believed to
be attending the workshop.

It is still unclear who or which agency is organising the workshop in
Chiang Mai and what the objectives are of those attending. The forum has
been kept confidential and the venue of the meeting remains unknown.

In the open letter, the group said academics, government officials,
business consultancy groups and multilateral banks were invited to attend
the workshop which was ''ostensibly to promote dialogue among
representatives of the various interests of the Salween Basin''.

''However, conspicuously absent from the participants list are the
indigenous people who would inevitably bear the costs of such development
of the river. Instead the listed participants of the meeting are members of
an elite that in no way represent the interests of local communities,'' it
added.

The letter said the gathering seemed closely linked to plans aimed at
damming the Salween to produce hydroelectricity and divert water to Thailand.

The Thai and Burmese governments, with assistance from Japanese, Thai and
Norwegian consultants, had been preparing development projects on the
Salween for the past decade, ''carefully concealing them from the people,
particularly those living on the river basin'', the letter added.

It said these communities had suffered years of warfare and human rights
abuses by the military and that thousands of them had already been
displaced by the Burmese regime from their rightful property.

''Some of the largest recent displacements have been taking place precisely
in the same areas and at the same time when surveyors began studying the
site of a potential dam on the river in the Shan State [of Burma],'' the
letter added.

The letter said at least five sites had now been studied for dams in the
river basin without the participation of the people living in each area and
that these plans had advanced well beyond the point where environmental and
social impact assessments should have been carried out.

''In the meantime, there has been absolutely no consultation with the real
stakeholders in the projects: the indigenous people who stand to lose their
land forever,'' it said.

The open letter, which is signed by groups such as SEARIN, Salween Watch,
Wildlife Fund of Thailand, Shan Human Rights Foundation, Forum of the Poor,
and Karen, Karenni, Shan and Burmese groups and exiled elected Burmese MPs,
said the damming of the Salween would lead to the flooding of large areas
of forest and farmland and would drown villages, disrupt agriculture and
fisheries both above and below the dam.

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

ANNOUNCEMENT: "BURMESE DAYS" ON-LINE AUDIOBOOK 
14 September, 1999
 
George Orwell's "Burmese Days" can now be heard online as an audiobook at:

http://www.broadcast.com/books/fiction/burmesedays_1484.asp

The audio format is Windows MP (MediaPlayer) and it is transmitted at 28.8
(faster web links are compatible).

First published over thirty years ago, this novel has been characterized by
Edmund Wilson as "certainly one of the few first-hand and really excellent
pieces of fiction that have been written about India since Kipling.... The
author, who was born in Bengal and served in the Burmese police, is
saturated with his subject.... distinguished as a work of literature."
Burmese DAYS presents a bitter and satirical picture of the white man's
rule in Upper Burma. One thread of the story is a corrupt native
politician's attempt to win membership in the white man's club, and the
other is an Englishman's courtship of Elizabeth, a girl from home.

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