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The BurmaNet News: October 27, 1999



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The BurmaNet News: October 27, 1999
Issue #1388

HEADLINES:
==========
XINHUA: ELECTRIC POWER PRODUCTION DROPS IN MYANMAR
IPS: DISSIDENT MOVEMENT DEBATING VIOLENCE OPTION
NATION: MONKS STRANDED AS CROSSING STAYS SHUT
NATION: BURMA SCUTTLES DEAL ON GAMBLER'S FINE
BKK POST: BRAWL MARKS END OF LENT
STRAITS TIMES: LAUREATES SAY HELLO TO CHILD MPS
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XINHUA: ELECTRIC POWER PRODUCTION DROPS IN MYANMAR
25 October, 1999

Xinhua, Yangon, 25 October 1999. Electric power generated by the state-run
Myanma Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE), the main electricity supplier of
the country, totaled 1.979 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) in the first half of
this year, a 12.82 percent drop compared with the same period of last year
which was 2.27 billion kwh.

According to the latest figures of the official economic indicators, the
installed capacity of the MEPE was 1,058 megawatts (mw) by the end of June
this year. The figures also show that in 1998, the MEPE produced a total of
4.3 billion kwh of electricity. Other official statistics indicate that the
MEPE added a total installed capacity of 509 mw in the past 11 years, of
which natural gas power plants represented 255 mw, while steam power plants
took up 143 mw and hydro-electric power
plants 111 mw.

Meanwhile, Myanmar is implementing five more hydro-electric power
plants --Paunglaung, Zaungtu, Mone, Thaphanseik and Maipan. Of them,
Paunglaung, Mone and Thaphanseik are being built by China. The five power
plants, upon completion, will add 407 mw more to Myanmar's electric power
installed capacity and will ease the serious shortage problem of electricity
in Myanmar.

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IPS: DISSIDENT MOVEMENT DEBATING VIOLENCE OPTION
25 October, 1999

BANGKOK, (Oct. 25) IPS - The hostage-taking by dissident students at the
Burmese embassy here in early October, apart from souring Thai-Burma ties,
has kindled heated debate within the Burmese pro-democracy movement over the
use of violent means to further its cause.

Some have condoned the action by the five armed students on Oct. 1 as being
misguided but understandable, given the standoff between the military and
pro-democracy, opposition forces.

Others fear that resorting to violence could damage the overall
pro-democracy struggle which is largely non-violent in its actions against
the junta, which calls itself the State Peace and Development Council.

On Oct. 1, five members of the so-called "Vigorous Burmese Students
Warriors" (VBSW), armed with guns and grenades, stormed the Burmese embassy
and seized 38 hostages, demanding restoration of democracy in Burma.

The hostages were released after protracted negotiations with the Thai
government and after Thai deputy foreign minister Sukumband Paribatra
offered himself as a substitute for the captured foreign tourists and
Burmese embassy staff.

Although the hostage-takers made political demands from the military leaders
in Rangoon, there is no doubt that they were never seriously expecting a
positive response from the regime.

The main objective of the embassy seizure was to embarrass the Burmese
military rulers and make an international, well-publicized protest against
them.

But even more than the students' action itself, what seems to have
infuriated the Burmese military more is the tacit support shown to the
pro-democracy movement by the Thai government -- which until recently had
been one of the staunchest allies of the Rangoon regime.

During negotiations with the hostage-takers, Thai Interior Minister Maj Gen
Sanan Kachornprasart referred to them as "students fighting for democracy"
rather than terrorists.

That episode has also upset a lot of Thai human rights groups too, which
have been at the forefront of efforts within Thailand and in Asia to support
the Burmese pro-democracy movement.

They have voiced their disagreement with the violent means used by the
students. "We are afraid that all exiled Burmese students and refugees
living in Thailand will be blamed as pro-violence activists in the aftermath
of the incident," said Somchai Homlaor, secretary general of Forum Asia.

Human rights groups say that though they understood that the students were
under pressure to respond to the harsh dictatorship in Burma, the use of
violence would only be counterproductive.

The All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), the largest and best known
of pro-democracy student organizations in exile, said none of the students
involved were members of their group. "We will always follow the policy of
non-violence in our struggle against the Burmese regime," said Dr Naing
Aung, president of the front, soon after the incident.

ABSDF members trace the action of the hostage-takers to the failure of the
9-9-99 campaign, launched a few months ago to spark off an uprising against
the Burmese regime by Sept. 9 this year, to make any headway.

"The members of VBSW were desperate that the 9/9/99 campaign could not shake
the Rangoon regime's power. They then decided to use violent methods to draw
the attention of the outside world," an ABSDF member said on condition of
anonymity.

According to Burmese pro-democracy sources the Vigorous Burmese Student
Warriors, which carried out the embassy seizure, was formed as recently as
September 1999. Two of the key leaders of the group are Kyaw Ni or Johnny,
31, and Myint Tein or Preeda, 30, identified as pivotal assailants in the
embassy raid.

According to Thai intelligence sources the other three involved in the
seizure were not students but soldiers with a faction of the Karen ethnic
minority which has been fighting for independence from Rangoon for the past
five decades.

The history of the Burmese student pro-democracy groups, in recent times,
goes back to 1988 when they spearheaded a popular uprising against the
General Ne Win regime, which responded with bloody suppression of the
movement.

Hundreds of students who fled to the Thai-Burma border formed the ABSDF with
the help of the Karen National Union (KNU), the main political body of the
Karen ethnic minority group.

"At that time, they were young extremists, wanting to be rebels. They
thought that their movement could topple the dictatorial regime before
long," recalled Sittipong Kalayani of the Chiang Mai-based Images Asia, an
NGO working with Burmese students for the past decade.

The ABSDF split in 1989 itself due to ideological differences between its
leaders Moe Thee Zun, a left-winger and the more moderate Dr Naing Aung.

"Moe Thee Zun thought that 'the Burmese way to socialism' was not genuine
socialism. He wanted to pursue revolution by using armed force," Sittipong
said. "In contrast, Naing Aung was a moderate with political charisma."

Both factions however started off with the perception that the Burmese
regime could be overthrown only by the use of armed action. Both therefore
formed student armies.

The armies, always small in number and poorly equipped, made little headway
in any meaningful action against Burmese forces and slowly dissipated into
ragtag bands of armed students fighting alongside ethnic rebel groups. The
split in the ABSDF was also a factor in the fall of the student army.

In recent years however, both factions of the ABSDF have reconciled their
differences and reunited. Subsequently, the students' group has renounced
violence and spelt out a non-violent strategy for bringing democracy in
Burma along with other democratic forces inside the country led by Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The non-violent path of struggle has also been endorsed by NGOs and human
rights groups around the world backing the Burmese pro- democracy movement.
Most advocate sanctions against the Burmese regime and an economic and
political boycott to bring about change within Burma.

But the international campaign against the Rangoon regime, despite a few
minor victories, has yet to make any real impact on the political situation
in Burma.

Since the pro-democracy uprising in 1988 the regime has only changed for the
worse domestically, while improving its international image through
diplomatic support mainly from countries in the Association of South-east
Asian Nations (ASEAN) like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Rights groups here say that they can understand the pressure that Burmese
students feel to make a genuine impact on the regime's hold on power against
the wishes of the Burmese people.

"The pressure on the Burmese students may make them resort to violent
political means in the future," said Somchai. However, he also points out
that the path of violence can be avoided only if there is more concerted
international effort to oust the Burmese military rulers through peaceful
means.

Meantime, Somchai urged the Thai government to treat the exiled Burmese
inside Thailand according to human rights principles and give them the
opportunity to express their political demands peacefully. "Only then can we
avoid any possible violence and also contribute positively to a democratic
Burma in the future," he said.

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

THE NATION: MONKS STRANDED AS TACHILEK CROSSING STAYS SHUT
26 October, 1999

THE Burmese authorities in Tachilek yesterday reversed a decision to allow
Buddhist monks from both sides of the border to cross over to receive alms
from merit-makers on the first day of the end of Buddhist Lent, officials
said.

The Burmese officials had earlier said monks would be allowed to cross the
border at 6.30 am but the border gate between Tachilek and Chiang Rai's Mae
Sai district remained shut throughout the day.

About 500 Buddhist monks were waiting at the entrance of the gate as Thai
border officials tried to clear the matter with their Burmese counterparts,
Mae Sai district chief Tavorn Chertphan said.

Burmese officials said they were afraid that opening the gate for the monks
would encourage others to cross the border illegally, according to Thai
border officials.

Yesterday's incident was deemed part of the growing rift between Bangkok and
Rangoon.

However, with petrol and other basic goods running low, Burmese officials in
Tachilek have asked their Thai counterparts if they could go behind
Rangoon's back and ship the goods over to help ease the burden on local
residents.

[ ... ]

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

THE NATION: BURMA SCUTTLES DEAL IN GAMBLER'S FINE
26 October, 1999

THE fate of 31 Thai nationals charged with illegal entry into Burma remains
uncertain as Rangoon called off a planned trial yesterday and ordered a
local court to add the charge of illegal gambling, an official said.

Burma's Koh Song court had earlier agreed with the request of local Thai
authorities that the 31 Thais, seven of whom also have Burmese citizenship,
would be tried and convicted on charges of illegal entry and released
immediately after a US$1,000 fine was paid, the official said.

The trial was planned for yesterday afternoon.

The chief negotiator in the deal was Thai businessman Vikrom Aisiri, who
owns the Andaman Club hotel and casino on Koh Song and reportedly has strong
links with Burmese officials.

Vikrom had agreed to pay the fines and would settle financial matters with
the 31 after they were back across the border, the official said.

However, before the scheduled 2 pm trial began, Rangoon ordered the local
court to stop the case and demanded that all the suspects be charged with
illegal gambling, the official said.

Those detained were among 70 Thais arrested last Friday after allegedly
crossing illegally into Burma to gamble at a casino.

Gambling has long been tolerated by Burmese officials in Koh Song, adjacent
to Ranong province. It is not clear what gaming law the 31 people have
violated since the casino had been given official permission to operate.

Illegal entry into Burma carries a sentence of up to 10 years' imprisonment
and fine of up to $1,000.

Rangoon on Sunday denied the arrest of the Thais was connected to the siege
at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok on Oct 1.

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

THE BANGKOK POST: BRAWL MARKS END OF LENT
26 October, 1999

One Burmese student was seriously injuries in a clash involving 100 students
and Mon exiles near Moneeloy camp in Ratchaburi on Sunday night.

The clash came after the Burmese and Mon slipped out of the camp at 7.30pm
and went to a saloon to celebrate the end of Lent. Police ended the fighting
and took the feuding exiles back to the camp.

The violent incident was the second in a week involving Burmese students at
Maneeloy, run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Earlier,
some students took five UN officials hostage to demand their allowance.

Governor Komet Daengthongdee of Ratchaburi said the camp was not properly
fenced. The UN agency was said to be reluctant to seal off the camp because
it did not want it to appear the facility was a place of detention.

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

THE STRAITS TIMES: LAUREATES SAY HELLO TO CHILD MPS
25 October, 1999

PARIS -- Nobel laureates Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi are among world
figures who have sent video greetings to 350 child deputies in Paris for the
World Parliament of Children, organisers said on Saturday.

The children, from 178 countries, will have the messages screened for them
at the French Parliament building in the heart of Paris, during a session in
which they are due to adopt a youth manifesto for the next century.

Former South African President Mandela, a legend of the anti-apartheid
struggle, took racism as his subject.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi spoke of her struggle for
democracy and human rights. AFP

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