The BurmaNet News: October 28, 1999

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The BurmaNet News: October 28, 1999
Issue #1389

Noted in Passing: "We would like to ask the democratic Thai government to
educate us Burmese students how to exercise the rights to freedom of
expression in a democratic society."  - Burmese Students' Association (see
THE NATION: BURMA STUDENTS APOLOGISE FOR ALL MISUNDERSTANDINGS)

HEADLINES:
==========
BBC/DVB: COASTAL COMMANDER TO BE DISMISSED
BBC/DVB: MORE MILITARY OFFICERS PURGED
REUTERS: STRENGTH NEEDED TO COMBAT MANIPULATION
MIC: SECRETARY-2 AND PARTY DONATE RICE TO CHURCH
BKK POST: SINGTEL HELPS BURMA GO ONLINE
AP: PLANE SKIDS OFF RUNWAY IN MYANMAR
BKK POST: RANGOON POSTPONES MEETING ON HEALTH
NATION: STUDENTS APOLOGISE FOR ALL MISUNDERSTANDINGS
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BBC/DVB: COASTAL COMMANDER TO BE DISMISSED
22 October, 1999

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts

Dissident radio reports coastal commander to be dismissed, tried; Source:
Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1245 gmt 22 Oct 99

Text of report by Burmese opposition radio on 22nd October

It has been learned that the Coastal Region commander, Maj-Gen Sit Maung,
will soon be arrested and tried by a special tribunal for corruption. The
case filed by a rival senior military intelligence officer against him
includes the sale of his apartments in South Dagon and Thuwana which were
granted to him when he was a lieutenant-colonel and acquisition of major
economic enterprises, ownership of land and property, and hotels within a
short period of time as a regional commander.

Maj-Gen Sit Maung is well known for his feats in combat as well as for
social transgression and corruption. Maj-Gen Maung Maung is expected to
succeed Maj-Gen Sit Maung officially some time in November.

All economic enterprises in the Coastal Command in which Maj-Gen Sit Maung
has shares have been suspended temporarily and trusted aides of Maj-Gen Sit
Maung are making cash settlements. A businessman said he is not sure about
the future of his business enterprises under the new commander.  The
economic rivalry between Maj-Gen Sit Maung and the military intelligence in
the Coastal Region has eventually led to the court-martial.

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BBC/DVB: MORE MILITARY OFFICERS PURGED
27 October, 1999

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts

Dissident radio says more military officers purged; Source: Democratic Voice
of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1245 gmt 25 Oct 99

Excerpts from report by Burmese opposition radio on 25th October

It has been learned that more military officers are being purged in the
Coastal Region Military Command in southern Burma.

After the removal from office of Coastal Region Military commander Maj-Gen
Sit Maung, the SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] has recalled to
Rangoon Col Win Maung, chairman of the Kawthaung District Peace and
Development Council, and Capt Kyaw Zwa, head of the Kawthaung-based Military
Intelligence Unit 19, who are supposedly
protecting all the economic interests of Maj-Gen Sit Maung in Kawthaung
District. Business people from Kawthaung said their sudden summonses could
be linked to Maj-Gen Sit Maung's activities but it is not clear whether they
would also be removed or transferred.

Some business people said the SPDC took action against Col Win Maung and
Capt Kyaw Zwa for their alleged involvement in black-marketeering along
Kawthaung-Ranong route, their financial dealings with Thai fishing boats,
and taking bribes from Thai fishing companies after the closure of
Thai-Burma border crossings.

It has been learned that their replacements - a captain from the Palaw-based
Military Intelligence Unit 19 and a colonel who is the chairman of a
district peace and development council - have already arrived in
Kawthaung...

As Thai naval vessels patrol the Thai waters near the Thai-Burma territorial
border, the Burmese navy has also dispatched naval vessels Nos 509 and 438
to patrol the Burmese waters off Kawthaung.

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

REUTERS: STRENGTH NEEDED TO COMBAT MANIPULATION IN MYANMAR
27 October, 1999

YANGON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A senior member of Myanmar's military government
said a modern and powerful defence force was essential to guard against
interference and manipulation by ``big neo-colonialist powers.''

``In this world today, big neo-colonialist powers are attempting to
interfere in and manipulate the internal affairs of developing countries,''
said General Maung Aye, vice chairman of the ruling military council.

``A modern, mighty and qualified defence force is required to ward off this
danger of interference and manipulation,'' he told a meeting of officials in
the central town of Loikaw on Tuesday.

In Yangon on Tuesday, the head of military intelligence Lieutenant-General
Khin Nyunt urged participants in a performing arts contest to resist ``alien
cultural infiltration.''

He said ``destructive elements'' -- a term the military uses to describe
pro-democracy activists -- were to blame for importing such alien culture.

Myanmar's military seized power in 1988 and killed thousands in crushing a
pro-democracy uprising. It since has greatly restricted dissent, making it a
target for frequent international criticism.

In the past decade, Myanmar has doubled the size of its armed forces to
around 450,000 personnel.

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

MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE: SECRETARY-2 AND PARTY DONATE RICE TO CATHOLIC
CHURCH
27 October, 1999 from OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx

[Information Sheets issued under the email addresses OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx
match those issued by the Directorate of Defence Services Intelligence
(DDSI) in Rangoon, and can be assumed to reflect official SPDC opinion.]

Yangon, Information Sheet No.B-1121(I)

Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Tin Oo and
party visited Loikaw Catholic Church where a ceremony to donate rice was
held. On the occasion, the Secretary-2 said he and his party were there to
donate rice so that those who are discharging religious duty will not have
rice difficulties. The Secretary-2 then presented rice to a bishop of Loikaw
Catholic Church. Afterwards, the Secretary-2 and the Secretary-3 went to
Regional Control Command (Loikaw) where they met national race leaders of
Kayah State Special Region 1 (Kayan Region Development Committee), Kayah
State Special Region 2 )Kayinni National People's Liberation Front), Kayah
State Special Region 3 (Kayan Pyithit Party), and Kayinni National
Development Party (Hoya Region) and officials and made arrangements for
regional development.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: SINGTEL HELPS BURMA GET ONLINE
27 October, 1999

(AP) Singapore - Burma has set up a connection to the Internet through
Singapore Telecommunications.

SingTel said it was the first foreign company working with a commercial
partner in Burma to establish an Internet link in the
country.

More than 40 Internet providers in 20 countries in the region were using
SingTel's satellite as a gateway to the network, the
company said.

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS: PLANE SKIDS OFF RUNWAY IN MYANMAR
27 October, 1999

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - An Indian Airlines plane trying to land in high wind
and heavy rains skidded off a runway and into deep mud, but all 92 people
aboard escaped injury, officials said Wednesday.

The accident occurred late Tuesday as the Airbus 320, en route from Calcutta
to Yangon, landed with a thud at Yangon's international airport.

Passengers complained of shoddy treatment after they evacuated the plane by
emergency chutes into mud and stormy weather.

A Calcutta man who gave his name as Dutta, 50, said the plane swerved before
landing heavily. The plane's lights went out as it came to a halt.

``There was shouting but no panic,'' said the man, a bank employee traveling
to Singapore with his wife and two daughters. ``I went through the emergency
chute and landed knee deep in mud. It was raining very hard, and it was very
windy.''

A Yangon airport official, who requested anonymity, said the cause of the
accident appeared to be bad weather. The plane's undercarriage was damaged
and it could not take off again.

Yangon airport was closed to major international flights early Wednesday,
but domestic services and international services using smaller airplanes
were still operating, the official said.

A spokesman for Indian Airlines in New Delhi, who also declined to be named,
confirmed that all 83 passengers and nine crew were unhurt. Over 40 of the
passengers bound from Calcutta to Singapore would depart Yangon on the first
available flight, the spokesman said.

It was not clear when the transit passengers - those who were flying through
Yangon en route to other destinations - would be able to fly out. They were
eventually booked into an airport hotel.

Sean Lee, a Singapore-based spokesman for plane manufacturer Airbus
Industrie, said the company was sending a team from its headquarters in
Toulouse, France, to assess the damage.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: RANGOON POSTPONES MEETING ON HEALTH
27 October, 1999 by Aphaluck Bhatiasevi

SETBACK FOR EFFORTS TO TACKLE BORDER ILLS

Health talks with Rangoon scheduled for Nov 10-11 have been indefinitely
postponed due to Burma's strained relations with
Thailand.

Public Health Minister Korn Dabbaransi, who returned from a World Health
Organisation meeting in Rangoon this month, said his Burmese counterpart
wants health problems addressed "internationally and not bilaterally".

The planned meeting in Mae Sai district, Chiang Mai, was to discuss health
problems along the border and that of illegal
migrant workers ahead of the restriction to be imposed on Nov 3.

Concerns were raised over migrant workers living in poor sanitation, in
addition to the increase in the number of children. The main health issues
to be discussed included HIV/Aids, malaria, tuberculosis and elephantiasis.

Like the Thai-Cambodian bilateral health meeting, the meeting with the
Burmese health authorities was expected to bring about informal contacts
between health workers from the two countries aimed at curbing the
borderless diseases.

With the planned meeting scrapped, only discussions on technical assistance
would continue.

Dr Sanguan Nitayarumphong, assistant to the health permanent secretary, said
under the present circumstances, the government would proceed with the
technical assistance, including training of health workers, provision of
medical equipment and medicines.

This, he said, would be a positive move by the two countries.

Thailand would be providing microscopes, ultra sound machines and other
medical and ICU equipment along with medicines to control spread of malaria.

Dr Supachai Kunaratanaphruk deputy health permanent secretary, said it was
necessary for health cooperation to move beyond boundaries otherwise
Thailand would continue to face re-emerging health problems.

To control problems like malaria, it is necessary that the two countries
synchronise their medical efforts to avert drug
resistance, he said.

Last year, some 56,939 Burmese patients were treated for malaria in
hospitals in border provinces.

Thailand has spent more than 50 million baht providing medication to Burmese
patients in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi,
Ratchaburi and Chumphon provinces.

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

THE NATION: BURMESE STUDENTS APOLOGISE FOR ALL MISUNDERSTANDINGS
27 October, 1999

LETTER TO EDITOR

For the sake of freedom, justice and peace no one should be above the law.
However, it would not be fair to blame the whole human society for one of
its members committing a wrongdoing of his or her own free will. In this
regard, we the Burmese Students' Association (BSA), representing the Burmese
students at the Burmese Students' Centre (BSC) in Ratchaburi would like to
express our deepest sorrow to the Thai government and Thai people over the
two recent incidents, the violent takeover of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok
and the monthly-allowance problem leading to five UNHCR offers being held
captive for three hours.

We also thank and praise the Thai government, led by Prime Minister Chuan
Leekpai, for its handling of the two incidents that are very different in
nature and admit that the way in which the government settled the incidents
peacefully will serve us as an invaluable lesson for solving long-rooted
internal political problems of our country. However, we are disappointed
with some unfounded reports on the monthly allowance problem that have
misled Thai people into thinking or possibly believing Burmese students in
their country are bad guys. Surely these reports will make the [Thai]people
upset with us.

At present we are in no position to stop the misleading reports that have
destroyed our dignity, sacrifice and respect for democracy and human rights
but are determined to do our best in response to the reports. In any human
society in the world, the good and the bad go hand in hand. We need to see
them separately: the bad must be prevented while good is maintained and
upheld. The following, we believe, will lead to a thorough understanding of
what is wrong and what is right in the monthly allowance incident that
happened in our holding centre on Oct 18.

*Aug 25 - UNHCR issues the announcement about a new payment system in which
any residents who are not present at the centre, except the ones who have
official documents and are present there on payment day, will be refused
monthly allowance.

*Sept 10 - the September payment is handed out. Some residents are not
present at that time because they are protesting outside Burmese Embassy.

*Sept 21- Twenty-four residents who were not present on the previous payment
day ask the UNHCR officer for their September allowances. After the Thai
officer, Ms Usanee, refuses it, the residents block her car from leaving in
protest. At about 4 pm, the camp commander, Chaiyapaurk Sanwaungyuk,
intervenes to end the protest, guaranteeing that they will receive their
allowances soon and then allows the protesting residents to buy foods for
Bt200 on credit at the grocery shop opposite the camp.

*Oct 11 - UNHCR officers came to the camp but don't hand out the September
allowances to the 24 residents. So the commander again allows the 24 to buy
food for another Bt200 on credit at the same shop. In this way the commander
is heavily in debt out of his kindness to the residents in need.

*Oct 18 - At 1 pm, UNHCR officers start to pay the monthly allowance for
October to about a thousand residents.

Around 2 pm the commander and his staff ask the UNHCR officers to pay the 40
residents who have not received their September allowances.

Around 6 pm the UNHCR officers finish the payment for October and then
discuss the September allowances with the commander and the 40 residents.

At 6.30 pm the UNHCR officers agree to pay the September allowances to only
28 residents and not 40 as requested by the commander.

Afterwards the 12 residents who did not receive their September allowances
stage a protest asking for their allowances, but the UNHCR officers refuse.

At 7 pm one of the residents who is an onlooker at the spot suddenly locks
up the entrance door of the UNHCR office. Fifteen minutes later two
policemen arrive at the UNHCR office and turn away, saying that it is not
their business. The UNHCR officers remain locked up inside their office.

At 10 pm the incident ends peacefully after the governor intervenes between
the UNHCR officers and the 12 residents. The UNHCR officers hand out the
September allowances of Bt800 to each of the 12 residents. Afterwards the
five UNHCR officers leave the centre to the applause of the residents.

Finally, we would like to ask the democratic Thai government to educate us
Burmese students how to exercise the rights to freedom of expression in a
democratic society and also vow to carry on our non-violent struggle for
democracy and human rights not only in our country but also in the Southeast
Asia region in order to abolish any kind of authoritarian rule.

CENTRAL LEADING COMMITTEE,
BURMESE STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION,
BURMESE STUDENTS' CENTRE
RATCHABURI

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