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Burma News Update, No. 94
Open Society Institute
The Burma Project
Burma News Update No. 94
06 October 1999
Embassy Siege Fallout
Burma has closed its borders with Thailand after Thai authorities
provided Burmese dissidents who had seized the Burmese
Embassy in Rangoon safe passage to an area along the two
country's mutual border. No one was injured during the 26-hour
siege by five gunmen, who demanded that the military junta in
Rangoon transfer power to a democratic government. Analysts said
that Thailand's recently-improved relations with the Burmese junta
could be damaged by the incident, after which Thai Interior Minister
Sanan Kachonprasart said of the hostage-takers: "They are not
terrorists, they are students who fight for democracy." Burma's main
democratic opposition group, the National League for Democracy,
explicitly denounced the armed action, stating from Rangoon, "We
categorically condemn the seizure of the embassy and the taking of
hostages." Burmese exile groups in Thailand and Burma support groups
echoed the NLD statement, which said the action was a result of "many
acts of injustice and cruelty repeatedly perpetrated by the military regime."
Non-governmental groups in Thailand urged governmental authorities
not to take action against Burmese refugees and political exiles operating
within the law.
Bangkok, Rangoon, "wire service reports," 03-04 October
NLD Suit in Court
Burma's Supreme Court heard arguments on 29 September in a complaint
filed by the National League for Democracy against the ruling junta's
military intelligence service for detention and harassment of its party
members. NLD Chairman Aung Shwe and three other NLD Central Executive
Committee members gave testimony during the hearing, which was also
attended by NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Junta Interior Minister Col.
Tin Hlaing was named in four separate complaints, which allege that the
regime has illegally detained NLD members and coerced some to leave the
party. The NLD says that over 100 of its elected members of parliament
remain imprisoned today.
Rangoon, "Kyodo News Service," 30 September
Junta War Crimes?
The United Nations action to investigate human rights violations in
East Timor, and the suggestion by UN Human Rights Commissioner
Mary Robinson that those believed responsible should be tried before an
international tribunal, "touches a particularly raw nerve" among Burma's
ruling generals. International rights groups have been gathering detailed
accounts of atrocities inside Burma for years, and may soon seek to present
their evidence to an international court.
"Far Eastern Economic Review," 27 September
"Burma Like Hand Grenade"
Burma is today like a hand grenade without a safety pin, and the
country's military regime is only keeping power to stop the country from
falling apart. Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung said in an address at
New York's Asia Society. Win Aung stated that the country's new
constitution will allow power sharing, and that failed socialist economic
policies have been discarded. The junta representative took a hard line on
Burmese refugees, however, stating that refugee camps in Thailand are
actually "military camps." In "heated exchanges" with questioners from the
audience, Win Aung issued a blanket denial regarding widespread human
rights violations in Burma. [Win Aung also expressed the Burmese junta's
opposition to a UN inquiry on human rights violations in East Timor, people
who attended the event say. When asked if he believed that he and other
senior junta members might one day be brought before such an international
human rights tribunal, Win Aung replied that Burma is not Rwanda and that
there are no mass graves in the country-Ed.]
New York, "Bangkok Post," 28 September
Junta Diplomatic Drive
Burma established diplomatic relations with Tajikistan on 29 September,
making it the eighth country with which Burma's military junta has formalized
ties in 1999. The others are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. Burma now has diplomatic relations with 84
nations. [Observers believe the junta's actions to broaden its diplomatic ties
may be linked to efforts to block or soften the latest version of a UN General
Assembly resolution calling for respect for human rights and democratic reform
in Burma, which has been adopted annually since 1992--Ed.]
Rangoon, "Xinhua," 30 September
MSG Ban?
Production of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in Burma by Japanese chemicals
giant Ajinomoto has halted after Burma's military regime barred importation of
ingredients, the company said. Some sources said the regime plans to ban
production and use of MSG because it is "unhealthy." However, MSG remains
widely available in Rangoon, and Ajinomoto hopes to reopen its plant.
Burma's foreign minister said there are no mass graves and no ethnic
cleansing in Burma, stating that human rights issues could be included
on the agenda during a scheduled early September visit by UN special
envoy, Under Secretary General Alvaro de Soto. "We respect the rights
of human beings," said Junta Foreign Minister Win Aung, adding "We
don't have any mass graves, the people are not disappearing in masses,
we don't have a mass exodus . . . there are other countries where there
are human-rights violations; we don't have that, we don't have ethnic
cleansing."
Singapore, "Chemical News & Intelligence," 28 September
BURMA NEWS UPDATE is a publication of
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